Corgi 269 Lotus "Cut version"

 

Article from ACACIA_AVENUE from Absolutely James Bond "AJB007" forum

Knowing that I would never own the original Corgi Cutaway Lotus Esprit, got me thinking how easy would it be to create my own copy.

Well after studying the picture in the Great Book of Corgi, and realising that the car was not just simply cut in half, the top section is about 5mm narrower than the bottom section, I had an old version 2 Lotus and thought about giving it a go.

It took about 5-6 hours to do, I used a dremel with cutting discs to cut off the surplus parts then cleaned the edges with emery cloth, painted the edges with model making paint, drilled pilot holes for the screws so that the base could be securely fitted back on.

The only outlay was buying the paint which cost £6.40

And here is the finished result.......but I achieved what I set out to do.

2nd version of 269 :

 

Since my original post I had a go at doing the the same with the 1st version and tried to improve the outer box.

 

I was really surprised how the mechanisms had been altered inside.
For example:
1. the fins and rudder retaining mechanism on the 2nd version had a metal retaining clip attached to the base and the white plastic retaining clip had also been re-designed to ensure the fins and rudder held in place better when closed.
2. The rocket firing mechanism had also been re-designed, I guess to ensure the rockets held in place better when not fired.

You may be able to see some of the differences by comparing my original pics on post 1 and the pic above.

 

Some of the changes may represent mechanical improvements but for the most part, I think they were cost control moves: In almost all instances, they reduced both the number of parts and the complexity of assembly.