François Posted January 10 Author Posted January 10 (edited) 20250108_085356.mp4 I received the new gearmotor and after some tweaking and alignment issues, I got it mounted in front of the radiator, directly in line with the crankshaft. It will eventualy be hidden by the blower housing. Here's a little video showing the new gearmotor in it's new location at work rotating the car's engine and transmission. You will notice the transmission's output rotation being controlled by the shifter. 20250108_085356.mp4 But then, all hell broke loose and the crankshaft snapped! So after a complete dismantle of the lower engine (it's a vefy good thing the head assembly in bolted so it can be easily removed), I was able to replace the broken portion of the crank along with 2 connecting rods and caps. Broken crankshaft after repair being reinserted in the bloc I printed and assembled the 2 differentiels and temporarily connected them to the transmission output and was then able to drive everything from the gearmotor 20250109_175732.mp4 Edited January 10 by François
François Posted January 18 Author Posted January 18 I've been more busy skiing than modeling this past week but I still managed to finalize the blower drive. I decided to add a subframe between the radiator and blower's front face to facilitate the assembly and paint. This way, I can chrome both the radiator and blower front face at the same time without having the blower housing in the way. Since the blower housing will be painted the same color as the bodywork (color to be determined), I made it in two halves that can easily be assembled later. I also made a small drive shaft between the crankshaft and the blower. If this was a real car, this shaft would drive the blower from the engine but on the model, since the gearmotor is hidden in the blower it's the other way around. Blower drive With half of the blower housing in place Small drive shaft Gearmotor spur gear (bottom) driving blower spur gear (top) Overall view of model so far 3
Spex84 Posted January 20 Posted January 20 This super ambitious, and I'm enjoying seeing the progress you're making!
François Posted January 21 Author Posted January 21 (edited) Thank you everyone. I was finally able to drive everything from the gearmotor hidden in the blower. From the blower spinning dome to the 4 rear wheels. I small victory for me! 20250121_164637.mp4 I'm printing parts while waiting for a revell paint order I did for the frame, suspension and drive components (silk black). I decided on the body color, it will be Tamiya's gunship gray which is a blueish gray. It should look a bit like the prop car made for the movie . Edited January 21 by François 2 1
BK9300 Posted January 22 Posted January 22 That's quite the accomplishment, François - so much detail to take in!
François Posted January 25 Author Posted January 25 (edited) All the steering components have been printed and assembled, everything fits and works as should. 20250124_213251.mp4 I also started to print some boby parts, here's a test print of tge right side tool box. Edited January 25 by François
François Posted February 22 Author Posted February 22 Hello everyone, just to let you know that I haven't vanished from the face of earth. Just on a little ski trip. Should be back on the Hydra sometime in march. 1
François Posted March 7 Author Posted March 7 (edited) Hi all, I'm back home and slowly restarting the Hydra project. But after over a month off, It's kinda hard to do. I started painting the bunch of parts I printed for the frame and drive so I should have a fully assembled frame with front and rear axes in place in a few weeks. In the mean time, here are some pictures of the painting job. The chromed front bumper The front lights And chromed radiator A bunch of parts primed and ready for final paint Edited March 7 by François 2
François Posted March 10 Author Posted March 10 Finished painting all the frame parts using Revell's silk black (same color I used on the Bentley's body. I could find it in spray can format so I got the little plastic bottles instead. By adding a bit of revell aqua thinner (it's a water based paint) in a 3 paint to 1 thinner ratio, I got a very nice airbrushable consistency. I also made the aluminium stiffener plates that are installed on both sides of frame (still need to but the bolts in). 1
François Posted March 11 Author Posted March 11 (edited) Did some assembly today. I worked on the rear suspension. It's going to be quite a puzzle to get all these parts assembled in the correct order but I think it should all fit nicely. As a reminder, here is the only reference I had for the rear suspension And here is my design And the result so far Edited March 11 by François 1
François Posted March 13 Author Posted March 13 I finished all the ubolts for all the leafsprings assembly, here's how I proceded in order to get identical shapes. Raw material (cheap steel pin) inserted in bending jig After bending After trimming Finished rear leafspring I dry fitted the rear suspension with both rear axels, althought not easy to get in place, everything seems to fit perfectly. I installed the brake lines (black rubber hoses) that will eventualy be routed towards the firewall and brake booster. Similar lines will also come from the front brakes. 3
François Posted March 14 Author Posted March 14 The rear end is all done and I'm very pleased with the way everything went together easily. Next step, the front end. Viewed from under Some brake line routing 1
François Posted March 16 Author Posted March 16 The wheels are printed, I test tried them on just gor fun and to see if it rolls... it rolls. 20250316_140322.mp4 (sorry for the poor picture quality) 1
François Posted March 24 Author Posted March 24 I finished the front suspension installation. Brake line are in and the steering works. I also test fitted the radiator, the blower top cover has the final paint color, looks pretty good. 20250323_201805.mp4 1
Codi Posted March 24 Posted March 24 Francois, the ingenuity, creativeness and outright speed that you're bringing this to life is beyond compare. A unique build AND builder for sure. Cheers, Tim
François Posted March 25 Author Posted March 25 Thank you Cody! I very much enjoying this build, glad to see orhers are too.
François Posted March 26 Author Posted March 26 I'm starting work on the firewall assembly, all parts are being printed. Here's what the printer plate looks like.
François Posted March 27 Author Posted March 27 (edited) A lot was done today. I printed all the parts for the firewall assembly and they are ready for paint. I test fitted the firewall on the frame and it fit perfectly. I test printed the steering wheel, first print not perfect but the second should be good. I completed the radiator core with a fine wiremesh and pleated core. I threaded the gearmotor leads thru a rubber hose to hide them and started to install the head lights. Unfortunately, I scratched one of the head light bucket so I had to rechrome it. I'll have to wait a couple of weeks before installing it. Firewall parts ready for paint Test fitting of firewall Steering wheel test print Completed radiator core Threading gearmotor leads First of 4 head lights installed Edited March 27 by François 1
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