Kris Morgan Posted June 14, 2013 Posted June 14, 2013 Very nice work so far Mike. As far as casting this body,,The attached bumpers do not raise that much of an issue. There may need to be a few subtle changes on the back side to make it easier. Also keep in mind, resin casting is done in a flexible mold. The molds that the kit manufactures use are not flexible.
george 53 Posted June 14, 2013 Posted June 14, 2013 Kris, don't we got one of these in your catalog? Thought I already had one!
Kris Morgan Posted June 14, 2013 Posted June 14, 2013 Nope, I do a 79 Geo. Some differences between them.
whale392 Posted June 14, 2013 Posted June 14, 2013 Mike, yours is looking good. I really need to get home so I can post pics of my junk builds!
Skydime Posted June 14, 2013 Posted June 14, 2013 (edited) I am not a fan of Ford at all. However, it's cool to watch ANYTHING get built in styrene...especially when someone is this determined to make the kit what it should have been out of the box. And not to mention that the Fox body coupes do look pretty sweet. Anyway, it would not surprise me that if you got this casted, and went through Ford for licensing to avoid any possible legal woahs, this could possibly be one of the best selling resin bodies of all time. With that being said...resin cast or not, this is one fine build you have going on here. Mike, I can't wait to see it under glass. Heck, you might have even sold me on this kit after what I have seen you do on it. Edited June 14, 2013 by Skydime
Maindrian Pace Posted June 16, 2013 Author Posted June 16, 2013 Very nice work so far Mike. As far as casting this body,,The attached bumpers do not raise that much of an issue. There may need to be a few subtle changes on the back side to make it easier. Also keep in mind, resin casting is done in a flexible mold. The molds that the kit manufactures use are not flexible. Kris, I've handled the silicone resin molds before, I just didn't know how flexible they were, and if the inner mold could bend enough to come free from the body with the wrap of the bumpers. But if so, that's very good. I am not a fan of Ford at all. However, it's cool to watch ANYTHING get built in styrene...especially when someone is this determined to make the kit what it should have been out of the box. And not to mention that the Fox body coupes do look pretty sweet. Anyway, it would not surprise me that if you got this casted, and went through Ford for licensing to avoid any possible legal woahs, this could possibly be one of the best selling resin bodies of all time. With that being said...resin cast or not, this is one fine build you have going on here. Mike, I can't wait to see it under glass. Heck, you might have even sold me on this kit after what I have seen you do on it. Like Chevys? The solution is simple, get one of these and fill it up with LSX power. Getting to be a popular swap in 1:1. -MJS
Ben Posted June 16, 2013 Posted June 16, 2013 Kris, I've handled the silicone resin molds before, I just didn't know how flexible they were, and if the inner mold could bend enough to come free from the body with the wrap of the bumpers. But if so, that's very good. Like Chevys? The solution is simple, get one of these and fill it up with LSX power. Getting to be a popular swap in 1:1. -MJS Your doing a great job on this Mike!!!! On the mold, what could be done when making the "inner" mold is to pour a thin silicone liner into the body cavity, let that cure, then form a "plug" out of a smooth material that can be easily removed from the rubber when needed. Once you have the "plug" sitting in your silicone lined shell, you then pour more silicone mold material around the plug. This will give you your silicone, inner mold with a large plug in the center. After this cures, pop your plug out, this now leaves a large cavity to carefully "fold" the remaining portion of your mold into and release the body. After you remove the inner mold from the body and release it, it will pop back into it's original shape. Place your plug back into the inner mold to make it "solid" again and you ready to cast with it.
Maindrian Pace Posted June 16, 2013 Author Posted June 16, 2013 (edited) The 1:1 has a raised lip at the back of the trunk lid that is gradually rounded up from the edges, while the model does not have this detail. It also doesn't have quite enough slope to the trunk lid and 1/4 panels, so I started by block sanding the sides of the trunk and 1/4s from almost the middle to the edges, reducing the 1/4s above the taillights and straightening the slope to the back window. So the edges were reduced, but the middle of the trunk wasn't. It's reasonably close on the model, the total amount of reduction at the taillights was .75mm. You could get away without doing this, as it really doesn't detract from the car very much. In this pic, it's reduced to the correct height/slope, and you can start to see the rounded lip forming in the middle. Here, you can see the new slope angle to the 1/4s. -MJS Edited November 3, 2013 by Maindrian Pace
Ben Posted June 16, 2013 Posted June 16, 2013 (edited) I also forgot to mention, there are many silicone mold material companies out there and they offer different durometers of silicone. You can talk with thier tech people and they can help you in deciding the best durometer for what your molding. Edited June 16, 2013 by Ben
Maindrian Pace Posted June 16, 2013 Author Posted June 16, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the info, Ben. A removable plug in the inner mold sounds like it would let the inner fall away when removed. The next step is to add a section of styrene strip to the rear edge of the trunk lid. This is .060" half round, but it can be regular .020x.080 or similar. After some sanding and shaping: And the major mods are done. Now I'm looking at a few putty/final shaping sessions, and then we'll start experimenting with glass. -MJS Edited November 3, 2013 by Maindrian Pace
whale392 Posted June 16, 2013 Posted June 16, 2013 Looking good, Mike. I am doing the trunk right now with some .040" half round.
