1/16 Scale Army Vega Funny Car - Finished 10/14/2018

[nitro norman]

I don't know if you are aware of this , but there are two You Tube videos on Prudommes 74 Vega. One is a cackle video and the other is a video tour of the car . Short, but better than nothing. I found these by accident. Hope it helps.

[Mooneyzs]

Norman... I have seen both and they are pretty sweet videos. I have watched the one where Prudhomme talks about the car many times. I have even done some screen shots of it so I can see if I saw any detail that I was looking for...lol They have helped for sure.

[Mooneyzs]

Well Fellas... Tonight when I got home I had a surprise waiting for me that I had no idea that it showed up..... Anyway will Let the pics to the talking....

Yep.... You guessed it my order from Shapeways arrived a week early and I was surprised to get it so soon:

Here are the blowers, I ordered a few extra because It ended up being cheaper in the long run but you will see here that I have two different styles of the front plates. One where I had added the lettering for the Mooneyham Blowers and one where I left the lettering out because the lettering was small and didn't know if it would print correct and well it didn't. So I will be most likely to use the one with out and having a decal made for the other part:

Here are the injector hats. Sorry about the color it was hard to get a good shot of them. I am pretty happy with how these turned out but I think I am going to have to go back and revise and have another couple reprinted. I sized most of my holes at .016" and well I think it was too small because a few of the holes didn't print. I figured I would make them smaller than I needed and I could drill them out. I will get them fixed. These are still usable but would of been nice if they holes would of shown on there, especially the one for the shaft for the butterflies:

Here is a shot of the resin one next to the 3D printed one:

Here is a shot of the 3D printed Blower next to the resin:

[Mooneyzs]

Here are the 3 piece Hilborn fuel pumps:

Here is the blower and injector hat placed on the engine to see how it looks:

Back view and I love how the "M" turned out:

Holding up the fuel pump to see how it looks against the engine:

Here I placed the engine in the chassis to take a look at it:

[Mooneyzs]

How the engine will look sitting in the car from the back:

Here is a side view of the fuel pump checking clearances:

another front view with the fuel pump in the chassis:

I need to wash these parts up so I can get a quick coat of primer on them so you guys can see how they turned out with no prep at all. Then I can start prepping them by sanding and reprimering and then they will be ready for paint. I think I needed these parts to show up so it would give me some motivation to get back to this build. I have been struggling lately with getting anything done on it. I will get some pics up of the primered parts when I get a chance to work on them next.

[John Teresi]

Chris.........all the extra effort you have researched and done........really paid off.........this build is totally insane........this model will be talked about for years when finished

[futurattraction]

Those pieces look so cool Chris. Can't wait to see what they look like in primer.

[Prostreet]

Nice work Chris, Those printed parts look very clean, can't wait to see them in primer.

[Nitrozilla]

It's Christmas!!!!!!!

Chris, those parts look terrific and I have a feeling that those Mooneyham emblems are gonna pop. I hope you don't mind me saying so because I know how much time you spent on the blower parts, but the new casing looks crisper even without primer.

If I had a nickel for every part I had to do multiple times I would haz a multitude of nickels.

[Codi]

Whoa Chris. I really like your new 3D pieces. Totally agree with you that the blower with the "M" truly stands out in it's detail. They all look nice that it even crossed my mind that you could show it with a spare blower and hat on a table next to the car (being worked upon maybe?) with 3D printed rotors too! Yeah, I'm nuts.

Can't wait to see them in primer too.

Cheers,

Tim

[Randy D]

Hi Chris,

It has been awhile since I last checked up on your progress, very impressed with your efforts !!!

The work you do in creating your 3d parts just blows me away. Look forward to more !!!

Randy

[Mooneyzs]

John.... Thanks my brother. I am sure hoping the extra work would pay off. i have some adjustments I have ready started in the injector hat since when it printed it didnt pit a couple holes in ans I think it did that because I had them so small with intentions of being pilot holes and I would drill them out to a bigger size. Ita great to hear from you.

Scott... thank you my friend. I camt wait to see them in primee as well and I cant wait to see how your photo-etch butter flies look in them. It's gonna be sweet.

Joe... thank you. So far I am pretty happy with how they turned out. There will be minor prep work to smooth out some of the print lines but will be easy to sand smooth on this frosted ultra detail material. Now I cant wait to paint them.

Joe... It was like Christmas yesterday. I am extremely happy that I decided to take the time to draw the blower up and add those minor details and like you said i think the "M" will pop once painted. Time for me to start getting some good bench time in now and make more progress on this build.

