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1988 - 1991 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Scratchbuild


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5 hours ago, am73grand said:

This is going to be a fantastic kit.

Boy. AND HOW.

I got on the computer this morning and found that pic of the Eagle GT +4 and after sitting in AWE looking at it for a few minutes drooling, I almost wanted to CRY, for sheer JOY.

twenty years ago I looked for alternate tires for my copcar models and I wished, hoped & DREAMED I could find actual 1/24 Eagle GT’s or GT+4’s..  But that’s all I could do was just DREAM.  What little was out there at the time was geared towards the ‘hot rod’ set with the fat bigger in the rear tires and the skinny small ones out front.  Nothing anywhere near what I soughtI bought some sets from American Satco, and I still have them because they were totally un-usable for copcars.

Joseph at FB models had at first indicated he was pretty busy with other projects and would not have time to do these Eagle GT+4's.  I cannot begin to express how thankful I am that he found the time. On a personal note; virtually nothing about the passage of time and getting older has pleased me. this, THIS does!!  That technology has progressed to the point almost nothing is out of our reach.  at least in modeling. You've made an getting older modeler VERY happy. Thank you, Joseph.

And thank you Greg!  For taking the initiative to ask Joseph to do these for us.  I cannot wait to build one to completion.

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Greg and I were looking at tires under the body last week. The Lindberg Crown Vic tires are obviously too narrow, but they are also too small in diameter, at 27mm. We tried a variety of parts box tires to get the look we were after, and decided that a 28mm tire was just right for the size of the car and the large wheel wells. With that decided, Greg texted Joseph right there and the Eagle was rolling. These tires are made specifically for this car; fit to the Lindberg or Modelhaus wheel, which scales to 14" instead of 15", so the tire will probably wind up being a 70 or 75 aspect ratio. It's kind of fun in that it's the first time that 3D modeling and printing is being used on a Master Caster project.

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Thanks for the dedication!

Wish I was closer to Az. so I could help. But then I'd have to hand over master-building to Buddy the cat and he has that whole non-opposable thumb challenge issue.. Oh, well.. :blink:

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On 4/4/2018 at 11:28 AM, Greg Wann said:

The photo is a bit grainy.  These two bright light colored dots are the vents filled with resin.  They are close enough to the part to be effective and not be directly connected to the part.  I think this is much nicer than the typical sprue attachment points in model kits.  I think it is a advantage.  Some parts on sprues are as small as the sprue itself.

Now I understand!  Thanks!  Learning more tricks and techniques . . .

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On 4/9/2018 at 5:25 PM, Maindrian Pace said:

Buddy'll get it done right meow.

And here he is. Buddy.  My harsh and merciless taskmaster/overseer.  He tends to take over the model-building Command Chair, and yet still demands results!  whipping-smiley-emoticon.gif

Ever build models standing up? :wacko:

190408 - Buddy is my co-pilot...JPG

See him flicking the tip of that tail up? That's him half asleep telling me "Don't even THINK of trying to move me from MY chair!!"

I cower.

Edited by DEL
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Greg came by last night with the glass buck. I dressed it up a bit and pulled down glass set #1. Cut them out and test fit to the master, perfect fit, front and rear.

IMG_0536.thumb.JPG.348d2fca5487e71521f84f713629436b.JPG

I also added a REMOVE bar for casting purposes. This keeps the sides of the car from spreading under pressure.

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And with that, Greg took the master home to start letting the clay fly. Officer Baker - there may be a body ready for the DSC, we'll just have to see. Cutting it close, though.

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That is some beautiful work Mike.  I can't thank you enough for the contribution you've made to this.

Is that clear cast resin or vacu-form?  That just hit me. You almost can't even see it is there!

 

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Dwayne, It's vacuformed, as are all the Master Caster glass sets. WAY more clear than clear resin. I use a professional dental vacuform machine that was designed to do impression or bleaching trays, and .020 PET-G plastic, same stuff used for water/soda bottles. I buy a 4' x 6' sheet of the stuff at a time.

