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Lc Lj Torana Scratch Builds


rosco01

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  • 1 month later...

Bump -

Ok folk,

The LJ is back on the desk bench and we've done a bit more after a slight deviation finishing off a Cooper for the upcoming Tasman Cup Proxy... 

 

So, what's been done since my last post in January... quite a bit paint wise.

We had issues with getting lacquer to flow out over acrylic and it demanded a complete rub back and respray. We are now in acrylic with lacquer thinners, a week of flashing off for the thinners to come out, then three wet coats of clear lacquer.... pix..

 

5102-compounded-mail.jpg

 

5103-compounded-mail.jpg

 

6003-compounded-mail.jpg

 

From there, and I was very very happy with the lovely mirror finish I had finally achieved... we went to Patto's decals.

I fully knew that my hard work with the red was going to be mainly hidden... but, I had achieved my goal.. and that finish is still under there.

 

I didn't get any pix going through the process of decals.. but will describe what happened and show a couple of pix of the end result thus far.

 

If anyone follows this project - when you come to ordering the PB HDT LJ decals - if you are using Munter's casting.... get Patto to scale them down to something around the 10% smaller.... the decals I ordered were his standard size - and they are very much over-size.

This demanded that I cut and shut a lot of them... lining up the very fine pin striping, plus getting the main panels to line up on the body was a very long and painstaking process... 

Add into this, I had to airbrush some white in places... and this demanded masking up. 

Anyone who has used masking tape over decals will clearly state that this begs failure... the decals will simply come up with the masking tape... 

For as careful and using all my skills that I have learned, I still had three of them come up firmly stuck to the masking tape... 

I managed to dunk the tape (and decals) back into demineralised water for 10 min, then with the tape still in the water - used a very sharp (thanks donor) scalpel blade to "slice" them away from the sticky tape... without damaging them.

I was able to re-apply them to the model and this time I set them in using Micro-scale Micro-sol (red label)... although Patto warns against using any setting agent.

To be fair, I was not happy with the adhesion of decals to the ultra-glossy finish of the model... it did not take much for them to be lifted.. and it was not until I sprayed multiple coats of floor polish over them that I am convinced they will not lift again - just keep the model away from masking tape!

 

Ok.. I have raised a debatable issue.... decal setting agent. The "Micro-sol" is the less aggressive of the three different Micro-scale setting agents I have. I did not risk the solution attacking the decal, but simply wetted the surface of the model and applied a demineralised wet decal over this... and immediately set it in place and pressed them down on the model using a very damp tissue folded over many times.... 

This process did not allow the decals to be subjected to any bedding by the Micro-sol.. but I believe it afforded them a much greater purchase in bonding to the glossy surface of my precious paint.

 

Now we come to that floor polish again.. and again, I struggle with using it. I have tried brushing and air-brushing.. and it seems not to make any difference in application.

The polish will not "flow out" like a paint from a brush or airbrush. Instead, it will either "pool up" or simply "flow" off and leave the decal uncovered.

I had to apply many coats to achieve an overall wet and sealing cover.... this resulted, with tears almost forming in my eyes - of my very much prized mirror finish disappearing into a semi-gloss or satin finish.... as it sits now...

I have made errors with these decals... but, my fault - I should have heeded Patto's advice to measure prior to ordering. However, how far "out" can one 1/32nd LJ Torana be from another.. not more than a mm or two... surely?... Sadly, such is not the case - and the decals that Patto might find exacting for his body - are very much over-size for the one Munter casts. 

My reckoning is that Munter's cast is pretty much on the money for size... if you measure wheel base and track.... my guess, is that perhaps there may be some factor I have not considered in the difference in the two suppliers' castings.... 

 

Some pix...of the model as it has now sat for a few days... the front and rear have not yet been attempted.. but the sides and upper surfaces have now been finalised in regards to decals... 

What we see here, is the applied decals with copious "flooded" floor polish.. it will need work... 

 

001-decals-mail.jpg

 

002-decals-mail.jpg

 

Overall, I am happy with the result - but there has been a huge amount of work to get to here with decals. Model wise - the decals are excellent.. the only one missing that I have found from the proto-type is the "CIG Gas" decal on the rear number plate area... the rest are all there, and well done. 

Patto's "black" is not as razor sharp as some of the commercially available decals - but they are very good... I am particularly impressed with Patto suggesting to delete the red ink from the main decals... and allow that of the red paint underneath to show through the clear "deleted" ink... it is an amazing result - well done, Patto... 

 

So, where do we go from here?... I will try to compound out the excess of floor polish where it has pooled up - leaving a "run like" over application, the worst of it on perhaps was the best of my compounding work of the lacquer clear coat.. those being the two rear side body panels to the roof.. they are terrible now, and I willwork them down... 

Once that is done, I will clear coat with one thin airbrushing of Tamiya clear acrylic... let that fully cure out for a week - then try a clear coat of Tamiya lacquer... probably only wet misting for the clear coat - and watch what happens to the finish. If that proves successful - I'll "wet" coat again with Tamiya lacquer clear... it dries very hard and is most suitable for slot car "work".... I don't like the acrylic.. or any of the Tamiya acrylic for that matter - on slot cars... it is too soft, and even after weeks of curing out - it is still possible to imprint a finger mark when handling... this is not the case with Tamiya lacquer clear...and - that great paint goes off very quickly.. it can be lightly handled within the hour - not that you would... or should... 

 

I'll make a start on the chassis next.. so, we'll see the first ever use of the scratch-builders plate.......... and undoubtedly, I'll be reporting on its use during the building of the chassis... 

