stump

Thanks so much George, Leonard, Mark, Joe, Dave and Tyrone. Hey Mark, I like the sound of aluminium brackets...but I'm afraid I still find working plastic easier.. One of my first attempts at the belt guard was using aluminium but that soon got pushed aside....may still try something else later. Phew..(sweltering...), our Summer has hit us a tad early, and as such, bench time is now calculated in minutes....not hours. But, all the minutes do add up to progress......only on the tranny though. Finished making the air pods and fabbed up a bracket (mounted to tranny) to hold the push-button valves for the air shift. Gave it all a generous coat of primer and sprayed various shades of black and gun-metal. Added some air lines, and there is a tiny "T" hiding in there too, to split the air to both buttons. Various lines of hardware from several of our after-market friends. Before, as delivered.. Bracket and shift button items. As it sits now.. And the elusive "T" fitting.... Just need to make (punch from sheet plastic) 2 mushroom knobs for the push buttons, then finish off my air source. I'll try and get the tranny mounts sorted next, so it can be trial fitted to the chassis. More as it happens guys, which may be slow for a while....Thanks for stopping by. Greg

Hey man, this is going to be totally wild. LOVE the idea and concept.

Joe, thats looking AWESOME mate. I have time tough enough doing 1/12 scale, still to try my 1/16 builds. Not sure I'm looking forward to it now. Keep up the great work bud.

Man, this is looking sic Ken, WOW ! Seriously kool subject and fantastic crafting skills.

Could not have said it better. But Joe....the whole build looks AWESOME !! Great work man, keep at it.

Steve, go for it man. Been a while now since I stepped up, aside from some big scale in my very early stages (years ago..). It was these early tastes of what big scale could offer, which whet my appetite. One of my early kits was the original to the Charger you mentioned. Sadly, it now resides in the "to re-build" pile. My early efforts were far from pleasing.. The aftermarket is definitely not flooded with options, but they are there..As Charlie has pointed out, he is now catering to the bigger builders, which is excellent. A search thru the 1/16 stuff on ebay will also turn up some interesting results at times...motors, wheels, builders.... Also some pretty neat Funnycar bodies and Promod bodies out there..wheels, tyres, motors, seats, fuel tanks and other kool stuff.

They look GREAT Wayne. I have recently started "experimenting" myself...not that many good decals available for 1/12 drag subjects. What I've noticed though with mine, (only test printed on plain white paper) is that the art work looks washed out...quite a bit duller than what appears on my monitor. Any tips regarding colouring, darkening of the subjects..? Maybe they will appear ok once printed on decal sheet.....just haven't been brave enough to set it up yet....

Ok, now it gets interesting.......... Now, I am most likely, the only one to have this happen.....it's always like that. If anything can go wrong, it will happen to me, got that. You may have noticed, the finish on the Lenco is NOT real smooth.? That's ok, I ordered it in the regular detail. It replicates a "cast" look relatively well. That's the kind of look I was aiming for, tho, slightly smoother would have been equally acceptable. The "Ultra" which is also offered by Shapeways would be a lot smoother and probably a little more detailed, but it is also more expensive. Never the less, I'm happy with what I have. What did perplex me at first when I opened my parts, the detail was lost....... Really hard to notice at first, mainly because the parts are so translucent, the detail kinda hides anyways..... I applied a coat of primer not long after I got them. They were washed of course, but not harshly, as I was not sure how much rough treatment they could handle. Well, after priming, I was at a loss.....they looked like grey blobs. (ok, not really that bad......but not brilliant either.) I let them dry for 24 hours, only to find them the next day, still tacky. Yuk !..... I emailed Tim and the guy at Shapeways with whom I had been in contact with. With their help (and huge thanks to Tim here too) I was able to quickly find a solution to my problem. What I had, was some parts which had obviously "slipped" passed their (Shapeways) quality control section, prior to being factory cleaned. The process uses a wax like material to help support the production of the printed parts. From my last email from them, this is usually carried out before leaving to be shipped to customers. All good. Once the parts were soaked (yes, soaked) in baby oil, they were given a vigorous scrub with a tooth brush in a mild soapy bath. Another primer coat went on and to my surprise, they come out great. Yes, maybe the Ultra detail could have been greater, but as I say, I'm happy. Oh, the only bits I didn't use, was the air pods. They were a bit fiddly to try and clean, so I made new ones. End of transmission. Ok, last nights work. Had to re-make the reverse lock-out, so I completely re made the whole thing...... Made the new linkage too, couple of rod ends from Rob @ RBMotion did the trick there. All of this needs a tidy up with the paint, and I'll probably just run a black wash over it all to hi-light the bolts etc.... More soon, and thanks again for hangin' around guys. cheers Greg