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IMG_0545.thumb.JPG.d0559f16fa6eadc4284fb2f8d09bb1bb.JPG

 

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Got the body from Mike Last night.  It is good news that it fits in my 6 quart pressure pot and also fits in this sheet metal.  I think I can make it work.  I was hoping I would not have to use my Big Bertha pressure pot to cast a body.  It is now after 10:00 PM.  I have the body mostly clayed up and cleaned.  I take the handle of my exacto knife I push it into the clay to make these dimples.  I think they help keep the inner core of the mold well seated in the mold so that it does not shift under pressure.  There are a couple more layers of 3/8 inch thick clay to form the base.  I might have a body by Saturday.  I should have the tires soon too.  So, the sheet metal is important.  The finished mold will be set on a couple of those cheap shopping bags and then it will be cradled in the metal to keep the sides nice and tight.  Body molds take a lot of post work too.

88 to 91 Ford CV 23.JPG

88 to 91 Ford CV 24.JPG

88 to 91 Ford CV 25.JPG

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Gorgeous work guys!  Mike, you're right.  That PetG is better for the glass that I think even clear styrene would be.  Virtual perfect optic clarity!  Now.. if you could just figure out how to put the shaded blue at the top and dot matrix around the bottom... KIDDING!!  It is beautiful.

And the casting situation looks fantastic too Greg.  Watching with minnow-baited breath for the first issue from the mold!

Oh, and you might want to set the proper date and time on your camera.  You're good, but I know you ain't beaming forward to Oct. 2105 to do this stuff!! I graduated from Hicks High School! Can't fool ME.   (Yes Virginia, there IS a place called HICKS, La. A bit obvious isn't it? Overstating. Declaring the obvious, etc, etc.. :wacko:)

Edited by DEL
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The body has the mold box built around it and there is 1000 milliliters of silicone poured in.  I mark the molds with letters that I make.  I also like to know where the front end of the body is, this is important when demolding a resin body.  Now I just wait for the silicone to cure.  I use clear GE SILICONE II to hold the mold box together.  Use only the clear because the colors take much longer to cure.  I can pour silicone in about a half hour after making the moldbox.  You still need plenty of patience for this work.   The blue silicone will have a death grip on the master body.  It might not survive being removed from the mold.  Removing the clay from inside the body is a difficult process too.  The clay is carefully and tightly packed in the body.  I warm it up a good bit to make it easier to put it in.  I have a insulated box with a bulb in it that keeps the clay warm all the time.

88 to91 Ford CV 27.JPG

88 to 91 Ford CV 28.JPG

Edited by Greg Wann
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2 hours ago, Greg Wann said:

  The blue silicone will have a death grip on the master body.  It might not survive being removed from the mold.  Removing the clay from inside the body is a difficult process too. 

 

panic-smiley-emoticon.pngnervous.gifafraid.gifnervous-prayer-smiley-emoticon.pngi-cant-look-smiley-emoticon.png

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Well...When I was doing the clay up,  I did break the joint on the passenger side on the rear door.  That little part that makes the window opening.  I broke it at the top of the joint.  It still looked good.  I tried to be really careful around these delicate areas.

Edited by Greg Wann
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Back when I made body molds for casting, I also used modeling clay of course.   But where I could, IF I could, I used a sturdy, thick-ish tape that was usually used for packing moving boxes.  A bit like very thin adhesive cardboard.  I would use that stuff wherever a flat place would allow it. Like along that side window opening from the A-pillar to the C-pillar. Then I would back that up with some clay just to keep the weight of the RTV from pushing the tape in.  It worked well.

Still, if all this goes under pressure in a pot that might preclude the use of tape.  I suppose it would just blow it out.

I am hoping whatever damage is done is not beyond my ability to repair.  SO I suppose we had best hope for good castings, eh?

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I set the mold out this morning in the warm sun to help cause it to cure more quickly.  Now the clay is removed and the mold is trimmed up a bit.  It fits nicely in the sheet metal as planned.  I should have tried it in the 6 quart pot to see if it is too long but I just remembered.  I sprayed in MANN 200 mold release and let it dry then I filled the cavity up with silicone and this piece of bass wood that is 1 1/4 " square and about 6 inches long.  I do this so that once it is removed from the cured mold I can collapse it to help remove it from the inside of a body.  This is something that I thought needed to be done on my body molds.  The wood becomes buoyant in the silicone and needs held down.

88 to 91 Ford CV 29.JPG

88 to 91 Ford CV 30.JPG

Edited by Greg Wann
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