1:43 SRC 01-79 Embassy Racing 1974
This is the 1974 Lola T370-Ford 01-79 Embassy Racing driven by Graham Hill. The kit can be said to be a bit rough by todays standards but can build up to be very nice
The body was not too bad. The mirrors were a bit chunky as supplied in the kit. Since this was a model for a friend I did not scratch build new ones. Later on I did punch some foil mirror faces instead of painting them silver.
References given by my friend showed the mirrors black while the instructions show them as chrome. The decals were old and prone to breaking. Decals with the Graham Hill name and Embassy name had yellowed film, which I could not get rid of. Unfortunate.
There were a couple of places the decals broke and repairs had to be made. The NACA scoop on the nose ha to be covered with the orange decal. It did not react well to setting solution and ripped so I had to try and touch it up with paint which was not easy and is one area I am not happy with what I had to do.
The chassis was not too bad. The tires were rough and I tried to rotate them so the worst was at the bottom but what was left on top also left a lot to be desired. I hope they do not split over time as I have seen on other kits.
Also references from my friend said the front air scoops for the brakes was red. I tried to match the colour to the decals but did as best as I could.
The engine was not bad. It looked funny without ignition wires so I added some using 28ga wire which still looks a bit thick. The exhaust pipes were not too bad
I hollowed out the ends of the exhaust pipes. The entire rear suspension and engine area was not bad. I used brass rod for the drive shafts instead of the kit supplied harder then heck rod.
Cockpit is sparse. No decals were supplied for the instruments. I will try and raid my decal box. Also the kit supplied decals for the seat belts which I refuse to use due to their ugliness
All assem bled and taped to a base. At one point I dropped the air box which chipped some of the white paint. This required a repaint which for some reason left the white a slightly different shade than the body.
Conclusion
Overall not a bad looking kit for its age. Decals are past their prime and need to be handled gently. Rear wing endplates are thick and can be replaced with sheet brass. Tires are rough and should be replaced. Mirrors could be replaced to make it look better.
An interesting subject of a favourite driver of mine.