yogi-bear

after seeing that video, I can some military versions looking really good, and maybe even a short course truck version at some stage.

I think overall it still would have been positive as its a new platform that seems to have had a lot of thought put into it.

I think Tamiya will have hit with this one (it'll be on my wish list). I do wonder if they'll do anything else with the chassis though.

yeah, wet filament can be a big issue. I sprung for a dry box a while ago and that has helped a lot. No rush on the body either, I've got plenty to keep me busy My next attempts will involve casting with resin and silicon instead of plaster. The plaster is cheap, but it's not going to last for very many copies, and it's not good for the vacuum system either. So I am going to start trying the idea of the harder inner core/support with a semi flexible silicon outer shell thats around 10 mm thick. That will unfortunately raise the cost to make a mould though. To start off with, I have 3 of the retro racing bodies I'll try this with, as they were quite hard to get off the plaster cast.

all things considered, this came out extremely well. Do you think you need to start again, or can you just adjust the existing 3D model? Also for the next version I’ll apply a spray putty coat. I’m guessing that would be about .3 mm thick, to help smooth the surface so the final product is a lot nicer. I need to try that wing too, but overall and excellent result I think.

these cars come from a great era in RC, where there were lots of different ideas being tried. But the motor being up that high is an odd choice though

I do like the XC Cobra. I am hoping to have some sort of XC vac formable shell ready this year. A friend has 3D modelled it and soon will start making the mould for it.

that's an impressive collection. For me the only other iconic Ford I can see you are missing would be an Interceptor.

I would say for many of us, the budget will fluctuate over time as personal circumstances change, dictating what you can afford. Especially big life events like getting marries or having kids. I've had years where money was really tight and I was cautious buying anything to being in a position where I'm able to get kits almost monthly. Personally for me, one thing I have noticed, the better the budget, the less time I had for hobbies, but I am a small business owner, so usually better money means work is really busy.

I am in two minds about the Lunchbox tires. I like the look of the original ones, but from the few videos I have seen of the Big Bear in action, the front steering and suspension is not that good, so the smaller lunchbox tires would seem to be a better choice if you wanted a model that drove. I have two Big Bears, so whenever I get around to restoring them, I'd probably have one as original as possible as a shelf queen, and one with lunchbox tires and maybe other modifications to make it drivable.

This is pretty cool. The Big Bear also looks a lot larger than the Eagle, for some reason I was expecting them to be closer in size.

thats a good idea. I definitely don't have an endless budget! and I think for shorter runs, this might be a good approach, or just doing multipart moulds. For longer runs where I might be able to sell the shells, thats probably where I'd target the silicone ones. I have thought about this, and even tried do a copy of the cockpit that way. It's definitely a thing though. As long as you don't have any deep recesses, which I did on the cockpit (the seats). I was wondering if the Retro Racing RC bodies were done this way. This was one of the first tests I did lots of years ago, but too many recesses to get a good pull.

cheers, its been a bit of a mission, but something I've wanted to do for quite a while cheers, thats the video I saw too, its a great idea, and also means you don't have to do multi-part moulds, which also have seam lines. PETG softens at a lower temp than ABS - 85C compared to about 105C, so the mould should stand up to PETG for quite awhile. Polycarbonate softens higher at 140C, so the ABS mould won't last doing polycarbonate, but I think I could get 5 or so good bodies before it starts to deform. The wall is reasonably thick and the heat isn't in contact for too long, but the surface will start to lose detail I think. I did try a PLA mould for a small light covering, and after 3 goes the mould badly warped, but I only need two. PLA softens around 60C though, which is too low really.

cheers, I have some new ideas on casting the bodies too. Maybe not for all of them, but it will allow for some overhangs, and more detail around the lower half of the body. It's a two step process using a silicon shell and a harder internal support. I'll be more expensive but worth doing to get better formed bodies.

The last test I managed to do, was for the Nichimo Mid-ship body. This was draw in fusion 360 by @silvertriple and I 3D printed. I had a couple of goes before I got to this stage. Its printed in ABS, 1 mm layer height and about 15 mm thickness. I then drilled some air vent holes in the deep recesses. And you can see with 0.75 mm PETG if formed really well. PETG is great for detail, you can see all the 3D print marks etc, plus it can handle deep recesses really well. I will try and do the final version in 1 mm polycarbonate though. The next step is to compare against an actual body and then adjust. For the final version I'll also spray putty the body and sand back to get rid of the layer lines.