Tim... thank you for the kind words. You know that would be sweet to have the rotors drawn up and sitting next to the build as well. I have thought aboit doing some sort of shadow board displaying the raw parts on how they looked next to the build. I have been having some cool ideas in how i would like to display it.

Randy.... thank you for the kind words on this build and checking back in on it. I am impressed with how wepl these parts turned out for thier first go around.

[Davewilly]

Hey Chris the new parts look great! Nice work on them.

[W-409]

Looking great, those 3D Printed parts are fantastic! It is looking very good otherwise as well, I'm always hoping there is an update in your Army Vega thread when I open this forum.

That fuel pump looks good, it would be very interesting in 1/25 scale to have on a couple of projects.

I have a question though as I might have missed this before... I think the 3D Printed parts look very good, but I'm just curios why did you draw the 3D models and have them printed when you have the same parts in styrene/resin? Especially the Blower you worked on and put lots of effort in it, looks very good... Why did you print those, as they are quite expensive I believe. I think they are looking really good but as I'm modeling on a budget I'm just wondering this.

[Dragline]

Holy Schnickeys!!!

Great update and totally worth the effort. I truly am going to be sad the day this beast is complete.

Thanks for the journey brother.

Bob

[Mooneyzs]

Dave... Thank you very much my friend. Hey I heard that you talked to one of my coworkers last week I believe. You will have to come say Hi the next time you are out at the shop I work at.

Niko.... Thank you so much for the Kind words my friend. So far I am happy with these parts. I need to get washing and spray some primer on them tonight. I am curious how they will look with a little paint on them. I appreciate you always checking in on this build. I will have to scale the fuel pump down to 1/25th. To answer your question as to why I decided to redraw the blower and have it printed.... I was wanting to add some detail that I couldn't do myself. I know I put a lot of work into the one I redid but I had messed up a few parts of it in my eyes. the mounting based I made weren't even and neither were the fins that I added in. I the real kicker was the fact that I wanted to have the "M" on the front and rear plates and the only way that I could think of to get it correct was to do what I did. Also with as far as I have taken this build so far I guess I was wanting to add that Cherry on top with that little bit of extra detail to really push my self beyond limits that I have ever build before and have really been trying to make this as exact as I can. I know I am probably nuts for going as far as I have and dumping the money into it but I am really having a blast with this build. It feels like the past month I haven't had as much motivation but you don't know how badly I want to finish this build.

Bob... Thank you kindly. There is no reason to be sad when this build is finally complete. I am so anxious to start some more 1/16th scale builds to share with everyone here. I have some really cool projects that I am excited about and yes they are more drag cars. Although I may have 2 or 3 going at once so I don't get burnt out just focusing on only one. I really appreciate you following along on this and everyone else. I am sure people have their doubts if I will ever finish it because it seems like this build is going on and on but I promise I will get done.

[gtx6970]

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better.

You pop in with something like these 3d printed pieces.

Keep em coming. I am so looking forward to this one getting finished

[Mooneyzs]

Bill.... Thank you so much. I am hoping they will look even better and be more impressive with paint and bolts installed...lol

[W-409]

Thanks for the reply, Chris! That makes perfectly sense and now when you said it I think I remember reading it earlier as well. This project inspires me to build something super detailed, but I know if I started that kind of project it would never get done. I'm looking forward for more updates...

[MitchP]

Chris: it may be buried in the massive number of pages, but briefly how does this 3-D printing work? Do you give someone a drawn spec (picture) or a physical part (styrene or resin) and they create an actual translucent copy?

That is totally incredible my friend and it shows your dedication and passion for detail!

Edited November 8, 2014 by MitchP

[Mooneyzs]

Niko.... You are welcome. I m sure you guys think I am nuts.... ...hahaha. I would tell you to go for a detailed build sometime But I would tell you to have other builds going on at the same time so you don't get burnt out from it. I know I have felt I have needed a break from this build but I need to get this thing done....lol I have been at it way too long.

Mitch.... Basically anything that is drawing up in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) system you can print 3D parts using the models created from that system. Here is a couple of things I just googled to explain it:

Here is what Shapeways says:

How it's 3D printed

This material is printed using the Multijet Modeling (MJM) process. Molten plastic is deposited onto an aluminum build platform in layers using several nozzles, essentially like a large print that sweeps across the build layer. As the heated material jets onto the build plate, it solidifies instantly. After each layer is deposited, it is cured, or polymerized, by a wide area UV lamp. The next layer then applied, and through this repeated process layers of thermoplastic build up into a model. When printing is finished, we remove the models from the tray and put them into an oven that melts away the wax support material. Next, we put the models into an a ultrasonic oil bath to remove any remaining wax residues, and then a ultrasonic water bath to remove any oil on the model. Finally, we inspect the models and dry them by hand.