 

Until next..

 

frats,

Rosco

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Thanks fella's.... there are issues with accuracy, but they are relatively small... the blend lines along the side are out of whack too, but I can live with it.

If ever I were to re-do this one, or scratch another  - I'd more than likely mask and spray the model, and cut out Patto's decals to suit.

But, the pin-striping to get the same result would be a huge effort.. not saying I won't do it - yet... the above may eventually annoy me to the point of stripping it all off, ordering scaled down decals from Patto - and starting again... 

 

Below, are two of the downloaded pix I used as reference ..... if you compare them to the model result, it's not too far off.

 

0000-LJ-Bathurst-1972-mail.jpg

 

LJ-Bathurst-rear-mail.jpg

 

frats,

Rosco

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1 hour ago, Shaynus said:

Did you have any issues with the red base colour bleeding through the white decals?

No, Shaynus - no issue with any bleeding. However, we must appreciate that any decal applied over a solid colour will change the hue of the decal - more so, if the decal is white or a light colour. The decals Patto supplied me were waterslide, at my request - I am old school, and prefer to work with materials I have experience with. 

The Patto waterslide decals are a lot thicker than many of those I have used before... as such, the white panels of them have considerable coverage.

If you take a close look at the two pix I put up of my model, you can clearly see the difference between where I airbrushed Tamiya white acrylic with lacquer thinners mixed....... as opposed to the very slightly red "tinted" panels of the decal. 

These air-brushed white sections show up quite visibly around the windows as opposed to the decal panels along the sides. The top of the spoiler was also airbrushed and so too the tops of the front guards and along the nose.... 

This was all necessary due to the supplied decals being out of scale for my Munter cast model... 

I could possibly have added a tiny bit of black into my white mix... to produce what appears a grey in the decal, but but the time I have clear coated this a number of times to come yet... I believe it will produce a much closer marriage of the two differing whites... 

 

Again, I were to repeat this model - or re-do it - I am now firmly of the opinion that I would prefer to mask up and spray... laying the white base down first, masking up and then spraying the red over the white..... it is good painting practice to apply a darker colour over a light one... however, we all know how much I "love" red... as per previous comments.... 

Tamiya white is a very solid paint.. and it has given me considerable coverage... as opposed to Tamiya red... with this experience, I might go against common best practice and apply white over red... but, I would certainly prime the model in pink, rather than grey or any primer colour... red is a difficult paint for me - I like to spray thin..... and I also struggle with floor polish through an air-brush... 

 

This model has again been a learning curve.. in many regards... red paint, full body decals and floor polish... not to mention what is yet to follow - Molotow chome ink for some detail parts and the bumpers etc.... 

 

I most certainly would not to put people off attempting this model - I continue to believe I'll produce something which honors PB and his first win at the Mountain - the 50th anniversary of which will be next year...

 

frats,

Rosco

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Ok, a little bit more. No pix, so those not interested in my dribble can go back to the index... 

 

I wasn't happy with the red wheel arches that the decals provide for. Looking at the proto-type, these are not red, but a continuation of the white... so, mine are now white.

 

I bought some Tamiya white lacquer this morning and have thinned it. It brushes reasonably well, but ideally it should be airbrushed. It dries remarkably quickly and sets quite hard..... two great reasons for using lacquer instead of acrylic or the very slow curing enamel.

 

Whilst in the LHS, I spotted some "new" paint - never heard of it - but it is Australian made and owned... and - comes in a 30 ml bottle, not a 10 ml one that Tamiya do... 

Downside, it is pre-thinned - ready for spraying with an airbrush. 

I have a third T-53 Cooper to build at some time, which will be more of a scale model than a slot car for use.... of course, it will be British Racing Green with white stripes.

My choice for this new paint is British Racing Green... 

The brand name is "SMS" - premium. I believe the initials stand for "Scale Modeler's Supply".

I do like Tamiya lacquer... but, if this is anywhere near as good, I'll support our local industry - I just hope I don't find "Chine" in any of the documentation. 

It sprukes that is is "for the modeler by the modeler".. and is :Australian made and owned".... of course, this may only relate to the label..... (sic).

 

I would be interested to learn if anyone has used this paint, and the degree of success/failure they have experienced. It is new to me... 

 

frats,

Rosco

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That paint sounds like an interesting find. I don't have a wide ranging knowledge at all of paints, but it is cool that there is a local person putting their money where their mouth is. I do hope it is actually Australian and it is a quality product, and it succeededs

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Thanks Shayne,

it will be quite some time before I actually use the paint... but,  I might just test some on something to see how I fee about it. Chap at the LHS told me he uses it with great success on static models... tells me it sprays very thin, but after a few coats the depth begins to appear - from this, I believe it will suit me down to the ground.... but, I also believe it needs a like colour primer... I don't believe this will be good paint to cover with when using masking tape. My suspicion is that I will spray the Cooper all over green and then mask off and spray the white stripes with Tamiya lacquer.. unless I can find some of this paint in white - there wasn't a great deal of it on the shelf, which sort of rang some warning bells within..... if there are issues with obtaining stock from overseas - I would suspect it is merely decanted from a large imported volume and sold as Australian made.... we'll see, I'll do a "net search and see what comes up... 

 

Edited..... here's the link... see what you think. There are pearls, metallics and also colour shifts - this may prove to be a worthy find.... 

I'll do some more reading and see what I come up with.... link...

https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/

 

Thanks Tmsoccer - a little disappointed, considering the huge amount of time and effort already gone into this model.. but, end result should be pleasing... lots to do yet.. 

