Q.S.

Hey all,

I am Now looking into where we can get a few 1/4 scale bodys, we prefer the lexan body But may concider a fibreglass body, so if anyone knows of where we can get some, or someone that has the ability to build them plese let me know,,,,, Below is the list of bodys we will need.

Trophy truck.
Rock crawler.
Sand rail / buggy.
Dragster.
Sling shot dragster.
Funnycar.
32 Bantam Altered.
Pro street car & truck.
Formula 1.

Big Boys Toys and Hobbies

good luck

Big Boys Toys and Hobbies

Have you tried WCM?

Soloratov

My Feedback: (1)

I found an instruction guide a while back that describes how to build a quite effective vacuum form machine. I think the total cost I think was about 100 bucks. Could make your own if you can make the forms. Let me look a little, see if I can find the guide.

Soloratov

My Feedback: (1)

Actually, feel dumb, found a few of them in my bookmarks. Generally this is an awesome site for projects. Go here a lot when i feel "creative".

http://www.instructables.com/id/Vacuum-Former/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make...-plastic-vacu/


Those are the best two. And the biggest. There are a few more around, but they are all small. These are big enough, maybe with a bit of tweaking, to fit a 1/4 scale mold.

Q.S.

Yeah,, I have looked at the few WCM have, They look like there a low profile body, Still not quite sure though I'm going to Email them and see if they will give me some dimenssions, and if not I may just buy one of the monte-carlo & super truck to check out.[sm=shades_smile.gif]

Q.S.

Wow,,, Now this may be something for me to concider doing, Although I might need to find someone to build the molds, I just dont have the time to build them molds, I worked in a composite shop years ago building molds and know that they are quite time consuming.


Anybody want to join in and help me Build some molds/forms, hahaha

Yeah Thats what I thought,,Bummer[sm=sad_smile.gif]


BTW ( Soloratov )

Thaks for the links these may very usefull.

Dave ESPI

I had a personal model and toy sculpting biz a few years ago (oddly called ESPI PRODUCTIONS if you can imagine such) and I can do silicone and fiberglass resin molds of a posetive that we can make a solid form out of that another negetive can be formed from, but not sure if the high temp needed to heat and properly vacuform the polycarbonate plastic is dooable here at home.

If this was resin casting, I'd be able to definately make bodies, but due to the nature of this hobby, they would shatter upon impact [&o]

I've made a handfull of model car parts however, and they looked great!

RAMTech-HBF-LSF

QuarterScaleLegends has most of what you are looking for. He has teh molds, not sure about how much stock he has though.

bigmodman

hey man!!!!!!! i could possibly make you some rock crawler panels, b/c you really dont need full bodies on crawlers. esp if they are tubers. so whenever you want, you could send the dementions of the panels you want cut and bent or w/e and i could make for ya outa sheet metal. oh sorry this is off the topic a bit, but do you think you could get those motors with a electric start by any chance?

fz1

I plan on making some in the future but the first body's I make are going to be 1/8th and 1/10 off-road ones.

I have made fiberglass molds and also casting of parts. So I know mold work does take time. 1/4 scale has been one of my favorite rc things but still only have a sprint car still in pieces.

My vacuum forming machine is only half done at this point so it will be next year before i even pull some small body's for testing it out. My platten is going to be big so 1/4 scale can be done on it. The only problem is I was going to start a part time buss. making and selling stuff. I am a machine builder by trade so this type of machine is easy to build. But I'm sure if things get going good that something can be worked out. I have been following all of the giant scale threads for years but never post much. Other forums also. There are some strange people floating around also.........Like the guy who never post pics of what he sells. LOL You guys know who that is.


Anyway as things progress I can keep you informed. I am located in Cleveland, Ohio so you know where I am located.
I am still watching the rock crawler thred also. Looks like some good ideas going on there. Keep up the good work.

Q.S.

Yeah Dave, I think that if I went this route I would need to Partition of a section in my shop or something, But due to a insurance issue I dont think I will, My insurance coverage is only work related.[]

Q.S.

We would rather use a lexan body Than fibreglass though, I have thought about these bodys that mike makes, ( Legendary Reproductions Unlimited ) And may go this route I really want to keep the weight down, I'm not sure but I think they weigh around 5 to 7 lbs each,

Thanks.

Q.S.

Well Big,, I havent really had the chance to get an Idea of what crawler body to build, I have seen many partial & full bodys but havent made my mind up yet, send me some body ideas and I'll check them out, We would rather make all our bodys from lexan or fibreglass, I think a steel body would way to time consuming to build.

