Newbie, need direction

[Flux]

Hello all,

I'm wanting to produce a 1/5 scale mold of the Tumbler from the Dark Knight for vacuum forming. Reason for producing a mold of just the body is so I can tweak the design to suit the frame it will be mounted to (end result will be a Tumbler inspired design). I have thought of using a Pepakura file and scale that in the Pepakura program to 1/5 (or near to that depending on what the width ends up) but I'm unable to find a Pepakura file I can use. I have come across a 3D file in google sketchup format that I can export as .kmz file so the Pepakura program can load it but after that I'm not sure what to do (tweaking the unfolded file). I don't need all of the finer details pistons/wings etc, just the bulk of the body.

Can anyone out there help me out?

 

[AbsoluteSciFi]

Well if you have the general body shape already... (Most people work from several photos only) Then making the form should be a matter of building, carving, sanding, MAKING the original form for making a pull... am I missing something?

 

[autoprops713]

You could create a pattern but it would need to be separated into sections so you could pull vac form parts. There are a lot of undercuts on the basic tumbler body. I suppose you can do a roof and separate side panels but it would be a ton of work. Trust me, I've been down this road.

If you create a Pepakura file can't you just resin it and finish it off like the Iron man helmet guys are doing? Maybe skip the whole vac forming part.

Or...why not just buy a Tyco RC tumbler toy off ebay? They are about 1/6 scale but you'd have a great start for your build. The body is abs also which you can easily cut-up, glue, etc.

What is your final model going to do? Is it just a stationary display? RC?

 

[Landstalker]

Vac forming could be the way forward.