 

frats,

Rosco

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Ok, I've spent a bit of time on this.... SMS paints. They are based in Sebastapol, near Ballarat in Victoria.

They state that their paints and pigments are all Australian... but about 5% of their range, which includes airbrushes and scenery that is not manufactured or produced locally - is imported.... 5% is a pretty darned good reason to support this company.

The chap who started the company is in fact a modeler, who exhibits and runs demonstrations... so, that gets a couple more ticks as well... 

I have sent off a "contact us" message and await reply.

I stated I was confused in what to me is a contradiction or paradox in terminology - and have since read that their range of "acrylic lacquer" is in fact, what Tamiya would call "lacquer" paint.... which is volatile solvent based..... so, that gets a "tick" from me... 

Further, to resolve some more confusion, the FAQ goes on to clarify that the "acrylic" lacquer is in fact an acrylic resin based paint, but employs volatile solvent... so, guess we now know why the confusion.

I have had success using Tamiya acrylic (X prefix) paint mixed with lacquer thinners... but the recent fully lacquer paint dries much faster and appears to also produce a harder shell.... I look forward now to trying some of this SMS BRGreen paint I purchased today - and will report to the thread on my findings of the results.

 

If you take the link in the above post, and go to the site - click on the FAQ icon and it will tell you much more about their paint.

It is thinned for immediate air-brush use... with a needle as fine as 0.3 mm at 10 to 15 psi. Normally, I don't spray at a pressure that high - preferring around 8 to 10 psi... but I have recent airbrushes which have very fine needles... and heavier needles in others that will allow me to drop pressure.

 

From what I have seen thus far, the range is amazing... some of the "effect" paint should prove well suited to some modelers in this forum.

 

If I am happy with this new company (although it states it was formed in 2016)... I would probably suggest that we should support both a fellow modeler, and Australian company... I know I fully intend to, if the results are satisfactory..

 

Ok... that's about it for tonight... I did an awful lot of chasing up on this... and am almost shocked that the brand has not come up previously in anything I have read or in any of the LHS I have visited... 

 

Guess, I might have to get the second Munter T-53 Cooper body out and start work on it...... who's coming along for the journey on this build?

 

frats,

Rosco

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Ok... just a bit more, I've placed an order for 6 different colours of their premium range, including high gloss.

I did a bit of reading on the PDS and this paint is very volatile.... I would not recommend spraying it in a confined space.. .it has xylene, tolulene, naptha and also a small amount of MEK in it.... but, if you are after a hard shell finish as I am... I believe this "is" the paint.... 

Further, I was rather pleased to find that they also retail a Two Pack.... with isocyanide in it.... I have used this paint on our aluminium boat.. and I can tell you that once it cures out - the stuff is almost bullet proof.

I would only be interested in the super gloss clear coat if I were to purchase any.

Downside, it's $28 per kit.... comes with parts A and B plus thinners. Mix rates are standard for 2 pack... 

Once part B has been opened, it has a shelf life of 6 months.... so, if I were to go this way - I'd make sure I have a lot of models lined up to be sprayed within that period.

It has a working time of 30 minutes, tack free in an hour and can be handled after 24 hours.... 

It is polishable and also re-coatable after blocking down.... pretty much your standard auto 2 pack, but with modeling pigment size.... 

 

I am particularly interested in their range of "colour shift" paint.... the effect is mystifying... the effect changing colour and hue as a light source is projected from different viewing angles.... we see this on some very trendy and expensive paint jobs that young folk have paid a house deposit for.... it might work for slot car modeling in a truly "fantasy" application... I have absolutely no idea how to apply it or any of the necessary preparation.... maybe someone here can enlighten us.... ?

 

I have ordered some ceramic "scraping" blades.... designed for taking off mold lines of kit plastic parts... the ceramic blade is blunt, but used to run along on its flat edge ... obviously, the corners of this edge do the work... it might just save some embarrassing cuts that we all suffer when using a scalpel blade... 

 

OK.. think that's enough for anyone interested to chase this company up... not keen on shelling out between $300 and $600 for an "arty" storage system and a number of bottles of paint... think I'll just pick and choose what I want and suffer the shipping, which by the way - for 6 bottles of paint and the blades came to $12... if you are interested.

 

frats,

Rosco

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Hi folk,

again I have received a reply from Scott at SMS model paints... these replies come back quite quickly and are very informative.

I have been granted permission to post his first reply to me, and believe the forum will benefit from his reply to my questions concerning "acrylic lacquer".

Moderators, please delete and slap my wrists if I am not permitted to post third party material..... it may be worthy of consideration to enquire as to sponsorship..... this is an Australian company, owned and operated by one of our "own"... I do not believe there to be any conflict of interest in promoting this company, but am most respectful to any rebuttal if such is the case.....

 

As received :-

Hi Ross,

I started our company back in 2016, launching in 1 store with only 10 colours. Today we have close to 300 colours and are stocked in over 60 stores in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the US and the UK.

We are based in Ballarat, Victoria and I myself am a scale modeller, which is the driving passion for what we do.

In regards to Acrylic Lacquer – short answer is that Acrylic does not automatically mean water based. Acrylic Lacquers are the correct term for what modellers know as lacquers. The term Acrylic always refers to the type of binders used in the paint mix.

