Harry P.

Back to the original question (whether the molds could be made for less $$$ by using a different material)... you already answered your own question. If there was a "cheaper, better, faster" way, they'd be doing it already! There's no way they would stick to steel molds if another material was ultimately cheaper (or better) to use.

Remember... do NOT post any hints or answers here! PM me with year, make and model. The answer: 2006 Roewe 750 (China)

You can either cut steel molds via computer and create the cavity that the plastic has to fill... or, according to your hypothetical case, create master parts trees (made out of...what? Created how?) to use as masters to create the poured molds (assuming that way of doing things is even feasible). Why would you assume that cutting steel molds is more expensive than creating some sort of parts tree master and pouring the molds out of another material?

Ditto! That's a nice looking pair of bookends!

Beautiful work, Dave! BTW... what's up with a Chevy logo on the underside of the hood? Is it that way on the real car?

That's a very tough chop to do... on any car with angled pillars and an angled rear window you'll have a lot of realignment to do after the chop. But it looks like you have a hande on it. Nice work so far!

Just a guess here, but I'd say the material the molds are made of isn't the major cost factor. The major cost is the actual work involved in getting to the point that you can cut the steel (or whatever material the molds would be made of). Plus the cost of the injection-molding machines themselves, plus the cost of the factory to put them in, the salaries and benefits for people to run them, etc. I think that the actual cost of the steel is a pretty insignificant part of the equation. And yeah... if there was a better, cheaper alternative, like you said... they'd already be using it. Ok, halftime is over, Madonna's done. Back to the Superbowl!

Send me a PM and I'll fill you in.

Did you actually read my post? That's exactly what I said.

I met Elle McPherson once. We got to talking... she was really cool I can't believe I had the guts to do it, but I asked her out, and she said YES! Then the alarm went off...

I don't agree with that definition. A model can be built from a kit... but can include a completely scratchbuilt interior, for example. Scratchbuilding is a technique... not a term to define a model by. Of course, a model that's 100% built from raw materials is scratchbuilt... the model that is built from a kit and has a scratchbuilt interior can't be called "scratchbuilt," but it does have scratchbuilt components. It's all a little messy.

My definition of scratchbuilding: creating a part, or a component, that didn't exist before, using any of a number of raw materials, including (but not limited to): sheet stock (brass, aluminum, styrene, etc.), rod, tubing or channel (again, brass, aluminum, styrene, whatever), or anything else that you may find applicable and appropriate to use. Customizing, to me, means altering existing kit parts... either by cutting away, adding to, reshaping, etc... but starting with an existing part. But the lines can blur. Chopping a top, to me, is not scratchbuilding, but customizing. Opening up doors is not scratchbuilding, but customizing. But hinging the doors? Well, obviously you'll need hinges, and they would most likely be scratchbuilt. So it can get a little fuzzy sometimes where the exact dividing line between customizing and scratchbuilding lies. And just to muddy the waters more, there's kitbashing...

That truck is in way better shape than the trucks the lawn guys around here have!

I think I might post a thread called "Hey, Look At This"... just to bug Skip!

ok, maybe the title I came up with is a better one? What do you guys think?

Skip, if you're looking for specific how-tos on specific topics, I guess you should look through the Tips and Techniques section (which is where specific how-tos are supposed to go), and just assume that stuff posted in the "General" section is just that... a general mix of all sorts of odds and ends. I see where Cranky is going with this thread now.

That's a very good idea. Each specific how-to (jack stands, etc.) as its own separate topic in the Tips and Techniques section. Sure would make it a lot easier to find stuff.

A few guys have made the point that you don't need all sorts of elaborate tools to scratchbuild, and that's true. You can do a lot with just the basics... X-acto, files, sandpaper, a pin vise and a Dremel. But having a few "fancy" power tools like a lathe and a milling machine will allow you to do things that are hard to do with hand tools... like turning aluminum or making very precise or perfectly evenly-spaced holes in a part, like drilling out a distributor cap, for example. I don't have anything more elaborate than a Dremel... it's the only modeling power tool I have. But there have been plenty of times when I wish I had a lathe or a milling machine or a drill press, or all three. I keep telling myself, "one of these days"...

You know the drill. No pix means it never happened...

Andrew O'Martin? Didn't realize he was Irish...

Hilarious!

The CF roof panel looks very cool. What did you clear it with?

He should have married Linda Ronstadt while he had the chance...

It's not my nickname for him, that's what they call him.

My brother met Pam Anderson poolside in Las Vegas last year. That's about as close to meeting a celebrity that I've ever come!