16 replies to this topic

[Jean-Michel Piot]

Hello All!

You all know the somewhat orange Lotus 23 from Revell...

But did you know that Revell also molded this car in blue (very rare, shown by TSR) and in white?

The white car was more likely seen in the UK market.

I had a chance to get one of these and decided to leave it unpainted, in order to show the rare color of this car. I then made inquiries to find an historic white livery for this car and found a very famous one that belonged to Bob Challman and that have also been used by Jim Clark in the LA Times Grand Prix.

Yes, the Lotus 23 with number 222 at 1963 L.A. Times GP was Bob Challman's car.

So, here it is :







I simply painted the numbers on the white plastic and decided to make a trompe l'oeil as for the interior (here you see the first lines I drew).

I did already sculpt Bob Challman's head and helmet (for my Cox Lotus 30) so only had to reproduce it with a silicon mould for this car.

Do you want to see the final result?

[Jean-Michel Piot]

[Tex]

Very nice in its simplicity, Jean-Michel.

[TSR]

JM, very nice. The blue one I showed in the past is the only one I have ever seen, and now we also have a blue Porsche RS61! The white "23" was indeed a UK edition and remains very scarce.
The new book will also show other colors more than likely done as test shots for the Revell line, such as blue Chaparrals, gold Cobras, and white 1/24 scale Corvettes...

[Horsepower]

You just made my day a little brighter, JM! Thanks for showing us this gem.

[Hworth08]

Boy, that's nice!

Love the bubble face sheild!! That's what they used here in the '60s in cars with no windshields. A big bug or chunk of rubber made quite a splat.

[Gary Bluestone]

Terrific details, especially the driver's faceshield and the hubs.

Thanks,

Gb

[Noose]

Simple and gorgeous..as always! Great work.

[idare2bdul]

Very nice! It's nice to remember that cars weren't always rolling advertising billboards.

[Jean-Michel Piot]

Few more pictures about the trompe l'oeil painting of the interior and the sculpting of the steering wheel...


I started with this technical drawing:


I copied it on the model, slightly modifying the shape of the passenger seat, progressively enlarging the back to take into account the perspective.



Here you can see with three bodies the genuine steering wheel and the way I sculpted it:



Then the painting itself. This time, apart from the painting of the head made with oil paints, I used acrylic to make it stronger.

I noticed on the Scarab I made recently that some people want to touch the interior to be sure it is indeed flat ..

[Jean-Michel Piot]

Bob Challman's helmet and a quite funny picture...

(please note the turnable heads)



Credit: John Wilson.




As mentionned before, I first made this head for my Cox Lotus 30, modifying a Cox head. Then I reproduced it with resin.

[slowjim]

Great looking little car. Also nice was the article from Sports Car Graphic, with the dual test of the Lotus 23 and Elva Mk 7.

[vnvslot]

Incredible interior! I think I can smell the red leather inside!!

[n.elmholt]

Very nice model - I really like the "subtle" look of your models - GREAT :-)

In my humble opinion it is a pity to "overdo" old slot cars, but you seem to have cought the right balance.

Niels, DK

[Brad Korando]

Your work is inspirational Jean-Michel. Please be forgiving to those that cannot resist touching the interiors you paint: they are irresistible!

Thank you for sharing another fantasic project.
Brad

[Dave Wilson]

Beautiful simple little car Jean-Michel
Like the detailed passenger seat also
Very nice

[don.siegel]

Guys,

I just saw this one in person and it looks even better than in the photos. Really an impressive little model JM!

Don