robdebie

Bill, I found your model just today, on Youtube! A fantastic model, my hat's off. And know I know your website too, with lots of photos and explanation. I have some reading to do! Until today I did not know about the Keystone 3D printed tank trailer! Maybe that's a good thing, because it probably would have become very expensive before I got in my hands, due to shipping, customs and taxation.. Welcome to the Netherlands! Plus I butchered the Lindberg kit so much that there's no way back ? Rob

Brian, many thanks, that is an excellent photo! It allows the projection of an ellipse on it, if only for the left side of the photo (right side of the tank's front bulkhead). It strongly suggests that the ellipse was flattened at the bottom. Only question is: how accurate is this replica? Is it the exact same tank trailer as in the movie, or was it modified to resemble the movie trailer? Rob

Here are two screenshots of the tank trailer in the ravine, at the end of the movie. It's 100% clear that the bottom side is curved, i.e. part of an elliptal shape. In a previously posted photo, it is easy to see that the bottom of the tank slopes down, from a point behind the hitch, to the 'skirts' with doors: What I cannot figure out is how that sloping section fits in the James Stevens drawings. That drawing has the same ellipses front and back. So if there's a sloping bottom, the center must be a taller ellipse. It could be that the center of the tanks dips down, like this. Maybe that is common on tank trailers? I did a bit of research of current tank trailers, and they don't have it, only tank trailers for concrete. The alternative explanation is that the drawing has an error, and that the front of the tank is a modified, lower ellipse, as drawn here. In both drawings, I made a flat / horizontal area above the hitch. But maybe the slope continues all the way to the front. There are crossbeams welded on the monocoque tank, and they could take care of that slope, and create a horizontal hitch area. Rob

I'm at this stage now. I made a 70 mm long 'straight elliptical' section at the front, and a 100 mm section at the rear. But I'm still very much in doubt about which of the two layouts the real tank trailer had. This shot from the YouTube video 'aVLOGinauto - Duel truck behind the scenes and ride-along' makes me think that the front end was a flattened ellipse. But of course it's a replica. Rob

I've done a lot of homework, especially on this forum, and I plan to build the 281 with the 'first' tank trailer. The James Stevens 1984 FSM drawing of the 'first' trailer appears to be fairly accurate, although I don't fully understand the sloping bottom, as explained above. No plans yet for a Valliant! I wouldn't know where to start, to be honest. Rob

Thanks! ?

Recently I obtained the Lindberg 'Dodge L700 Tanker' model (73072), so I could finally start work on building a 'Duel' truck. I'm using the 1984 FSM drawing by James Stevens as my main reference, plus the 'Building The 'Duel' Truck Pt 2 - Scratch Building The Tanker Trailer' video by TrekWorks, and screenshots from the movie. I started the construction of the tank, but ran into a problem at the front. The kit has a faceted shape on the lower side, but I want to make it a elliptical shape, since that shape can be seen when the truck is down in the ravine. I plan to cut out the faceted part, and replace it with curved plastic card - not a big problem. My question is: what are the most likely cross-sections at various points? The real tanker-trailer has an eliptical shape front to back, judging from the shapes of the front and back bulkheads. The Stevens drawing has the same cross eliptical cross sections at both ends, and a slope behind the hitch, that can be seen in the movie. Therefore the shape in the middle should be a modified elipse. Does a dip in the middle make sense, for draining the tanks for example? However, this screenshot suggests flatter front section. So, alternatively, the rear half of the tank could have a constant cross section, and the section above the hitch is an elipse flattened at the bottom side. I've drawn it here: The reason why I'm afraid to make a mistake is that the trailer might be too high for the truck's hitch, leading to an inclined trailer. And I don't have the truck yet to make a test fit. Maybe someone with real-world tank trailer experience knows? Thanks in advance! Rob

Matt, a huge thanks! I'll start drawing that logo straight away. Rob

I'm drawing decals for a set of 1995/1996-ish SCCA Trans-Am Camaros. I'm working on the Kenny Wilden #40 car, and it's done except for the large hood decal. I've photoshopped it to make it more visible, and I read 'TRIZE...". Does anyone recognize this sponsor logo? Many thanks in advance! Rob

To add a bit: that's why the best clear parts are molded form just a single injection point per part. That of course avoids the weld lines. Take a close look at different clear part sprues / runners to see what I mean. Rob

I do custom decal design from time to time, here's a webpage I made explaining the process: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/customdecals.htm You could also browse through my lists of custom decal printers, a few also offer artwork drawing services: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm#custom https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm#other Rob