I wrote this blog post a while back to help sort out the confusion : https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/blogs/from-the-desk-sms/so-just-what-is-an-acrylic-lacquer

Our SDS’ can all be downloaded from here : https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/pages/msds

 

With handling, we have a lot of people using our paints on slot cars and RC and have yet to have any negative feedback in regards to handling. We have a flexible additive called Flex that can be added to any of our paints to make them Lexan/Polycarbonate friendly (it gives the paint flexibility to avoid chips and cracks when driving them around) and we also have a 2K clear product that can be used for added protection if required.

If you are on Facebook, we have a customer support group here : http://www.facebook.com/groups/SMSOfficialgroup

Hope this helps, and if you have any other questions, please let me know – always happy to help!

Thanks,

 

 

Scott Taylor
Director
The Scale Modellers Supply


frats,

Rosco

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Ok, bit more to report - but first, couldn't help myself... I now have a few more bottles of SMS paint.. and six more to come tomorrow.. 

There is a Facebook page, which is being used as a forum, so to speak... some great info getting posted up there, and Scott comes back with answers to questions pretty snappily... might be worth a look.... 

Paint - 

 

001-SMS-paints-mail.jpg

 

Ok, whilst I sort out my issues with floor polish and decals - I started work on the front of the model. I have the grille, as you know - but I now need to make up some headlights.

I had considered using clear or white LED's but the 5 mm ones are just a bit too small in diameter... 

I then went online and sourced some perspex rod... and ordered a whole bunch of different sizes of it.. from 2 mm to 12 mm.

I had a play with some 6 mm rod tonight, fitting a flexible sanding disc into the Dremel and rotating the end of the rod against it until I was happy with the profile.

I then fitted a felt polishing pad to the machine and dressed it with some Tamiya coarse polishing compound. This removed the fine scratches in the Perspex.

Happy with that, I fitted a loose-leaf calico pad and dressed that with some Tamiya fine polishing compound.... 

I believe I'm close to the headlight profile... see what you think?

 

001-5-5-mm-perspex-shaped-mail.jpg

 

002-shaped-end-mail.jpg

 

Just to show my intent at some stage down the track with this model - I used a small LED torch to bring light up from the end of the Perspex... an LED can be fitted behind whatever I decide will be the length of the rod I fit to the model... and I can have the lights on, if my desire takes me that direction.... pic...

 

003-backlit-mail.jpg

 

As for the model, at present I'm in a conundrum... I had issues with the decals around the carefully gouged out vents in the sides of the guards lifting and peeling back.

I then took to the entire decal around the vents and cut it away... 

My plan now is to use an acrylic base coat, and then lacquer white to fill the cut-out... by the time the clear has gone down over this - it should pretty much blend in... 

 

I will have a play around in the garage tomorrow with all my types of paint, and try to find a combination which will both please the decals, and allow me to over-coat with lacquer...

I am really keen to try the SMS super clear... undoubtedly, this will get mention somewhere in this thread as the time comes for it to be used... 

 

frats,

Rosco

Edited by rosco01
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At last,

we're now onto the chassis - almost had to call in S&R to find my brackets, axles and bushes - turns out, they were in a box "LJ Torana" - who'd have thought?

 

I have never claimed that I can either solder or weld.. I have a terrible ratio of weld/grind.... too embarrassed to make it public... not much better with a soldering iron, but I get there... in the end.

 

Ok, set up the axle position for a 80" wheelbase... the LJ is actually only 79.35"... but I can liv with just over 1/2" tolerance... scale wise, it would be less than 0.4 of one mm... I'm not going to quibble over that.

 

Some pix of the body sitting on the jig with axles pegged in position..

 

001-body-on-jig-mail.jpg

 

 

002-body-jig-side-mail.jpg

 

 

003-motor-position-mail.jpg

 

 

004-motor-position-mail.jpg

 

Just a couple of comments on the above pix... firstly, the motor will not sit this high inside the body - the body is resting on the jig - when wheels and tyres are fitted, the body will be up quite a bit from what is shown in the pix.

 

Also, you may note that I've cleaned up some of the paint and decals.... I sprayed the wheel arches white, in correctness of the proto-type. 

I have also done away with the decal slits in the front guards and cut the entire section of decal away - then painted in the white... still needs a bit of work.

Thirdly, floor polish - I have learned something - it is best applied with a brush - not an airbrush... I have had much success simply by hand painting and brushing the liquid over to "lay off" .... 

And - I have also found that this polish responds well to compounding... I have managed to get a lot of my lost gloss back simply by compounding the floor wax... 

 

Ok...now down to business..... chassis.

 

This will be the first time I have used the Scratch Builder slot car jig... 

 

I found it quite easy to map out what I wanted from a simple chassis - nothing elaborate, but I might add "bits" as I go along.

 

To start with, I decided to return to my usual 0.062" piano wire - it worked perfectly for both Cooper chassis.

I further made the decision not to run two lengths of wire and solder them into a unit at the front and rear bracket - but to make a square 90 degree end at the rear bracket .... leaving room for the crown plus a bit more, should I ever decided to use a larger crown.

 

When I purchased the jig, it was suggested to me to also purchase the wire bender - I am ever so glad I did.

This amazing ceramic tile allows bending piano wire very accurately - and keeping multiple bends in the same horizontal plane... 

Working out where the bends were on the wire took a bit of doing... but the first bend was relatively easy... just mark up from one end of the wire the length needed from what will be the front of the chassis - and bend it to 90 degrees.... easy, so far.

Next, I had to make that second 90 degree bend, and this is where it took a bit of working out. Whenever a bend is made, it does not start and finish where you might expect it to.... instead, as the wire is bent around a peg - it both "grows" and "shrinks"...  I would like to have believed that my mark would stay in the centre - but it didn't.

