Jo NZ

It looks like a real engine - not blobs of plastic.

I must admit that I didn't realise that the on-line tuition was quite that bad! In my defence, I'm printing car bodies for a mate who is creating every NZ Rally winner - and he found an Opel Corsa (not available as a kit) and a Ford Taunus estate - close enough to hack into a MkII Cortina Lotus.... My real grief is not that these guys don't draw in 1:1, it's the fact that they don't draw to any particular scale, don't tell you what it is, and then charge you for it!

A couple of things... Cut the lift speed in Chitubox to 55mm/min or so. When you start to print big things, the model can pull off the build plate - this helps it stay on. Think about the excess resin draining from the model - usually fixed by angling the piece slightly (this will also help it from pulling off) Later on you will discover hollowing out - the resin has to escape and the air get in, which is when you'll discover what holes are for. Angling also lowers the profile so it prints faster. And the third (of two) put the supports somewhere where you can easily sand it down. You will get puddling around the supports, you'll need to play with the size and shape of the tips to optimise it. The smallest size of support only works for very light models (very!) It's a steep learning curve but immensely satifying when you get it right. I'd suggest printin g prototypes one at a time until you've got it right - then go for printing 1000 tailwheels or whatever - it really does save on resin...

Going back to the origins of the thread, any 3D models (and any CAD) should always be drawn FULL SIZE. It's really easy to scale in Chitubox and that's when you do it. I've just been pulling my hair out printing car bodies where the scale isn't specified - they are drawn at all sorts of odd sizes. Sometime the description helpfully tells you that it can be printed in 1/16th, 1/18th, 1/24th, 1/43rd..... But not what to reduce it by! So my technique: Import the stl file into Fusion 360. It should draw the mesh Check the size using dimension (I usually measure overall length) Compare it to the full size dimension of the car (some of the models are roughly 1/2 scale, but others are all over the place) Work out what it needs to be reduced by.... (yes, that means sums) Print it. Why oh why don't the creators of these files draw in full size in the first place. It was the first thing I was taught using 3D CAD in the early 80s - and then we had to set up the workspace, rather than it automatically fitting the workpiece as it does now. Numpties!

Before that it was the Personnel Department. Commonly known at one of my places of work as the anti-personnel department...

It's apparently called "Oatmeal"

Is the airfix crossmember correct?

And finally.... We had an idea to model the first three cars in time for the 60th anniversary of the win in June 2016. Well... the last one is finished, so here - at last - are 1-2-3 all built from the Trumpeter kit.

And a complete 1/8 scale DFV as a stand alone model would be awesome.

At one stage of my life I was in charge of writing repair manuals for the US Army, and then proving them with duff components to a bunch of retired sergeants who knew exactly how a bored grunt would react. It wasn't the best two weeks I've spent....

Hi Nick A really good and fairly simple way to do it. I may be missing something, but when do you insert the very back row of spokes?

Nick, you have really encouraged me to design and print things instead of laboriously machining them. Starting point is a 19" Rudge Whitworth wire wheel. On the subject of spokes, soft stainless steel wire is available from the Chinese website. I have reels in 0.3mm and 0.4mm. If pulled gently in a vice it straightens nicely. And next... has anyone used flexible resin to print tyres?

Just saying, but Kotare will have all the information they need on the Manchester....

What size are the spokes at 1:1? I'm guessing at 1/8" or 5/32", but I can't find the answer on the net....

I'm still living in hope for Chris Amon Ferraris!