Subject:   1962 F1
Lotus 25
Coventry Climax
Kit Used: Tamiya - 1/20

Review & model by:
Ian Dow
Pictures: R. Forys




[This is an older Tamiya kit in 1/20 scale.]





The Kit:   This is an older Tamiya kit in 1/20 scale.   I am not sure when it was last in production, but the fit and finish of this kit is the usual Tamiya excellence.   The first thing I noticed about the kit was the relatively straight-forward design and assembly of it.   This is a very good representation of the Lotus 25 Coventry Climax.   However as many modelers with the sickness will tell you, it is a good starting point.   The model has all the components represented but it did not have a great deal of detail in the parts.   This was where I decided that with a little effort the model could become something much greater.   I had decided that the car would be shown with the top of the body off, so that you could view the interior of the car, which is why I decided to add the extra details.








[This is a very good representation of the Lotus 25 Coventry Climax.]





Wiring and Plumbing:   The first thing I decided I wanted to do was run the plumbing lines from the fluid reservoirs in the front of the car to the engine and brake system.   I also added small pieces of brass and plastic hex rod to simulate caps for the reservoirs.   The fluid lines were run to the brake system, engine and gauges.   These were made from various gauges of wire and plastic tubing that I had lying about in the junk bin.   I have found that old electronic devices such as patch cords, keyboards and mice have some very fine wire bundled in them.





Jim Clark drove his entire F1 career for Colin Chapman's Team Lotus, winning two Formula One World Championships and the 1965 Indianapolis 500.   Clark's total of 25 career GP wins broke the record set by the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, and in the more than 30 years since has been surpassed only by five drivers - Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Aryton Senna, and all of these drivers raced when the Grand Prix seasons were much longer with more races.

Early in 1961, Clark was involved in a controversial accident that claimed the life of Wolfgang von Trips, and gave the World Championship to American Phil Hill and his famous shark-nosed Ferrari 156.   Clark barely lost the 1962 title to Graham Hill, who was then driving for BRM, (British Racing Motors), but later became a Lotus team mate, when an oil leak caused a DNF while leading the final race, and the season points at Kyalami.   He won the championship decisively in 1963, and repeated in 1965, taking the maximum possible championship points in both seasons, and achieved this despite taking May off both years, missing the Monaco races, to compete in the Indianapolis 500, where he became the first Briton to win at the Brickyard.

Clark won the opening race of the 1968 season in South Africa, but died tragically during an inconsequential F2 race at Hockenheim, Germany, when his Lotus left the track and crashed into nearby trees.   The accident remains unexplained to this day.   A small plaque, now located behind a protective guardrail, is set in the trees to mark the spot of his untimely death.

Jim Clark was an intuitive racer, competing in all classes and styles.   He won four straight Belgian GPs at the tremendously difficult Spa-Francorchamps circuit, a track he despised, and was masterful in wet race conditions.   His dominant 1965 season in the Lotus 33, in which he led every lap of every race he finished, is unmatched in F1 history.   Maybe the most amazing fact about Clark is that only once did he finish second.   What this means is that if he finished the race, he almost always won.   Jim Clark was a private and soft-spoken man, and we will never know how he would have faired in the modern era of F1 sponsorship and down force racing, but his death ended a time of relative innocence in Formula One.   On his death, another racing icon was heard to say, "If it could happen to him, what chance did the rest of us have?   It seemed like we'd lost our leader."





[The gauges were done with additional brackets, plastic and aluminum tubing and various added wires.] [I gave a slightly worn look to the seat and control panel.]
[The gauges were wired to the engine, fluid reservoirs and braking system.] [I also added small pieces of brass and plastic hex rod to simulate caps for the reservoirs.]



The gauges were done next with additional brackets, plastic and aluminum tubing and various wires added.   These were all wired to the engine, fluid reservoirs and braking system.   A lot of dry fitting and placement planning was required to have everything line up without looking too bulky, or out of place.   I also replaced the kit part for the coolant line that runs from the radiator to the engine with an aluminum tube covered in heat shrink tubing, which gave it a really finished look.   This put the idea that small heat shrink tubing could be used for many of the connections and coupling pieces.




[Small heat shrink tubing was used for many of the connections and coupling pieces.]



The brakes were all wired and had additional tubing and brake lines added to each one.   The upper trailing arm was scratch built out of aluminum tubing and the connections were made from aluminum tubing flattened on the end with a hole drilled through to simulate the banjo fitting on the connecting rods.   The rods were also made of two pieces of tubing of slightly different sizes so that they fit inside of each other and this allowed me to be able to adjust them up or down slightly if necessary.




[I also replaced the kit part for the coolant line that runs from the radiator to the engine with an aluminum tube covered in heat shrink tubing.]



The final piece of scratch building was the coolant return system on the engine itself.   This was made from solder and heat shrink tubing.   The reason for using the solder was that it bends very easily and you can add the heat shrink tubing to it before you bend it.   The tricky part is applying enough heat to shrink the tubing without melting the solder.   To remedy this problem I would find a piece of brass or aluminum about the right size and shrink the tube onto the metal tube piece.   Then I would slide that off and cut the appropriate piece needed to slide over the piece of solder.   There was some trial and error, but for the most part it went together fairly easily.





[Each velocity stack had a piece of heat shrink tubing added to the bottom and then wrapped with a piece of thin foil to simulate a clamp.]



The engine itself was given a set of plug wires and a few aluminum connector fittings.   Also, the velocity stacks were painted with Metalizer Aluminum plate and then polished up.   Each velocity stack had a piece of heat shrink tubing added to the bottom and then wrapped with a piece of thin foil to simulate a clamp.   The rest of the car was built up primarily out of the box.





[I used the Tamiya can lacquer spray paint.]



Paint:   This car has the iconic British Racing Green color scheme with Lemon Yellow rims.   For a long time, I have not built many car kits because every time I try and spray high gloss paint through my airbrush it ends in disaster.   Someone in our club suggested the Tamiya can lacquer spray paint.   I was unsure of the results but decided to give it a try.   I had the car set up on a stand and started misting the color on.   It turned out just gorgeous when I finished the first couple coats.   No runs no drips, no errors.   I was so happy that this turned out so well that I was just going to move the stand slightly so that it could dry undisturbed.   This is when it fell top down off the stand.   Nice and wet.   That left a mark.   After it dried and I dried my tears, I stripped it down and started over.   I was able to get the glossy coat I wanted, but it was not nearly as smooth as that first coat.   I polished the paint using the Micro Mesh fine grit papers and polish and this turned the paint into a very glossy and smooth finish.   I was very satisfied with the results after the initial disaster.





[The Tamiya decals were thick and not real easy to work with.]



Finish:   The decals were added and as with all Tamiya decals, they were thick and not real easy to work with.   They were all applied on flat surfaces, so for the most part they went down pretty well.   One of the things I like to do is to slightly weather or wear all my models.   For this kit, I gave a slightly worn look to the seat and engine parts.   This was also applied to the exhaust and the velocity stacks.   Lastly, the tires were sprayed with Testors Dullcoat to give them a more rubber like look.




[Overall this was a very satisfying build and it turned out very well.] [The exhausts and other engine parts were weathered.]



Overall this was a very satisfying build and it turned out very well.   I am looking forward to doing another one with even more detail.




[I am looking forward to doing another one with even more detail.] [The tires were sprayed with Testors Dullcoat to give them a more rubber like look.]