Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** **
- Thread starter wasili
- Start date
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
Hows that update comming Wasili? Commin up on 2 years now.... #5 on the paid kit list from 2010. Couldnt find the original junkyard thread where we paid so i want to make sure its documented.
thanks
Hows that update comming Wasili? Commin up on 2 years now.... #5 on the paid kit list from 2010. Couldnt find the original junkyard thread where we paid so i want to make sure its documented.
thanks
wasili
Sr Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
Hey guys,
Just a few more days of push-to-shove work commitments and then i'm off for a short while to work on this.
In the meantime here's some for you to look at.
Probably the only advantage to being slow is that you see how your product holds up over the long run. In summer 2010 i cast the rear sections in a certain pu resin, and was shocked to see they were warped a year later. They were not stacked, and stored perfectly flat.
I'm still discussing this with the supplier, this resin apparently keeps shrinking slightly on the long run. The above pic shows the etched mesh squashed and deformed.
One other part was cast with this resin at the time, and that was the gunsled. I checked and it was the same crap. Those have been cast again in the regular resin, and hold up perfectly. The rear sections were a different story.
I integrated that into the hull. I machined new parts, took out the rear of the master, and started adding the new assemblies.
And completed.
Next thing up was to close the hull again so the silicone would be kept to a minimum, so i added a styrene skirt. Again machined parts so the alignment of the epoxy hull and the styrene frames (of the final product) would not be in doubt.
Here's some of them.
The skirt leaves a minimum 2mm overhang, more where necessary.
Added some positioning markers (squares in the middle) to the skirt so they aligned with the hull.
And finished....
The three strips going over the top, position the hull master perfectly in the middle of the mold jacket. Next to being glued, most seams of the skirt were taped over, and tiny holes filled with chavant clay.
As the hull master is not solid, and slightly larger than my vac chamber, i had to make sure there were no bubbles in the final mold.
I put the hull on a chair, and taped it in place. After degassing a small batch of silicone, i poured some in places that might lock airbubbles.
And repeated that 4 times till all sides were covered, every time waiting an hour till the silicone set. On hindsight i should have kept the three strips on the bottom off till the last moment.
I gently lowered the hull into the moldjacket, which had been greased up with releaseagent. As the hull was a bit on the heavy side, i added two simple rings from metalwire.
The story continous in the next post..........
Cheers,
Wasili
Hey guys,
Just a few more days of push-to-shove work commitments and then i'm off for a short while to work on this.
In the meantime here's some for you to look at.
Probably the only advantage to being slow is that you see how your product holds up over the long run. In summer 2010 i cast the rear sections in a certain pu resin, and was shocked to see they were warped a year later. They were not stacked, and stored perfectly flat.
I'm still discussing this with the supplier, this resin apparently keeps shrinking slightly on the long run. The above pic shows the etched mesh squashed and deformed.
One other part was cast with this resin at the time, and that was the gunsled. I checked and it was the same crap. Those have been cast again in the regular resin, and hold up perfectly. The rear sections were a different story.
I integrated that into the hull. I machined new parts, took out the rear of the master, and started adding the new assemblies.
And completed.
Next thing up was to close the hull again so the silicone would be kept to a minimum, so i added a styrene skirt. Again machined parts so the alignment of the epoxy hull and the styrene frames (of the final product) would not be in doubt.
Here's some of them.
The skirt leaves a minimum 2mm overhang, more where necessary.
Added some positioning markers (squares in the middle) to the skirt so they aligned with the hull.
And finished....
The three strips going over the top, position the hull master perfectly in the middle of the mold jacket. Next to being glued, most seams of the skirt were taped over, and tiny holes filled with chavant clay.
As the hull master is not solid, and slightly larger than my vac chamber, i had to make sure there were no bubbles in the final mold.
I put the hull on a chair, and taped it in place. After degassing a small batch of silicone, i poured some in places that might lock airbubbles.
And repeated that 4 times till all sides were covered, every time waiting an hour till the silicone set. On hindsight i should have kept the three strips on the bottom off till the last moment.
I gently lowered the hull into the moldjacket, which had been greased up with releaseagent. As the hull was a bit on the heavy side, i added two simple rings from metalwire.
The story continous in the next post..........
Cheers,
Wasili
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
That sucks that the back peice has warped, I wonder how will my hulls hold up after a year, time will tell. Its interesting how your molding this which I know is quite an undertaking my APC was just 16 inches long and the mold is about 20 pounds nice progress shots.
Ray
That sucks that the back peice has warped, I wonder how will my hulls hold up after a year, time will tell. Its interesting how your molding this which I know is quite an undertaking my APC was just 16 inches long and the mold is about 20 pounds nice progress shots.
