by W.M. Elzerman
At the end of April 2003 the second paper model of Prototyp's
LeMans cars became available. First was the Jaguar XJR10/11 and was followed
by the Toyota Eagle MkIII. Designer Ryan Hicks asked me to do a test build on
the model like I did with the Jaguar (a review was in the December 2002
issue of CardModelers Online).
Unfortunately things went not as planned and I couldn't complete the test in time. The model was published on the promised date, but this was no problem: there were no faults discovered during testing! So prepare for a boring review......
The Kit:
The kit was delivered, to me, printed on 3.5 US-letter size pages,
of which 2 are on matte and 1.5 on glossy paper. There is also an instruction
page with drawings. As this was a test version there was no cover page or additional
info supplied. I bet the final customer version will have this and more.
The print quality is of a very high level: as sharp and detailed as a high
resolution photograph. Excellent, never seen elsewhere.
A point of discussion can be the thickness of the paper. I estimate it is around
100gr/m2. At first sight, with the Jaguar test, my reaction was: "Do you
expect me to build it with this thin flimsy paper?" Ryan Hicks reassured
me it could be done. And this proved to be true. He has done it, so why should
I not be able to?
The paper looks and seems thin and flimsy, but when you work with it you feel
a certain stiffness, especially with the glossy pages. It does take some time
and care to get used to. I advise to cut of some scrap of the pages to practice
some scoring, folding and gluing before starting with the actual model. Do not
score with a very sharp knife on the printed sides: there is a kind of coating
and it will come off a little, break, and the white paper becomes visible. The
gloss will be gone, or the colored area will have a white line on the fold. When folded
on a blunt-knifed score, the folding is somewhat difficult, but colors and gloss
stay intact.
Another advantage of the thin paper is it has little internal stress. By this
I mean when glued upon a rounded area or in a tube the paper has little tendency
to flatten itself again. It keeps the curved shape and it is not necessary to
keep it in place until the glue has dried completely.
Disadvantages are there too: little 'potlife' to correct fitting. The parts
stick quick together and can easily be torn when trying to separate them again
to correct. Put them exactly in place right away. Also, the matte paper has
the tendency to curl upwards, especially with the longer parts. When building
this is easily corrected, but the curling stays somewhat visible on the flat
areas such as the bottom plate
For construction the drawings aren't enough. It is almost impossible to build
correctly without the illustrated construction pages on the Prototyp site:
http://prototyp.org/construct/index.html
. The parts are to be folded and glued in a certain manner and sequence-- also
a specialty of Ryan Hicks. Looks like a touch of origami. And now:
"Start your scissors, let's do some building!"
Chassis
The instructions start with the bottom plate and diffuser. So did I, and I already
ran into the Hicks specialty: after gluing parts B12 & B18 in place on A2,
part B16 has to come in between those. In the middle of B16 comes A15. The ends
of B16 have to be folded and glued backwards on each other, but not before part
B9 is placed and this part closes over B17. B17 needs to be attached to
A2, then slide B9 over, and finally close B16. Oh, and don't forget to put B21 in
the little slots on B16! The picture shows one of these points where I went
wrong: didn't study the construction pages, but I could correct things with
some butt joints.
At
the opposite side, the final result looks like this.
The construction is somewhat complicated but allows for an exact fit. It would have helped, though, if there was a clearer indication on
the parts which folds have to be 'mountain' and which have to be 'valley'. Now
you have to find out by studying and test fitting before gluing. But I'm probably
spoiled by the Czech models I've built, which have these indications.
After
building up the bottom plate at the front with parts A4 & 13, it's time
to do the front splitter/radiator unit. The construction pages clearly show
the way, but one has to be more careful than I was: the bottom has to be rounded
to give it a wing-like shape. It has no formers or ribs and can be easily flattened....
No I won't show it! The manual drawing points out how it has to be curved.
And again I have to mention the exact fitting. Not any problem there.
The
front splitter and the bottom plate will meet with the front axle, A3, between
them.
First the splitter to the bottom, then the axle to the splitter and the bottom,
covering the bottom tabs with it's wing-shaped parts. Finally, the front tub
parts are glued to the axle.
Still with me? And again: exact fit.
The
inner tub is constructed with 3 parts. As the designer suggested, I reinforced
it with a layer of 160gr/m2 paper. This will give some extra stiffness to the
model. The parts are slotted into each other and glued on the bottom plate In
the corners of the slotted parts I dropped some glue to give it more strength.
By adding the suspension triangles and steering-rods, parts B3 & 4 and D14,
the chassis is completed. I set it aside on a flat surface with a little weight
to keep it straight while drying. A straight base makes it easier to get straight
car!