Using this jig, my mark stayed at the beginning of the bend.... and the resultant "gap" formed between the rails "shrank"... by twice the width of the wire... I'll know that for next time.

 

My original plan was simply to fit the bracket between the two rails, but due to this shrinkage - I ended up with the bracket sitting on top - no biggie, but it didn't go to plan - so I had to improvise... 

I cut the second rail to length and then set up dowel pins in the building jig to hold the rails in place.

Fitting the supplied axle rod through the bushes held the bracket in place... I then decided to solder in the bushes to the bracket.

My choice for solder this time was some "lead free" solder.. consisting of 96.5 % tin and 3.5 % silver... plus 5 core resin.

I have had great success using Laco soldering paste - so, all parts got a swiping of that as well.

I mounted the axle end into one of the peg holes and ran the bracket and bush down until it sat on the base. This method afforded me to solder in the bush with some vertical gravity keeping them in place whilst I ran the solder. 

I then turned the bracket over and repeated the process on the other bush..... having the bushes aligned with this axle in the bracket ensured that they went in square and parallell.... 

I then cleaned up the mating surfaces of the bracket and rails with some 240 wet/dry and wiped Laco paste onto them.

Next, positioned everything "square" on the jig.. and "tagged" a spot of solder onto the first joint... checked that it had not moved then did likewise on the other rail... 

Checking that everything was square and parallel - I then heated up the entire joint on one side and ran the solder - it flowed lovely, but I got a bit carried away (usual practice) and fed in more than I really wanted to.

I soldered in the other rail to the bracket.... then came back and soldered the inside joint on both sides.

The bracket was now well and truly set in place... 

As is my practice (previously mentioned) I spent the next 20 minutes with my much loved Dremel and some sanding discs.. and cleaned up excess solder.. then fitted a felt pad and polished the bracket and rails up.... 

 

So, that's where we are now at.... we have made a start on the chassis... pix....

 

004-bracket-soldered-mail.jpg

 

 

006-bracket-mail.jpg

 

 

007-rear-bracket-mail.jpg

 

This design is not my own... but I have stolen most of it from Chris W (ChrisGuy)... (thanks Chris)... who's metal work is stunning (body work is equally so).

 

I intend to solder a brass plate with a drilled hole across the rear for the body mount.... 

I will not use a front formed bracket, as I had done with both Coopers, but will solder a plate across between the front rails and mount a raised brass square section tube onto that plate.... and another plate for the guide mount.... 

 

This is all I have planned out at this stage.... 

 

Ok.. more work tomorrow - we might have both axles in by tomorrow - and we can start to mess around with getting a sneak preview of the model with wheels and tyres on it... 

Until next.....

 

frats,

Rosco

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Three days later.... chassis is finished.

I was once told that the highest form of flattery was imitation - take a bow, Chris W.... almost a copy of one of your lovely chassis

 

I used 0.062" piano wire for the main rails, and 0.032 for the outer weight supports.. which is what I believe you used on your chassis that I took as a guide.

 

Pix...

 

001-chassis-finished-mail.jpg

 

 

002-chassis-finished-mail.jpg

 

Tomorrow, I will mount up some styrene rod and set the chassis to height and location in the body - using JB weld to secure the rod to the body.

I can then work up the surrounding area to make it more secure.

 

If you look at the body mounts, I did not add any step to reduce the length of the body mount - as I did with the rear.

I don't understand why, but from most of the chassis I have seen - most builders only provide a step at the rear... and leave the front mount on a place between the chassis rails.

 

 

Now, question from the ignorant to the wisely...... this is the third piano wire/brass chassis I have built - and my first attempt at a sedan.

It is acceptable to be able to see the chassis when it is mounted under the model?

I have tried to work out how to hide my chassis from side view - and I'm afraid I've run out of options.... it will be clearly visible below the body....

I could fit side panels to cover the gap - but throw this question up to the forum for suggestion.... 

 

Ok.. should have some chassis on body pix up by tomorrow night... 

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Thanks OS-62..... it's not going to look good - I believe I now know what I have done wrong with the chassis.... may even build another one for this model yet.

Bit of a learning curve - but where I believe I went wrong was by fitting the rear bracket the same as I had done previously with the two Coopers... as mentioned, they are the only two chassis I have built previously.

My original intention was to run the piano wire rails along the bottom sides of the rear bracket - which would have given me 0.062" less clearance, but even then it would not be what I wanted.

The brackets which were made for me were set up for that model.... soldering the piano wire at the bottom of them was suited to that model..... and herin lay my mistake.

I employed the same practice for the much taller LJ.... the Cooper sits very low on the track - body wise.... the LJ sits quite high.... it only goes to reason that using the same setup for the LJ was going to result in it sitting way too low.. 

However, it will probably handle better than if the chassis height was greater.... there is an absolute minimum clearance from the motor to the track - as is the case with the Coopers.... 

 

My intention for a more suited chassis, is to again use the same brackets that I made a jig for and pressed them out - but to solder the piano wire rails along the side -and further up..... I believe this is the critical design point which ultimately determines how low the chassis sits under a model... so - we have learned something... I think.... 

If I do make up another chassis, it won't be for a while.... there are more projects on the list to get to before I return to this one - and I am yet a number of weeks away from finishing this one off... there is a lot of work to do on the body yet... windows, interior and final fitting out of accessories... all body work, not chassis... so, none of that will need revisiting... 

 

The body is currently sitting on the chassis with styrene tubing screwed to the chassis and the tubing setting in JB weld under the body.

