1/32 1978 Arrows FA1.

[quattro]

Hey Chaps.

Get this one in before settling down for the Indycar race from Texas tonight.

I have recently discovered some interesting resin bodies available for the purposes of slot racing.
I know this is not a slot forum but I am buying a few and making static models of them
because I cannot find certain subjects I want at 24th or even 43rd which is unusual.

Looking at the wonderful 1966 Eagle kit just put out had me looking at Andretti and Gurney subjects from the 60's
which I can find relatively cheaply at this scale. Who remembers the Lotus 63 and 64. I can't find kits of them.
But can find something close to chop about. Same goes for the mid seventies F1 stuff I have always loved.

I am throwing this one in because I do not recall seeing an FA1 on this forum and I have learnt so much being on here
that I applied to the process here.

It started life as a 1979 Arrows A1b but a hacksaw and a load of styrene sheeting took care of that.
I wasn't going to mount a motor on it but then a mate gave me one when he saw the work in progress
so in it went. Won't make a habit of putting a slot job on here. Promise.

[indycals]

This is such an intriguing car. Very nice work. Perhaps you can answer a question - I never could figure out by looking - is this car flat bottom or ground effects? The year tells me it should be flat bottom, but the side pods could go either way.

[quattro]

It was a ground effects cars designed by Tony Southgate.




If memory serves Southgate had been at Lotus whilst the Lotus 77 and Lotus 78 went through their development into the 79.
From a conversation a long long time ago I believe that Gunnar Nilsson signed for the yet to be formed Arrows team
on the basis that it would be a ground effects car as well as wanting to get on with his own career as a Number 1 driver.
He had done so much of the seat work along with Andretti through 1976 and 1977.
He knew which way development in F1 was going to go and knew no one else had a clue on what was coming.
Such a terrible shame he never got to drive the car. Patrese did not win in South Africa in 1978.
But I always figured Nilsson would have been right there with him and probably would have.....
But then I guess the Arrows team would never have been sponsored by Warsteiner because Stommelen would not have a look in.

Anyway. You probably all know about the issues with Southgate also designing the Shadow DN9 for 1978 before
the Arrows team built the FA1. Given I have put this together it would be remiss of me not to put together a DN9.
Just wondering wether to do the Villiger car or the Ongais Long Beach car......

[indy]

Joe, that is a beauty! Nice job on the plastic surgery, great outcome. Keep posting the slot cars. We are open - all subjects, all scales, all uses, etc.

Jordan

[robh]

Great looking model!

[indycals]

I'd love to see Ebbro do this in 1/20.

[quattro]

A 1/20th plastic kit of this would be awesome.

I think I saw Wolf models were putting one out at that scale but priced at around $200.00....!

Thinking about it 1978 is a model makers nightmare unless you are doing 1/43rd.

We had the 1/20 Wolf, Brabham BT46, Lotus and Ferrari T3 come out from Tamiya and subsequently we have seen the Lotus 79 appear.

But those were the days when teams usually waited for the European leg of the season to bring out their latest car.

You look at the Argentinian or Brazilian GP entry list from that year and then look at say Monza in the Autumn

and almost every car listed was different. How does a model manufacturer of larger scale plastic kits decide on what cars to do for that period?

Just go for the winners and the oddballs like the fan car and the Tyrrell six wheeler from '77 I guess.

I finally got bitten by the bug good and proper that year at 13 years of age

and it was in no small part to the amount of slot cars available from that era

from England and Italy that helped cement my fascination for F1.

That and sticker album collections and the increased TV coverage over here.

I still have them, which is why the Arrows was done, and I still intend to add to my 'fleet'.

Guess we all have a vast fondness for the year or years that really got us into all this be it F1 or Indycars.