“Street Fighter” – Nigel Mansell, Lotus Renault 95t – Monaco Grand Prix 1984 – Diorama Gallery

For a long time the Lotus 95t was one of the few F1 cars from the 1980’s which was not available as a kit. There had been a kit issued back in the 80’s by Auto-Modelli HiFi, but that has been out of production for many years.

I managed to get hold of one these old kits on eBay, and then had the idea that I could 3D-scan the parts and then make a short run for the purposes of this diorama. That was quite a lengthy process… during which, the wonderful people at Tameo kits announced that they were releasing their own kit. In the knowledge that the kit would be made to the incredible standards that Tameo always delivers, I abandoned by own project and promptly placed an order from Italy!

Work began by 3D-scanning the white metal part for the cockpit, and then importing this into Blender. There, I was able to recreate the piece to a very high-level of precision, and was able to add a driver figure into the seat. These were then 3D-printed before being painted and custom decals applied.

The diorama base itself was designed in Tinkercad, with the components being both 3D-printed and laser-cut from 3mm plywood. The road surface was covered in cork, before then being painted using AK Interactive Asphalt, which always looks great. The wet track surface was created using some watered-down AK Interactive Transparent Water Gel.

The pavement section was designed in Adobe Illustrator, before then being cut from some 6mm AK Interactive foam using my Ortur laser cutter once again. The armco was designed in Blender before being 3D-printed, withe advertising hoarding being made from some kitchen foil.

I’m delighted with the results, and also very thrilled that this model forms Part II of the Mansell Trilogy – a series of dioramas signed by Nigel Mansell in support of UK Youth. These will be available to order from the site soon, so keep your eyes on the site and the social media channels for further details.