Scratchbuilt Hawker Sea Hawk

[dergrunepunkt]

I love this kind of projects, you're doing an splendid job!, I wonder, how expensive is to make one of those moulds.

Edited January 25, 2014 by dergrunepunkt

[wunwinglow]

Thanks guys.

 

Making the moulds isn't too expensive,  but you need to develop the CAD data, then have access to a CNC mill of some sort. The material is called 'Metapor', and this is not cheap, it is a porous aluminium resin mix, designed fro commercial vacforming. tools. Because it is porous, you don't need to drill vent holes through it, and you don't get pockets which seal themselves and prevent forming.  I am lucky to work for a design consultancy as a model lmaker, so I do get paid to play with this sort of stuff all the time, although usually on things like shampoo bottles!!  

 

More soon, I hope to have a bit more done on the fuselage CAD soon,

 

Tim

[tigger]

Waiting keenly this end Tim..

 

John

[GuildAero]

Tim,

I almost wish I could learn this CAD stuff, for one reason.  No matter how careful I am, my days tend to end with my having the itchy, coughing effects of working with Ureol and making dust.

It really is unpleasant. I've started using chisels more and more, but in the end a file and a bit of sandpaper is unavoidable.

Your system sounds much cleaner.

 

Nice job, anyway.

 

Martin

[wunwinglow]

Hi Martin, machining all these tooling boards creates dust, but our machines are enclosed with extraction systems to pull away the finest dust. You do have to be careful as you have found, it can irritate eyes and breathing passages, so please wear some kind of dust mask, or alternatively, work over a tray with a suction draught, maybe an old vacuum cleaner, to pull the dust away from you the moment it is created. I know this is a faff, but better that than damaging your eyes and lungs. Sorry, I don't want to sound like I am trying to teach Granny to suck eggs, but I know several modelmakers who ended up with health issues over this. I'd not want it to happen to you or anyone else!

 

You can sand the denser tooling boards wet of course, which is much better at keeping the dust under control, but then everything gets covered in brown sludge!

 

Tim

[Ripaman]

Very nice moulds and even better Vac form Tim, also have to learn how to do 3D cad.

 

Regards

Richard

[GuildAero]

Tim,

thanks for the warning.  I couldn't have a vacuum cleaner as I'm doing it pretty much all day and the noise isn't on.   I use chisels as much as possible and then scrapers, but the final finish has to be sand paper. In the better weather, I do that outside.  I haven't been able to find any of the denser board for years. I first used it when it was all supplied by a silversmith client and that was very dense, the colour of plain chocolate and hard, but these days all I can get is a bit soft and porous. I suppose I shall have to actually pay for it!

 

I can't wear a dust mask because they don't work with beards and all they do is steam up my glasses!  Although lately I have to take off my glasses to work, so I might try it.

 

I'm also using wood these days a bit, but that's actually worse and it's wood dust that makes me itch.  I tried Perspex, but that took way too long, although was better from the dust point of view.

 

Of course, when I worked exclusively with brass, there was no problem, but nobody wants to pay for brass masters any more!

 

Cheers,

Martin