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Moebius Comet... Wild Bubbletop Show Rod- Done! 3-17


Impalow

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Thanks Tom!!!   I managed to get some bench time on the frame...  its kinda funny to me that 2 years ago I sent Andy (exesivefire) a message about how apprehensive I was to make a frame from scratch for a project...  He told me to man up and make a frame that actually fits, now it seems i have to make a frame for everything... haha

Here is where i left off last night:

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And then I tossed the engines on the sled....  Motor mounts and rear suspension up next:

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Off the chain Kool project!!!  I just love the enormous amount of scratchbuilding in this model and the craftsmanship is awesome!!!  The 1:1 Z car is way kool as well!!!  I'm sure you're having a blast with both.????????

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What thickness of plastic are you cutting with the silhouette scrapbook cutter? It looks like it scores the material and then you weed out the scrap.
I was thinking of getting one. Also what software do you use with it?
Everything's looking great on your build, and thanks for answering !

Jimmy

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On 04/12/2017 at 7:49 PM, Impalow said:

Thanks everyone for checking this thing out and providing encouragement!!!  I haven't gotten much bench time lately...

I picked up a new 1:1 car...

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and its been nice enough to play with it a bit...  the weather is supposed to turn this week, so hopefully back at it soon.

Oh man that looks awesome!!!!   I really dig the shorter profile...  I'm probably not going to try that on this, only because this is for a build a Comet contest.. and i need to try and keep some parts recognizable and intact.   However I do think yours looks better, and it has my head thinking of some other future projects.    I love the side pipes... this will most likely have something like that going on.    Thanks for knocking that out..  I love it!

Cool looking 'Z'!

 

 

 

 

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Have you ever considered doing a tutorial for other modelers teaching them how to create the program in a computer to produce something like the amazing frame and suspension parts you make? Many public libraries have the Crikcut(?) cutters available for use and this might be of great assistance to a lot o\f those tech savvy enough to create their own plotted parts programs.

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    Boy-O-boy!?!  Tom you sure nailed it with that thought!!

I look at those at the hobby stores all the time.  I think it

is a Silhouette  machine that I have been giving the big

look over though.  Is that a good choice also I wonder?

  So many question that need to be answered here!!

       David S.

 

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6 hours ago, mod3l Lover said:

    Boy-O-boy!?!  Tom you sure nailed it with that thought!!

I look at those at the hobby stores all the time.  I think it

is a Silhouette  machine that I have been giving the big

look over though.  Is that a good choice also I wonder?

  So many question that need to be answered here!!

       David S.

 

The Silhouette is the better choice for our usage. Cricuts rely on pre-loaded images or you have to deal with their bulky website to design your own. With a silhouette you can use Illustrator or Corel Draw(with a $40 software driver) or you can import your image directly into the Silhouette software and cut. The Cameo sries is good, I picked up a Cameo 3 about 2 months ago and love it, huge upgrade from my original Silhouette cutter which didn't even have a name it is just called a "Craft Cutter".

 

This build is pretty cool, probably not something I would build but i am watching this project for the fabrication. Can't wait to see what the end result looks like

Edited by Imaeechew
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3 hours ago, Imaeechew said:

The Silhouette is the better choice for our usage. Cricuts rely on pre-loaded images or you have to deal with their bulky website to design your own. With a silhouette you can use Illustrator or Corel Draw(with a $40 software driver) or you can import your image directly into the Silhouette software and cut. The Cameo sries is good, I picked up a Cameo 3 about 2 months ago and love it, huge upgrade from my original Silhouette cutter which didn't even have a name it is just called a "Craft Cutter".

 

 

 

 

        Thank you Chan!!  This is great info for sure!  I think many would love

to be able to build parts that are as amazing as the ones Eric makes.

  By the way,  Eric , you rock at this stuff!!

   I have ideas all the time that I think would work out if built using a craft

cutter of some sort!

       David S.

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On 12/29/2017 at 9:23 PM, misterNNL said:

Have you ever considered doing a tutorial for other modelers teaching them how to create the program in a computer to produce something like the amazing frame and suspension parts you make? Many public libraries have the Crikcut(?) cutters available for use and this might be of great assistance to a lot o\f those tech savvy enough to create their own plotted parts programs.

I realllyyyyy need to do this...   I think im going to talk to Andy and see if he and I could knock out a quick YouTube video...    hes better at that kind of stuff.

On 12/30/2017 at 9:18 AM, Imaeechew said:

The Silhouette is the better choice for our usage. Cricuts rely on pre-loaded images or you have to deal with their bulky website to design your own. With a silhouette you can use Illustrator or Corel Draw(with a $40 software driver) or you can import your image directly into the Silhouette software and cut. The Cameo sries is good, I picked up a Cameo 3 about 2 months ago and love it, huge upgrade from my original Silhouette cutter which didn't even have a name it is just called a "Craft Cutter".

 

This build is pretty cool, probably not something I would build but i am watching this project for the fabrication. Can't wait to see what the end result looks like

Thank you Chan!  great info...   My friend Andy has one of the newer Cricut Air machines... and it seems very similar to the silhouettes.. The downfalls we have discussed are mostly with the online software being cumbersome, I guess you can still import a .dxf file but you have to upload it into an online cloud service?     im not 100% sure on this, because i haven't used his machine directly.   

He also has said that my silhouette seems less accurate, but will cut smaller things...  his cricut cuts perfectly round circles,  where mine makes ovals that i then end up drilling out round.  

Something else we should probably make a video of... a comparison of the 2 machines... I feel that each have some strengths and weaknesses

On 12/30/2017 at 1:23 PM, mod3l Lover said:

 

 

        Thank you Chan!!  This is great info for sure!  I think many would love

to be able to build parts that are as amazing as the ones Eric makes.