Ok, well, kind of an update.....backdate, or something to that effect....... The chassis, well that got updated by going backwards.....back to a basic frame. The firewall area got moved back by 12mm, and it all lines up much better with the base of the windscreen now......thank goodness. The actual position of the motor has only been set back maybe 2mm, due to the fact the firewall has slightly more angle built into it now. The rear motor mount/firewall has also had the centre line (for the motor) lowered about 4mm, to seat the motor lower. NEW top bars added, right thru to the driver area. And I managed to save and line up my pedal mounts from the old chassis. Just need to add some extra bracing along the length of things, and I'll be back to where I was......um, before. Started adding those extra details to the Lenco. All the small bolts connecting the sections are simulated items from Scale Hardware. The bolts securing the end cap (on reverser) are threaded items, from the same supplier. NEW tranny mount/sliders also started. Had to re-make several items along the way.... Continues......

Hey, thanks so much for the very positive feedback guys.. Cheers Randy....it took some head scratching too, believe me..... Pleased it turned out so well. Bart, yeah...I can only imagine how you feel.....1/12 was small enough for me. Tho, I'm thinking I my need 2 for my 1/16 projects. These 1/12 units had a centre hole marked, not fully punched through tho. I think it is 3.2mm tube I'm using as a centre shaft. It's a nice "snug" fit. The sections are only pushed on and lined up for tiny bolts, no glue as yet. ---- And yes.....I think the ALL black is kinda over done. I'm hoping that once some extra colour gets added around this area, being fuel lines etc.. it may help to break it up a bit Bart. Paul and Dave, thank you both for the absolute best help anyone could ever ask for. (hi-jack not recognised....ALL great, valuable information greatly appreciated. ) With you 2 guys looking over (looking after) us guys here, I know we're in the best of hands. And to be truthful, I was not 100% sure which box I was trying to replicate.... but I am sure, this one looks better than mine. And Dave, having such praise from a master of your talent, I am totally humbled and indebted to you, for ALL your help and guidance. (now, get back to work on that body...... ) Thank you too Niko. You say no mistakes...? Ahh, that's because I don't show them. They DO happen though.

WOW !! That looks so real it's almost believable......you're sure it's a model, right... Great work, and amazing attention to detail. (two thumbs up from me. )

AWESOME....! Beautiful building skills Joe, this is looking very realistic man. Great work..

And, after only a short wait (approx 3 weeks from the Netherlands) my second order from Tim @ TDR/Shapeways arrived. I received a set of 1/12 universal joints and two very kool looking Lenco trans sets. These will detail up very nicely, and already I can see them being fitted without any safety blanket. Slightly smaller than the one I had made, which reinforced my thoughts that mine was indeed, a tad too large. Quick size comparo...... Well guys, that's it for now......back to the bench. Just awaiting another shipment from Rob @ RBMotion, then I can start tying all the fuel related pieces together, then get the motor done. More soon, and thanks for stopping by. Greg

Thanks so much Dave, Bill Chris and Darryl. Yeah, I keep reminding myself how much quicker it could be IF everything was available from kit sources..... Then, in my case, it probably wouldn't be any quicker... Well, the chassis hasn't progressed enough to bore you with pics or too many details as yet..... So my time has been channelled once more to motor related work. I had been avoiding this next part, mainly because I wasn't real sure how I was going to do it..... Several ideas had rolled thru my head, but none of them stuck..................... After going over countless pics looking for ideas, this is what I come up with. The first attempt was a solid (with art-work cut into it) piece of aluminium sheet. Curved to suit, but then I struck a rock trying to mount it.... Second attempt below........ Even this idea took 3 goes to yield something I thought was going to be satisfactory....... End result.................... Continues......

