14 replies to this topic

[John Withers]

Hi,
I have been using Tamiya TS-9 British green spray lacquer on my Lotus models but I am not entirely happy with it.
I really think it is too dark with not enough yellow in it. To my eye it just isn't right.
Just wondering if any other Lotus fans have had better luck using anything else.
thanks, John

[TSR]

It all depends on which week of which month of which year you wish your Lotus model to represent...

[John Withers]

My current project is Jim Clarks 1965 Indy 500 Lotus 38.
- John

[Joe Mig]

Did you try or use their white primer ?

[John Withers]

Yes I did.
I found some photos today that do show it to be a darker shade of green so
I'm starting to warm up to Tamiya ts-9.
I think it will look much better once the yellow stripes are applied.

[TSR]

For the '65 Lotus 38, best is to match it exactly to the Monogram body color that is just about perfect.

[Joe Mig]

PDL; I have never seen such detail on a slot car.

[idare2bdul]

It can be hard to judge color of a car from a picture taken at the time. Most magazines of that era preferred submission of pictures by slide. Ektachrome is a brand name owned by Kodak for a range of transparency still and motion picture films. It has a slight bias towards cooler colors like blue. Most auto magazines of the time actually stated a preference to this film. It also was available in faster films letting you take action shots or photos in less light. European magazines may have had different preferences as there were some excellent European films as well, each with a particular color bias. Add that to pictures fading or being altered iin the printing process or by display on your TV or monitor and color becomes a complicated subject.

I'm sure Phillipe can add to this the problem of over restored or inaccurately restored vintage cars. It also seems like I remember one manufacturer that ran green paint, was fond of paint sales and may not have been the most consistent, and the stories go on.

I find a lot of the model green paints seem too bright and a drop or 3 of black makes them come closer to my idea of Lotus green.

[TSR]

Joe,
The pic is of course that of the Jimmy Clark car at the Ford Museum. The car languished for years in terrible condition after the 1966 Indy 500 when it was red with STP sponsorship and whitewall tires! Jimmy won the race but was demoted to second place after the USAC clowns missed a lap in their count. That John Mecom Jr. also owned the winning Lola may have something to do with it.

The Monogram model has a perfect color match to the original that I saw before it left for the USA for good at the racing car Show in the UK in the beginning of 1966, before it was repainted in STP colors.
In 1967, the car, now missing its Ford 4-cam 4.5-liter engine, was for sale at Indy for $5000.00.
Fortunately, Ford Motor Co intervened and purchased the chassis from then owner Andy Granatelli. The actual Indy engine that was in the car when iot won Indy in 1965 ended in a sprint car driven by Parnelli Jones and is still in it today.
The car had received a quick and very poor restoration at the ford museum, but recently the museum principals were shamed into restoring the car properly after public outcry, which they eventually did.

[dc-65x]

Hi John,

I've been using Testor's green and black.



I mixed them 1 to 1 for the dark green on my Cooper.....



....and added just a little black for the lighter green Lotus.



Hope this helps,

Rick

[Jean-Michel Piot]

Tamiya TS9 can of paint is a more "olive" shade of green than the correct color for the 38.

The TS9 reference is perfect for the Strombecker Brabham on the right:




This is what I use for my Lotus models :



Though, I'm not sure you will find this in the US.

As for himself, Karl-Heinz Hornerg (the excellent modeler from Fein Design in Germany) gives a BLMC paint reference for his Lotus 40 kit:

BLMC British Racing Green GN29 1964.


In addition to the Tamiya or Testor or Humbrol offers, do not forget the huge offer of can paints you can find in car accessories shops.

Sometimes, in the street, I see a recent car with a perfect color for a certain model. Then I note the reference of the car and try to find the can that is recommended for the said. That's how I found a perfect FIAT reference of paint for an Aston Martin DBR1 ...

And the more I think of it, the more I feel that the color of my British Racing Green 2001 S-Type Jaguar is really close to the perfect color for the Monogram model.

Otherwise, indeed doing its own mix and use an airbrush will do the thing.

[John Withers]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions guys. I used to own a '66' MGB that was british racing green though a bit sun bleached.
About 15 years ago I needed some paint to spray on some replacement panels. I was directed to one paint shop in town, I think it was a PPG store that still had all the paint codes for old cars like that. When I went out there to buy the paint the guy told me that MG offered a BRG light which was more olive in shade and a BRG dark which tended more to the blue side. I ended up shelling out 25 or 30 dollars for the lighter shade only to find out it was the wrong one. You can't return custom colors so oh well live and learn.
But I think I will have a look at some of the auto stores here and see what they might have. I also like the idea of mixing my own paint colors from the testors bottles. I think its time to break out the airbrush anyway and get in some practice.
John

[threegz]

Hi Rick
Where did you get that cool paint mixing chart. I sure could use one of those.

[Bill from NH]

Ray, I bought the same one at a Micheals arts & craft store. It's made by The Colorwheel Company & I paid $4 or $5 a few years ago. I'd think most any art supply store would carry them.

[dc-65x]

Yup, I bought mine at Michaels too.