  By the way,  Eric , you rock at this stuff!!

   I have ideas all the time that I think would work out if built using a craft

cutter of some sort!

       David S.

Thank you sir!   The craft cutter is amazing... for me its quicker and much more user friendly/predictable than my 3d printer.   Once you start thinking in layers, its quite mind boggling what you can produce.

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Thank you all and Happy Holidays and New Year!!! I didn't get much small scale modeling done over the past week... but i did order my slicks from shapeways and they are pure awesomeness!!

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On 12/11/2017 at 9:38 AM, espo said:

That's a great way to get a chassis done. On your tires, I don't know if you're familiar with the AMT tires from Round 2 ?  That seems to be the measurements of there 8 tire Racemaster Slicks kit. They offer Wide Whites, one side only, Whit Letter, Narrow White Walls and White Wall with a Red Stripe. They have the "Pie Crust" design if that will help.   

Here they are with the round 2 racemasters i have David.... diameter wise they were correct... but I wanted the massive width.. probably not accurate to any 1:1 thing at the time... but what the hay...

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On 12/11/2017 at 7:26 AM, Impalow said:

Thanks guys!   The Datsun going to be a fun full-size model project, started tearing into it yesterday... so simple, yet so cool.

I got a couple evenings of bench/computer time...  First up was the rear tires... I wanted pie-crust whitewall slicks...but all the kit options seemed a bit narrow or small in diameter.  I wanted something 1.25"dia but close to .75 wide.. After some searching  I just decided to model them up in my 3D program, this let me do inner and outer white wall inserts.. because showrod. :D

 

Waiting for shapeways to have a sale, or coupon code so i can get these ordered... they are a bit pricey.. 25ish for the pair...  honestly I should resin cast them... but i only need one set and I have zero knowledge of resin.

 

Once that was done... i did whats becoming my usual process of scanning the body to create the chassis design in adobe illustrator.

 

Then setup the layers and output to the silhouette scrapbook cutter for production.

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Stacked and glued... quick mockup... still a lot more assembly to do.

 

 

This is a really cool project, and certainly very creative. That is one of the things that I really enjoy about coming on here, and seeing so many things that people come up with.

My wife has both the cricket and Silhouette, but I have not thought of using them for this application. This is great, but how thick was your stock, and do you use a separate cutter to avoid dulling the one that cuts paper and vinyl?

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Thanks guys!!!

On 1/2/2018 at 3:19 PM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Those tires are cool. I'm curious as to how much they cost.

Here you go Bob... they are pretty expensive...  Hopefully some resin caster buys a set and makes lots of copies so everyone can have them for a reasonable price... (in writing) I would be 100% okay with that.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/WU7HX3SEY/1-25th-scale-pie-crust-whitewall-slicks-drag-tire?optionId=64469255&li=marketplace

 

On 1/2/2018 at 4:40 PM, Modelbuilder Mark said:

This is a really cool project, and certainly very creative. That is one of the things that I really enjoy about coming on here, and seeing so many things that people come up with.

My wife has both the cricket and Silhouette, but I have not thought of using them for this application. This is great, but how thick was your stock, and do you use a separate cutter to avoid dulling the one that cuts paper and vinyl?

 

On 12/21/2017 at 5:19 PM, seeker589 said:

Wow! I really like how this is going! That chassis is fantastic. Is there a tutorial on how to do that? I have been away - A Scrapbooking plotter?! Great Idea!

 

On 12/23/2017 at 1:46 AM, Jimmy Wilson said:

What thickness of plastic are you cutting with the silhouette scrapbook cutter? It looks like it scores the material and then you weed out the scrap.
I was thinking of getting one. Also what software do you use with it?
Everything's looking great on your build, and thanks for answering !

Jimmy

I mostly use adobe illustrator to create my cutting paths then import it into the silhouette software to cut, however i have used the silhouette software to draw simple shapes and it works really good.  You can create the paths in any outside software that allows you to export a .dxf file.  I'm just more comfortable in illustrator, but autocad and some other design programs would work as well.  Let me know how it works for you and if you have any questions. 

Im using the silhouette portrait cutter... The only major difference in the portrait and the other models is cut size, the portrait only cuts 8"wide.. which is fine by me...

So far it will cut .010 styrene sheets all the way through... 

.020 styrene it will score and then i have to snap the parts out...  basically prepare to lightly hand trace everything with an Xacto.. especially small intricate parts.. I recently purchased a couple 4'x8' sheets of .020 so i use it for pretty much everything.

i havent tried .030... but i would assume it will score it just fine.

i have used it to cut vinyl, and clear lay film for windows, works great. 

It is not the most accurate machine i have used(small circles aren't perfectly round), but for the price, it works great.

I have used it now for a couple years and haven't noticed any dulling of the blades from cutting styrene, you should be okay.

 

Edited by Impalow
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Another interesting, creative, and amazing project! I keep eyeballing these cutters and know I will buy one at some point. Keep up the great work and super appreciate all the great tips and info you share. So much awesome in here!

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Thank you Mike! 

A couple nights of bench time this weekend...  woohoo!

Made my own new chassis pan... still needs to be trimmed to fit and modified for engine/transmission clearance, but its a good clean start....

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I needed to  make wheel tubs so i Vac-Formed another trusty pill bottle with .030.... then glued that into place...  just  a little trimming and finishing work to go.

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Thank you Kerry!

Subframe/Floorpan/Whatever all done... Lately I've really enjoyed the challenge of keeping my raw styrene fabrication super clean and tidy... so this was pretty rewarding. 

At this point everything except the body is made from .020 Styrene Sheet and Evergreen Rods.. haha

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Edited by Impalow
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