r0t0rdr1ver Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Looks great Loic, you continue to amaze! Can't wait to see more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Hi guys, thanks for the kind words Today, my desk was turned into a small mitsubishi engine plant... I have been casting stuffs the all day or so! I really hope Japan manufacturers had a better scrap ratio than me cause I only managed to get about 1 good part out of 3 :angry: just imagine that 200% scrap ratio in real life... Anyway, those engine parts are much more complex than what I did cast before: they are much smaller and have hundreds of little tiny area were hundreds of air bubbles want to hide... Also, it took me a couple of try out to understand I needed to work with very limited quantity of resin at each time so I can fil the mould before the resin gets too viscous... etc... I can say I had some hard time but I finally managed to get some acceptable quality parts at quantity (I even have an extra cylinder just in case...). Here is a pic (not quite good as usual) of the parts bellow. I now need to go through the evil process of getting those tiny bits of resin out the sprues... That's it for tonight lads. Cheers, Loic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alburymodeler Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi Loic, All is looking pretty good so far. In regard to the bubbles in the resin, are you washing the moulds with dishwashing soap (Was gonna write li-uid but the bird has pooped on the keyboard and that letter does not work). The soap breaks the surface tension and greatly reduces bubbles - just make sure it is all dried before pouring the resin. greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hey, great tip Greg! Looking really good Loic. I was wondering how some of those parts were going to come out, because of their shape,(with all that 'bubble magnet' cylinder fin detail, ect.) but it looks like you pulled it off really well. Cool! I just got through building the motor for my Oscar, because it assembles very much like what you have here with the seperate cylinders and parts. I was wildly surprised at how nice it looks completed! I can tell by looking at your parts, that this is going to be a stunning engine. Can't wait to see more 'in-progress' pics Dude! Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alburymodeler Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Good news, and some would say typical.......I have just been looking at the Wolfpack Design site and they have added a 1/32 Ki100 type 5 conversion to their upcoming releases. I imagine it will be $60 plus bearing in mind the cost of other conversions, but it will save us a lot of time (unless Hasegawa get one out there beforehand). I will maybe put in an order as I do like this beast, greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Texan Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Simply amazing! Can't wait to see this one after your beautiful kate! Wow! Big Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi guys, I actually use the soap tip for my silicon moulds and it works well. The main issue I have been facing here was not to get the parts out of the mould as the silicon is really flexible/stretchable but rather to put the resin into the mould without trapping air bubbles. I have so "cut" my moulds to allow a "better way through" the ressessed areas and used a tooth pic to gently "push" the air bubbles out of those areas... I worked out rather great as most of my scrap were made during the try out session and learning curve. Here are a pics to illustrate what I mean from the intake manifold mould: 1- the mould free of any kind of external stress 2- the mould when stressed each of these cuts were done with a sharp blade and it leaves almost no seam mark to the part. They go down to each of the 14 outlets of the manifold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 I would need a third hand to properly stress the mould and shot the pic but you get the idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 when "properly" stressed/stretched, this mould open up like a flower... Anyway.... It seams good news that someone if going to propose a kit for that bird... I now really wonder if I should continue my work or just wait for that kit! This said, I have done nothing but the engine so far so there are very limited chances I made something supid with my donnor kit I guess so I will at least complete the engine before i decide on any option. Any idea when this kit could hit the market Greg? Hey Russ, this ki-43 kit is the one I used as a base for my Ha-112 and despite it is not the best engine on the market (the tamiya sakae being the best), it builds up into a nice little thing. This also is the one I used for my kate (it comes from a zero but it is the same kit/engine. Cheers, loic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssculptor Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Loic,There was a conversion for this at onr time..... ki-100 1/32 conversion THE MODELER'S WEAPONS SHOP 416 Chicago Ft. Worth, Texas 76103 (817) 536-0128 E-mail: tennexican@mindspring.com I don't know much about that kit What I did was I used one of Dave Thompson's (UMI Resin) Zeke cowl flipped upside down, and his sound advice. I relocated the landing light, built a new windscreen, used the resin cowl, styrene sheet and epoxy putty. On the bottom the fuselage has a rounded section that is flat on the KI-61. Tail is different profile due to stability issues (like extended as a Mustang's had to be) mostly just larger vertical stab - you will see when comparing profiles. the spinner and prop and engine are from a hase zeke. Jon Jon, I agree with what you did. You were smart to follow Dave's advice. I have a K-100 conversion kit, I forget by whom, though. I remember discussing it with Dave and he was not happy with it. But, as you know, no one could cast resin cowls as good as David. His resin castings were as thin as injection molded but more accurate. He was a great guy and a good friend to both of us. I sure miss him! Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 Hi guys, a short update tonight as I have been working on the engine assembly. The pics are not that good (as usual shall I say...) and the color of the resin does not help much but you get the idea. The wiring mess at the bottom of the pics will later be the ignition loom (they did not come from a ring at the front of the engine on Ha-112). I think I will add the push rods after basic painting unless the painting operations will be a nightmare! Cheers, Loic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastzx Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Loic, For just starting with resin I think you will be producing some limited run kits pretty soon! Resin is something I have not tried yet but you make this look easy and I know it is NOT. Keep the great work comming! Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I agree with Jon. Is there anything you can't do??? Nice engine. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Looking good Loic! This is going to be an awesome motor dude, I can see it already! I wonder why they did the pushrods the way they did? Must've been a design to eliminate the 2nd camshaft mechanism behind the rear cylinders to make it simpler to produce, and cheaper to manufacture? Too bad they didn't try the Ducati desmotic rocker arm design, eh?! Can't wait to see how you do that pushrod assembly, LOTSA fun. he he Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spads57 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Loic, You never fail to amaze me with your artistry. Highest Regards, Gregory Jouette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts