Okay, so I’ve been wanting to mess around with recreating a classic race car, and I finally took the plunge with the Lola T70. It’s such an iconic shape, and I figured it’d be a fun challenge.
Getting Started
First things first, I needed to gather a ton of references. I spent hours, seriously hours, just scouring the internet for pictures, blueprints, anything I could find. I wanted to get a good feel for the car from every angle.
After feeling like my eyes were going to fall out, I started to model the basic form. I used a lot simple shape.
The Nitty-Gritty Details
Bodywork: This was the real time-sink. The T70 has these beautiful, flowing curves. I started by creating a rough *, and I mean slowly, I started refining it, pushing and pulling points, constantly checking against my reference images. I used a lot subdivide surface.
- Front end: Getting the nose and those distinctive headlights right was tricky. I ended up redoing it a couple of times before I was happy.
- Rear engine cover: The vents and the way the bodywork wraps around the engine…man, that was a pain. But, it’s such a key part of the car’s look, so I had to get it right.
- Doors: I wanted to be able to “open” the doors, so I had to model the interior door panels and the hinges. More detail than I originally planned, but it was worth it.
Wheels and Tires: I found some good reference images for the classic wheels and tires. Modeling the tread pattern was surprisingly satisfying, even if it was a bit tedious. I added some textures to give the tires that slightly worn, realistic look.
Bringing it all Together
After spending an insane amount of time on the individual parts, it was time to put everything together. Finally added materials and * is awesome!
It’s not perfect, of course. There are always things I could tweak or improve. But overall, I’m pretty proud of how it turned out. It was a great learning experience, and it definitely made me appreciate the craftsmanship of the original Lola T70 even more.