Ditto from me Joel, lovely work in this update! The Tamiya will be a lot more durable than the Alclad as well, so less fear of damage to that nice finish during the handling and assembly processes.
I tend to avoid the movable panels on my kits as well, the hinges and pins are just too fragile. If I want to be able to see the engine bay or interior, I make the panel completely removable.
Cheers, D
Richard, Michael, & D,
Thanks guys for your most positive comments on where the build has gotten to.
I’m slowly coming to the same realization about moving doors, lids, body sections as well. I’ve got originally 3 models in my display that have open or removed panels:
Tamiya 1/24 scale Rothmann’s Porsche 953 rear engine deck off
and displayed that way. Just kills the overall look and feel of the car, but I can’t force myself to cover up all that added detail that took months to accomplish. Solution: Build a Hasegawa Curbside kit.
Ebbro/Tamiya 1/20 scale JPS Lotus 72E. Nose clip removed to show the inner details. Solution, I recently glued it in place. Looks a million times better.
Revell 1/25 JPS Roush Trans Am Mustang. Entire front clip off to show detailed engine. Solution is to just leave it off as it really doesn’t fit very well.
On the Lotus type 79 the engine/transaxles/suspension cover other then for pictures will be left off next to the car as I’ve done with several other F1-2 cars. the overall look and visual feel of the car isn’t changed nor hurt by the missing engine cover.
joel
Hi Joel
Wow! That does look an absolute gem! 
As you know, I still enjoy really F1, but my heart lies with the '60s and '70s cars. 
All the best
Rowan
Rowan,
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Lotus Type 79 build. Like you, my favorite eras in F has been and still is from 1963 when Clark 1st drove the Lotus 25 through 1979. So the Lotus build is right up your alley.
joel
Ken,
Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out the Lotus build to date. It’s always greatly appreciated.
joel
Well, the time had finally come just before my trip to the Hospital when the 1979 Martini Lotus 79 crossed the finish line. While not a perfect contest build by any means, I’m more then pleased with the final results, and it’s right up there with my better F1 builds to date.
Since my previous update, I’ve worked to get all the body sections to fit without any added pressure so that I could remove them for display. But as I said the large front section was slightly warped and even after getting it to fit correctly, it wasn’t snug enough, so it got tacked down with a few drops of CA that could easily be popped off when and if ever needed. The massive rear wing unlike most other F1 attaches to both sides of the main body shell, and was a real pain to get aligned and glued into place.
Tamiya actually included a pair of wire mesh intake trumpet covers rather then the usual clear molded plastic with recessed lines that looks absolutely terrible. Fit with a little TLC looks darn good.
The 4 tires had their center molding line sanded but not totally removed as I wanted them to look almost brand new. The Goodyear logos are on both sides of each tire. For those a separate sheet was needed from Indy Cal as Tamiya doesn’t include them on their decal sheet. Then the tires for a change needed very little pressure to push into place, so there’s no chance of breaking one of those pins, which I’ve done 
the large engine cover also proved to have a slight warp issue after the fit issues were taken care of. Here I only used 3 drops of CA glue all on the front so that a quick pop would release the engine section. If I used any CA at the rear it’s directly under the rear wing and I just know that I’d have damaged it when I wanted to remove the engine cover. So it’s slightly a few mm above the chassis. The last body section is the roll bar and it just fits into it’s mounting holes as you need to remove it in order to remove the engine cover. And finally, the cockpit mirrors were added.
Here’s a dozen pictures of the finished Lotus 79.
Thanks to all of you who’ve followed the build. As always, it’s much appreciated.
joel
Looking great Joel as expected. Glad you were able to see it done . I hope your latest medical issues don’t keep you from your 1/12 Tamiya build with your brother and , more importantly I hope it doesn’t interfere with Mrs. W’s needed surgeries.
We are all rooting for the pair of you .
Chin up - Richard
Another beautiful addition to your “Garage” Joel! 
Once again, thanks for sharing and looking forward to seeing your next build!
And best wishes for the health challenges ahead! 
A very worthy addition to the “Willstein Racing” stable, great job as always Joel. Your passion for these open-wheelers really shows in the class of your work.
Best wishes to you both for the speedy resolution to your health issues.
BTW, when you start your Buddy/brother build on the 1/12 Tamiya Brabhams, unless your brother signs up and starts posting, you will be very busy posting dual-build reports!
Cheers, D
It looks fantastic Joel. You have really nailed the build of the Lotus 79, so I am looking forward to you taking that to the 1/12 scale kit you have planned. Should be a treat.
cheers
Michael
Guys,
I really don’t know what to say. The continued support and well wishes has really helped me to start only looking at the positive side of these procedures and not the negative side. I’m sure that the Angiogram has evolved from what it was when I had mine from my heart attack way back in 1992 when I was a spry 45. hopefully they’ll treat the blockage(s) with some new medications so no angioplasties have to be done.
As for the Lotus 79, I can’t thank you all enough for your most positive posts about the build.
My brother is an aircraft builder so there’s not much sense in him joining our community for the once per year buddy build. But I could always post his pics along with mine. Who knows, it could become a feature thing here.
As for my next build since my brother asked for a 30 day extension till 2/1/22, I’ve picked the brand new Nunu 1/24 scale BMW M8 GT3 that won the IMSA Weather Tech Road Atlanta race in 2020. I’ve found a special decal sheet from SK, and the Nunu detail up set for this one. If nothing else I can promise you that it will be most interesting.
joel
Everyone needs to keep it in mind that I’ve never even attempted a 1/12 scale model build. Sure hope that the body actually fits into my spray booth.
joel
Hi again Joel
Wow! That does look really spectacular! The finish is just superb!
You’ve got to admire the drivers that raced the cars from this era - just looking at it, there is so little protection. Even a relatively minor nose shunt would probably mean broken ankles or legs…
All the best
Rowan
Great job on the Lotus, Joel. Very well done. Been a while (like 1993) since I’ve built a 1/12 F1 car.
Jim
Looks really great. Love the look of these old Lotuses. Thanks I’ve really enjoyed watching this build.
It will definitely be a feature, a dual 1/12 brother build will be spectacular!
Another great build, ready for pole position.
Spectacular result of your build, Joel! Great finish. Love the unusual green colour. You’ve done again a fantastic job, and as Damian already said, it’s a worthy addition to the Willstein Racing Team.
Put the pressure on him to sign up , even if it is just for one build - we would love to see a Willstein Bros
effort.
You have been instrumental in convincing at least one aircraft builder to try the dark side …
hmmm… wonder who that might be?
Rowan,
It’s always an honor to have you stop by and check out my latest build. I’m thrilled that you like how it turned out.
As for driver protection is was horrendous from the start of F1 racing, but the modern era from the 1950’s on saw so many deaths per season that we as fans just got to expect it and became numb to it. I don’t recall the exact year in the 1960 era that Ferrari lost 4 drivers in F1 accidents, and the Old Man only really cared about the damage to his cars. This is one of the main reasons with the Ford deal failing through that I’ve never been a Ferrari fan, and have only built one Ferrari, a 330-P4. Each year seemed to bring on new safety changes especially when Jackie Stewart retired after the death of his teammate in a fire, and fought hard for safety changes both in the cars and on the track.
joel
