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Post by David Lawson on Jul 13, 2014 17:48:53 GMT -5
I went to Friday practice for this year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The new breed of F1 cars are highly complex with their turbocharged engine/power units with all sorts of energy recovery systems and trick suspension (which may soon be outlawed). Opinion is divided about the noise the cars make, I found they made a pretty good sound when accelerating hard but on part throttle or when they were coming towards you they were a bit too quiet for my liking.
Anyway they are still amazing cars and they are producing some good racing this year. Here are a few of the pictures I took.
Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - Becketts Corner
Valtteri Bottas - Williams - Luffield
Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - Luffield
Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - Luffield
Romain Grosjean - Lotus - Luffield
Sergio Perez - Force India - Luffield
Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - Becketts Corner
Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - Luffield
Adrian Sutil - Sauber - Luffield
Max Chilton - Marussia - Luffield
Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - Stowe Corner
Daniil Kyvat - Toro Rosso - Luffield
David
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Post by Chris Wright on Jul 13, 2014 17:59:16 GMT -5
Incredible pictures David, they may be overly fussy in their appearance, but they are still engineering marvels.
"I found they made a pretty good sound when accelerating hard but on part throttle or when they were coming towards you they were a bit too quiet for my liking."
Funnily enough, I was lucky enough to see the kings of CANAM run, the Porsche 917 turbo, fantastic beasts, but they were the same, very quiet on part throttle and no noise coming towards you, but boy could you feel that pressure wave.
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Post by f143 on Jul 13, 2014 22:53:22 GMT -5
Great photos again David, thanks for posting. Nigel
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Post by Mark Huber on Jul 14, 2014 17:00:35 GMT -5
I went to Friday practice for this year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Romain Grosjean - Lotus - Luffield
Great pictures David, but this one of Grosjean blasting through the gravel is really special!
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Post by David Lawson on Jul 18, 2014 4:44:15 GMT -5
Chris
The cars are a bit fussy with all the aerodynamic devices all over them, a few years ago the FIA altered the regulations to get rid of the numerous winglets and trims but they seem to be creeping back in again.
The engine note varied depending which part of the track you were standing at. In the Club corner and Luffield areas where big grandstands confined the sound and bounced it back the engines were moderately noisy although you could still chat to your friends. Out at Becketts and Stowe where the sound drifted away across the neighbouring fields they were very quiet. Whatever, they do sound so much better "live" than on TV.
Back in the 1980s when I spectated at Brands Hatch and Silverstone during the original turbo era I never took any notice of the engine sound probably because the cars were such beasts with their relatively low downforce chassis, 800-1000bhp output and spitting flames.
Mark - I'm glad you like the Grosjean shot of the "Lotus". Here are a couple of real Lotus in the 50th Silverstone GP parade.
Massive Clark fan, Dario Franchitti (complete with original Jim Clark gloves) in the 25.
1968 Team Lotus F1 driver, Jackie Oliver in the 33
David
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Post by f143 on Jul 18, 2014 4:53:38 GMT -5
AHHH that's better. With good blokes in them as well. Thanks
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Post by Mark Huber on Jul 18, 2014 9:25:32 GMT -5
David,
Your pictures of the Lotus 25 and 33 remind me yet again just how tiny those cars were/are. The dinosaur in me is whispering put the original --and very unsafe--roll bars back on those cars!
I would love to see one of these 1.5L cars lined up next to a current "Lotus". Then again, I suppose I could just put a couple of my models side by side (except that I don't have a model of any car beyond the mid 1970s, and I am not likely to buy or build one.)
As for car sounds, I love a vibrant roar--from a reasonable distance. The current batch of cars seem almost as silent as slot cars.. at least on television, which sadly is the only venue I'll ever see them.
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Post by David Lawson on Jul 19, 2014 2:34:14 GMT -5
Mark
You are right, the current spec roll over bars on these 1960s F1 cars disfigure them.
I haven't got any current F1 models but here is a photograph I took this morning to compare the 1963 and 1993 Lotus cars. Thirty years of F1 development.
These are my 1/20th scale Tamiya kits. The Lotus 25 needs no introduction on this forum, the Lotus 107B was a very useful car and fairly close to front running pace albeit let down by lack of funding and consequently reliability.
