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Post by Starryeyes on May 26, 2018 7:19:04 GMT -5
Your scratch building skills are amazing ! This project make me smile every time I look at your progress pics. Awesome work my friend !
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Post by jffj on May 26, 2018 7:29:44 GMT -5
🤗 Aw.... Thanks Boss😄 Having a place to share our WIPs makes me smile too😊 Finally got started on the [totally fake] tin work....  I started to fab up the body in styrene, as seen in the middle, even had a good trouble free time covering the cowl... but just couldn't chance not having very time consuming problems later, with the compound curves in the rear. So I cut down a balsa tree... 😋  I started thinking I better reinforce the frame, so it wouldn't get more Weirdohs than I wanted it to.   With good fit at firewall and [totally fake] rear axle tubes, it was time for some bodywork.... Body- meet Belt. He's a bit abrasive, but.....🙄😄    Once Belt got Body into nice baby butt shape, it was time to bulk up- add more balsa wood for more shaping. Gluebombed it, then clamped it. John |
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Post by jffj on May 26, 2018 7:47:53 GMT -5
24 hours later, the clamps came off....  ....another quick fit test- 👌  ...and I was beside myself 😲😄. Belt really smooth talked Body- then I introduced Body to Disc😊   After Belt & Disc had their way, Body needed some hands on TLC, so I carved and sanded him some coolness😎  Ok Slick, looks good.   With the bottom end cool, it was time to fab up some kind of belt line. Sliced some balsa and did the glue & clamp thing again. John |
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Post by jffj on May 31, 2018 6:27:09 GMT -5
Bit more progress on the body, and finally started on the tires....  Decided to use some thick pressed paper to form the foundation for the body beltlines. I will use Bondo or drywall spackle to cover, build up, and shape them.  Making the buck, or pattern, for vacuforming the pie crust slick sidewalls. Hopefully it will work.    Mocked up, and getting the overall proportions "right". Was going to go with skinnier slicks, but this width looks better methinks. Now to make the buck for the front tires.... John |
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Post by jffj on Jun 2, 2018 11:38:20 GMT -5
Must hurry.... No time to chat 📅😲 😄  Pie crust- pattern, and successful pull 😎  Front tire sidewall- pattern and successful pull. Both this and the pie crust are .040" styrene.  In progress- a piece of .040" white styrene, 5" square, btw, locked in the holding frame being heated. Top arrow pointing to the electric heating element glowing, and bottom arrow is pointing to the sagging styrene. Immediately after taking this picture I pulled the hot styrene down over a pattern.  Removing the formed styrene, with pattern, from the holding frame.  All successful "pulls" and all .040" styrene, black and white. I did try one pull with .060" styrene, .020 over the recommended max of .040" 🙄 No problem as far as I can see, and good to know for future reference. John |
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Post by jffj on Jun 2, 2018 11:50:27 GMT -5
Here we go....  First step after cutting tire sidewall from the vacuformed piece is to sand a flat edge for glueing. Full sheet of sandpaper taped down helps.  Cut layers to make "tread" then glued together.  Pie crusts were much easier! Just inserted a strip of .020" styrene tread in the groove made by the paper tread on the pattern....  ..... then slip the other sidewall onto the .020" tread strip, and Voila! One very rigid, non-flexing, Pie crust donut! 👍😄 Sealed by flowing liquid Bondene around the joints.  First mockup of the totally fake official vacuformed tires.... 😎  Now to tackle the spackle.... Put waaay too much White Lightning vinyl spackling on.... Only thing to do is sand it.  Progress so far compared to mug shot. Next up are wheels and the greasy dude.🤔 John |
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Post by TooOld on Jun 2, 2018 12:10:50 GMT -5
If you could see me now I've got the world's biggest grin on my face !  It looks AWESOME ! |
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Post by modelcarfan on Jun 2, 2018 13:51:05 GMT -5
Awesome building this model. ITs a long way but when you are done, its worth it.  |
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Post by jffj on Jun 2, 2018 16:23:25 GMT -5
Thanks guys.....
