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Post by Dave Wisdom on Dec 27, 2013 15:22:34 GMT -5
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Post by David Lawson on Dec 28, 2013 3:16:56 GMT -5
Dave
Your builds are always worth waiting for and I'm certain you will work your usual magic on this McLaren and produce a great slot car.
David
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Post by Mark Huber on Dec 28, 2013 10:59:53 GMT -5
Dave,
I'm also very much looking forward to your progress on this build. The M7A is one of my favorite cars of the late 1960s and it certainly was successful right from the start.
I hesitate to use Wikipedia as a source, but I will quote two small sections from the article on the M7A as they address two things I've always been curious about the M7A... the use of pannier tanks in some races AND the color:
Regarding the fuel tanks:
Fuel was stored in tanks running down the side of the chassis, above the driver's legs and behind their seat, totalling 40 imperial gallons (180 l) capacity. Full capacity was not required for most races so the tank above the driver's legs was usually almost empty. For the M7A's first two world championship races, Bruce McLaren's car was fitted with outboard "pannier" fuel tanks at the side of the cockpit. McLaren had a theory that sports racing cars' handling was superior to that of single-seaters because of the weight distribution of their fuel; the pannier tanks were an attempt to replicate this. According to McLaren mechanic Tyler Alexander this idea was developed in discussion with Lotus boss Colin Chapman. After the car was damaged at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, it was rebuilt without the pannier tanks. (I see that the references from this section are from Doug Nye's work so I am going to accept that this is accurate!)
And the color:
The works cars were painted in an orange hue known as papaya; it was not a national racing colour, however, the colour would continue to be used on works McLaren cars until Yardley sponsorship was obtained in 1972.
Hmmm. Tamiya Papaya... that has a nice ring doesn't it?
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Post by old23 on Dec 31, 2013 9:48:25 GMT -5
I'm looking forward to this build and will be awaiting with interest the discussion on the paint colour choice.
As it happens, I have one of those Betta M7A shells in my drawer of yet-to-be-built projects. It is a very large, very full drawer!
Stewart
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Post by David Lawson on Jan 1, 2014 1:30:43 GMT -5
Regarding the paint, Tamiya have a McLaren orange in their range which is TS-56 and called Brilliant Orange. I haven't tried it myself yet although I have bought a couple of cans in readiness for the several shells in my project boxes (like Stewart many of these are unlikely ever to see the light of day).
I've also used Hi-Cote Signal Orange in the past for McLaren slot cars and liked the result.
David
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Post by Dave Wisdom on Jan 1, 2014 7:17:46 GMT -5
Stewart, you make a good point about the choice of orange. I did have a colour in mind but on further investigation the shade I have looks too dark. I'll look into David suggestions (my local motor accessory shop stocks Hi-Cote paints) and see how the colours look when tested. Thanks for the advice David. In the meantime, I've done a little more work on the body shell; removing excess material to make way for additional detailing. There is still some sharpening up to do and possibly more material to remove before it receives the first spray of undercoat. Once the tyres have been trued the car will adopt a lower and better stance on the track. Dave
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Post by Dave Wisdom on Jan 13, 2014 15:10:57 GMT -5
I managed to locate (by rummaging through our loft) my Dads old copy of Autosport from 1968, which includes a report of the Race of Champions and features a nice photo of Bruce Mclarens M7A on the cover. I'm still playing about with different ideas details-wise and this photo was just taken to see how things roughly fit and look so far. Dave
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Post by chrisguyw on Jan 13, 2014 19:35:14 GMT -5
Regarding the paint, Tamiya have a McLaren orange in their range which is TS-56 and called Brilliant Orange. I haven't tried it myself yet although I have bought a couple of cans in readiness for the several shells in my project boxes (like Stewart many of these are unlikely ever to see the light of day). I've also used Hi-Cote Signal Orange in the past for McLaren slot cars and liked the result. David Dave, David, Mark et al.......Tamiya TS56 (Brilliant Orange) was launched with the reissue of the Tamiya McLaren M8A in 2010, and was formulated specifically for the McLaren. License issues prohibited it being called "McLaren", and it is the best replication of the McLaren "Paypaya" orange I have seen. I have done 3/4 McLarens' with it (all Canam so no pics.), and have been thrilled with the color. It is also Tamiya, so a treat to work with.........if you are doing a McLaren, your paint choice stops here. Cheers Chris
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Post by Dave Wisdom on Jan 14, 2014 13:17:05 GMT -5
TS-56 it most definitely is then. Thank you Chris, David and Mark for the recommendations and endorsement.
I'm still a week or so from beginning the paintwork, but hopefully by then our rather miserable cold, damp British weather will have perked up a bit.
Thanks again. Dave
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Post by David Lawson on Jan 14, 2014 15:44:49 GMT -5
Dave
Just to set the scene for your build here are some photographs of the McLaren factory in very early 1968 as they build the prototype M7A
It must be the first chassis as I am fairly sure that the designer, Robin Herd (partially obscured by the disc brake) is working at the rear of the car in the bottom right hand picture so he is presumably supervising this important build.
All the pictures are from my old copy of MotorSport magazine.
David
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Post by David Lawson on Jan 15, 2014 11:38:38 GMT -5
I meant to include this lovely shot of the McLaren factory with the other pictures I posted yesterday. This is out of a Bruce McLaren book by Doug Nye and this picture appears to have been taken a little later than the colour shots. Note the Can Am chassis and the 1967 M5A chassis in the background minus its BRM V12 engine. David
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Post by Dave Wisdom on Jan 15, 2014 16:27:12 GMT -5
Thanks for posting these photos David. They really help pick out and make sense of the rear end engine and suspension detail and also provide a fascinating glimpse back into a bygone world.
Dave
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Post by Mark Huber on Mar 7, 2014 6:35:33 GMT -5
Dave,
I took the liberty of moving this thread, per my email to you when you reserved your number, but forgot to leave a note on the forum.. I trust folks will find this easily. Lovely car!
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Post by Dave Wisdom on Mar 16, 2014 11:55:36 GMT -5
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Post by David Lawson on Mar 17, 2014 6:55:24 GMT -5
The Tamiya orange looks excellent Dave.
David
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