84vanagon Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Actually Chris, I do have a Vac-U-Form-----but I remember you have to have certain kind of sheets to use because of the fixture. Years ago I bought one of those clear sheets off the 'Bay, but the end result was so hazy and cloudy looking, it was unacceptable looking to me. Is there a source of of some really clear plastic (Not styrene) to use in that? I know how to make a buck for the windshield and backlite if need be. The clear stencil sheet looks great. The clarity is impressive (along with your work). You might look at Squadron.com # SQ9003 "Clear ThermaForm". I don't know if it is too thick or not, but it may work with vacu-forming. The people at Squadron are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Actually Chris, I do have a Vac-U-Form-----but I remember you have to have certain kind of sheets to use because of the fixture. Years ago I bought one of those clear sheets off the 'Bay, but the end result was so hazy and cloudy looking, it was unacceptable looking to me. Is there a source of of some really clear plastic (Not styrene) to use in that? I know how to make a buck for the windshield and backlite if need be. I will try and dig you up a source that I have had pretty good luck with. They are not perfect, but they are a lot better then a lot of the kit glass. They are crystal clear; however, sometimes there is a tiny bump in them. It's a good enough trade off for me. From a couple feet a way they are unnoticable untill you get right on top of them and in real good light. Yeah, they are not styrene, I forgot now what kind of plasitc they are but they work well and have a protective coating on that you can leave on until you are ready for final assembly. I, too, got some off ebay that were not so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62SS Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Bill, Your work is incredible. I am honored to be posting on the same forum as you. Your attention to detail is unbelievable. I hope someday to see your work in person. YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 The slow but sure progress of the Ford marches on! I wanted to get the steering wheel and dash test fitted to see how they’ll fit………so the steering wheel was reattached to the dash, but there was a problem! I must have lost the piece that held the steering wheel in the dash as it would not stay put on it’s own. See what happens when you drag out a project? So I made my own bracket out of stainless steel sheet and HO scale bolts. Here’s the pic where the dash is just test fitted in place…………. I figured better to test fit the dash before the doors go in, that way if there’s any binding, it’ll be easier to trim the dash down than it would be to grind away at the doors. I almost forgot that I need an inside mirror! Swiping the mirror out of the diecast, I cut away the too big “arm†and made my own out of tinned wire, cut a tiny piece of insulation for the end and epoxied this into the mirror. The “mirror†face is a super shined up piece of aluminum which has since been epoxied to the face of the base. I'll affix the mirror in place before the final placement of the dash. Now on to the door hinging! In a bit of fit of getting the driver’s door to cooperate, I snapped the vent wing off the door……………that’s why you see the rather cockeyed piece hanging below where it’s attached. No big deal as the door panel will cover this…………I just wanted the vent window to go back to where it should be. Then I another thread, I made reference to how the door didn’t want to close all the way shut. The culprit turned out to be the watch pin in the driver’s door which was not latching the way it should. This was an error on my part as I didn’t account for paint and the area was expanded somewhat more than I wanted. The watch pin is still there for aesthetics, but it won’t latch like the passenger side, and the door is staying shut by friction. Note the placement of the hinges and how epoxy was flowed around them to “lock†them in. One thing that’s very important to me when hinging doors is to make sure the doors open pretty much straight out in line with the ground. If you look back in previous posts when I was doing the original hinging, you’ll see where the supports were made to be as straight as possible. Whether looking at them from the front or side, they need to be straight, otherwise you’ll have a door that either scrapes the sidewalk, or is up in the air like a butterfly! I actually epoxied the doors last night and fully shut the doors while it sets………….taking a look at the pics, you can see that the doors now are lined up well in their openings, and there are no huge gaps around the perimeter. I still need to touch up the paint in a couple spots as well as BMF the vent window frames. As an aside, there were some posts about using Future Floor Wax in various applications. I can now vouch for the fact that Future saved the day for me when it came a somewhat noticeable scratch I put on the rear window. I was trying to make a headliner out of tape------when I got to the C pillar the exacto blade slipped and put a scratch on the lower edge of the window. I was trying to rub it out with the polishing cloths, but clear stencil sheet is not a substance to be rubbed out like clear styrene! Well, I got as far as I could, got out my widest brush, and put on one good swipe of Future on the entire back window. Needless to say, you can’t see the haziness, or the scratch as Future made the back window crystal clear! This was the first time I tried something like that and now I’m sold! Speaking of headliners, you can barely see in the pics where I’m making a headliner, albeit piece by piece. I’m gonna work reaaaaallll slow as I don’t want a single smudge anywhere where it doesn’t belong! Hindsight dictates I should have did this along with the bodywork......but I'll know for next time if I need this done. There will be a couple more updates, as I’ll soon be ready to send chrome out to be replated--------during that time I may get started on my next car. You just gotta wait to see what that is! Stay tuned……………… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jairus Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Bill, Nice door line fit! That is a huge problem for most modelers who open doors... but not something hard for a "God" like you! (Someone on another thread mentioned you being the closest thing to a Modeling God we have