19 replies to this topic

[Jairus]

Was asked to paint a body for a bone stock Gamma Ray chassis.... and build a scratch built chassis for another Gamma Ray stock painted body!
What are the odds?
Two of the same bodies, both painted stock. 

One on a Korrect Classic chassis and one on a chassis of my choice.

Sound like fun?

Hell yeah!!!


Bits for amusement.

Stock first:

Body is not bad. Just a bit aged and warped, but tires still soft.

Custom:

 

Well, got both bodies cut and almost ready to paint. But needed to build the chassis for the customer version first. So... got busy with a hot iron and came up with this:

 

The pans are custom. The bracket.... who knows, but it has suspension and that's way cool looking. (hard on gears)
Tongue is a Midwest reproduction piece from R-Geo. The rest is from the Attic pure and simple.

Glue and true tomorrow.
Chassis assembly soon after.... then... mount and paint.

Should be fun..... stay tuned the rest of the next week.

[Gator Bob]

As far as 'Toys in the Attic' go the Gamma Ray is a true icon of the wonderful world of thingies.

 

The original car is in beautiful condition and the scratchbuilt is looking great. I can't wait to see the paint job shine.

 

Nice? Hell yeah!

[Lumpy]

Hey!  I shipped an original Gamma Ray to Oregon recently.  Coincidence?

[Jairus]

Painting the original for a friend.  And yes, it's probably the same car.

[don.siegel]

Nice looking chassis Jairus. 

 

I think that spring bracket is a DuBro item - let us know how it works once the car gets on the track! I've got a couple waiting for solder... 

 

Don 

[Pablo]

Neat !!!.....I wouldn't mind seeing some close ups of the plumbing next time you have the camera out, Please ?  I know there are some tricks in there ......

[Jairus]

Just standard fare Paul.
Floppy pans mounted on a 'behind the axle' plumber pivot circa early 1968. Guide tongue drops barely 1/16". Rest of the movement of the pans is the same. It's very tight and made for a smooth track.
The guide tongue is a bit narrow for the design... but then no chassis of the period had pin tubes mounted so far forward back then. So, it's pure fantasy and not a replica of anything.

Since I have been racing, I am now building these things to actually handle on the track!  Plan to drive this one myself before mailing.

[Jairus]

I found this on VSRN.  It's a scan from a Model Car Racing mag featuring a review of the new Gamma Ray.  They show the brake on the other side.
I suspect that the one on the customers car is backwards. OR, is the article wrong?
Can anyone confirm this please?  I've tried to wrap my head around the torque thing.... to no avail.

[TSR]

Jairus, nice job!
We LOVE Gamma Ray slot cars, designed by the late Robert Cadaret, formerly a GM Design Studio star.

http://lascm.com/Slo...roducts_id=6632

 

 

I just look at those pics and they were taken like 15 years ago and need to be replaced by a better example, so one more thing I have to do...

[SlotStox#53]

Great work Jairus ! The Gamma Ray is my second favorite only loosing out to the almighty Stinger That you also did a fantastic job on

[Gator Bob]

 

..... suspect that the one on the customers car is backwards. OR, is the article wrong?
Can anyone confirm this please?  I've tried to wrap my head around the torque thing.... to no avail.
 

 

The motor torques in the opposite direction of the arm rotation under power.

 

I think the design is based on the theory that the motor would pivot down CW under torque down (EMF) braking.

But .. what actually creates the 'friction' against the 'disc' if the brake arm lever moves in parallel to the axle bracket upright ? 

 

Can someone please explain???  

 

Note: I never had one of these in my hands but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express in the past.

Edited by Gator Bob, 31 March 2014 - 03:53 PM.

[TSR]

On all the factory assembled Gamma Ray RTR cars, the disc is on the right side and the crown gear hits the pinion also from the right side. Works great!

[Jairus]

THANK YOU Philippe!  That is the info I wanted and will make corrections before sending car off to the new owner. (Might even give it a track test.... )

Finished my chassis this morning.

 

Here is a side by side comparison with the Classic stock chassis (prior to correcting the brake assembly).

 

Time to poke and cut some holes...

B) 

[Gator Bob]

Post #11 was edited and includes a question

[Jairus]

Bob, the way I understand it... there is a friction pad (rubber disc) between the actuator and a pressure plate.  The actuator twists up or down depending on the torque of the motor and forces pressure on the friction pad.  A crude disc brake of sorts.

I posted the article above and I think they explained it pretty well.

[Gator Bob]

The part I don't get is if the 'brake pedal' is moving only a vertical plane due to the free floating attachment at the 'triangle' does it apply a caliper action.  

Does the brake pedal (cock) move out of the vertical plane when the motor pivots over center CW under deceleration? A cam action?

Is there a stop for the motor rotation when rotating CCW under power on torque (looking from the rear of the car)?

[Jairus]

Finally found a few minutes to mix up and shoot some color on those bodies.

 

 

Incidentally the Gamma Ray pink color was mixed by pouring off the top 50% of paint from Practa Magenta metallic into another bottle leaving the majority of metalflake/pearl at the bottom.
Then adding a few drops of white and a few drops of red, thinner and mix.

Then test it on a piece of lexan.
I went through the drops and mixing and testing many times till I found the right shade of Magenta that matched the original body with a minimum of metallic. So an exact known formula is not possible.

But the yellow is straight out of the bottle "Bright Yellow" Practa.

 

The stock Classic "Gamma Ray" first up.

 

 

The second car, the scratchbuilt one, is going to Ralph Klose in Germany. Ralph is slated to run it in a Thingy class over there sometime during the Summer.
He invited me to join him but.... frankly, I hate traveling.

Since the second car is to be raced, I put three vinyl number stickers on it. They COULD be peeled off later if he so chooses.... but I think it helps make the car more race-car like.
Ground clearances are at a minimum but legal for most races.  There is a bit of extra rubber on the back so it should be good for a couple races.  Rubber is JK firm.

 

 

 

On to the next project!  B)

[SlotStox#53]

Very nicely done Jairus they look really cool!

[Pablo]

 

[Gator Bob]

Beautiful cars!