Ray
wasili
Sr Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
Hey Ray,
I had never seen this before and i've been casting for 15 years. It is a very thin (like coffee) 3 minute resin, but it looks like this is simply unsuitable for the geometry of the part. Both were 2 to 3mm thick, with walls of the same thicknesses (shoeboxlike).
The hulls are layed up in 3 layers of 400gr/m2 carbonfibre, with epoxy, and left to set and stabilize over a few days while in the mold. That will keep it in shape for the next few years. Smaller parts are postcured, which'll make 'm rockhard.
I kept in mind that most people that buy a kit, don't build it right away. So it should be able to last a few years in the box without sagging or the like.
Btw, i used 7.8kgs of silicone, and the hull is 28 inches long, without the turret.
Cheers,
Wasili
Hey Ray,
I had never seen this before and i've been casting for 15 years. It is a very thin (like coffee) 3 minute resin, but it looks like this is simply unsuitable for the geometry of the part. Both were 2 to 3mm thick, with walls of the same thicknesses (shoeboxlike).
The hulls are layed up in 3 layers of 400gr/m2 carbonfibre, with epoxy, and left to set and stabilize over a few days while in the mold. That will keep it in shape for the next few years. Smaller parts are postcured, which'll make 'm rockhard.
I kept in mind that most people that buy a kit, don't build it right away. So it should be able to last a few years in the box without sagging or the like.
Btw, i used 7.8kgs of silicone, and the hull is 28 inches long, without the turret.
Cheers,
Wasili
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
Man your APC is going to be a monster, I even was thinking of doing a studio scale APC like in the Movie 4 feet long! Just don't have the room right now or even one with welded aluminum would be cool, I used to work in the shipyard building subs and aircraft carriers, that sucker wouldn't warp Lol. look foward to seeing your beast take care,
Ray
Man your APC is going to be a monster, I even was thinking of doing a studio scale APC like in the Movie 4 feet long! Just don't have the room right now or even one with welded aluminum would be cool, I used to work in the shipyard building subs and aircraft carriers, that sucker wouldn't warp Lol. look foward to seeing your beast take care,
Ray
MonsieurTox
Master Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
Nice Turbo Laser in the background ! Any more pics of it ?
Nice Turbo Laser in the background ! Any more pics of it ?
wasili
Sr Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
Hey Ray,
That's kinda cool (but hard) work you did there at the yard. Was the sub work in Groton ? I do a lot of modelmaking for shipyards, and in the past done a few submodels for General Dynamics Electric Boat.
So you can weld ?
Cheers,
Wasili
Hey Ray,
That's kinda cool (but hard) work you did there at the yard. Was the sub work in Groton ? I do a lot of modelmaking for shipyards, and in the past done a few submodels for General Dynamics Electric Boat.
So you can weld ?
Cheers,
Wasili
wasili
Sr Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
hehehe, thought someone would notice. I'll start a new thread on that this week in the SS forum. It's the next project.
Btw Julien, i do have some spare leggs eggs if you want, but can't get to them till sat 7th of jan. Can you wait till then ?
Cheers,
Wasili
Nice Turbo Laser in the background ! Any more pics of it ?
hehehe, thought someone would notice. I'll start a new thread on that this week in the SS forum. It's the next project.
Btw Julien, i do have some spare leggs eggs if you want, but can't get to them till sat 7th of jan. Can you wait till then ?
Cheers,
Wasili
simplejack
New Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
My god wasili, you're building a tank! Did I read you comments correctly - you're going to use carbon fiber for the hull?
My god wasili, you're building a tank! Did I read you comments correctly - you're going to use carbon fiber for the hull?
wasili
Sr Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 35th upd., pg 18 **
Hey Simplejack.
Yes, you read it correctly. I'm using carbonfiber for the hull. Could have used glass, but simply love to work with carbon. Could get a good deal on the stuff, and the particular thickness and type i'm using fits the process perfectly.
Next batch of pics.
Filled the mold in batches of 4 - 600grams, so as not to waste any silicone. After each pour, i would write down the weight of the batch, for future reference. The silicone can set in between pours, so the overall pressure on the walls of the model is not too high. We don't want any breaking seams.
Btw, i use Zhermack A22 silicone. Love the stuff.
Once set, the screws were taken out of the jacket, and gently pried open on each side. This is always the scariest moment for me. "Did i forget something that will screw up my mold, the moldjacket or my model".
Everything went very smooth, the jacket opened up perfectly, due to well greased mdf ( i use petroleum jelly). Subsequently i took out the silicone mold, cleaned up the edges. Trimmed them a bit were necessary.
Hey, what you lookin 'at, girl ? :darnkids
Took out the model, being careful not to accidentally smear some petroleum jelly on the business side of the mold. And placed it back in the assembled jacket.
