Lambo Delore

Ha - I'll be watching.  Need decals - Signor Fusione :)

keavdog

Ha - I'll be watching.  Need decals - Signor Fusione :)

 

littletimmy

I have "Suscribed" to this thread, .... but must wait to post my "Usual" non-sence , untill I get my latest computer Issue dealt with...

 

It's a conspiracy, man. 

The last car model that I built some 30 years ago was an AMT ZR-1 Corvette. I painted it white and finished it off with hand rubbed lacquer. It looked good. The model came with molded-in marker lights that I cut out and replaced with fabricated colored plastic lenses. It looked great! But man--it was a lot of work. Each marker was bicolor. I think they were red and white. The image below makes me do the happy dance. The kit comes with colored inserts. Oh ... mamma.

Today, I worked on assembling the two BTF baffles or vents. Not sure what the official name of them are. Also--I started work on the Flux Capacitor. You can see below where I plan to install it. My plan is to backlight that piece. The Y shaped structure is what glows the hottest. I need to simulate that somehow. I am thinking I'll remove it allowing light to come through from an LED mounted behind it.. I am open to suggestions.

BTW. I plan on doing a lot of lighting with this project. 

It just hit me what I will do. I will cast a mold of that inner section or the whole thing and then cast a clear replica that will allow light to come through. I will try that.

This looks like fun.

Glad you 'splained the thread title, I'm not nearly clever to have figured it out. Sigh of relief.

Greg

Glad you 'splained the thread title, I'm not nearly clever to have figured it out. Sigh of relief.

That makes two of us. 

Yes, I wanted to do something fun. It's an open canvas, and that is kind of cool.

As mentioned, I worked on the exhaust port things. As one would expect I needed to adjust the joining areas to the contour of the car. I was fortunate in that these will not interfere with anything at the locations shown below. They are not glued down, just show and tell.

I made a mold and did a test cast using two-part epoxy. The mold should be Ok but I need to find a casting medium that produces less bubbles, and one that won't yellow terribly. Michaels carries something called EnviroTex Jewelry Resin. I will try that.

Also shown below is what remains of the Flux Capacitor. I removed everything inside of the frame. When I get a decent casting, I'll insert it into the frame and progress from there. Oh--and I had to shape the joining area of the frame to match the contour of lambo tub. 

That's where I am right now.

Bakster

. I will cast a mold of that inner section or the whole thing and then cast a clear replica that will allow light to come through

Capital idea!

Interrogitive:  You have checked the nose for ape pimples, correct?

Idea:  bright green LED under the Mr Fusion.  Maybe.  I was given a bit of kitsch that decided to beat Entropy to the punch, and went to bits.  Only important in that it had a cerulean LED that, for some reason had a bit of Cherenkov that was right near movie-set "radioactive" green.  I suspect it's the voltage through the blue LED is "yellowing" it out a bit.  If I can find the bits, I'll post them (been keeping xmas stuff up and running, while taking my first vacation from work in half a year, so, all is turmoil).

Hey Capn! It is great to hear from you. Just yesterday I was thinking that I have not seen you on the forum much, and that I should reach out see what's up. Good to hear you are well!

CapnMac82

Interrogitive:  You have checked the nose for ape pimples, correct?

Ha! Right? That was a lesson learned to be careful what you buy. And no--no pimples on this model. 

CapnMac82

dea:  bright green LED under the Mr Fusion.  Maybe.  I was given a bit of kitsch that decided to beat Entropy to the punch, and went to bits.  Only important in that it had a cerulean LED that, for some reason had a bit of Cherenkov that was right near movie-set "radioactive" green.  I suspect it's the voltage through the blue LED is "yellowing" it out a bit

I'll keep that in mind and check my stash for LED colors.