Jantrix Posted June 16, 2013 Posted June 16, 2013 I gotta admit I don't care about this kit or it's issues in the slightest, but I sure do enjoy watching good work. It looks great.
jefropas Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 That trunkline now look perfect, great work here! Jeff
Maindrian Pace Posted July 13, 2013 Author Posted July 13, 2013 (edited) I had to do a few household things during our time out, but with the mercury rising, Arizona model building season (indoor activities) are upon us. The door lock placement has been brought up, and the solution was in a big, little sheet of photo etched washers that I have no idea where I got: I did the doors and the trunk. Since adding the lip made the lock a little too low on the deck lid, it had to be re-centered in the edge. You know what makes me the happiest about these? The fact that I am NOT yet too old to mess with these fiddly little bits. But that 10X visor is a necessity. A quick mockup: Resin Pony wheels are by Casey Littmann, who moonlights here as a mod, tires are the Goodyear GSCs from the Monogram 1994 Cobra pace car kit. The wheels are just a bit big for the tires, but a little stretching makes them fit. Interestingly, these wheels are shown on the instruction sheet of the '90 LX, even though they are not included in the kit. Even more interestingly, the sheet shows the placement of the decals on the center caps of these wheels, they are included on the decal sheet, and they are exactly the right size for the Monogram wheels. -MJS Edited November 3, 2013 by Maindrian Pace
Danno Posted July 13, 2013 Posted July 13, 2013 Looking very good, Mike! It highlights the subtle difference between nearly right and definitely right!
Maindrian Pace Posted July 16, 2013 Author Posted July 16, 2013 (edited) Thanks Dan. I made a pair of inner 1/4 window frames: And installed them. First round of filler done. -MJS Edited November 3, 2013 by Maindrian Pace
Scuderia Posted July 16, 2013 Posted July 16, 2013 That's great work getting all that body stuff ironed out. And interesting side-notes about the pony wheels as well. Maybe last-second they feared that they would look out of scale on the new 1/25 body. I think if they did a proper roof it wouldn't have looked bad. (Case in point here)
Mach1revo Posted July 18, 2013 Posted July 18, 2013 (edited) Late last night, the rear wheel wells shrank down to stock size. It started off with the removal of the rocker moldings, a detail that no aero Fox has ever had. If your going this far with this body you should have left the molding line in front of the rear wheel. It follows the bottom door line straight back to rear wheelwell. Your modifications are awesome and as a fox body owner i love what your doing to this kit. Keep at it. Edited July 18, 2013 by Mach1revo
Abell82 Posted July 18, 2013 Posted July 18, 2013 Love what you've done, but a couple of questions: Why sand the top of the trunk, to the contour? It seems as though this would thin the trunk lid. Wouldn't using a saw and making a cut along the rear panels have been easier? This would leave all the material on the lid then you just have to add the "lip". I got little careless with this one but... Just make the cut, add some super glue and press down? (But be more careful then I was!)
Maindrian Pace Posted July 18, 2013 Author Posted July 18, 2013 (edited) If your going this far with this body you should have left the molding line in front of the rear wheel. It follows the bottom door line straight back to rear wheelwell. Your modifications are awesome and as a fox body owner i love what your doing to this kit. Keep at it. Great idea! How's this? Love what you've done, but a couple of questions: Why sand the top of the trunk, to the contour? It seems as though this would thin the trunk lid. Wouldn't using a saw and making a cut along the rear panels have been easier? This would leave all the material on the lid then you just have to add the "lip". I got little careless with this one but... Just make the cut, add some super glue and press down? (But be more careful then I was!) To be honest, I never thought of it. But it clearly works just the same. The trunk is pretty thick, there is at least 1.5 mm left at the ends. -MJS Edited November 3, 2013 by Maindrian Pace
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