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Big John

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    3D Printing........Scratch Building or Not?

    in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)

    Posted · Edited by Big John
    verbiage

    20 hours ago, bbowser said:

    That would be awesome for a diorama!

    Can you imagine 1/64 scale?  Scaling digitally, at least in the CAD programs is pretty simple.  I build my parts in 1:1 and scale them as (for example) 24=1 for 1/24th etc. We may take it for granted that the parts will print out the same size however we don't really know how that is translated in the printer.  All the parts should be relative in scale to each other when printed on the same machine. To find out if the parts are to a specific size we would need to do some test parts and calibrate the printer by adjusting the scale factor of the artwork accordingly. 24.002=1 lets say. Remembering too that there are variables in resolution that may affect the final size. Vendor sourced parts will probably be hit or miss unless the vendor is meticulous in their scaling.

    1973 Gremlin X

    in WIP: Model Cars

    Posted

    Thought at first it was the gas cap but couldn't visualize how the hatchback opened.  Ah the days of compacts. Hard to see from your pics but, does the gas cap have the details too?  Really needs a hemi.. Hemi Gremi!

    1973 Gremlin X

    in WIP: Model Cars

    Posted

    On 10/10/2023 at 7:26 AM, landman said:

    The car is gone too. Sold it about 4 years ago.

    Nooooooooo!  Nice touch the orange wheels matching the accent striping.

    You even a Gremlin on the front fender, should be able to mold that for the back round thingie... can't be the gas cap, key hole cover?

    3D Printing........Scratch Building or Not?

    in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)

    Posted · Edited by Big John

    The one advantage that I see in the relm of 3D printing for the high end builders would be in the tooling of more accurate tires. Mr. Wingrove's process already requires several steps to tool the hard resin final mold and the level of detail will be much more accurate.  I had considered scanning the old tire ash trays that were a marketing tool and abundant in many service stations here in the states back in the day.  They appear to be 1:6 scale but have all the tread and sidewall details of full size tires.

    Thank you Noel for another thought provoking discussion. 

    • Like 1

    3D Printing........Scratch Building or Not?

    in General Automotive Talk (Trucks and Cars)

    Posted

    I stand corrected, and rightly so.  I lost my focus on the title of this thread (My wife calls it ‘playing the Devils idiot’) and I did not mean to minimize the skills, abilities, and pure dedication involved in hand fabrication of models.  I am also a great fan of Mr. Wingrove and am inspired by his books on model building, and deeply respect the work of those who are so gifted.  I hope only to aspire to a fraction of that ideal.

    So I grant you then that 3D printing is simply the act of producing kit parts from which we can build our models.  I will however contend that the drafting aspect is still much more involved that just doing layout work. The 3D work we do in ‘Model Space’ and still contend are solid forms, can be used to provide dimensioned layout sheets as would be used for hand fabrication. However, we now have the technology available to have our models milled or print as a kit in any scale. 1:1500 through 1500:1 (as an example.)

    To date my only 3D printed kit has been in collaboration with Mad Mike on the 1965 Indy DOHC Ford, and yes we did digitally drill every hole for the bolts and linkage.  Mike even went as far as to create all the hose fittings, linkage, bolts, nuts, and hex socket cap screws, some with holes for safety wire. The dilemma is that in order for Mike to print the model in 1:24/25 or even 1:43 he had to go back and fill all the holes and fuse/union all the nuts and bolts, etc. to the larger units.

    For the sake of argument then can we also say that any machine work which involves the digital programing of mills, lathes, and routers would take those operations out from under the heading of scratch building?


    My rare auto models

    in Diecast Corner

    Posted

    Thanks for your kind words.  The miller is a Chris Etzel resin kit which had a assortment of metal castings and photo etched parts.  He also used Top Queen/Willis Finecast wheels and tires for several of his kits.  Yes, this is one of my favorite color schemes.

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