I started with one of my "new & improved" modified castings.
I've been toying with casting with dye in the resin to avoid painting. "So far so good :pray: )
The picture doesn't show the color too well...It's brighter than it appears.
I'm using an older hood casting & it's not right for the body. but I haven't made molds of the
newer hoods I'll be using later.
Anyway using these tools, I cleaned up the castings in 25 minutes.
Next thing to do is clean up a new & improved resin chassis I've just cast.
I had some wheels/tires in my drawer that were already trued, so that saved some time.
It only takes 15 or 20 minutes to assemble the rolling chassis, once it's cleaned up.
A bunch of motors will fit, both long & short cans. Some just need a bit of a shim here or there.
I cast this one with the axle holes marked to make it easier to drill.
I start with a small bit & work up to the larger one I need.
If the chassis teeters a little bit with all the wheels on it, it can be "adjusted" with
a heat gun & a bit of hand twisting........ :roll:
Right now I'm running them with no bearings or brass tube. If & when the rear axle holes wallow out,
I'll just drill them larger & fit a bearing or brass tube.
(I drilled some holes for mounting bumpers at this time also)
Total time for this step was 35 minutes.
Next thing to do is fit the body to the chassis.
Trim the side pans, mark, drill & counter sink body mounting holes
in the chassis & the body.
Mounted the body for a visual.
(I cast all the newer bodies to fit the chassis, so there wasn't really any adjustments to make)
Time; 20 minutes.
Next I have to trim & fit the cast generic interior/motor hold down to fit the body I'm using.
This part gets a little tedious since it has to be screwed to the chassis a couple or 3 times 'till
I get the width & length where it needs to be.
(It's best to "sneak up" on these kinds on slicing & dicing)
Time; 30 minutes.
Time to build the cage. I mark & pre-drill holes for the 1/16th styrene rod I use for the cage.
It bends pretty easily between the fingers just from body heat.......most of the time.
I use "Plastruct Bondene" fast evaporating styrene & ABS solvent cement for this.
That's a mouthfull! But it's cool stuff. Just hold 2 pieces together & paint this stuff on, & it
sets in seconds with the residue evaporating away.
I glued the hood down with some tacky glue, which will let you pull it off & on a bunch of times.
Time; 30 minutes.
Now we break out the paint brushes.
Paint time is 45 minutes.
I used some 3/64th brass rod to bend up front & rear bumpers & glued them into
the 1/16th holes I already drilled into the chassis earlier.
TIme; 20 minutes.
For the side bars, I cut small pieces of balsa & glued them inside the body behind 1/16th holes
I drilled into the body sides. I bent & glued small 3/64th brass pieces into this & soldered
a side rail to this. (It does not attach to the chassis since the body has to be removable)
Time; 25 minutes.
The only thing left to do is decal & detail.
Never had to paint the body, since it is cast in yellow, just a little wet sand before decals &
Future after the decals set......
Time for this is 60minutes.
........................There ya' go.....built it in less than 5 hours.......................... :whistle:
Not a modeling contest winner, but a fast, fun build to crash if you've got a free afternoon.