Keep in mind we will be building these to sell, so I would need to build these in mass amounts, and it really isnt feasible to build them from metal.

(know as far that engine goes) No it will have a standard pull starter, The engines that will be in all our cars is the Stihl MS-390, 64.1 cc. my buddy rick pulls the pull starter and changes out the flywheel, with a ballanced multi tooth flywheel, then he installs a mini on board starter, That is mounted to the new flywheel case.

Them engines I'm going to get you are just a stock engine.

You may be able to mount a servo operated bump starter that is inline with the flywheel to make it a onboard elec start. The same as the ones used to start the nitro engines.

bigmodman

ok, i have built 5 race car bodies, and they are very easy and only take like 40hrs total to build. on the rock crawlers i will semd you some pics later, because i am a bit busy right now. they are not weight consuming.......

the aluminum is a bit pricey, but it is very light, you get a 4x10 sheet of al. and it will last for a while when you build small things.

my crawler is setup for the side panels and hood, thats all i am going to put on this beast, because i dont want to replace the panels every run i go out, b/c i know for a fact i will roll this beast a bunch, and i will attach the panels with zip ties for quick access to replace them.

on the motors, thats cool man i guess i will have more practice to make them electric start with a high torque elecrtic motor. and i can get a little more edjamedcated on the engine porting for those engines. so i can make them more torquier!

but thanks for the help man.

Vette09

Does anyone know the best way to make a mold of a body you already have to make copys? My friend and I have a few bodies that are no longer in production and would like to make some for ourselves.

bigmodman

use them as the molds and build a vaccum former. it will work, i seen a vid of them. you just might need to brace them a bit.

Q.S.

BigModMan.

I uderstand what your saying here, but there are many other issues involved in the design of the body, and the ability to reproduce them in a timely maner, Heres an example, say I get a order from some guy in china and he needs 500 units asap, How long will it take you to build us 500 bodies? Now let's factor in your build quote lets see 500 multiplied by 40 hrs each =20.000 hrs, divided by 52 wks=1 yr = 52 bodys a year, Now 500 divided by 52= 9.61 YEARS. Just an example bud.[X(]

It really isn't logical to build them from metal.
Now If we were only going to build a few this would be a great idea.

bigmodman

ok...

i thought you were just going to build a few, nevermind. hehe but the 40hrs is just for the full size body on my real race car.

the crawler is alot more simpler. but i know i couldnt get 500 bodies done in a week, unless..............

i already have a template for my crawler. but i know could get 20 bodies done in a week....lol but not 500.if i started now i could have 500 bodies done by next year.

Vette09

What material could I use to make the molds?

bigmodman

you could use the bodies themselves.or at least i seen a guy use a body as a mold. then he used thin lexan and heated it up and used a vaccum former.

Q.S.

There are many types of material to build molds from, Here is a link to some very usefull info, from mold making to vacuum forming, I am also searching this site for info. You will need to regester for free before you can post. www.tk560.com/vactable4.html

Q.S.

Just wanted to keep this updated, Well NO luck finding a good supply of bodys, So we have desided to build our own.

I am now looking into geting all the needed material to build a Mini vacuum form machine it will be 6'x3'x3' Should be more than big enough for what we are building, Also I have started on the first Trophy truck body & chassis print & Templates. I will not post the print here or on my site, The body Dimmensions are.

length=43''
width=20''
heigth=16''
wheel base=25''

Here are a few shots of it, NOTE we will also be building all our bodies in 1/5 scale, so those of you that have 1/5 scale cars will be able to use our designs, they are identical to the 1/4 scale bodys only in 1/5 scale.

Please Note:::: These are just the rough non finished Images, I will post more when done.

Leeber

Hi Stoneyberk

I dunno how good you are at computer 3D modelling but maybe you could get a quote from
these guys, if you email them a 3d model or something?

http://eng.st198.cn/ProductView.tin?ID=15&SortID=16

Cheers Lee

Q.S.

I have made many computer generated 3D designs in the past, I have a Z Corp #700 handheld 3D scanner & 3D printer, I bought it from my friend last year, he ownes a custom paint & design shop and he designes custom renderings for all types of things, He up graded to the new 815 series so I bought his old setup, I use D-cam to create the digital image overlays. it has a wide array of capabilities,

Them Images above are just a mockup sketch of the side view, I will be designing 5 mock up ones like this per Template/car first, then I will transfer them to the mold then hand work them.

I will be adding updates on this as I progress.