TLB '55 Chevy

[dodgefever]

Picking up on two builds I started years ago: one based on the 1/25 AMT sedan and the other converted from the 1/16 hardtop.  Having acquired a 3D printer, I'm redoing the parts that I wasn't happy scratch building.  The 1/25 model will be the guinea pig, then I'll go after the 1/16 one. 

So far, it's the AMT sedan with the front cut off and rear wheel wells from an old Revell kit replacing the AMT's too-wide wheel tubs.  The narrow trans tunnel and moulded in exhaust were removed from the chassis plate and I grafted in the tunnel from the interior tub, the remainder of which was junked.  The front frame stub has been 3D printed and the firewall is built up with styrene sheet.

Other parts are in progress - most will be 3D printed because there are no correct parts available from kits.

 

 

 

[FoMoCo66]

Ha you did the opposite of what I did to get the drag slicks under the car. I made them out of a soda pop can because I didn't have any evergreen plastic (before I was on this forum and frankly didn't know it existed). This was a rebuilt glue bomb and didn't know what to do with it so I made the tlb car. I know it's a hardtop but at least I added a post right.

Will delete if they take up to much space

You can find a pretty accurate bbc with tunnel ram from the revell 66 malibu with revell 67 chevell valve covers.

Edited March 8, 2024 by FoMoCo66
Added where I got my engine

[nickfzr61]

Those 3D printed parts are going to make all the difference. This should be really good. Looking forward to seeing your progress. 

[dodgefever]

Printed the tunnel ram. Not perfect, but good enough.

[dodgefever]

Creeping along. 

[nickfzr61]

Excellent! That front end looks spot on. My build of this car is also creeping along. I’m constantly having to redo the suspension parts using styrene and other parts with trial and error. Mine definitely won’t look as accurate as yours.

Keep up the great work!

 

Have you thought of offering those parts as a trans kit?

Edited April 13, 2024 by nickfzr61

[geemoney]

you captured the vibe!!

love it!

[dodgefever]

Thanks for the comments.  I added the spindles, brakes and steering.  The printed drag link was too flexible, so I replaced that with brass rod after I took these..

Globbed on some paint to see how it looks...  some touching up to do. My eyesight isn't what it was.

 

[James2]

Interesting...

[dodgefever]

A little more progress.  Headers are done, water pump fitted, Lakewood scattershield added and Muncie trans printed and painted.

More parts printed.

[nickfzr61]

That’s insane. Those parts look great. You’re doing and excellent job on this build. 
 

I gotta get me a printer. ?
 

Speaking of printers. 
Can you share your printer information? Make, model etc… Looks like you’ve got a nice setup that prints fine details. 

Edited May 18, 2024 by nickfzr61

[dodgefever]

Thanks. ? The printer is an Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra and I'm using Siraya Tech Fast Navy/Grey resin - tried Elegoo's own resin but had no end of problems.  The exposure time was about double, it had a more unpleasant odour and was a lot more temperature sensitive, resulting in multiple failed prints.  I've had no such problems with the Siraya Tech resin, it's consistently good.

I also bought a Creality wash station/UV curing unit, as it was a bit cheaper than the Elegoo one.  No problems with that.

Close up photos are brutal... the trans looked better in Blender.

[FoMoCo66]

12 minutes ago, dodgefever said:

Thanks. ? The printer is an Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra and I'm using Siraya Tech Fast Navy/Grey resin - tried Elegoo's own resin but had no end of problems.  The exposure time was about double, it had a more unpleasant odour and was a lot more temperature sensitive, resulting in multiple failed prints.  I've had no such problems with the Siraya Tech resin, it's consistently good.

I also bought a Creality wash station/UV curing unit, as it was a bit cheaper than the Elegoo one.  No problems with that.

Close up photos are brutal... the trans looked better in Blender.

Do you design your own parts? If so WOW! If not where are your sources?

[nickfzr61]

Thanks for the reply. They seem to be reasonably priced on Amazon. There are a couple of different versions of the Mars 4 Ultra. How’s the software that comes with the printer? I see you mentioned Blender. Is that the only software you use?
Sorry for hijacking the thread and all the questions but I’m seriously digging the results and think I’m going to pull the trigger on one. 