Body
After
the chassis, the body is the next part to be built. The main part is a big piece,
which has a complex shape. After scoring I cut it all except for the rear fender
areas around the wheels. Remove the drop-shaped middle carefully and don't throw
it away: There are 3 parts in it! Don't forget to cut the slots for the rear
air scoops and the side- and front fender areas also. I built up the cockpit
starting with the middle section, part C22, then C24 followed by C14 & C18,
the doors. The gap was closed with part C16. And again it has to be said: Very
exact fit!
Parts C6 & C7 were scored and the tabs only partly cut. On the thinnest
areas I did the cutting after fitting them to the main body part. Parts C13
& C16 closed the top of the rear body. I found it easier to attach
parts C23 & C28 & C29 before fixing C13 & C16. Some sharp and small
left-right zig-zagging folds have to done and I think it's very hard to do this
when they are in the body already.
Finally,
the sides are attached to complete the rear.
The black reinforcement bar can get some extra strength by sliding in a toothpick
or a straightened paperclip. There's no indication for the exact placing. I
decided to align it with the black fender parts.
The thin wheel areas got some extra strength by spreading glue in the corners.
After drying the round parts were removed.
The
car's nose starts with placing the little parts C21 & C27. Again I
use the method I described at parts C6 & C7: First the scoring on front
and back, next cut & fold the bottom tabs first. Then glue them to the main
body. Now fold the top tabs and glue those to the body as well. Make sure to
give the nose it's curved shape now.
Nose parts C17 & C25 have a double-folded area in the middle. It's certainly
wise to do these first and let them dry to give it some strength. When dry,
the rounded wheel areas can be cut too. I did it now because, unlike the rear,
it seem very hard to do later. One has to be very careful nevertheless: it is
a very thin part. By putting it in place, the importance of the
already given curve becomes apparent. There will be no tendency to straighten
and therefore no distortion of the thin areas. I gave some extra strength by
spreading some glue in the corners.
Now
the body and chassis can be joined. I started at the rear with the rear fenders'
insides and gluing them to the appropriate part of the chassis diffuser. Then
the top tabs of the chassis tub are done. It's a bit of a hassle to get the
glue in them with a skewer or the like! Make sure to align the sides of the
body and chassis by test fitting often. I can promise you when both are
built correctly you won't run into any problem!
Both nose sections are attached by first spreading some glue on the inside of
the body. There are no tabs, so a butt joint holds the skin to the radiator
inlets. Align it well with the tabs at the sides of the inlets. Finally, the
bottom and the nose tabs are glued together. Make sure to curve it exactly like
the top skin indicates, or else the front winglets won't fit later.
The last detail parts will complete the car:
1-
Gearbox and rear wing support
2- Rear wing and very small fender supports (4 x parts C12)
3- Mirrors
4- Front winglets
Wheels
The
wheels were not done as the designer suggested. I omitted all tabs and didn't
use the tab & slot connections. The sometimes light colors make it difficult
to see the lines on which the parts have to be cut. Work carefully! At the front
wheels the rims and plates were simply butt joined. The rear wheels revealed
a little misfit. The circle of the rims seemed slightly bigger then the red-indicated
slots on the plates. Maybe this was caused by my building method.
I corrected this by fitting a scrap circle on the rims and placing the plate
from the outside in. I cut off the area outside, including the red slots.
The plate was somewhat too small compared to the inside bottom of the rim. As
for the tires: cut them exactly on the black borderline! The rims will fit precisely.
After all butt joints were done and dry, I sanded the edges with fine grit sanding
paper and colored them with a black felt pen.
In the picture, you see from left to right: the rear wheels not sanded,
one front wheel just sanded and one front wheel after blackening.
My method of building wheels was described in an article in the April 2003 issue
of CardModelers Online. Look there for why and how!
After attaching the wheels and the last detail parts the result was this:
Conclusion
Prototyp's designer Ryan Hicks has done another splendid job. Again, this model has an exact fit, almost too exact-- the builder will have to be very careful in cutting, folding and gluing. The designer has his own style of constructing, with many overlapping parts, like a form of origami! The construction pages on the Prototyp web site are essential when building. The absence of clear indications on the parts as to which folds are valley or mountain makes the need even bigger. Also, the paper takes some time and practice to get used to. All of this makes the model not suited for beginners. The average builder can get good results providing they takes time to get used to the material and methods. When doing so, they will get help by the finely detailed design, the perfect printing and the exact fit of the parts. The kit itself shows no mistakes, so if things go wrong: who's to blame?
| Model: | Toyota Eagle MkIII |
| Kit: | Prototyp Easy Line |
| Designers: | Ryan Hicks |
| Availability: | http://prototyp.org/ |
| Scale: | 1/24 |
| Difficulty: | medium to experienced |
| Number of Parts: | appr. 90 |
| Instructions: | http://prototyp.org/construct/index.html |
| Diagrams: | 1 page exploded views |
| Fit: | Very Exact |
| Coloring and Artwork: | Photographic quality |
| Printing: | High resolution, gloss and matte paper |
