Wild Willy’s 3d printing adventure - by NicheRotors

[nicherotors 321]

The design for Willy’s Bullhead interior has now been completed.  The parts have been designed so that once put together in a particular sequence there are no screw heads visible when the body is in place.  Especially pleased with the effect of the illuminated dashboard which requires a single 5mm LED.  The other servo lead will be connected to the steering channel to animate Willy’s head.  
 

It should be fairly easy now to lower and stretch the design to fit the Clod Buster. 

[bRIBEGuy 3313]

Looks fantastic!

[nicherotors 321]

Last year I was asked a number of times why I hadn’t designed a grill with vertical slats.  I’d always been quite pleased with [cutting out the horizontal vents] on the stock WW2 item and knew there were other designs available on the Shapeways marketplace. However, recent experience had taught us that the 3d printed materials currently available at Shapeways range from either strong and flat to more brittle but detailed - but there isn’t one material that was detailed and super strong. The Wild Willy grill requires a combination of both and so the following concept was hatched; that of having the main grill designed to be printed in PA12 that can accommodate the addition of separate fine detail plastic parts for the bolts and indicators/ side lights.  At the time of writing this concept seems to be unique on Shapeways.

So far the grills designed include:

i) a replica of the original,

ii) a simple version without the details as per the full-size yellow fibreglass (Bobcat) version shown a few posts back,

iii) a version that incorporates my headlight buckets (for two 5mm LEDs), and

iv) angry eyes (as Jeep owners call them) which I've just painted in TS-46 Light Sand.

 

It’s quite easy when using flat sanding sticks to get a good finish on the grill before adding the details. 

This two-part approach also makes it easier than normal to get a good finish on the orange signals.

Obviously a chrome light bucket would be best but I found white was the next best thing; silver turned the light too grey IMO.

Parts are available [here] with no premium.

 

[nicherotors 321]

The foundation design for the interior to Willy’s Clod Buster has just started and hopefully will be completed quicker than the Bullhead above. 

As with the Bullhead interior I feel motivated to make sure that there are no screwheads visible in the cabin (but that comes with complications and expense - we'll see). 

One known compromise is that Willy's left boot is going to have to be trimmed, he sits a lot lower than in the Bullhead; the alternative was to put Willy in the middle but then he wouldn't be able to see over the supercharger!

[Chewie75 9]

On 1/23/2024 at 5:37 PM, nicherotors said:

Last year I was asked a number of times why I hadn’t designed a grill with vertical slats.  I’d always been quite pleased with [cutting out the horizontal vents] on the stock WW2 item and knew there were other designs available on the Shapeways marketplace. However, recent experience had taught us that the 3d printed materials currently available at Shapeways range from either strong and flat to more brittle but detailed - but there isn’t one material that was detailed and super strong. The Wild Willy grill requires a combination of both and so the following concept was hatched; that of having the main grill designed to be printed in PA12 that can accommodate the addition of separate fine detail plastic parts for the bolts and indicators/ side lights.  At the time of writing this concept seems to be unique on Shapeways.

So far the grills designed include:

i) a replica of the original,

ii) a simple version without the details as per the full-size yellow fibreglass (Bobcat) version shown a few posts back,

iii) a version that incorporates my headlight buckets (for two 5mm LEDs), and

iv) angry eyes (as Jeep owners call them) which I've just painted in TS-46 Light Sand.

 

It’s quite easy when using flat sanding sticks to get a good finish on the grill before adding the details. 

This two-part approach also makes it easier than normal to get a good finish on the orange signals.

Obviously a chrome light bucket would be best but I found white was the next best thing; silver turned the light too grey IMO.

Parts are available [here] with no premium.

 

Fantastic looking grills… Looks amazing with the Bruiser lenses on 👌 Very exiting!

Getting some of parts on shapeways this weekend. Can the grill also be had in fine detailed plastic ?

Reason being i’d like to avoid sanding it before painting. Does the multi jet fusion plastic require much work before primer? 

What kind of glue do you use on the parts going on the grill?
 

While on the subject. What you would recommend for gluing arms on figures ? Got some amazing drivers from the super talented Rob and would hate to screw them up by using the wrong glue. Had some bad experiences in the past with Tamiya cement? 
 

Getting some of your Jerry Can inserts too. What are you using to fill in the cracks before primer ? Tamiya white putty sinks when covered with paint in my experience. 
Appreciate your work making these nice parts and you detailed tutorials 👍

Cheers 

[nicherotors 321]

I deliberately haven’t made the grill available in fine detailed plastic because even when within manufacturing tolerances it will curl a little bit.  Also, not a problem for shelf queens but if used in earnest the fine detail plastic will be prone to breakage for a part that size. The grill only needs a couple or three coats of primer and is easy to work on with sanding sticks and can take a fair amount of abuse.  The front grill attachments on the sprue come out well in fine detail plastic including the hex bolt heads. 

 

I use clear odourless CA that doesn’t fog to attach the parts, the Deluxe Roket works fine. 

 

Glad you have some drivers from Rob; he did my excellent Steven McQueen for the original SWB Wild Willy in my showroom.  From experience the following works for me; i) scoring the areas of contact with a sharp knife in a criss cross pattern and ii) using 5 minute Araldite.  Doing one arm at a time while the driver is bolted in place makes it easy to hold the arm in place and ensure a good fit (not just at the shoulder but also in close proximity to the steering wheel and gear lever).

 

The jerrycan insert is deliberately a good fit (it almost doesn’t need any glue and certainly can’t be removed once pushed in place) so suggest i) applying a coat of primer and sanding the insert smooth while it’s an individual part and then ii) insert into the Tamiya can and then iii) fill the hairline seam with Mr Hobby Mr Surfacer 500.  Then prime and paint as you would normally. 
 

Hope this helps and have fun!

[Chewie75 9]

Yes it helps allot  👌

Makes sense with the grill. 

You are right Chrome would be perfect for the buckets. Do you have some pics of how the light bucket came out  in silver? I’m guessing you used TS83. 

In my opinion a white looks good even on the OE ones “buckets”

Have you thought about making clear turn signals as well? Could look amazing too. 

Great the Jerry Can insert fits like that. I was a little worried it would take allot of filler and sanding to get it right. Can’t wait to finish the Jerry cans.

And good tips with the driver arms.

I have Mr. Hobby Surfacer 500 and some CA glue.  Deluxe Rocket Clear Odorless isn't hard do get. Araldite can be hard to find here but any epoxy will hopefully do. 
Will post when I’m done . Thanks

Cheers Kim