GMC Clodbuster Body Grille and Working Tail Lights

[Pintopower]

The parts arrived from Shapeways. I was pretty stressed about installing the grill on the Clod body, just worried I had made a measurement mistake. Fortunately, not only hadn't I, it fit perfect. Here are the bits:

1. Headlight lenses and the Turn Signal Lenses.

I tested out the detail plastic for these and I think i messed up with the light lenses. Though they are transleucent, the head lights need to be clear. On a plus side the signal looks perfect like this.

2. Grille Insert and Logo.

Ultra fine detail plastic was perfect here; expensive but perfect. Look at how "grill -like" the grill is! The GMC logo has ribs on the rear of it so that it is not possible to sit crooked. The detail and firmness is amazing with this plastic.

3. Grill assembly.

This was what I was most worried about. Just scared it would not line up with the shell. It ended up perfect.

LED Retainer:

As I started to put it together, it was all coming along very well. Dropped in the head lights and the signal lens (remember I need to order the clear HL lenses):

Then I got to drop in the grill:

Finally, I popped it onto the shell:

On the inside:

I am genuinely blown away by h ow this came out. Now I need to paint it up.

[XV Pilot]

Stunning work so far! Looking forward to seeing it with some paint.

[neverfollow]

Perfection!! Words can't describe how awesome this is!

[boxartparts]

it is looking amazing .come on get some paint on it and lets see what it looks like

[berman]

I think we are all blown away. Wow, would like to buy a super clod and have something a little different than the ugly 4x4x4 grille. And yeah by embellisher I meant the chrome panel insert for the tailgate Well done!

[backtomyroots]

when is this going be for sale - me = wants !

[Crash Cramer]

Very nice looking there Alberto, now where are the other 10 projects I ordered up??

[Pintopower]

They are coming along. I need to paint them but right now i have the following to do:

1. Remodel Basement

2. Install Tankless water heater

3. Install water softener

4. Drive to Portland and acquire new Fiat Strada

5. Restore said Strada by July

6. Begin building 2000 sqft garage and studio

7. Punch rere Wheeler

[s2-g2]

Sounds like you got some free time on your hands! Looking forward to seeing more.

(why the tight restoration timeline on the Fiat?)

[Pintopower]

I am sorry for the huge delay on this project but to say that I have been otherwise busy is quite the understatement.

Sounds like you got some free time on your hands! Looking forward to seeing more.

(why the tight restoration timeline on the Fiat?)

That is a long story but it is on schedule!

I finally prepped and painted the grille and the ancillary items. They came out totally awesome if I, the creator, do say so myself. I will do the detail touch ups tonight but could not wait to share the images. As soon as I do the final fitment, I will open the parts to purchase. Please note that due to the required detail needed in the emblem and the grille, I had to specify a high detail printing and that has dramatically driven price up. The parts will be available separately so if you had other plans for the grille insert or did not want the GMC emblems, they are not needed. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Tail lights. Need to cut out existing ones:

Bucket test fit:

Lens test fit:

GMC Tailgate Logo placed:

Main Grille assembly. Sanded to smooth out stepping on angled surfaces and primered:

Painted charcoal which will be the base color of the headlight bucket area.

Chrome painted and charcoal grille painted. It is supposed to be black but then you cant see all the details. Those ribs are 0.6mm thick.

Grille insert placed:

Emblem painted and placed:

Light buckets painted:

All done, for now:

I tell you I am proud of this one. I have seen a few alternates and was appalled by the improper body alignment and the poor scale. It took a while to get this one perfect. Ill post more soon.

[neverfollow]

Outstanding! Great job!

[Pintopower]

Outstanding! Great job!

Thank you! I can't wait to glue the lenses in and then put some LED's in this sucker. First i need to touch up the charcoal, then the fun stuff.

[Crash Cramer]

Alberto, That is some awesome work, oh and congrats on the OTHER awesome work too. I have been playing Hot Wheels this week and over the very rainy weekend. It looks like I will have another rainy weekend, so more indoor playing rather than replacing all the struts on the Honda. Go figure, get all the parts and bits lined up and ready to go and the weather is terrible. Now if I had focused on getting more garage space cleared, I could have put the car in the garage to work on it.

I think your grill and parts look great, but one thing is catching my eye, why do the rear lenses look so yellow and the front parking lights, they look a bit like they have sit in the sun with some UV fading them all up. I realize this has been months in the undertaking, but for some reason, those details are staring me in the face. I realize your source data may have been older cars. I can't beleive how nice my Honda looks since I put in new headlight clusters. I haven't waxed my car in like 3 years and the paint isn't all that great, but the front end from about 20 feet away looks NEW because of my cloudless headlights and all the other 1999-2000 Hondas I see around here look about 30 years old since they have the very faded and clouded lenses. Just my two cents worth, but I can't afford to give that up either, so I will give you an IOU and thanks for doing this and sharing it all.

[Pintopower]

Alberto, That is some awesome work, oh and congrats on the OTHER awesome work too. I have been playing Hot Wheels this week and over the very rainy weekend. It looks like I will have another rainy weekend, so more indoor playing rather than replacing all the struts on the Honda. Go figure, get all the parts and bits lined up and ready to go and the weather is terrible. Now if I had focused on getting more garage space cleared, I could have put the car in the garage to work on it.

