Pierre Rivard Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 The content you are adding is absolutely lovely Ken. This is a great build to follow and definitely a learning experience for me. Thanks for sharing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indyvil Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Talking about 3D printed nuts and bolts, you can cut the middle man and buy a 3D printer, then print yourself as many pieces as you want. I found this designer on Cults3D that modelled many kinds of nuts and bolts in 1/12 and 1/24 scale. https://cults3d.com/en/users/gScale/3d-models Pierre T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensar Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 (edited) Thanks for commenting everyone. I'm pleased others are getting build tips from my posts as that is the point in it. Loosely following the kit instructions, I started working on the front end. I reduced the diameter of the suspension mounting points and shortened the camber adjustment in order to place a nut and shaft there. The as-molded kit parts are on the left and my mods on the right. I lathed off the grooved lines of the brake disc and made some disc faces on the lathe from aluminum, which I glued on the plastic backing. I found the brake discs were not concentric with the hub - how do you screw that up? The right-most part is how the disc was molded. I have completed most of the left front suspension by assembling the kit parts with some modifications for adding details. I added brake lines and crossover tubes. I didn't cut out the back of the calipers because it appears that will not be visible. I painted in a significant amount of flat black around the calipers and nearby parts, but absolutely none of it shows in the photos. I have read in other builds of this kit that the front ride height is about 2mm too high. I am using Icon Automotive tires (I waited about 2 years to get them) which are about 2mm larger diameter than the kit tires. The front ride height is determined by the length of the front shocks, so I shortened them about 1.3mm to be on the safe side (I would rather err on the low side of the ride height). After finishing the right side suspension, I will move on to the torsion bar setup. Thanks for looking in. Edited April 23 by kensar 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Rivard Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 Great attention to detail and paying close attention to setting a proper ride height. Ride height is on the list of must do right for me as it is so visible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Force Posted April 24 Share Posted April 24 19 hours ago, kensar said: Thanks for commenting everyone. I'm pleased others are getting build tips from my posts as that is the point in it. Loosely following the kit instructions, I started working on the front end. I reduced the diameter of the suspension mounting points and shortened the camber adjustment in order to place a nut and shaft there. The as-molded kit parts are on the left and my mods on the right. I lathed off the grooved lines of the brake disc and made some disc faces on the lathe from aluminum, which I glued on the plastic backing. I found the brake discs were not concentric with the hub - how do you screw that up? The right-most part is how the disc was molded. I have completed most of the left front suspension by assembling the kit parts with some modifications for adding details. I added brake lines and crossover tubes. I didn't cut out the back of the calipers because it appears that will not be visible. I painted in a significant amount of flat black around the calipers and nearby parts, but absolutely none of it shows in the photos. I have read in other builds of this kit that the front ride height is about 2mm too high. I am using Icon Automotive tires (I waited about 2 years to get them) which are about 2mm larger diameter than the kit tires. The front ride height is determined by the length of the front shocks, so I shortened them about 1.3mm to be on the safe side (I would rather err on the low side of the ride height). After finishing the right side suspension, I will move on to the torsion bar setup. Thanks for looking in. I don't know why the Asian model companies do the discs grooved, I have seen several examples of that, the discs/rotors can be ventilated, slotted, drilled or nothing, but they have flat and smooth surface with no grooves what so ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensar Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 I got the front torsion bar done today. Spent yesterday making the heim joints. I hand filed the flats on them as opposed to milling them as I have in the past. I don't think I lost much accuracy and saved a lot of time. Kit part at the top. I'll likely hit this area with more flat black to simulate brake dust. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBorg Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 So how did you make the heim joints? The rounded portion looks great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensar Posted April 27 Author Share Posted April 27 (edited) The heim joints are made on the lathe from 1/8" round bar stock. I made a special lathe cutting tool to get the round shape and the rod extending from it. Being able to make special tools is certainly an advantage. The cutting tool is High Speed Steel (HSS) which can be cut with grinding wheels and Dremel cutting wheels. HSS is hard enough to cut soft metals and plastics. After the round end is cut, the lathe is stopped and I hand file two flats on it at 180 degrees apart. I have milled these flats in the past, but hand filing saved a lot of time. Then I finish cutting the rod extending from the end, making a provision to insert it into a 1/16" aluminum rod. Next, remove it from the lathe and drill a hole through the flats on the milling machine. The hex jam bolts are Meng 2.6mm hex bolt heads drilled for a 1/16" rod to pass through. Everything is then CAed into place. Edited April 27 by kensar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensar Posted 18 hours ago Author Share Posted 18 hours ago (edited) rear suspension - completed The rear suspension took a while due to many heim joints and bolts replacing kit moldings and I also worked with the tires for test fitting. I found the Icon Automotive tires were just too wide and would not fit. I addition to interfering with the hub carriers, they would have stuck out of the body work too far. It took a while to come to this conclusion. If building this kit, check the fit of the brake calipers and brake discs with the wheels. The calipers are placed pretty far inboard and could cause problems fitting the wheels. Nearing completion and before weathering Completed and with weathering and brake dust I will likely go back to the wheels before moving on to the interior. Edited 18 hours ago by kensar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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