Plastic Surgery for the 1/8th "Big T"

[LR3]

I've seen 3-D files printed on a top shelf RP printer and the finish is perfect unlike TDR's.

That is amazing as RP printers have resolution restrictions just like digital paper printers. The printers to which you refer must have been in the class of at least a 300dpi printer. I bet TDR would love to know the make and location so they could get a quote.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

From your point of view Al, you're absolutley right, kinda....no argument from me.

As you said, time will tell and the technology (equipment) will come down in price as that time passes, our pricing will reflect that.

But let's not over look the fact that TDR is providing a service to large scale builders that wasn't available before.

I've listened to your opinion, which you are certainly entitled to, and answered.....but if you feel what TDR is trying to do isn't for you, I'm good with that too.

Anything else? BTW......Rick isn't involved with TDR.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Back to the build.....the car, trailered smoker & surf board are underway...probably need a 1/8th mini bike too. I started this one a while back.

Didn't want a ring ding or lawn mower engine and being this is a fantasy build let's go with a one off single cylinder 4-stroke.

Lot more work to do on this but here's what I have roughed out so far. The cylinder was made by stacking up thin flat stock and the case is mostly just cut scrap plastic, the holes in the back of the head are for the push rod tubes. In case you aren't sure yet if I've lost what was left of my mind....wait til you see the fish poles, 1/8th scale grouper and the goof ball that owns this thing.

[arick]

Al/Don........Please don't think I'm trying to provoke a cat fight, but I'd like to comment on the discussion between the two of you.

I'm no longer involved with TDR but during my tenure there, I was responsible for promotions and sales. You may be interested to know that sales of some products were brisk with customers in Japan, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. If my memory is correct, more than half of our customers were in Europe, with some large orders going to Japan and The Netherlands in particular.

I'm in total agreement that trying to make a buck selling large scale stuff is extreemly tough, (especially when one looks at the price of that board) especially in North America. I also agree that there are some very good producers of resin products both locally and abroad. Are TDR products perfect? Certainly not. Do they require clean up? You betcha. Has there been complaints about quality? Ya, two that I dealt with.

Here's the bottom line.......as far as I know, nobody else has been willing to invest the time and money to produce anything similar in quality and availability to what TDR produces.

[chopt31]

I really enjoyed the Offy on Ebay! I really think that's the direction to go with TDR. I like the suspension set-ups, but resist because of the extensive effort to clean 'em up. The cleaned up engine was very difficult NOT to bid on! I saw the Mustang body that Gregg is working on today, and I thought you had made the roll cage, too! Good stuff, keep it coming.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Al/Don........Please don't think I'm trying to provoke a cat fight, but I'd like to comment on the discussion between the two of you.

I'm no longer involved with TDR but during my tenure there, I was responsible for promotions and sales. You may be interested to know that sales of some products were brisk with customers in Japan, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. If my memory is correct, more than half of our customers were in Europe, with some large orders going to Japan and The Netherlands in particular.

I'm in total agreement that trying to make a buck selling large scale stuff is extreemly tough, (especially when one looks at the price of that board) especially in North America. I also agree that there are some very good producers of resin products both locally and abroad. Are TDR products perfect? Certainly not. Do they require clean up? You betcha. Has there been complaints about quality? Ya, two that I dealt with.

Here's the bottom line.......as far as I know, nobody else has been willing to invest the time and money to produce anything similar in quality and availability to what TDR produces.

No worries Rick, Al & I aren't squaring off. He's entitled to his opinion, as are all of of us.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

I really enjoyed the Offy on Ebay! I really think that's the direction to go with TDR. I like the suspension set-ups, but resist because of the extensive effort to clean 'em up. The cleaned up engine was very difficult NOT to bid on! I saw the Mustang body that Gregg is working on today, and I thought you had made the roll cage, too! Good stuff, keep it coming.

Thanks for the input......yes, TDR is gradually integrating some resin cast parts into some of their kits. Our thinking is that it will cut down on some of the modelers finishing chores when it comes to small fiddly parts without sacrificing the designed in detail. I can't say too much more about it right now, but keep an eye on TDR for updates, we have some very exciting goodies on the horizon.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Got the head for the 1/8th mini-bike finished up........'cept for the head bolts

and started bending up some tubing for the frame, I decided to go with a backbone frame that uses the engine as a structural member.....no down tubes or engine cradle. The gnarly tires, swing arm, & a few brackets are from my "parts" box.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Got to the point where I needed some down time from my other projects, plastic, resin, fiberglass...oh my, perhaps a little wood therapy is in order.

Did the head scratchin' and tried to build in a little strengh at the same time, the "Hack" is an open air somewhat fragile structure at best.

The arrow indicates a built in lip for mounting the windshield glass.

Here's the mock up.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Now I have to deal with the cowl.....I could do a plank on bulkhead with wood strips or form it out of thin aluminum for that back yard pop riveted look, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

decisions, decisions.

[baddgass]

To give you an idea of where this is headed....here's a photo of the cardstock mock-up I did for a previous build.

NICE MOCK-UP

GREAT START!!!!

I like C Cabs too! I built a few in 25th scale, and have collected the parts I need to build an 8th scale C Cab. Hope to start the Big C Cab this year, after I finish the 8th scale Willys...

IT'S LOOKING GOOD

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Couple more pics.........sure is a lot going on with this "fun" build. So far the car is plugging along....LOL, it'll be a dio by the time I'm done.

So far it's got a tag along BBQ smoker, surf board & mini bike in the works. You may have spotted that big ol' hawg in the back ground of the pics. Problem is, now I have to build a cooler and some 1/8th scale ice cubes!

Edited August 21, 2010 by GrandpaMcGurk

[comp1839]

lookin' good don.

[arick]

I like it too! Guess I better get back to my projects.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

I like it too! Guess I better get back to my projects.

You're probably havin' way too much fun playing with the big water toys.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

As I mentioned before, the Hack body isn't going to add a lot of structural stability to this model.

That combined with the inherent flexibility of the ladder style T frame leaves me with a painted "egg shell" fragile model. NOT COOL!

I'm comfortable with the mock-ups......... so where's the beef?

I'll start with the floor boards, I drilled some locating holes in the frame rails and glued in some scrap tubing to use for pins.

I'd like to take a moment here to say that this is all pin vise & eyeball stuff, the point I'm trying to make is simply, you don't have to have all the mega buck equipment and tons of experience to build a model that is cool and will stand up to a bit of handling.

The plastic floor board is .060 thick, I'll cover the road side with thin aluminum and the top will be covered with wood planks, add to that the locating pins and I'll have a stable platform to mount the body to. None of it will show, but the model won't twist or break joints over time even if the adhesives get a bit tired.

Besides, it helps keep everything square and I can remove the floor boards from the rails and mount them permanently to the body.

Why...you may ask? Down the road aways I may want to put a different body on this chassis without having to build another one.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Rear coil spring buckets, this should give me the measurements I need to be able to fab up the pan-hard bar, shock mounts and all those other little bits that I know need to be there. They may not show on the finished model but I want the suspension to be functional.

[baddgass]

Love all the work u r doing.

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Thanks Derrick.....floor & foot board

Edited September 21, 2010 by GrandpaMcGurk