And here are 2 other sources I copied and pasted real quick

What 3D printing is

3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.

How 3D Printing works

It all starts with making a virtual design of the object you want to create. This virtual design is made in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file using a 3D modeling program (for the creation of a totally new object) ór with the use of a 3D scanner (to copy an existing object). This scanner makes a 3D digital copy of an object and puts it into a 3D modeling program.

To prepare the digital file created in a 3D modeling program for printing, the software slices the final model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers. When this prepared file is uploaded in the 3D printer, the printer creates the object layer by layer. The 3D printer reads every slice (or 2D image) and proceeds to create the object blending each layer together with no sign of the layering visible, resulting in one three dimensional object.

Stereolithography (SLA) vs Multi-Jet Modeling (MJM)

Stereolithography and multi-jet modeling are 2 very different additive manufacturing technologies that produce accurate, precise, and “true to cad” models. People often ask, “What is the difference between these two technologies, and why should I pick one over the other”? Let me shed a little light on the subject to help you figure out which technology may be the one for your application.

Stereolithography (SLA) is the process of curing layers of photopolymer resin with an ultraviolet laser to build parts. Each layer the laser traces a cross-section of the part on the surface of the resin, joining it to the previous layer below. After each layer, the build platform lowers into the resin the depth of a single layer, then repeats the process. The printed part requires support structures to hold up and brace the part so it does not collapse. After printing, the support structure is then easily removed simply by wiping or breaking them off. You will find this type of 3d printing in almost every industry from automotive and manufacturing to the medical field.

One of the major advantages of SLA is the speed that parts can be made. Prototypes can be produced at fractions of the time needed for other printing technologies. Another huge advantage is the wide array of material properties of the resins that are available to SLA printing. There are resins that are crystal clear, have high heat deflection, and high impact strength to name a few. If your application requires special material properties, this technology has a solution for it. Lastly I have found that the accuracy is exceptional. Warping issues with some geometries can be a problem on technologies that utilize thermoplastics, but with SLA, this is not an issue.

Multi-jet Modeling (MJM) is the additive manufacturing process of a large industrial print head jetting material onto a build plate one layer at a time. The print head has many very small holes that jet droplets of build material and support material simultaneously to build your part one layer at a time. The material used is a type of photopolymer similar to the SLA process that requires a UV light to cure. You will find this type of 3d printing in a wide verity of business applications including dental, medical, jewelry, and manufacturing.

One of the major advantages of MJM is that the support structure is wax. This leads to a hands-off finishing process that requires an oven to melt the wax away, leaving your finished printed part. Also because the print head jets such small droplets, MJM allows for details in parts that are extreamly small and precise. Printing a screen, similar to that on a screen door is quite easy for this technology. No other technology is able to achieve the level of detail that MJM offers.

So which one is better for your application? Both technologies can achieve spectacular results, but to utilize the technologies to their fullest you must decide which type suites your application best. Do you need tiny details to be perfectly printed that MJM offers with extremely sharp details? Or does your application require a special material and the high accuracy and speed that SLA offers? Either way, I have found that the best way to fit a printer to your needs is to test the printed parts with your application. Without that test, all you can do is guess.

Edited November 8, 2014 by Mooneyzs

[Mooneyzs]

Ok Fellas.... I got a couple quick coats of primer on the parts and the only prep I did to them was wash them with Dawn and warm water. I wanted you to see the finish which will all be sanded smooth. This Frosted Ultra Detail material is very easy to sand smooth. Here are a truck load of pics for you to look at....

Here is the font and rear panels of the blower:

Here is one side of the blower along with the "MOONEYHAM" lettering printed on the side. it looked to print nice but missing a little bit of the lettering and I haven't a clue as to why:

Here is the other side with the same result:

Front panel on the blower:

Here is the injector Hat:

[Mooneyzs]

More of the injector hat:

Back:

Front:

Here is the 3 Piece Hilborn Fuel Pump:

[Mooneyzs]

Here are a few issues I had with the Injector Hat and as to why I said I needed to do a little redesigning to it. For some reason not all of the holes I had in it printed. I have a feeling that it was because I made them a tad too small. I sized them all to .016" of and I probably should of made them a min of .020. There should be 4 lines for the injector ports and there should of been the bore for the butterflies shaft:

Here on the opposite side it only printed one injector port hole:

Here are a few fun mock up shots:

[nitro norman]

The parts look great. I can't help but notice the texture on them. Please forgive my ignorance, but are they easy to sand smooth ? Is this material similar to styrene ? I work at a dental lab and we 3D print some of our partials and they come with a texture on them also. I know, because I have to finish them. LOL