I think your grill and parts look great, but one thing is catching my eye, why do the rear lenses look so yellow and the front parking lights, they look a bit like they have sit in the sun with some UV fading them all up. I realize this has been months in the undertaking, but for some reason, those details are staring me in the face. I realize your source data may have been older cars. I can't beleive how nice my Honda looks since I put in new headlight clusters. I haven't waxed my car in like 3 years and the paint isn't all that great, but the front end from about 20 feet away looks NEW because of my cloudless headlights and all the other 1999-2000 Hondas I see around here look about 30 years old since they have the very faded and clouded lenses. Just my two cents worth, but I can't afford to give that up either, so I will give you an IOU and thanks for doing this and sharing it all.

Yeah I should have explained that. The discoloration is the support material that is used to print the lens. It looks like shapeways did not do a good job cleaning them. I have noticed this with the standard detail acrylics. They need a bit of a scrub in some detergent. Then it will come out semi neutral in color.

[Nitomor]

More awesome work, that GMC emblem will be perfect for my A-Team van Lunchbox!

[emory70]

Wow, that's good stuff

[Pintopower]

I finally added led's to the grill and tail lights. I have to say it was awesome. The only issue was that I didnt have enough 5mm LEDs to have all the low and high beams on so you will need to use your imagination.

Low beams and parking lights on

Turn signal on, sorry the camera wasnt picking up the amber well at all:

High, low, parking and turn:

No signal. Tha 3mm is much dimmer than it looks here:

Tail light lens painted:

Lit up:

Reverse light. Very little bleed into the red area.

Reverse and tail light on:

This thing came out better than I thought. I will mock them up in the car next!

[Crash Cramer]

Those look great, when you get more LEDs would you take some photos in the dark so we can see how they look then???

Now, about those Hummer bits I ordered....

[ChrisRx718]

Looks great.

Excuse my ignorance but having bought your Blackfoot light buckets in the past something I noticed was that spraying the lenses with clear / translucent colours would increase their transparency a bit. I had to spray both internal and external faces, but it improved that frosty look they have when they arrive. Keep up the good work!

[Pintopower]

Those look great, when you get more LEDs would you take some photos in the dark so we can see how they look then???

Now, about those Hummer bits I ordered....

Some where in the dark, those lights are just bright.

Looks great.

Excuse my ignorance but having bought your Blackfoot light buckets in the past something I noticed was that spraying the lenses with clear / translucent colours would increase their transparency a bit. I had to spray both internal and external faces, but it improved that frosty look they have when they arrive. Keep up the good work!

No you are correct. It smooths out the roughness and makes a more transparent appearance. The reason I didn't do that with the lower parking/turn lens is that on the full size version they are not clear, the look just like that. I think there is a picture on page 1 if I recall. I think when I make them available I will have an option for clear.

[-=Jeff=-]

WOW!!!!!

That is just awesome.. where can I get a set.

Very impressive work you have done

[Pintopower]

WOW!!!!!

That is just awesome.. where can I get a set.

Very impressive work you have done

Thanks Jeff, it was a slow one to get right.

[Pintopower]

Sorry for the crazy delay! Everything is uploaded to shapeways. The shapeways "Would you like to get a set" option shows broken images but the "add set" works fine. Make sure you select "Print it Anyway" if it is an option in the check out area line item. Let me know if you have any questions.

Headlight Lenses, 1 of 6:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/RC2UPTXJR/ampro-tamiya-clodbuster-gmc-headlight-lens-1-of-6?key=b7786818b7fe8281ec9a29ca129b2883

Turn Signal Lenses, 2 of 6:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/9JW7VB2J3/ampro-tamiya-clodbuster-gmc-turn-lens-2-of-6?key=0307c52bba82e939b614f180c082d15f

LED Retainer, 3 of 6:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/4J5Q3QGZZ/ampro-clodbuster-gmc-grill-led-retainer-3-of-6

Main Grille, 4 of 6:

There are two options here, the strong and flexible plastic which I used. This requires sanding to smooth out the stepping from the printing process. There is also a detail plastic wish has a sharper finish but a much higher price.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/87C2DJQE4/ampro-tamiya-clodbuster-gmc-grille-base-4-of-6?optionId=58786692

Grille insert, 5 of 6:

High res and higher res options only here.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/W8VTUFAG4/ampro-clodbuster-grill-insert-5-of-6?optionId=55954487

GMC Grille Emblem, 6 of 6:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/A5FQSW4W7/ampro-tamiya-clodbuster-gmc-logo-6-of-6?key=b16069c2a723fe0892e90eef302adf98

Tail Lights:

Tail light housing, 1 of 2:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/DAGMJ6G3T/tamiya-clodbuster-taillight-housing-1-of-2?key=dc97d463534b31fa2d399bcbae4a437b

Tail Light Lenses, 2 of 2:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/RYPP6ZXQD/tamiya-clodbuster-taillight-lenses-2-of-2

GMC Tail Gate Emblem:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/XL2AQNJCC/tamiya-clodbuster-gmc-tailgate-emblem?key=cc6347e3b08788708dd38e45df6932a0

[-=Jeff=-]

any suggestions for the LEDs for this set-up? I really like the grille assembly

[neverfollow]

Mine are on order! Very, very excited for this to say the least.