I am also going to have to revisit the front body mount - it is possible on a track that has undulations that the screw will short out the track rails.. so, we need to drill through that hole and fit another plate further up into the body.... 

This chassis sits very, very low - it would suit a sport car like model that sits very low to the track.... like an Elva or something of that nature.... the LJ sits up quite high.... and I have yet to true down the tyres.... so, my thinking at present is that we will make another chassis which better suits the model.... at some time.

 

OK.. pix later when the JB has set - you will then see just how low this chassis is under the model.... it's low, and is probably as low as a chassis can be made... 

 

frats,

Rosco

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Ok folk,

we have now completed the little Cooper and it awaits shipping off to the scrutineer's paddock in Adelaide.... 

So - now full time back on the LJ build.

A bit has been done since last post, the chassis is complete and assembled - but, I have an issue with body mounts..... and ask the brains trust within for options/alternatives which may rectify the issue.... 

 

First up, some pix and a bit of a report... 

 

Here is the completed chassis sitting on a steel set-up block.... all four tyres sit true on the block, and there is just enough space under the guide for the braid to be fitted... I have work to do yet, and will leave the braid until the model is complete and is about to be placed on a track. 

The guide is held in place using an M2 cap head bolt, a lock nut and a brass washer. There is zero lash between the guide post and the tube - it took a bit of doing, but I found that using a newly purchased "ceramic" scraper blade gave me much more control in mating the two than previous use of a sanding block and fine wet/dry... the ceramic blade easily removed very fine amounts of any indicated binding of the guide post in the brass tube.... evidenced by the "rubbing" of brass on the post.... 

We can also see here, that I have again employed my now preferred method for providing an independent front wheel arrangement... tapping into the hollow axle tube with a 10 BA tap and the fitting of a 10 BA counter head screw to retain it in the tube.. This affords greater control over clearance between the front wheels in the axle tube.

I have used 1/8" square brass rod for the tube in this build - but will revert back to round tube in future... I don't like the amount of slack between the square tube and the axle... it's not much, but I have found the round tube a closer fit.... 

Side on pic.... 

 

1001-complete-mail.jpg

 

The next pic shows the front of the chassis in the set up plate. I am happy with all components and their placement here... 

As you can see, I also like to drill and tap the front of the guide so that M2 grub screws can be inserted to hold the contact lead securely inside the guide - this practice is yet to fail me for the few years I have included it in my builds and re-builds... 

I like using silicone leads... they are both flexible, and provide a little "return" to neutral setting on a de-slot. I ensure that equal lengths of this lead are used.

You can also see that with this model, I have chosen to drill holes in the two plates which support the axle tube... I don't like leads "flopping" around un-necessarily inside a body.... these two holes keep the leads contained and allow them to "cross-over" and point towards their respective motor terminals... 

This Slot-It motor is a bit odd.... it has a red painted dot on one terminal, but the motor drives the rear axle in reverse if I use the right hand contact rail connected to this terminal..... the teeth of my crown are located on the right side of the rear axle, as I have done in other builds - yet, if I were to connect track positive to this terminal - the axle would drive in reverse... I'll get to the motor in a bit.... but the news is very, very good... 

 

1002-front-mail.jpg

 

Ok, here we can see the rear of the chassis - and in it, one area/problem I am yet to overcome.. the rear body mount.

I drifted away from a rounded "U" shaped rear end of the chassis with this build - so that a rear body mount plate could be soldered on.

The solder I am using has excellent holding ability, using my favored flux - the brass took to the piano wire very easily... and I was able to locate the rear mount plate exactly where I wanted it.... 

You can also see in the "corner" of this plate I have formed a right angled bend.... it is normally a difficult bend to make if simply placing the brass sheet in a vice, or between some flat faced pliers... this time, I used the Dremel with a very fine cutting wheel to scribe along the line of the bend.... and then used the vice and pliers to finish it off. Once formed and brought to exactly right angled and square, I then ran a bead of solder into the joint... it may give the impression that this joint is made of two pieces - but having explained my method - you can appreciate that it is the one piece - and formed to my satisfaction.... 

We can also see that I have not shimmed outside the rear axle bracket - and in the next few pix - you will see that I have shimmed between the crown and inside of teh rear bushes.... which is a more exacting practice - rather than to rely on the slot provided within the Slot-It crown... this method was suggested to me quite some time back by the good folk in this forum - and again, it has not failed me... more so - improved the running and wear/maintenance of both the crown/pinion. and the constant positioning of the rear axle in its bushes... 

 

1003-rear-mail.jpg

 

The issue I am having, is that body float does not return the body to a central balanced position.... 
I went to a lot of effort to ensure that it would - but it doesn't. The chassis mount plates and front post were positioned exactly.... dead centre-line, and full on vertically square to the body.... the body posts were screwed into the chassis then cut to length then JB weld was used to epoxy them in place on the body.... 

I set up a jig so that the body sat at exactly the desired ride height, and that it was exactly parallel and square to the chassis... and left it overnight.

When the screws are removed, the body can be removed and re-fitted exactly in place.... but, it will not sit flat on the chassis mounts... and "topples" to one side or the other ever so slightly.... allowing for body float, this would normally be acceptable.. but, due to the wheel arches and my need to have the track at exactly 46 mm.... I have precious little clearance left to allow for such "toppling" in body float... 

I am considering adding some more components to the chassis, but baulk at interfering with what I believe is probably the best chassis I have yet made..... 

I could fit some "locating" posts in the body - similar to what commercial manufacturers do.... and this may very well be the direction I take - rather than add any more to the chassis.... I am very happy with the chassis, and really don't want to compromise what has been an extensive build.... 