David
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Post by Mark Huber on Jul 19, 2014 10:54:30 GMT -5
Well, the cars from 20 years ago were more attractive than the current crop, I will say that.
Was the shifting done with paddles? I don't see how there would be room for 3 pedals in the nose of that Lotus 107B!
PS. David, was the Italian Flag aka Castrol Oil Red Green and White LIvery on the Lotus 107B achieved with paint, decals or a combination? It is very impressive. I'd love to see a few more angles (I know it's not a slot car) if you have a moment to post some.
PPS. Why don't those larger scale static models come with driver figures?
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Post by Dave Wisdom on Aug 19, 2014 1:55:18 GMT -5
Marvellous photos David; especially the Romain Grosjean shot. I've not attended the GP at Silverstone since 2008. The circuit has changed significantly since then.
The 63/93 comparison photo clearly illustrates how things had moved on even back in the 1990's. Looking at today's crop it really does seem like we live on a different planet nowadays. I've only heard the current F1 sound on TV, but I like it; a little reminiscent of the old Porsche 935K3 engine sound. However, ever since the demise of the V12 and Flat 12 motors, formula one cars now all just sound the same. Back in the day, part of the attraction and excitement was the varied engine notes and noises they made. You always knew what type of car was approaching you, or accelerating, out of sight at the far end of the circuit.
David's static kits are exceptional. I know he's posted photo's of his 1:24 models previously, but it would give us all a real treat to see a few more.
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Post by David Lawson on Aug 24, 2014 13:14:08 GMT -5
Mark
The Tamiya Castrol Lotus was finished with decals and painting to achieve the colour scheme. I have sat in a 107 but it was 20 years ago so I'm not sure but I think it had a clutch pedal, there was quite a lot of room in the cockpit. Tamiya did produce some F1 kits with drivers but generally they didn't and left it to the customer to buy these separately.
Dave
As you say these aren't slot cars but as requested here are a few more 1/20 Tamiya kits I've built in the past.
The 1993 McLaren. I sprayed the Marlboro red rather than using the decals that were supplied, I also added after market Marlboro decals.
Benetton. I sprayed the colour scheme rather than the supplied decals. Again I've added after market cigarette decals
1997 Ferrari, again I've added aftermarket sponsors decals. I also added a resin driver figure.
Indianapolis Lola
Lotus when Tamiya still supplied the cigarette decals.
1992 McLaren with once again sprayed colour scheme
I've got other kits stored away somewhere and I'm currently tidying up my model-making room which is a major undertaking, if I find them I'll take some more photos.
David
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Post by David Lawson on Aug 25, 2014 3:37:20 GMT -5
A couple more Tamiya's, these are both 1/12th scale
Ferrari
Williams engine bay.
During the 1990s I was building 1/43 white metal F1 kits and quite a few Tamiya kits in various scales until I got back into slot cars and I haven't built a static since, the problem now is that I have about two hundred un-built kits that I will never get around to do anything with.
David
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Post by David Lawson on Sept 3, 2014 6:50:41 GMT -5
Carrying on completely off topic in this 2014 British GP thread and still nothing to do with slot cars.
Back in the early 1990s I planned to build 1/43rd scale models of all Lotus and Jim Clark cars.
Like all my projects it was never finished and I've got loads of un-built white metal kits in my model-making room...
I also branched out a little and built other F1 cars
1/43 BRM P160
1/43 Ligier
1/43 Lotus 33
1/43 Lotus 49
1/43 Lotus 72
1/43 Lotus 78
Two views of 1/43 Lotus 79
1/43 Lotus 88
David
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Post by Dave Wisdom on Sept 4, 2014 1:55:31 GMT -5
This really is a superb collection David. Your model-making skills are truly exceptional. Thanks for showing these; its fascinating to see your other work as well as slot cars.
Dave
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Post by Mark Huber on Sept 7, 2014 13:09:41 GMT -5
After viewing David's collection of superb static models in various scales, I have only one thing to say: "Get thee behind me Satan!" I already have more odds and ends and kits, etc in 1/32 that will likely never get built without being tempted by pictures of these wonderful F1 cars. From time to time, I have almost pushed the button to order a bunch of white metal 1/43 kits, but I have always come to my senses at the last minute. Looking at David's collection doesn't make things easier!
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