67 replies to this topic

[Martin]

Larry I really like that you are taking the time to look at particular shape of a wheel well arch.  It can add a lot to the finish look.

[Larry Horner]

Funny you should mention that Martin. Even with my template, I totally botched my first attempt ,,, have I mentioned lately that I am not a body guy? Luckily that JK body is easily procurable so attempt number 2 in currently in transit. Hopefully this round will come out better!

[Martin]

Sorry to hear that, how bad was it? Is it something you want to share? 

 

Do you use a hole punch as a way to get close to the line? I use it like a nibbler then finish with a sanding drum. 

[Larry Horner]

I slipped with the scissors and over cut one of the front wheel wells. My technic for cutting wheel wells is to first mount the body and slide a hollow axle outwards to identify the center. If I'm only going for a round hole, I'll then use my 22mm circular cutter. But in this case, I'm going to modify my template to have a center hole so I can line it up. Then I'll cut around the template this time being more careful (and using ny newly acquired curved scissors). I do have a little drum sander with my Dremel that I use to clean things up. I probably need to get a nibble though ... I know lots of folks here on SB swear by them.

[Martin]

I use a standard paper (1/4'') hole punch with the guard removed. Better luck next time. I know you will get it.

[Steve Okeefe]

Larry,

 

"Persistence is the key."

You'll get it; keep going!

 

Martin,

 

That's a clever idea, a standard 1/4" hole punch (with the guard removed).    I may have to stop by the local office supply store.  "Tools and materials used in ways they were never intended."

[Jay Guard]

Hey Guys:

These are awesome for cutting out wheel wells.  Especially if you get the version with the super short blades (#2375-10) as shown below.  There is a slightly longer next size up but I've found they don't work nearly as well.  Using these it's really difficult to cut too much and they really help to get into tight wheel well curves.  I recently got these off of eBay because you can't buy them in stores any longer, about $12 each.

 

[zipper]

Small curved scissors (a Dental product - I've used over forty years).

[Larry Horner]

Thanks for the support and suggestions guys! I did manage to do a decent trimming job this time thanks to both being more careful and using my new curved Fiskor crafting scissors. Now it was time to paint and one of the nice things about JK bodies is that they come with window masks.

 

Now for a slight diversion. The ear cups on my headphones kept coming unglued and I read that if you keep your headphones on a wig mannequin when not in use, this would not be a problem. So I bought a styrofoam mannequin head and it solved the problem but just looked so boring sitting there in ghostly white. So I went to my local arts supply store and bought some "Blue Man Group" blue acrylic paint. Unfortunately the SB uploader wants to rotate this so this guy but you get the idea...

 

 

Back to my car. So I again consulted with Pablo who suggested that acrylic paint might be my best bet but also mentioned he'd had some bad experience with acrylic rattle can paints and it would be best to airbrush it. Sadly I don't own an airbrush so I decided to go old skool and just paint it with a brush. Now I just needed to decided what color. The original Sunoco T70 car that I bought decals for was dark blue and I own a JK repro of that car. And while this car looks great, it sadly blends right into a black track hence and I can barely see it. But I wanted to stay in at least the same region of the color palette so was thinking about maybe a gulf livery blue. But then it hit me that I already owned a bottle of bright blue acrylic paint.

 

 

So decals are all that remains ... one chapter left in the saga of the Blue Man Lola!

[dc-65x]

That looks great Larry. The JK window masks did the job.

[Howie Ursaner]

Hard to believe what a piece of junk the original car is.  I have always been amazed by this.

 

[Larry Horner]

Ok a slight confession. I just got the plans for the 16' strip plank sailing skiff I want to build and it's been getting a lot of my attention of late. But last night I opened a bottle of really lovely Paso Robles Zin and put on the decals. At first I thought they were waterslide decals but no, they are peel and stick which is bad because they really don't stick all that well. In any case, they do make my body look more like a real car and they stick well enough that I can probably cut at least a few laps before they fall off! These shots are taken with modern wheels but I still need to mount some 7/8" tires on the vintage rims and hopefully I can find some Lola wheel inserts too. And I might 3D model my velocity stacks in back as the decal for them is really lame. Enjoy!