You mentioned Christmas, and I have mentioned my disabled friend Marcia before. Well, she insisted on getting me something for Christmas and for my Birthday. Both are just weeks apart. All I could think of in terms of ideas for her was a list of items I had created on Amazon. Things like assorted LEDs (all chip sizes and colors), hookup wire, assorted resistors, a protoboard, and a portable hotplate. Oh--and a book on Christopher Columbus. I told her--don't go crazy by buying all of them. She is on a budget and her heart is bigger than her wallet. I should have known better because she got me everything on the list. In all--probably pushing $100 of product. Anyway--my point is this. She could not wrap her mind around the stuff she was buying for me. She couldn't understand how this stuff makes a good gift for me. I told her more than once--if you don't buy it--I WILL. I want it for my hobby and it makes a great gift! Even when I was opening the gifts she had the look of, I feel so bad I bought you this junk. LOL. Man! I was a kid in a candy store. I'm all set for electronics.

I used the portable hotplate to make the Flux mold. Prior to this I'd have to use my kitchen stove by running up and down stairs from my bench to the kitchen. Though good cardio--not so good for workflow. I am loving this hotplate. It heats fast, and it can safely rest on my bench. The bottom of it barely gets warm. And the thing is cheap! It was less than $15. Speaking of cheap. A person can purchase electronic components off Amazon for reasonable prices. And, you can find nice kits of them.

CapnMac82

while taking my first vacation from work in half a year

Glad to hear you have some time off! It is good for the mind, body, and soul!

Good to hear from you!

Bakster

that I have not seen you on the forum much,

The great lock-out hit me hard; all hail the end of the curst login!

Something of a Sunday for me today.  Tonight, I have to set the alm for the first time since 21 December.  Such is life.

Been surrounded by ideas, and ideas of ideas.  Tool catalogs teasing me no end--the wood laser cutter was very tempting; as was the cnc sheet cutter, slightly more wasteful than photoetch, but fewer steps with no complicated chemicals.  Sigh.

CapnMac82

The great lock-out hit me hard; all hail the end of the curst login!

I fear the problems continue. I have not heard from LittleTimmy in awhile and usually that means he is locked out. He was having issues last week with posting. He is using a new computer too! And btw...I did not receive an email advising of your post. The FSM email poster may be broken again. This is maddening! Clowns!

Regarding the tools... I say, treat yourself! You live only once!

Well, I purchased the jewelry resin and I have the cast curing from yesterdays pouring. This stuff is slow curing and I will give it a few more days before pulling it from the mold. The good news is is that it seems to be pretty clear. I don't see any yellowing thus far, and the resin degassed itself very well. I helped it along but I think the resin did its job. I don't see much for bubbles. Actually, at this point I don't see any bubbles. I won't know for sure until I pull the piece and hold it to a light. 

Whilst that cures, I have been doing research with regard to paint colors for the exterior and interior of the car. I am leaning towards titanium on the exterior. It is darker than aluminum but brighter than a dark gray. Interior is still unclear.

Bakster

I fear the problems continue. I have not heard from LittleTimmy in awhile and usually that means he is locked out

( running up, and out of breath...) 

Huf,    Huf,  Huf ..... Panting ..... I'm here   .... cough .... what did I .... cough ...miss?

Bakster

. I am leaning towards titanium on the exterior. It is darker than aluminum but brighter than a dark gray. Interior is still unclear.

A medium to light Blue would look nice for the interior. It would really "set off" the Titanium.

Maybe some White "accent's" in the interior too.

littletimmy

A medium to light Blue would look nice for the interior. It would really "set off" the Titanium. Maybe some White "accent's" in the interior too.

I shall consider your wisdom.

Where you been? Working on the house I bet. 

Bakster

Where you been? Working on the house I bet. 

Installing second layer of insulation.....

AAAAARRRGGGG !!!!   The Itching !!! The itching !!!!

10-4. Get that house done, man.

PS: still not getting emails. Ah well, it's the new norm.

Bakster

the resin degassed itself very well. I helped it along but I think the resin did its job. I don't see much for bubbles. Actually, at this point I don't see any bubbles.

