Scratch-building

[FujimiLover]

Hello. I've always been fascinated with concept cars and of coarse having a model of my own car, the 2001 Honda Insight.

I'd like to learn how to scratch build my own cars in various small scales. What's the best material to use and what's the best method to go about doing such a thing? I've never really worked with wood before, so I don't know what's the best word for carving is.

My brother used to make his own toy airplanes out of balsa wood and use some kind of filler to smooth it completely for painting. When done, you'd a thought they were plastic!

I'd like to build concept cars and the Insight in 1/18, 1/24, and 1/43 and use wheels that already exist. I dont' care to much for the interior and chassis detail. I just want a nice looking body with a set of wheels to look at.

Anybody done this kind of work before? Just scratch-building your own model car?

[Guest Davkin]

If you are not interested in chassis/interior detail then carving out of wood might be a good way to go. Another option would be to sculpt it out of clay. If you want to really go into the deep end and make a thin shell so you could have interior and chassis detail you could carve the body shape out of wood and use that as a buck to form brass panels. Another option would be to vacuform the body out of styrene over a wood or clay buck. Yet another option is to start with a body that already exists that is somewhat similar to the body you want and modify it using styrene and putty.

David

[FujimiLover]

Thank's, but what's the best word for carving out big shapes? I want something that's relatively easy to carve, without being fragile. I've heard of pine, or mahogany being used, but not sure which is best.

Edited April 18, 2009 by FujimiLover

[Guest Davkin]

I don't know much about wood carving but the woods you mention are hardwoods which by definition means they'll be harder to carve. I don't beleive pine will work well, it may be pretty hard but it has a very coarse grain which will make it very difficult to create and hold fine detail. You might want to just play with basswood a little and see how that works out for ya, it's cheap, readily available and not real hard and has a very fine grain. If nothing else basswood would be a good wood to practice with. I know Gerald Wingrove liked to use pearwood, but it's pricey and hard to find. One thing you could do is just carve the rough shape out of wood then finish it up with putty or clay. You could seal the grain with urethane or thin CA glue so the wood won't suck the moisture out of the putty or clay.

If it was me and I was looking to use the wood to build the finished part rather than just use it as a buck I think I'd give the basswood a try as a rough shape then finish it up with Apoxie Sculpt, (or Milliput) after sealing it with CA.

If I was wanting to use the wood as a buck to hammer brass on I'd try to get a nice tight grained hardwood, I'm guessiing mahogany would work for this.

If I was using the wood as a buck to vacuuform to I'd probably go with the basswood.

Again, I'm not expert on working with wood, hopefully a master woodworker will chime in here.

David

Edited April 18, 2009 by Davkin

[FujimiLover]

I'm looking for solid body construction. What I mean, is no interior needed, just body, axles, and wheels. So the wood alone would be fine. I'm sure you've seen those big desk-top wooden model airplanes made in the Philipines? Those are super nice! Don't look like wood at all when finished! That is what I'm after, but for cars.

[randx0]

you can also try a product called renshape. it is on the pricy side but it is definately the way to go if you want to carve.when using this or other woods to create a masterpiece the right tools help a lot. a good band saw or dremel jig saw are a great way to start.

[Guest Davkin]

Ya, Renshape is nice stuff but very expensive in pieces large enough to carve a model car out of. It's a urethane foam material that is dense enough to have a very fine grain but is still light and easy to carve. Another plus is that it is strong enough that it can be carved into pretty thin sections, even under 1/8" thick if you are careful so a hollow body would be possible. You can get Renshape from Freeman Supply Co.;

http://www.freemansupply.com/

They have a sampler package you can buy that will give you enough Renshape in different durometers to give you an idea of what the material is like and which density works best for you but the biggest piece is only 2x2x4 but the price isn't too bad;

http://www.freemansupply.com/MachinableMediaSam.htm

Thanks for reminding me of this stuff Randx, I totally forgot.

David