Wait until you see it in paint!
John
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Post by jffj on Jun 3, 2018 20:19:28 GMT -5
Well, as I said.... Wait until you see it in paint. No scrolling and peeking now 😬 This is a WIP thread after all 😄  I should have just smeared the spackling all over my pants 😐 Got it all over them while sanding it off...  Did get me to read the instructions though, and I added some water to the spackling to thin it out, making covering the body mucho easier 😊  Dried on the left- sanded Weirdohs smooth on the right.  Sage green primer....🤔  Headlight buckets. Body is part of gas tanks from 1/48 Me 110 Derstroyer kit, rings are from Michael's, lenses are 1/25 baby moons, filed down to fit in the housings. Mocked up- 👍👍  Thank you for your patience... PAINT!!! 😊  The ghost of Greasy..... the greasy ghost of Gary.... 😄😄  This is the end..... of this post 😄 John |
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Post by jffj on Jun 11, 2018 12:46:28 GMT -5
Some custom paint for Greasy Gary's Highboy.  Box art yellow over the orange. I put the orange on because I knew the yellow (gloss acrylic craft paint) would be transparent, and I am very pleased with the somewhat custom look 😊  Also pleased with the sculpted body, and learned from my mistakes so I don't repeat them next time.  Just didn't feel like wrapping the other totally fake zoomie with totally fake asbestos, so I patched it with totally fake sheet metal then rusted it.  And finally, our Greasy punk showed up, with some wheels he ripped off some DONK 😄 Yes, those really are the wheels from one of my 3 DONK kits. John |
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Post by jffj on Jun 11, 2018 13:05:54 GMT -5
Started working on making masters for vacuforming the wheels.  Using .060" styrene, I layed out a mag wheel center, and the rims. Big and little rims, one size mag.  Start of the mag....  Building up the spokes....  Fabbing up a center cap. Big sprue chucked up in hand drill for ease of shaping, with file and sandpaper.  The final master. Cool.... but 😓 John |
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Post by jffj on Jun 11, 2018 13:15:00 GMT -5
Still learning the curve on this whole vacuforming process.... Apparently, much simpler masters make for much better pulls- vacuformed parts.  Being concerned about the master breaking while removing the vacuformed styrene, I glued it to a piece of .060" flat..... Tried a "pull" on it as seen, and total fail. Needed holes so the vacuum could pull the hot styrene down.  Drilled holes around the spokes, hoping not to weaken the plate.... but.... As can be seen, (1), .030" styrene was too thick [highlighted in orange], and (2), the master was just way too complex.....  ....and the only way to remove the thick pulled .030 styrene was in pieces 😭  The very much simplified mag, without backing plate or center cap, (both of which will be added later), next to a "good" pull, in .020" styrene. Oh well.... 🙄 John |
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Post by TooOld on Jun 11, 2018 15:02:20 GMT -5
It looks awesome in paint , worth the wait ! Too bad about the first mag wheel , the pattern looks great . Perhaps make the simpler one and then add some center caps to them ? |
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Post by jffj on Jun 12, 2018 9:31:11 GMT -5
It looks awesome in paint , worth the wait ! Too bad about the first mag wheel , the pattern looks great . Perhaps make the simpler one and then add some center caps to them ? Your command is my wish Boss man... 😄  Tires with the successful rim pulls. They were a bear to get off the master, but I got them. I used to change real tires off & on real wheels, back in the early 70's, and about the same...😊  Simple mag pull in place, ready for final fitting and glueing to the rim.  Good illustration of just how delicate this vacuformed stuff can be.  First time fitting, and didn't go well. Cut some tabs from the vacuformed holes in the vacuforming machine (highlighted) and glued them over the gaps.  Front wheel rim. Marking cut lines on the mag spokes.  Mag in place in rim, and flowing liquid cement in. The thin vacuformed mag is flexible, which helps get it to "fit" while glueing, and guarantees a Weirdohs style look 😊  So thin and delicate....  First run! Off to paint! Thanks for following along 😊 John |
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It looks AWESOME ! 
