Re: (Get outta my head!)Wolfman's grav tank model

Tomb wrote:

> Tank Casting:
>
> Randy, I CC'd David on this one just to see what his thoughts are.
>
> http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~rwwolfme
>
> That is just brilliant work, as far as modelling goes. And it really
> must get cast somewhere somehow. I've already said I'd buy some. :)
>
> General thoughts:
>
> I'd say cast it before adding features that would be hard to caste (ie
> wire mesh bins/etc) but after surface detail is applied. You should
drop
> David at DLD a line... (note I've CC'd him just to get his input) as
he
> might be able to 1) put you on the right track (if he's caught up
after
> the big con) or 2) he might want to cast it for you and make a kit of
> it.
>
> A solid resin model will be easier to cast (in some ways, though mould
> heating and bulging may be more problematic) for the hull. A kit with
> the hull piecewise would be far cheaper to ship and lighter if you do
> need to be a bit of a whiz to mould like that. (DLD's moulding is
> superior in quality I think to GZGs, but it also comes at a price
> premium). That's your trade off - a big heavy thing that's expensive
to
> buy and ship, or a smaller lighter thing that's expensive because it
> comes with a lot of pieces.
>
> Try to leave bits like cupolas, guns, and hatches for separate casting
> (until you decide how you'd go about this). You'll find that you'll
use
> a lot of resin to cast these if you cast them solid, and that gets
> pricey. Plus making good RTV moulds is a non-trivial task (I really
> would like to see it done, you've got a great looking kit).
>
> Painted? Last time I sent a painted model to be cast, the caster ended
> up having to strip the paint, so I'd say not. I dunno if a sealer coat
> is a good idea or if there are some restrictions on what you can use
or
> not, David (DLD), Jon T. (GZG), or Tony (Brigade) could address this
> point.
>
> Not trying to scare you off or deter you from trying this yourself,
but
> the guys who do this for a living have a hard time getting this 100%,
> and that should give you a clue that casting isn't a trivial process.
> Mould making is a bit of a black art. And people like David have
> experience in knowing the best way to cast a part and how to modify
> designs in useful ways (when I placed a Kamodo order, David came up
with
> a way to re-design the Kamodo to make it simpler without robbing it of
> detail when one of his moulds gave out). So, Good Luck! This will be a
> great resin if you can get it done. :)
>
> Design-wise, stowage for a GRAV TANK should be aerodynamic. Ryan may
> advocate stowing packs off the side... something tells me if this
beast
> gets up to 180 kph then those packs would be ancient history. And
> stowage on the rear hull where the vectored thrust outlets are would
be
> problematic. But the back half of the turret would be a good spot for
> some solid (aerodynamic) storage casings.
>
> Tomb

Tom, you rat-fink!   Get outta my head......there's barely enough room
for
me in here! D'OH! :o
It's do-able. Quite do-able.  I'd have to "see" it to figure out which
way
to go on molding it up.
I think it's a sweet tank! I originally wasn't going to do any GEV's
because
I couldn't get the standard "hover skirt look" outta my head.  Randy
seems
to have broken the rules on that count. Good call!
Would anyone else want to buy this, other than Tom and myself?	If so,
then........
We can talk..............

David
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David L. Dunn
DLD Productions
"Striving to Make Your Gaming Real"

***NOW ON THE WWW @ <www.dldproductions.com>!***
	      ***Check us out!***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

---