NOBLNG

I re-made the hood mold and will likely redo the floor pan also once I add some body mounts to it.

Some more parts. I bought a vacuum pump and converted my pressure tank into a vacuum chamber. What a difference it makes in the quality of the silicone moldings.

Thanks Pete! I decided that I want to make more than one of these pickups. I don’t want to have to redo the mods on another diecast so I’ve been busy making molds of some of the parts. The tailgate came out smooth and just needs to have the back sanded down to the proper thickness. I didn’t have a vacuum chamber when I started these so the floor/firewall and hood have lots of tiny air bubbles in the silicone mold. These translate into goosebumps on the resin cast part. They can be sanded off, but any new molds will have the silicone vacuum de-gassed.

Don’t know if they still stock this, or if it’s small enough. https://www.micromark.com/Miniature-Brass-Piano-Hinge-360-in-x-15-in-

Looking real nice! I’m almost done my ‘29 and wish I had cast some of the parts. This build of your should be very interesting to watch.?

Nicely done! You’ve got the tow vehicles...so why not.

Nicely done conversion! I like it a lot.?

Well I think it’s pretty cool looking!?

For some reason, I thought those were just panel lines.? I think I imagined that the curve of the fenders would interfere with those opening.

This is a couple days worth of accomplishments. I made a lid from a piece of 1/4” plate steel I had laying around to convert my pressure tank to a vacuum chamber. I lucked out by getting a used Yellow Jacket 7cfm vacuum pump in perfect working order off Kijijii for roughly the same price as a cheapo chinese unit. My neighbour who is a refrigeration tech was kind enough to donate a connection hose for me. So I made the first half of the mold for the Willys cab. This one is nicely de-gassed, so hopefully no more goosebumps on the resin casting. Now I have to wait to get more silicone before I can complete the second half.

I would say this is more of a laser cutter than a printer...but it’s amazing what it can do. https://glowforge.com/

Just wondering...how does one enter and exit that vehicle??

Interesting project Ray. I think a tri-wheel conversion like this would look good on it.?

It is both filler and glue. If you use sprue from the original kit, it should have the same consistency as the rest of the body. By the way...Nice haul on those kits Bil! That 3-window is looking real nice too.

These are kinda nice lookin.

Amazing thought going into this one! I can’t wait to see it in primer.?

Very nice. I like the detailing on the engine and that is a neat little trick for mounting the air cleaner.?

Interesting project you’ve got there Tom! The second try went better. The little goose bumps everywhere are from the resin (under 45psi) wanting to push its way into all the little air bubbles in my molds. The oily residue on the hood is apparently from the resin not being mixed well enough. I bought a used vacuum pump today so the next molds I make will hopefully be better.

Roger and Bill are right about the bare plastic requirement. I laid down parallel strips of masking tape on the roof and used them as a guide to butt my seam strips up against. It keeps them completely straight and parallel. Then tack your strips down with very tiny dabs of liquid cement...like Tamiya extra thin in a few places. Once they are tacked you can remove the masking tape and flow a tiny bead of cement along the entire seam.

The AMT Crew Chief Blazer has a 4-1/8” wheelbase which works out to a 103-1/8” wheelbase in 1:1. Also the differentials are puny and lack proper detail.

One of these would be cool!

Cast my first pieces today. The tailgates came out nice, which were an open pour. The rest were 2piece squish molds. The dash came out not too bad...one bubble. The hood not so good and the floor pan...yech! This resin is from two half jars that I have had for probably over a year though, so all in all I’m encouraged by the results. De-gassing the silicone would have definitely helped also, but I don’t have a vacuum pump...yet.?

I have a large open metal garbage can that i toss them in. If I’ve used lots, or they’re really soaked, I burn them in the woodstove.

The glass is absolutely great for certain tasks. I have four 12”x12” pieces of 3/16 thick glass with polished edges that I use. I can’t recall where I got them? As for my bench...I should have put a piece of plywood down on it. I have drilled through my cutting mat a number of times already.

After snapping my wooden paint stir sticks trying to mix the silicone, I made some stirrers out of 3/8” stainless rod (since I had some). The biggest problem with round is that is is really tough to scrape the excess off. So I drilled a 3/8” hole in some .080 styrene to use as a scraper. It works great! The same could be done for any shape of stir stick.