Ah, this thread exudes koolness to the max........ Chris, you have been extremely busy since my last look in, and I gotta say......MOST EXCELLENT work Bro ! The beading on the panel work is fantastic and I love the extra detail you're putting into the brake system. Just need to ask......when you're done, can you post it down to me. GREAT work mate.

Aww man.....Darryl, that is SUPERB man. And seeing some of the rockets raced down here, I'm sure she could get passed scrutineering if you run here down. GREAT work mate.

Aye....I see another winner about to bolt from the stable Wayne. As the other guys pointed out, you did good hiding those humongous front wheel openings, great work.. And I do like the sound of this outdoors theme you have coming....Keep at it mate.

Man, Tyrone.....you got a great eye for detail mate, and I'm so lovin' where you're headed with this. Keep her going man, can't wait to see this unfold....

Well, a little late, and not a whole lot to show for my time away....but it's progress. A new order went out to Rob @ RBMotion a few nights back, so a truckload of new fittings and hardware are on their way.. 80% of these fittings will tidy up the small fuel lines I've been messing with. Everything I tried just looked odd, or didn't appear to look right. A good bit of time has been re-directed towards the chassis again. I remember reading (in another thread) that, "if you feel it don't look right, or you're not sure things will line up, RE-DO it !" Or words to that effect. A good friend from here @ MCM has pointed my nose in the right direction on more than one occasion. So, taking the advise above, I set about dismantling most of my chassis. I've known for a good while, that things were just not so.....kept putting the idea behind me, hoping it would all pan out in the end......Nope, no way......(shakes head....) To give you a "glimpse"...the front uprights (door posts, beside the driver's feet) were about 12mm too far forward. The tops of these posts is where the roof bars come down the A-pillars and join. EVERYTHING between and behind (centre chassis X braces, inner top tranny bars, the engine plate loop, and all associated bar work) ALL, had to come out, and move back 12mm. I still don't have pics yet, as what I currently have sitting on the bench, is not exactly to my liking either..... The new top rails (front part of chassis) are now interfering with motor placement. More on that later....... Ok, to brighten things up, and to take my mind off things, I've done some fuel related work.... These few pics don't show the hours involved unfortunately, as they have numbered quite high.... In any case, I made a new fuel outlet, from main distribution block/barrel valve, leading to a "T", splitting to rear upper and lower fuel blocks. Combination of RBMotion fittings (.078inch-secondary and .104inch-main) and braid from several sources. Also added some hardware to the fuel pump. Again, fittings (these are also .078inch) from Robert. The fuel return collector is just small diameter plastic tube (2.5mm) with 1/16th aluminium tube x 3 tapped into place. I made the fuel shut-off from a piece of scrap, and modified one of Roberts banjo fittings to suit. I know there's not much here for you's, but it has taken considerable effort to get this far. With some luck, I'll update some chassis pics later on in the week for you. Stay tuned, and thanks for hangin' in guys. Greg

OMG ! How large are they.....1/5th scale. Bookmarking this one, don't care that they're curbside or not....these are gonna be kool.....

Hey Derrick, lookin' pretty sharp man. And yeah, as Bart mentioned, don't forget to check your clearances...I'm guessing you have already. Keep her going mate, I'm diggin' it.

Oh bugger...... That looks like sex on wheels. Superb work, and yes.....I would gladly maim to be that good with paint work.

Dang......I just knew this was gonna be a knock-out Santiago..(insert drooling emoticon) I'm guessing photos and even video go only some small way to showing the pure beauty exhibited in your enviable craftsmanship mate. GREAT WORK my friend. Really looking forward to seeing the final graphic's lay up on this beast. Bring it oooon !

I had a quiet chuckle to myself reading that Joe. I am going through my assembly of the chassis in the same manner as you, getting the top frame rails and associated supports done first, then on to the main top bars. Looks great so far mate.

Bart, these were my very first thoughts too..... And ALL digits are crossed here too Dave, as even tho I've been to the black hole and back during my building process of such a modified body, I WILL still GLADLY part with a wad of green stuff for one o' these badboys. Here's wishing you best of Aussie luck in the endeavour mate.. (two thumbs up)