I have two lists of custom printers on my Alps decals webpage: one with custom Alps printers, and one with other printers: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm#custom https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm#other Having artwork in bitmap (pixels, Photoshop) might be a problem, the majority only prints vector artwork (CorelDraw, Illustrator). Rob

Yes please! My interest in these models is growing, I just watched some YouTube movies of races from the eighties. In the open version, the driver/captain/pilot was not strapped in, and often ejected in a crash.. The color schemes are nice, resembling race car color schemes from that era. Rob

In 1990 and 1991, Revell USA and Revell Germany issued three car kits that included a Formula 1 speedboat and a trailer: Revell USA 1/25 Mach I Formula One Team, catalog number 7240, 1990 (see https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-7240-mach-i-formula-one-team--499727) Revell USA 1/25 Yamaha Formula One Team, catalog number 7241, 1990 (see https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-7241-yamaha-formula-one-team--947549) Revell Germany 1/25 F1 Racing Boat & Trailer & Ford Bronco, catalog number 5236, 1991 (see https://www.scalemates.com/nl/kits/revell-5236-f-1-racing-boat-and-trailer-and-ford-bronco--144150) Does anyone know more about the Formula 1 speedboats in these kits? Do they represent a specific design? The second kit has an enclosed cockpit, but are they identical otherwise? I remember seeing the Formula 1 speedboat races on TV back in eighties, and I might want to build one, one day. But right now I know hardly anything about the subject. Thanks in advance! Rob

Arctic Decals from Finland sells fantastic masking sets, four of them with different sizes: https://www.arcticdecals.com/tuotteet.html?id=21459/ Here's the one that would suit your needs: I use them often, both the 'inner' parts (to cover 1/72 scale wheels) and the 'outer' parts to cover the tires. Rob

There's another limitation to take into account. At a certain temperature, the moisture in the plastic will boil and form bubbles. PET-G is quite difficult to use because of this. Drying the plastic sheets before use should help, but I haven't found an easy method for that. Here are examples with and without steam bubbles: Rob

In previous threads about the plastic color bleeding through, I reported that I read in a paint technology book that the red plastic dyes are notorious for dissolving in paint solvents, and moving into the paint. My conclusion is: use water-based paints or primers. Or at least try it on a sample to see whether it works. Rob

If you're willing to try totally different 10-minute route, try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCKZ_fo4eW0 For the last part, you really have to crank open the Paasche. I tried it with close to ten enamel paints of different brands, and nearly all worked as advertised. Rob

Does it look like this? I used a spray can of Mr Surfacer 1200 on this model, but then I saw dozens and dozens of pinholes in the Mr Surfacer. You can see some of the pinholes as they appeared originally in the canopy coaming area, especially at the extreme left of the photo. I explored a few pinholes with a needle, and found a cavity (air bubble) beneath each one of them. The photo shows how all the pin holes that I found and opened up with a needle, for future filling with CA glue. Here they are filled with thin CA glue. I did not use fillers. It was a ton of work.. Rob

It's really nice to hear someone NOT complain about this model ? Mine also fits reasonably well. But there are some bad examples out there. I think that too short injection molding cycles are to blame for the warpage that they suffer. I saw one in action at Spa, three weeks ago. Great sound too! Rob

Here's another small mold that I just photographed, with the master on the left side, two castings and a painted set. They are 1/72 scale. The mold design is not optimal: the castings are difficult to release. I could have used a zig-zag pattern, for example. Rob

You're welcome! The heavy gates (as I think is the correct word) are generally 1 mm plastic card. The thickness is required because otherwise air bubbles can get stuck in the part, being too large in diameter to pass through the gate. Another factor is more difficult to explain, but I described the effect above. If the gate is very narrow, there's a real chance that the pressure difference during air admittance will cause the gate to (accidentally) close, and then remain closed since the pressure difference only increases. The mold is very flexible, so that happens easily. In that case the mold cavity isn't filled with resin, and you'll get a really bad casting. Rob

Maybe I'll put the graphic on my website one day. I do have web pages on decal design on my website: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/customdecals.htm ( Waving to Peteski because we know each other from the Alps printer mailing list on Yahoo / Groups.io ) Rob

I haven't cast a car body yet, and I don't know how to approach that with my methods. Maybe pressure casting has the advantage there! Rob

I hadn't spotted that line before. In that case I recommend getting: a single-stage rotary vane vacuum pump a vacuum desiccator or equivalent soft ~10 Shore-A addition type (platinum) silicone rubber relatively slow polyurethane resin, like Smooth-Cast 305 This will set you back some 250$. But you'll be able to cast resin parts as shown below. Rob