Fat Brian

Some types of tire materials need plasticizers called Phthalates to be soft. Over time they leech out of the tires and can "burn" any bare plastic that they touch. These chemicals are the cause of "tire burn" in older kits, they transfer to the hard plastic and soften it. If you've ever had a cheep tool with a rubber handle that's always sticky this is why. You can also develop an allergy to these chemicals over repeated exposures.

This might be closer to 1/2" in 1/20 scale but it will look the part.

Those tires are from the AMT Viper kits. The last issue of this kit just had four of the big rear tires.

I bought this off Shapeways but this is expensive even compared to other things I've bought off there. Everything this person has is on the pricey side.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking, for as much as the printed set would cost I can learn a new skill because I've got other tires I'd like copies of as well.

Alright, that's where I'll start. I don't have an air compressor so I'm glad I can do at least this project without a pressure pot.

Thank you both for the great information. What mold material and resin have you each had the most success with?

Believe me I would have rather just gotten them 3d printed but the set of 10 with rims was over $200, this single tire cost $25. I figure for that much I could at least learn a new skill.

I tend to use different colors depending on the final color I'm going for. Light colors get white, medium colors get gray, reds and oranges get red oxide, black gets black primer. I would hit some spare parts with white primer and see if or how bad the orange bleeds through. If you're going with a very light color some people have had success with a coat of silver under their primer.

The orientation of the tire was one thing I was thinking about. I had planned to fill the tire with clay and cover one side of it to the mid point of the tread and pour one half of the mold. Then remove the clay from the outside of the tire and add a few vents to the edge of the treads and a pour hole to that feeds to the center of the tire where it can be trimmed away and hidden by the rim. Basically, the mold would lay flat and I could inject the casting material down a tube into the center of the tire and it could vent to the edge. I would prefer to use rubber but I don't have a pressure pot so hard resin would be easier to repair any air bubbles on.

It looks like I'm going to need to cast some tires for some upcoming projects and I have some questions. 1. Do resin and the "rubber" most aftermarket companies use need different mold materials? I haven't decided which material to make the tires out of so if they need a specific mold material I need to know that first. 2. Is there any specific thing either material needs in a mold? Is one material easier to construct a mold for? 3. Do I need a pressure pot to cast the "rubber" material like I do with resin? 4. Would it be easier to split the master in half and make a single sided mold instead of a two sided mold? Naturally I would only use this type mold for resin casting. Here is one of the tires I want to cast, I need at least 14 or 16 of these.

The AMT Bigfoot kit that's out now in Hotwheels livery has a cantilever 4 link suspension and nitrogen shocks. The axles are a bit beefy but there are a lot of donor parts that could be used.

Ron Olson has a 3d printed version on his Shapeways store. I don't have this in particular but everything I've gotten from him has been high quality. I'd opt for the smoothest fine plastic, the price difference is usually worth it. https://www.shapeways.com/product/BSBRUX77W/427-sohc-1-25-w-hilborne-injection

The ignition coil on the 86 is between the battery and shock tower on the (US) drivers side of the engine bay.

The AMT 69 Galaxie has a Hilborn injected cammer and is pretty easy to find.

"Wanted" is for a obtaining a thing you lack, "Trade" is for getting rid of a thing you have in excess.

Ok, the Hobby Lobbies in my area all carry the US boxing, I picked one up a few months back.

The price on these might drop once the Bronco kit hits shelves, the Cougar was out recently too so it isn't hard to find.

That's the US boxing, due to the size of the parts trees there's no way they could get it in a US style box. The US box is smaller than the German boxing, the instructions get bent up a bit. German box US box

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That's all that had to be said, if the expected return didn't justify the amount to design a modern style tooling that's something I can understand. Saying the choice was made because "old kits have a fun factor" sounds like public relations speak. And yes, if the old tool could have been found and run again that would have been great and no one would expect anything other than what it originally was. But when something brand new was created and purposefully made in outdated style and the reason given doesn't make any sense it draws some questioning. So, I withdraw my complaint.

I think based on the responses in this thread it's obvious why they chose to do the kit this way. Which I still don't understand because it's not like y'all wouldn't have bought the kit if it had been better. To everyone saying "you can't see the chassis when its on the shelf" that doesn't matter to me, I want it to be there. You can't see the engine either but I doubt many of you would be okay if they'd have made it curbside. There are many things we do that aren't obvious without a decent inspection of the build.

Yes, honestly this is the most baffling option they could have chosen. If they had decided to make a new body and interior panels and put it on the Roadrunner chassis and retooled some of the Coronet stock and custom parts I would have said that's a smart use of existing tooling and getting the most out of new tooling dollars. But if you're going to start completely from scratch why intentionally recreate something outdated? They could still have included the retooled custom parts for the "nostalgic fun factor" but make the bones a good kit. This tool will live in their inventory long after they people who remember the annual kit are gone, make something that will stand on its own merit without the rose tinted glasses of childhood nostalgia. This just feels like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and I say this as someone who will probably buy both of them... and put some other chassis under them.

I don't think there is a better alternative to bare metal foil but, there are some things you can try. There are Molotow paint markers, they come in at least two sizes and offer a very shiny but very delicate finish. The pens also seem to have a short shelf life so some folks have opted for using the refill bottle and just applying it with a brush or toothpick. Silver Sharpies have a matte finish and can interact with paints sensitive to alcohol. Also Easy Chrome seems to be the most durable of the chrome paints but it is pricey, though the amount you get will probably last a good while. There are a few more, and more all the time, I'm sure others will post more.

I hadn't even noticed that on the original plans. The rear axle is backwards with an offset differential, I imagine the transmission output also moved over so the driveshaft could clear the oil pan.