Pico

First photo: this is why you need a cover. I use lead free britannia metal, from ebay, I heat it in a ladle with a mapp gas torch to about 400 F, then carefully pour it in. Watch out with the standard safety precautions! The mold is a 3/16" under the cover so if you miss the hole some molten metal will be pitched out. Be careful and stand back! It cools fairly quickly but not fast enough if it's on you skin. This is the result of my first pour, which I think is a success.

Next step, make the mold. Using another 3" pipe, fill halfway with clay. Then press the item to be cast into the clay. Build up underneath if the item is angled, like the windshield. In the center, place a conical shaped plug, that, when removed, will make the volume into which you will pour. Notice that the plug is wider at the bottom than at the top. This is because the molten metal will gather in the bottom and be thrown out through the sprues. If it is wider at the top, the molten metal will be thrown up and out the sides of the opening. If this happens, it will spoil your day. I have some 3d printed door handles to pour, also I've made sprue paths with electrical wire and impressed the handles into the clay. I use Smooth-on's Mold Max 60 as the molding material. It is a silicon rubber that will withstand heat up to 560 F. (284 C.). It's main drawback is the mix is 100 parts rubber to 3 parts hardener by weight. I got a small kitchen scale from Walmart for $20 that will weight down to 1 gram. It's necessary if you are casting small parts. It recommends a 24 hour cure but usually is faster than that. Carefully remove the clay, spray with mold release and cast the second half. Remove from the pipe and remove the items from the mold. Make certain the sprues are open to the items openings. Next I made a box to hold the fan and a cover with a center hole for it.

I've been thinking about this for a long time and finally decided on building a cheap and easy caster for white metal. I've cast in two piece molds but a centrifugal caster will force the molten metal into the mold so you get much finer detail. I decide to use a small fan ( $10 from Walmart) and make the mold from 3" plumbing waste pipe. Plywood bottom with a turned center to fit into the center of the fan. It will be held on by rubber bands.

I took photos of the centrifugal caster as I was making it and will post a tutorial about it in the "general" discussion soon.

A decent result. I'll solder brass rods to the windshield frame to glue into the body.

It has taken several weeks to make the centrifugal caster and molds but it has worked well. This is britannia metal, a lead free white metal that I cast in a silicon mold material called Mold Max 60; that will withstand temperatures up to 560 degrees. I pour the metal about 400 degrees.

Because the windshield frame is so thin, I've decided to cast it in white metal. Mastering proved to be difficult, plastic was too floppy, brass did not work well, so I decided to use Ave's Apoxy Sclupt, an epxoy putty. Covered the cowl area with thin plastic so the material wouldn't stick and put a glob on. It's very slow setting at room temperature, about 6 hours, so I put it in a dehydrator. Usually takes 45 minutes there. Sanded it to shape and detailed with half rounds and small turned knobs. I did not cut all the way through, to retain strength. That will be done in the metal.

I have used Sketchup for about 9 years now and am sorry I am so good at it, because I look at the F360 videos and think "That would be sooooo much easier than what I do now!" But learning another software is a lot of work. I will eventually learn it, but I suggest learning F360 first. It's a professional software that you can get a job with and build your career on. And Bill isn't showing the best thing he's making with it. I think he's refining it. I'll let him unveil it when he's satisfied with it.

Download Fusion 360 - free for hobbyists - learn it, and you can make anything. Youtube has many videos and Udemy has courses, many are free: https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?ref=home&src=ukw&q=Fusion 360 .

Bill uses Fusion 360: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/students-teachers-educators.

Haven't seen the Revs F&F Delahaye. Saw and photographed Mullin's two F&F Delahayes when they were on display in the Petersen, several years ago.

Wouldn't that distributor cap be bakelite, therefore brown?

Lookin' good.

Jason, The powdered sintered material is the strong white flexible material; which is a low resolution material and it's very "layered". It is not suited for detailed items, I have used it on bodies, but I don't use it now because of the difficulty of finishing it . I now use a local 3d printer to make my bodies - see my " The supersonic has landed" discussion thread. The material used in the door panels and seat is Shapeway's smooth detailed material. The cost of those items is $32.80. It has very little layering and is easily sanded to a smooth finish.

My kinda model !

The wood area has the curved line, same as the 1:1. On my model, I will replace it with a piece of cherry.

I have received the seat and door panels and am quite pleased with them. They are printed in Shapeway's smooth detailed material and in the photo have a light coat of primer on them but have not been sanded.

Jason, I'm looking forward to the printed parts, too. Should be here this week. Here's some history of the Figoni & Falaschi bodied Delahayes: http://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=455 .

Add putty subtract putty add putty subtract putty. I'm beginning to be pleased with this.

I've decided the fenders don't have enough bulbishness, so slap on more putty, and that means the headlights move outwards.

Putty time.

After a review of some issues in the front of the model, I'm back in the saddle and ridin' it hard again. I've made a jig to hold the headlight buckets in an exact position to embed them in the fenders. Next reshaping the fenders to fit and placing the fog lights, again with a jig.

Ilario has some good stuff - I wish it was 1/24th scale.

I'm stuck with the grille, which is too broad at the bottom, unless I want to design and print one , which is possible. Rethink time.

Seat design is finished, it and the door panels will soon be off to the printers.