[Kenmojr]

Impressive work.

[dodgefever]

1 hour ago, nickfzr61 said:

Thanks for the reply. They seem to be reasonably priced on Amazon. There are a couple of different versions of the Mars 4 Ultra. How’s the software that comes with the printer? I see you mentioned Blender. Is that the only software you use?
Sorry for hijacking the thread and all the questions but I’m seriously digging the results and think I’m going to pull the trigger on one. 

 

No problem.  There are a few variants in the Mars range.  The Mars 4 Ultra is the one I have, it has a USB powered filter that eliminates most of the fumes and the levelling system seemed a bit more robust than the regular Mars.  I use Chitubox V1.9.5 slicing software, I think that came with it.  There's an updated version but I found it more awkward to use, so went back to V1.9.5.  It does what I need it to do.

I draw everything in FreeCAD and export as STL mesh files, but I use Blender to preview them and to join separate meshes e.g. the Muncie was drawn in FreeCAD under one file, but four bodies (objects) within that file: the main case, the tail housing, the side cover and the shift linkage.  Each body was exported as an STL mesh, then I imported them into Blender and merged them into one STL file for printing.  It could have been done as one body, but doing that you soon end up with a huge file that takes ages to process each subsequent addition. Brreaking it down into sub assemblies speeds up processing and makes changes much easier.

[dodgefever]

1 hour ago, FoMoCo66 said:

Do you design your own parts? If so WOW! If not where are your sources?

 

Yes, I've drawn everything myself.  I just work from known dimensions and reference images.

[nickfzr61]

22 minutes ago, dodgefever said:

 

No problem.  There are a few variants in the Mars range.  The Mars 4 Ultra is the one I have, it has a USB powered filter that eliminates most of the fumes and the levelling system seemed a bit more robust than the regular Mars.  I use Chitubox V1.9.5 slicing software, I think that came with it.  There's an updated version but I found it more awkward to use, so went back to V1.9.5.  It does what I need it to do.

I draw everything in FreeCAD and export as STL mesh files, but I use Blender to preview them and to join separate meshes e.g. the Muncie was drawn in FreeCAD under one file, but four bodies (objects) within that file: the main case, the tail housing, the side cover and the shift linkage.  Each body was exported as an STL mesh, then I imported them into Blender and merged them into one STL file for printing.  It could have been done as one body, but doing that you soon end up with a huge file that takes ages to process each subsequent addition. Brreaking it down into sub assemblies speeds up processing and makes changes much easier.

Thank You. Really appreciate the detailed reply. I work with AutoCAD so I think I’ll be able to figure it all out. Will definitely use your reply as a starting point along with research on the interweb. ?

 

[slusher]

Looking really great!

[TransAmMike]

Great work Stu!!   I need a set of those headers for my 55 BelAir project!

[dodgefever]

Progress...  front wheels on.  I'm redoing the rear tyres; they need to be a bit taller.

Rear suspension is done.

Printed a toolbox, and less successfully,a radiator.  Support failure, so that will get printed again in the next run.

Drew the licence plate...not sure how well that will print, so might fall back on my usual method of printing on paper.

 

 

 

 

[TNT]

Too cool. Do you write yout own files, or is there a place to snag them?

[Zippi]

This is turning into a tough looking 55.  Nice mods.

[dodgefever]

On 6/10/2024 at 4:42 AM, TNT said:

Too cool. Do you write yout own files, or is there a place to snag them?

 

Thanks.  I've drawn everything myself, all created with FreeCAD.  Everything in front of the firewall is 3D printed.   I haven't really looked for much online, but the odd time i have, I decided I'd be better off starting from scratch. ?

[Spex84]

I've really been enjoying this project and seeing the various parts you've designed and printed. Awesome stuff. The '55 is looking killer so far.

It's interesting to hear your take on the Siraya vs Elegoo resin--I've been experiencing a lot of temperature and viscosity-related issues myself with Elegoo's ABS-like grey, so maybe the Siraya tech resin would be worth experimenting with! Just bought a Saturn 2 8k printer so I'm excited to start printing larger files, so a lower exposure time per layer would be ideal.