here) At any rate, I wanted to suggest you look for Petg. for your vacuum forming windows. This is the material that all "blister-packs" are made with. The plastic is easy to heat, stays shiny and forms completely. I have used it for years making complete slot car bodies and window glass, fenders and such. Cast a windscreen for a Lotus 25 just yesterday morning!!! No worries... but you will need to contact your local plastics supply and ask for .010 or .015. NO THICKER! Two reason: not realistic thickness and the plastic holds the heat too long thus transferring the heat to the master. If you are using a plastic master, it CAN be warped due to too much heat transfer from the plastic. I NEVER use clear styrene. Byuterate is better, Lexan best but Petg easier to aquire and kind of in-between. The '55 is looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 Thanks for the tip Jairus! I've never heard of Petg.. We have a local plastics place here.....I'll have to definitely check on that! That Lotus windshield looks great! I see what you mean about scale thickness as anything thicker on the Lotus would be out of scale and ill appearing. I dunno about me being the "god " part..............I have my moments with models! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E St. Kruiser50 Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Actually Chris, I do have a Vac-U-Form-----but I remember you have to have certain kind of sheets to use because of the fixture. Years ago I bought one of those clear sheets off the 'Bay, but the end result was so hazy and cloudy looking, it was unacceptable looking to me. Is there a source of of some really clear plastic (Not styrene) to use in that? I know how to make a buck for the windshield and backlite if need be. Hey Bill I did plastics and vacuum forming for nearly 40 years for a career. Lancer Co. Slot racing bodies from '64 - '77 in SoCal. Then I worked at two huge vacuum forming co.'s in Portland. One, the largest on the West Coast. I made original patterns and molds for Hewlett Packard, Freightliner. Peterbilt, Burgerking, Pepsi, etc. High speed stuff and single station stuff. Proto-types, one-off's - you name it, I did it. Aluminum, steel, fiberglass, resins and epoxies of all sorts. And plastics of all sorts. Tons of clear plastic packaging. I was not only a pattern-maker and proto-type machinist, and tool maker, but a project engineer, mechanical engineer, and design engineer - all in plastic vacuum forming, for 40 years. We used mostly polyethelene, ABS, PVA, and probably what you're looking for, PVC sheet, Butyrate sheet, and Lexan sheet (Polycarbonate). Seven thousands of an inch thick (.007), to one half inch thich(.500) was the most common range of thicknesses. If you need help with molds , plastics or tooling materials, and plastic sheet, just give a holler. I still work with a local Pattern supply shop here in town, and have sources for plastic sheet, so if there's something you need, or a supply house for plastics or other materials you'd like to find in your area of PA, I may be able to help. All the best - Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I wish I could be that good That is surely coming out very nice man, can't wait to see it on the showwroom floor!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodBurNeR Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Bill, i have seen your work before and well....your user name fits you very well! This kind of detail work actually gets me motivated to detail my own models, thanks for sharing your step by step builds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Goschke Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Bill, the Fairlane looks great... glad to see you were able to work around the door problem you mentioned in the other thread! Plus those gaps and the opening angle are super; that's the kind of challenge that has always kept me from opening doors on any car model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jello Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Looking real good Bill! I like the way you take the time to explain all that amazing work you do! Your attention to getting it right is just awesome. Thanks & keep up the good work. ~ Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Kren Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 WOW Bill!! great job so far keep going love the colors too hope to see it in toledo this October! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juergen Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 hi ! it´s absolut imazing what i can see here !!! great work and detailing !!! i can´t find the right english words for this great job !!! greets jürgen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTH KUSTOMS Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Very detail'd, and very well thought out. great job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 35,000+ hits?? You guys really liked this one! Don't worry I haven't abandoned it..........just had it on hiatus for a while. Today I was soldering up pedals (forgot to take pics! ) and starting to put them in the dash. Hopefully, I'll try to get the dash put in permanently and whatnot, but with Toledo coming up in a few days, not much will get done to it. It will be there up on wheels, but not completed though. Chrome's gotta be sent out after I modify the rear bumper, then I can finally call this one done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonioseven Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Unbelievable!! I'm in awe at the terrific details you put into your builds!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jairus Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Yup... gotta fill those exhaust outlets! I did that on my '55 with putty and it cracked later after the chrome was applied. Suggest you use hot sprue and superglue to fill the holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Yup... gotta fill those exhaust outlets! I did that on my '55 with putty and it cracked later after the chrome was applied. Suggest you use hot sprue and superglue to fill the holes. Hmmm.......thanks for the heads up Jairus! I was just about to fill those outlets with putty.............glad you told me that! I can shape some thick plastic to fill the exhaust, glue, then superglue for a sure tight fill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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