In the early 1970s there was a group of junior supercars; the Lamborghini Urraco, Porsche 911 and Maserati Merak were a taste of the exotic for a little less money. In 1971 Lotus supplied Ital Design with a modified Europa chassis which would accommodate the newly developed Lotus 907 four-cylinder 2-litre engine. Colin Chapman wanted a wedge shaped 2 seater coupe and Giugiaro really delivered, the prototype was unveiled at the 1972 Turin motor show.
Development continued until 1976, but Lotus were also trying to produce the Elite at the same time and the early Esprits showed signs of things being rushed. However to look at, the car was stunning and this was what got it into the next James Bond film.
Much as I love Ken Adam’s work on Sean Connery’s DB5, if you were a child of the ’70s Roger Moore’s Lotus Esprit was the coolest thing on 4 wheels.
In the kit you get
- Resin bodyshell
- Vacform windows
- Vacform interior
- Resin driver and glamorous passenger’s heads
- Resin wheel centres
- Waterslide graphics set
Bodyshell preparation is here, detail follows below.
I used white primer, 600 grit wet and dry paper and then three thin white top coats.
Black paint is used on the bumpers and use a straight edge to do the side body strips.
The interior is cut to size and painted, use Canopy Glue for the windows and to hold the interior in place so the windows don’t get fogged up.
Carefully cut out the waterslide graphics. The decals have already been coated with one thin coat of a water based acrylic to help protect them whilst they are applied, however they are very thin and can tear easily. The clear film is continuous and so each decal must be cut carefully from the sheet. Cut with a sharp scissors, craft knife or scalpel but leave a small clear margin around each decal. This will help to prevent any potential solvent ingress when the decals are coated with clear lacquer and will reduce the chance of any ink flaking off.
The decals should be dipped into warm water for 20 seconds and should not be allowed to float off the backing paper in the water. Shake off any loose water, then within 30 seconds, slide into position on the model.
The chassis should be trimmed to use the central rear fixing point as shown
Danger! This vehicle is not submersible.