 

Ok... time for a look at the top.... from the side.... 

As you can see, the motor sits very nicely between the rails - it does not touch them, and does not "hang" down below them.

As you might appreciate, I built the jig for the rear bracket to suit this motor - and I foresee that I will wear it out.. I simply love the motor ... more later.

We can see in the pic, the mounts for the body - a post at front, constructed from a "top hat" box section with sides soldered on.... 

Originally, I planned on simply screwing a body post to the mount plate of the chassis - but the length of that post was simply ridiculous. so, I added this box section mount.. which resulted in a much more appropriate body post.

The rear bracket - and here is probably where I have made my mistake - I should have made it full width at the rear... allowing a wider rear body post to be employed.... which would have "centered" the body to a square on position, yet allowed float.... lesson learned... 

The holes through the front axle tube support made easy work of running and locating the power leads... it keeps them nicely "criss-crossed" and in position during the complete movement of the guide deflection from one side to the other, yet affords sufficient movement for free movement.... I will use this again... 

We can also see the small brass plate I soldered to the top of the front axle tube... drilled it at centre then tapped it.

You may be scratching your head as for it's purpose, and some of you may believe it is for some form of lubrication......? but when I tell you that my front axle is also free to rotate within the tube - you will understand that during maintenance or tyre/wheel replacement - I will need to lock the front axle... so that the 10 BA brass screws can be undone and allow the independent free turning wheels to be removed.

I did this with Cooper #2... for this very reason, and have also retro-fitted Cooper #1 with the same tapped plate.... 

I do appreciate there are arguments for and against the fitting of a smoothing ceramic capacitor.. my own believe is that they should be employed.... not so much for interference issues... but to absorb the surplus electricity in the "nano-second" between brush/commutator breaks.... rather than "flash-over" the commutator...

I do appreciate, with motors this small - it is more than probable an electrical engineering demand - but it is my choice, and I choose to include them.

I have had success employing two such capacitors on some of the larger motor powered models I have..... to do this, I simply solder each one from the motor terminal to the metal of the motor body.... using it as a "bus" to make the connection between the two capacitors.... and possibly absorbing any induced field or stray/errant spikes which may/may not surround the armature in the metal motor housing.... I note that this practice is employed in Carrera models - and have mimicked it in some of my older models with larger/less efficient motors... like the 50 year old Scalextric Muira and Ferrari P4 that I purchase new when I first started work at age 15...... in 1970..... the original motors continue to run sweetly.. with just a bit of bush wear...... but, they run well and these two models are very much asked for when we have our annual slot car weekend (Bathurst 1000 weekend).

Ok... next... pic of the above/above...

 

1004-side-mail.jpg

 

We get a bit of a peek at the inline arrangement in this next pic. We can see that it all looks "in place"..... nothing protrudes or looks out of place... 

I believe it's neat, and yet relatively simple. It would have looked more simple had I not elected to add the front mount box pillar... but even that doesn't really look out of place... I was happy with the build as I went along designing it... and would more than likely repeat the same chassis arrangement for the LC XU-1 when it is time to make a start on that.... 

You may ask, why I went to all that trouble to drill and tap front wheel grub holes?... and you would be forgiven for doing so..... however, if I were to tell you that the only reason these were done was so that the wheels could be removed to fit new tyres... then fitting the to an axle so that the tyres could be trued.. well, I now believe you can appreciate why I chose to add them to the turning of the front wheels........ ?

 

Speaking of which, an the previous turning of some 28 wheels for this model - all of which were not used!.... and another four were then made to replace them... why?

Well, as you might recall early in this build - I wanted to mirror what Slot-It were doing with the original wheels I bought for both these two Torana projects..... the grub screw hole was centred on the inner wheel rim and hub.... I had a terrible time learning how to overcome that, but got there... 

When it came to finally designing the chassis - I quickly came to realise that that practice was entirely wasted on this model... I needed hubs..... and I chose to widen them out to suit the chassis rails - which ultimately was made up to suit the rear bracket - which further was designed to suit the motor.... bit like chicken and egg - but  I hope people reading this dribble can appreciate, everything relates to something else... and simply plucking a number out of what most people sit on as a starting point - often results in a wasted effort...... so, we have motor size - which gives up bracket size - which gives us rail spacing... and then we can work out wheel design..... not the other way around, which was the direction I took in this first sedan build.... lessons learned.... build the wheels for the chassis, not the chassis for the wheels... 

I was able to fit small spacers between my axle tube and the wheel on each side - which affords some running clearance and offers points of lubrication... 

Pic....

 

1005-front-mail.jpg

 

Ok.... and here we get a look along the chassis from the rear.... 

Again, to me - the build looks simple, yet neat and functional... I may be wrong, this is only the third such chassis I have ever built.... 

We can see that nothing is likely to foul under the cover of the body. We have oodles of room for an interior and that I have attempted to keep weight down as low as possible - except for the body mounts.... 

We can also see the spacers between each side of the crown and the inner axle bushes. They are packed so that there is less than 0.010 mm clearance on either side... in fact, the crown side was an interference fit, and I ran the axle for some minutes for it to make its own bed-in... the non-crown side had a clearance of less than 0.010 mm...  I could not fit the 0.010 mm feeler gauge in the little clearance that was resident - and decided that I would go no further... 

The shaft of the motor does not touch the slot in the crown....... which I have been told is to be aimed for... not so bad if it does on the right side, as the shaft runs in the same direction as the face of the slot... but, on the left side - it runs opposite..... I have set up all three of these brass/piano wire chassis so that the slot runs clear of the axle shaft.... 

