Better side exhaust pipes?

[atomicholiday]

You know how a lot of the old side exhaust pipes that came with early kits were just flat where there should be an opening?  How can I get a more realistic look with these?  Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.  The white pipe is the one in question, whereas the black one is more of what I to achieve.  Thoughts?

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Just use an appropriate sized drill bit, twisted with your fingers, to make a shallow hole or deepen an existing depression.

It's easier than it sounds. Then darken the hole with flat black paint to simulate exhaust carbon.

[Bainford]

To add to Bill’s advice above, I use a needle heated with a lighter to ‘centre punch’ the middle of the area to prevent the drill bit from wandering when getting the hole started. 
 

Or… the trick set-up is to cut the pipe off and replace it with a piece of aluminum tube. Also not difficult to do, and makes for a nice detail. 

[Straightliner59]

7 hours ago, Bainford said:

Or… the trick set-up is to cut the pipe off and replace it with a piece of aluminum tube. Also not difficult to do, and makes for a nice detail.

That's how I did these. Not sidepipes, but the same principle.

[atomicholiday]

2 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

That's how I did these. Not sidepipes, but the same principle.

Those look incredible.   Actually,  that whole build is stunning. 

How do you bend the tubing without kinking i?  And where can I get tubing?

[Straightliner59]

19 hours ago, atomicholiday said:

Those look incredible.   Actually,  that whole build is stunning. 

How do you bend the tubing without kinking i?  And where can I get tubing?

There are a couple of ways to bend the tubing. I cut a piece of 1/2" aluminum rod to a length to match the diameter of the tubing (if you're using 1/4" tubing, cut the rod 1/4" long), then clamped them both in a vise, and slowly bent the tubing around the rod. The vise keeps the tubing from crimping, as long as you work carefully. I think a section of dowel would be even easier, and just as effective as the aluminum rod. You can buy the tubing at a good hobby shop, or online, if you don't have one, close by. Hope this is helpful!

[Pierre Rivard]

Jeremy, if you are not comfortable (like me) working with aluminium there is also the alternative to work with Evergreen rods and tubes. On these pics below I built the entire dumps from 3.2 mm rod, using a bit of heat to bend, then the last tip with 3.2 mm Evergreen tube. I further hollowed out the outlet with my #11 blade. Easy to build in sections, glue, sand and finish.

Evergreen 4 mm also available if you want beefier pipes.

 

[atomicholiday]

Pierre, those look great.   Beautiful model too! 

Lots of really good ideas so far,  and options I didn't know existed.   I kinda want to try them all out! 

[Lone Wolf]

On 3/31/2023 at 3:22 AM, atomicholiday said:

How do you bend the tubing without kinking i?  And where can I get tubing?

Atomic, Although there are cost free ways to work around it, the correct way for bending (small) tubing is to use a tubing bender that comes with the pictured coiled inserts. The inserts is the "secret" to keep the tube from kinking. Once you have the bend(s) you want, the inserts just pull out, to be re-used again when needed.