 

[Bill from NH]

Larry, the car looks great. After you've had it on a track, report back here how well it drove. Does anyone sell body wraps for slot cars? If they did, you'd paint & decals in one application.

[John Luongo]

very nice work larry, quite some time ago we use to lightly spray clear enamel over our cars to help protect the decals, esp if using well detailed, thin/fragile water slide type. it seemed to help. best regards.

[Dave Crevie]

JK Products sells these sets that are as close to a wrap as you can get for a Lexan body. They are stick-on. Are these what you used?

 

Waterslide are nice because you can apply them inside the body before painting. But you can't mask over them. 

 

[Larry Horner]

Thanks for the kudos guys! And Dave, those are indeed the ones I used and they actually fit the body pretty well but my thinking is that you're expected to leave some of the clear surround and not trim up too closely to the actual detail item, at least when a particular detail ends on a curve. I think I may have to cut some clear patches to hold down those pesky edges. I'm going to try this on both the grill and headlights as those seem to be areas that don't want to stay stuck. And I originally used the windshield too but I couldn't get the air bubbles out so I eventually removed it and just used some black detail tape. All newbie lessons in body work!

[Dave Crevie]

Well, the whole project turned out really well. I haven't used many of those stick-on decal sheets, but I have seen some that were really nicely done. I found that using clear Scotch tape over stickers and water-slide decals both will help protect them when they are applied on the outside. I have a polished popsickle stick I use to work the corners and areas with compound curves. The frosted tape sometimes leaves a "halo" around the raised edge of the sticker.

[Larry Horner]

Just a quick followup on this project. I don't own a tire trimmer so I have shipped my car off to Pablo to both mount up some vintage tires and to take it to his local track for testing since my closest track in now a two hour drive to Modesto. I'm really looking forward to finding out how this puppy handles. Pablo, no holding back ... drive it like you stole it! 

[Bill from NH]

Larry, about 25 years ago, Pablo & I together built a blue Lola T-70 coupe with a similar looking set of water-slide decals. As I recall, Pablo built a brass rod chassis as well as painted & mounted the body. The body was a Toy-Tech donated to Pablo by the late Larry Sheperd. Pablo sent his work up to me & I installed a S16D Trinity Midnight I had built for it & took it to the local raceway to try out. After I was done, I sent the complete car back to Pablo for his use. I don't think either of us kept photos.

[Pablo]

Larry, you picked the right place to send it for testing. 

If it handles well on Bill Pinch's reverse LTD flat track, it will handle anywhere.

[Pablo]

The workmanship on this build is impeccable.

I gave it a drivetrain test and it's absolutely perfect, sweetest gear mesh ever.

 

I looked it over and gave myself a headache trying to find a fault - it's supreme quality.

My part will be easy, donuts are drying and EJ's #15 front rubbers fit the Russkit replica hubs perfect.

 

My job is to make 1/16 level clearance with 7/8 OD's all around, then test

 

[dc-65x]

She's a beauty alright.  

[Larry Horner]

Pablo, you're making me blush! I've always loved the look of the orange donuts and those look pretty awesome. Can't wait to see it all come together and get some feedback as to how she handles. Also a heads up ... I gave the motor bearings a couple drops of oil when I reassembled it but I don't think I lubed the gears.

[Martin]

This well built car is in good hands.   Look forward to reading the results of track testing.

I wonder if it is best to run a few laps with dry gears, just to bed them in together? Just a thought no data to back this up.

[Dave Crevie]

Way back when we used to lap the brass gears in with toothpaste, then apply a tiny bit of STP with a toothpick. (I guess we took better care of our teeth back then  ) Now I just run the gears dry at a low voltage and watch for a wear pattern. I add a little of Mike Swiss' Chicagoland synthetic bearing oil, spin the rear tires by hand a bit to spread it around, and let it go at that. Almost all the oil will be thrown of by the high RPMs, but just enough will stay on the gears to provide lubrication.

 

Just a hint; some kinds of oil and grease will actually slow the car down. Be careful of what you use and how you use it.