BuilderX Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Nice work on this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 (edited) 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. Edited January 23, 2023 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 I re-made the hood mold and will likely redo the floor pan also once I add some body mounts to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 (edited) It took me four tries to get a cab that is almost flawless. There’s still a couple tiny air bubbles on the fender edges that can easily be filled. The first three castings have voids in them. There is an inner and outer skin with an airspace between. Two of them are fairly minor so I injected some resin into the void and they may be salvageable. This so far has used up the last of my year-old open bottle of resin...so hopefully fresh stuff will work even better.? Edited January 23, 2021 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Absolutely fabulous work here Greg! I read every word! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 5 hours ago, Tom Geiger said: Absolutely fabulous work here Greg! I read every word! Thanks Tom! It IS a Jeep thing...most people don’t understand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 7 minutes ago, NOBLNG said: Thanks Tom! It IS a Jeep thing...most people don’t understand it. I get that... it's mostly crickets on my Jeep build thread... I guess people stuck in that adolescent phase of stuffing the biggest hemi into the smallest car just click on by! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullybeef Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 This is next level modelling right here, I’m glad I stopped scrolling and had a read here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopargreg Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Wow, Incredible work. This is going to look amazing when you have finished. I would be interested in purchasing a resin kit of the Willys cab if you are selling any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 This is still coming along nicely. Great upgrades to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) I added some cab mounts to the floor pan and made a new mold for it. I’ve decided to use the Revell Jeep Honcho frame instead of the cut down GMC frame...it is already 114” wheelbase and it just seems to fit better. Jeep Honcho: GMC: Since I would have to move all the mounts and get rid of the spare tire and fuel tank, I figured I would make a copy of the frame and still be able to build the Honcho sometime. Edited January 23, 2023 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) I cast the grill and then opened it up and modified it to the later 3-bar style. Edited January 23, 2023 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) And since I have a couple of cast rejects, I am playing with the Idea of making a stretched cab version.😁 Edited February 7, 2021 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belugawrx Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Nice work going into this build Greg ! (2thmbsup) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chariots of Fire Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Oh, Boy! You are making my mouth water! Great work, Greg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) Well I finally got this one up on wheels. I wound up building differentials and springs from scratch. I found a really good tutorial on building leaf springs that Art Anderson put on here years ago.http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/52798-leaf-springs/ Anyway, now that I have a baseline, I can tweak the mounting point locations a bit to level things up. I also need to shape or re-design them to make them more realistic. The differentials are not glued to the axle tubes yet and can be rotated to set the pinion angles once the drivetrain is in place. The front axle will likely be narrowed a bit yet. The stock trucks had quite a difference between front and rear track width. Edited February 18, 2021 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Looks great! It’s good to be up on wheels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Hi Greg, wow! I haven’t checked in for a while, you’ve been busy.... really busy. This is top shelf work, you’re casting up a storm. I have not built a 4X4 model for about 40 years, I’ve thought about it, just haven’t got around to it. This year might be the year I build one, I have a few ideas. You’re inspiring me. Anyway, keep up the excellent work, I will keep checking in. Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Looks great! Real nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) I’ve got the box mounts done using .050” styrene for locating pins. I also got a start on some more realistic shackles. They are .093” evergreen tube and .015” styrene sheet. I have some .038” metal plates (x3=.114”) that I stacked to file the shackles down to width to use with .100” wide springs. Ive used two chunks of 1/4” keystock to press parts together nice and square while the glue sets. Once they are dry they will get filed to shape. Edited February 20, 2021 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullybeef Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Looks awesome Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 (edited) Well the rear springs I made bent while I was fiddling with things, so I re-made them using some 26ga. metal for the main leafs. The fronts are fine as they are shorter and have a lot more arch to them. I got all the spring hangers and shackles made. Also added some u-bolts and plates. I didn’t like the angle of the rear shackles on my first attempt, so I re-did them and made them just a hair longer too. Shocks are styrene tube and .020” aluminum wire. Edited March 26, 2021 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 (edited) I’ve been busy casting a bunch of miscellaneous parts. My truck has a chevy 350 and turbo 350 trans, so I snagged an MPC El Camino and copied the tranny...engine is copied from the Revell Nova. I also have an Off Road Design doubler kit which pairs the high-low range box from a New Process 203 transfer case with a complete NP 205 transfer case. This gives me two low ranges resulting in a 4:1 ratio for crawling (great for rocks)! I scratch built the 203 range box, the adapter and most of the 205. The last pic is a screenshot of me climbing Jasons Rock at the Dakota Territory Challenge in 2001. Edited January 23, 2023 by NOBLNG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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