# I have that sinking feeling....



## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

A few months ago I managed to get hold of the 1/24th scale Fujimi kit of James Bonds Lotus Esprit Submarine.

If I had to guess, I don't think that Fujimi had a license to sell this kit down-under as it has never been available from our local distributors. But one New Zealand hobby shop imported some and sold them at a really good price, so I did not have to pay outrageous shipping to import one.

I thought that I would give it a crack as it is quite a simple build and I thought that some of you Hobbytalk dudes may want to see what it all looks like.

Fujimi have two versions of the car, the submarine version and the stock Esprit. The two versions share many of the same parts (eg. The body, interior etc) but the submarine version has no wheels, but has things like:

A flat piece to cover the bottom of the car.
Covers for the wheel wells.
Diving planes.
Fins and propellers for the rear.
A few items like a periscope and mirrors for the body.
Slats (Venetian blinds?) for the windows.
Harpoon guns for the front and oil slick pipes for the rear.
A missile coming out of the rear window.
A dashboard decal depicting the submarine gauges. (Not that you will see it, or much of the interior, through the slats on the windows.)

Every thing is very nicely molded with hardly any cleanup required and no sink holes as far as I can see.

The car can have its headlights 'popped up', but I choose not to do that as the movie prop did not.
The front harpoon gun panel has to be carefully cut open from the hood to fit the harpoon gun part. I chose not to do that as I think it spoils the look of the car.
I also did not fit the oil slick pipes at the rear as they were only used when the car was on land.
_Things would get a bit squiddly diddly if they were used under water._

Here is a photo of most of the component parts.









The body has the wheel well covers, periscope, mirrors etc glued on and is primed and ready for painting white.
The interior tub has the gear stick, pedals and brake lever attached and the dash console is glued to the dash board top. Steering wheel glued to the steering column.
The propeller housings and the rear rudder bar are assembled and as these are painted black I will not glue them onto the body until all the painting is done.
The smaller parts are masking taped, blu-tacked or pushed through drilled holes in ice-block (AKA Popsicle) sticks.
A few toothpicks, pushed through drilled holes in a stick, holds the propellers.

And yes, there are clear window and indicator light parts and a few chromed parts (For the rear of the indicators and mirror surfaces.)

It is now ready for a paint job. I will see what kind of finish I can get airbrushing white.


And just FYI... Fujimi lists all the paint colours. However, but one indicator, *92*, has a Japanese description but no description in English or other languages. It should read* 'Semi Gloss Black'.*

And, I want to thank Fujimi for stating in their instructions:
_'Take care not to cut your finger, hand or *foot* when handling a nipper, knife, file etc'_

I know that I have cut my foot several times when nipping parts from sprues. Ouch!
The Aussies will appreciate the warning even more, as 'nipper' is Australian slang for a child. They can be even more dangerous to hands and feet.

So onwards an upwards. 
_I need to go and find a band-aid for my foot. I do need to stop using my feet to hold my xacto knife.🦶_


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Sounds like you are not wearing your steel toed boots in the work shop! Remember safety always comes first. 👨‍🔧


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

If I wear my steel toed boots I cannot use my feet to pick up and user tools.
I am screwed any which way I look.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Can you still reach the anti gravity floor control setting?


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

The anti-grav floor control is very hard to reach. If I turn it off, all my tiny parts will drop to the floor and get lost in the carpet.
I typically build models single handed, after the accident with the circular saw.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I hate when that happens! Did you have it set at 1:1 scale?


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