Post by jffj on Jun 14, 2018 5:57:36 GMT -5
Wheels back from paint shop!
Wha....? I thought I sent a set of Totally Fake Mags to them!? And I get 3 different wheels back??? 😡
Oh well, they're all the same color anyways. Cheap dollar store rattlecan metallic silver over flat black (1) then Rub N' Buff silver applied(2&3) and then toothbruffed mo' shiny(4)
Cheap cheaters too. Had to patch one of the Blem&H's.....😐
A wee bit of Photoshop-ing to show both sides....
John
Wha....? I thought I sent a set of Totally Fake Mags to them!? And I get 3 different wheels back??? 😡 Oh well, they're all the same color anyways. Cheap dollar store rattlecan metallic silver over flat black (1) then Rub N' Buff silver applied(2&3) and then toothbruffed mo' shiny(4)
Cheap cheaters too. Had to patch one of the Blem&H's.....😐A wee bit of Photoshop-ing to show both sides.... John
Still planning to vacuform Gary's skull, so Red X rayed it to make sure it will fit in the vacuforming machine. 
Layered up balsa wood to carve out Gary's skull and made sure it would fit his Highboy. 
Cut his skull profile out on the scroll saw.
Then it was time to slice! 😊
Dude! If we had eyeballs, we could say, here's looking at ya..... 🙄😄😄
Cool soft foamy sanding thing to smooth Gary's face.
😲 Weird? Or just bird-butthead ughly? 
Oh shut up.... it's just White Lightning. It's good for your complexion 😄😄
Gary Godzilla? 
Oh..... sorry dude, thought you were ready.... 
Well..... uh..... 
Uh, are you serious? You really think I am going to let you enter the Mild to Wild Contest looking like that?
You look like some kinda weird blue-lipped bird..,. 
Painted ears??? Wha....?
Whatever.... enjoy yourself while you can- you got an appointment with the plastic surgeon 😄
Awesome whittlin' !!
Looks like Gary likes 😎
Oh, calm down Gary.... I won't feel a thing 😄 Had to be done dude, if we're gonna vacuform you properly. Besides- you're just a figment of your imagination 🙄
See? Nothing to worry about. Just sit still. It will be over shortly....
Gary? Can you hear me Gary?? 😄 Ahh.. nice successful pull 👍👍
If nothing else, I love watching the plastic sag as it heats up. You can see a bit of the orange glow of the heating element, just below the blue of the top of the vacuform machine. Right after taking this picture I pulled the hot styrene down over......
.....Gary's lower left side, and another good pull it was 😊
First step, after cutting the vacuformed part from the styrene blank, is to cut and sand the glueing edge. Pictured is one half of the gas tank for Gary's Highboy, that I am running back and forth on a piece of fairly coarse sandpaper, trying to get a flat, level, edge, the whole way around. Light touch required. 
Next step was to glue both half pieces to a piece of styrene sheet, for better glueing, but it also adds some strength. I used up all my .040" white styrene, which is why the one side is black .040" styrene. 
Cut a piece of styrene sheet to glue to the top of the bottom half of Gary's head. Will cut another one out, tracing the outline of the one shown, and glue the head top to it. 
Here I am glueing the head top to the other piece of styrene, lining it up with the pencil marks as I go around with the liquid cement.
And here is Gary glued up. I decided to cut his mouth area open before glueing his top on. Not sure if that will make installing his dentures and tongue easier.... or harder. We shall see. 
Now the fun begins.... patching him up, and then applying putty. 
Here's Gary, post op, with tape holding his styrene grafts in place while the cement cures 😊
Balsa wood master carved and test fitting in place.
Some vacuforming info, from forming the bottom of the tank.
Top and bottom ready for cleanup and sanding edges to glue together. You can see how the vacuum pulls the hot styrene into the grain of the balsa wood if not smoothed.
The sanding process. Sand and check- repeatedly.
Arrow pointing to thicker piece of styrene sheet to which both halves are glued. Makes glueing much easier and a stronger joint. Preferable, if possible.
Using some very thin styrene round stock to cover slight gaps and trim the tank joint.
The finished tank and the wood master. 
Used the tip off 4 ball point pens, mounted on styrene backing plates for a pair of masters to vacuform one piece of clear plastic over. 
Fresh from the machine. This was clear plastic from a salad container. Two of the pen tips have been pulled out, and two are still in the vacuformed piece. The backing plates came off when I tried to pull them out as a unit. 
One of the taillights cleaned up, next to the license plate, which is two layers of styrene sheet- individual letters cut out and glued in place.
Lenses with two coats of transparent red acrylic paint inside. 
Lense units attached to a piece of styrene angle stock, and mocked up in place. 
Finished taillight and plate unit mocked up before glueing. Taillights chrome is the old faithful chrome silver brush on variety.
Balsa wood seat back carved and sanded to fit...
A coat of thinned spackling brushed on the seat to seal the wood, and for sanding smooth before paint.
Top seat picture: flat red craft acrylic. Bottom seat picture: glossy red craft acrylic. Mix of red and golden sunset flat craft acrylics on Gary.
Crybaby Gary getting fitted for some arms....
Paper arm patterns....
....in place on styrene shoulder tube ?? 😄
Carving out steering arm from two layers of balsa wood glued together. Arrow pointing to the balsa wood blank for his shifter arm.
Carved....
...and smoothed, buff for vacuforming 😊