Lookin' good overall. Only found one small airbubble, albeit in a place i didn't expect. Could have been much worse, so was quite happy with the result.
The story continues in the next post....
Cheers, and a very Merry Xmas to all and everyone,
Wasili
Hey Simplejack.
Yes, you read it correctly. I'm using carbonfiber for the hull. Could have used glass, but simply love to work with carbon. Could get a good deal on the stuff, and the particular thickness and type i'm using fits the process perfectly.
Next batch of pics.
Filled the mold in batches of 4 - 600grams, so as not to waste any silicone. After each pour, i would write down the weight of the batch, for future reference. The silicone can set in between pours, so the overall pressure on the walls of the model is not too high. We don't want any breaking seams.
Btw, i use Zhermack A22 silicone. Love the stuff.
Once set, the screws were taken out of the jacket, and gently pried open on each side. This is always the scariest moment for me. "Did i forget something that will screw up my mold, the moldjacket or my model".
Everything went very smooth, the jacket opened up perfectly, due to well greased mdf ( i use petroleum jelly). Subsequently i took out the silicone mold, cleaned up the edges. Trimmed them a bit were necessary.
Hey, what you lookin 'at, girl ? :darnkids
Took out the model, being careful not to accidentally smear some petroleum jelly on the business side of the mold. And placed it back in the assembled jacket.
Lookin' good overall. Only found one small airbubble, albeit in a place i didn't expect. Could have been much worse, so was quite happy with the result.
The story continues in the next post....
Cheers, and a very Merry Xmas to all and everyone,
Wasili
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 36th upd., pg 19 **
Wow Wasili the mold looks awesome, its a cool feeling knowing someone else has an APC mold out there in the world. Mine is close to 20 pounds yours must be more than that looks great can't wait to see you lay one up, you and your family have a great Christmas.
Ray
Wow Wasili the mold looks awesome, its a cool feeling knowing someone else has an APC mold out there in the world. Mine is close to 20 pounds yours must be more than that looks great can't wait to see you lay one up, you and your family have a great Christmas.
Ray
CB2001
Master Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 36th upd., pg 19 **
This is epically awesome. BTW, if you do more than one, you could always add an interior as a means of practicing detail. I came across one that was done by someone over at JoeCustoms.com as a vehicle/playset for their custom G.I. Joes. I figured I'd toss that idea out there in case you ever want to go that far into detail.
This is epically awesome. BTW, if you do more than one, you could always add an interior as a means of practicing detail. I came across one that was done by someone over at JoeCustoms.com as a vehicle/playset for their custom G.I. Joes. I figured I'd toss that idea out there in case you ever want to go that far into detail.
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 36th upd., pg 19 **
That is amazing. No bones about it.
That is amazing. No bones about it.
jockdeboer
Well-Known Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 36th upd., pg 19 **
Wow! That is huge. Where am I going to park that thing!
Wow! That is huge. Where am I going to park that thing!
Alan Cross
Sr Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 36th upd., pg 19 **
I apologize if this has already been asked, but I was curious... how close are you to finishing this project? Percentage wise... is it 80 percent done? 90 percent? I can't tell. And is it still possible for people to sign up to get one?
Thanks!
I apologize if this has already been asked, but I was curious... how close are you to finishing this project? Percentage wise... is it 80 percent done? 90 percent? I can't tell. And is it still possible for people to sign up to get one?
Thanks!
wasili
Sr Member
Re: Aliens APC - 1/12 - ** 36th upd., pg 19 **
Hey folks,
Thanx for all the kind words. It's been a huge amount of work, and i hope it shows.
As for Alan's questions, the work is roughly at 95%. All the research has been done, the cad work, the bulk of the cnc, etched and cast parts, etc. The hull was a big hurdle, and not so much technically, as timewise. That's been done as well.
For me the cost of producing the APC's is very high (sold nearly at cost), and therefore not really interesting to keep producing these until the end of time. It's been more a labour of love. Would there really be an interest in another 10 puppies of these ? I'm not so sure. If there is, let me know by PM and i'll consider it.
Oh, and happy holidays.....
Cheers,
Wasili
Hey folks,
Thanx for all the kind words. It's been a huge amount of work, and i hope it shows.
As for Alan's questions, the work is roughly at 95%. All the research has been done, the cad work, the bulk of the cnc, etched and cast parts, etc. The hull was a big hurdle, and not so much technically, as timewise. That's been done as well.
For me the cost of producing the APC's is very high (sold nearly at cost), and therefore not really interesting to keep producing these until the end of time. It's been more a labour of love. Would there really be an interest in another 10 puppies of these ? I'm not so sure. If there is, let me know by PM and i'll consider it.
Oh, and happy holidays.....
Cheers,
Wasili