Finally - rear axle.... I marked out where the grub screws positioned themselves on the axle and ground the feintest of a flat .... for them to positively locate..... 

I like to add a dob of nail-polish to the top of the grub screws once everything has been running around for a while.... so that they can't back out..... it is easily removed with some acetone.... unlike Loctite 262 which I have used previously... and is a mongrel of thing to release.. I still have one wheel on one model which I have been unable to remove.. simply because the 262 has passed beyond the thread of the grub hole in the wheel.. and virtually welded the wheel to the axle... I won't repeat this in any future model.... nail polish sets hard, but it can easily be dissolved... just don't get it on your paint.. or Molotow!

 

Pic...

 

1006-rear-mail.jpg

 

And what set of pix would be complete without one of the underside... 

I ran a piece of steel strip over both sides of the motor... and found that there is a distinct difference in magnet draw between the two different options.

I chose to mount the motor with the underside having the least draw... I don't like track magnets - they are usually the first thing I remove from a new model once I get "under the hood".... 

We can see in this pic, that when I had the Dremel out and engraved my name and the date of manufacture into the front plate - my head was in a better place with this model than Cooper #2..... both completed in Mar.... and this year, it's just that the LJ was correctly dated 2021.... not 2020... as the folk at this year's Tasman Cup proxy will learn when my little entry arrives... and will logically be in the belief that the model is a year old.... no so.... 

 

Underside....

 

4003-chassis-rear-mail.jpg

 

Ok... last little bit before we go back to work on the body.... motor. I'm darned well impressed!... to say the very least.

This Slot-It Flat 6 motor is amazing.... I am yet to learn of how it performs on the track, but after fitting the pinion, meshing it to the crown and connecting up power to it for the first time today - I was amazed at how much braking this motor has on its own... without any controller input... it is quite stunning... and - as the name suggest... it seems to have a doubling of "poles"... hence perhaps the "6".... 

I was expecting it to need at least 3 or 4 volts before it began to turn the armature with the pinion and crown all hooked up... but no!... the rear wheels began to turn at just over 1 volt... it was well and truly coming into song on 3....... 

I ran it for a good 10 minutes at 3 volts, then dropped down to 1.5 for a few... up to 5 volts for a minute.. then back down to 3 volts for 30 minutes..... all the time polishing up the armature and brushes... I did not do my usual "naptho" to this motor... I don't believe the armature is anything but true... there is absolutely no vibration in the motor... very rare... it spins up very freely and almost comes to a stop as soon as power is removed..... but.....

What probably amazed me more than anything - after an hour of running, and eventually giving it a peak at 12v for a few seconds every now and then... 

I was able to very carefully decrease power right down to just 0.3 of a volt.... absolutely no indication of any hesitation... just a solid continual ticking over of the armature.... maybe that "6" has something to do with that as well... I don't know... 

It has done about an hour on the bench - all the time connected through the pinion and crown with the wheels and tyres fitted... if anything, I believe it's even quieter now than when I first connected it up.. and it was darned quiet then...... 

This will not be the last of these motors I will purchase... and my mind is already starting to tally up how many I'll need for some of my older models.... 

The next XU-1 build will get the slightly less powerful of the two Flat 6 motors I have (well, you'd have to accept this as the LC XU-1 only had the 186 motor in it, the LJ - the 202... seems right, doesn't it?).

I had the L-34 out on the weekend.. whilst doing some bedding in of Cooper #2 on a short Scalextric track.. by golly, that car is a dud......... it just 'lugs" and "loafs" around... it's not a pleasant model to drive... even now with it's correct "Marlboro" decalage.... it needs work - and much more than I have done previously.... 

The A9-X.... a vast improvement, but, I did a bit of work on that...... I left the factory tyres on it to "have some fun" as it was suggested to me... well, I've "had" my fun with those tyres.. and the MJK's will be going on pretty much as soon as I can find a window of opportunity to do so.... the model is good... the motor ever so much better than the L-34 slug .... 

In contrast - I took the XY GTHO of Allan Moffat out for a spin... straight out of the box  - what a lovely "box" model that is.... anyone who bought the L-34 and one of the GT-HO's.... I bet that L-34 stayed in the box on most occasions that there was only one driver........ 

 

Ok.... so, that's about it... as stated many times over - you must really hate it when I go missing for a spell... I come back in "reams".... 

 

Until next... when we return to the body... where I will need help with correcting my body-centering/float issue... 

 

frats,

Rosco

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Thanks OS-62.... yes, I have had some very positive suggestions thus far... amounting to providing at least three mounting points for a larger body than I have previously scratch built a chassis for.... 

At present, I am considering fitting two pads inside the sills of the body - and perhaps a short piece of wire from there down to the brass strips on the chassis.... 

Sadly, they sit very low and this will all be very obvious, even though I will paint them matt black.

I had considered soldering a brass strip across the top of the rear chassis mount... and providing two posts in the back of the body... these would be better up front, but I can't justify adding weight so high up..... and will attempt the sill mounted pads and wire first..... if that looks too ungainly - I'll look at the brass strip across the rear... and finally the front... 

As mentioned, I am happy with the chassis and don't want to mess with it any further.... if I need to, it will be a last resort.. 

 

There may yet be another option which has neither been suggested or has come to mind yet... I am having a good think on this before I cut and thrust into action... 

 

Thanks for your reply, OS-62.... I do hope that we have all learned something from this, my first attempt at a sedan chassis....

 

frats,

Rosco

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