Who was the idiot that said that? Oh--it was me. Son of a ...

Well--needless to say, there are bubbles. I would call them micro bubbles. One of these years I will build a vacuum chamber and that should fix this vexing problem. But--that is a project for another day.

So--I decided to cast the insert instead of the whole piece. As good as this molding material is-- it has issues in certain situations. It so happens that this was one of those situations. I was getting air trapped in the recess of the piece when I tried to mold the entire thing. Those bubbles end up as divots in the mold. Over and over I tried, with no luck. I even tried drilling a hole in the master as a means for the air to escape. It DID help--but not enough for my taste. I then cut the frame from the master and cast the insert. That worked beautifully. I am amazed at the detail that carried through. 

You can even see the lines from my cutting mat. That is amazing. You can't feel those lines to the touch, but the mold/cast picked up that nuance from the mat.

Do the bubbles kill this deal? No, it does not. I planned to mask out the areas that surround that center detail. I will paint it so that only the center section will project light through it. In actuality--that is how the unit looks in the movie. Or, at least not until nearing 88 MPH. Then it is glowing bigtime. I think the bubbles are harder to see in that detail. Also--as I hold the piece up to a bright light source the bubbles get washed out. I think that I will be Ok. 

I am putting a lot of "time" into this because after all-- it's the flux capacitor that makes time travel possible. 

End of update

Just caught this. I'll be reading up on this and following when I get off of work.

Watching this with great interest.  Bet it gets to 88mph quicker than the DeLorean ever did.  

LonCray

Bet it gets to 88mph quicker than the DeLorean ever did.  

Thanks for following along!

Bakster

it's the flux capacitor that makes time travel possible.

If you need a full-size one, they are a catalog item on the Auto Zone web page.  Delivery not guaranteed.

CapnMac82

If you need a full-size one, they are a catalog item on the Auto Zone web page.  Delivery not guaranteed

I have seen those and they look pretty cool.

More work on the flux cap today:

1. I cut a hole in the tub allowing access for the flux cap.

2. I glued the frame to the tub.

3. I glued the glass into the frame. I secured the glass by running a bead of PFC to the join from the back side of the piece. That worked well. Capillary action pulled the PFC into the join without leaching onto the glass face. This created a strong enough bond to where it won't fall out.  

4. I hand painted the light mask. 

5. I tested the mask for light leakage. This revealed that another layer of paint was needed. I applied a second layer and I will recheck it tomorrow.

I don't know if AMT was intentional about it but the glass has a sort of milky opaqueness to it. I like how that looks and it's why I didn't try to improve on it. It looks like heavy glass that would shield occupants from lethal doses of radiation. Hehe.

End of update.

Hey Bakster !

 I need your solmn promise you won't laugh .I have it ? Okay . My Landlady tried to cast something for her stained glass projects . Bubbles galore .What Next ? She shows me her finished final piece .No Bubbles .

 She made me promise not to laugh . She duct taped a  Battery Powered toothbrush to the mold bottom ! Vibrated all those bubbles out , by golly !

Tanker - Builder

 I need your solmn promise you won't laugh .

No problem!

Tanker - Builder

She duct taped a  Battery Powered toothbrush to the mold bottom ! Vibrated all those bubbles out , by golly !

NO WAY! That is brilliant! LOL. Landladys method is a lot easier than my building a vacuum chamber. Just for fun-- I will try this using my electric shaver. That might work too. I will let you guys know how the experiment works out.

Thanks TB, this is cool...

First Looks

For reference the piece is not secured. There is plenty of light leakage around the joins,  and I see that there is more mask leakage to deal with. For this test... I am using an LED flashlight.

The jury is out regarding the LED type I'll go with. I might experiment with a tealight. That would produce a yellow light and it would flicker. As well, the light output will not be as intense. The question is, will it be too dim. This flashlight demo uses high intensity LEDs. This is one of those I won't know until I get there scenarios.

More work to be done, but flux cap is nearing completion.