CrazyCrank Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 Almost perfect fit of the dashboard on the door opening, it remains to apply a very few amount of putty on the left of the dash to fill the 0.2 / 0.3 gap 😎 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 22, 2021 Author Share Posted December 22, 2021 Morning chaps Serious things have begun... I've scratch-built a hinge for the driver's door, made numerous dry fit to check the correct opening of the door, and finally fixed the hinge on the body. It works without any friction or hard spot 😎 The next step: glueing on interior of the driver's door the brass tubes in which the hinge have to slide, and testing the right closing of the door. Stay tuned if you like 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickframe Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 I'll stay tuned - those hinges are remarkable - really nicely done. Cheers Nick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 Good afternoon Gentlemen The driver's door is now in place and fitted flush with the body. The hinge works perfectly. Two issues though: - 1. the assembly is quite tight, and I can't remove the door, pulling it with a normal strength...I don't dare pull any harder, fearing to break the system. So, I'll have to painting, clear-coating and polishing the door as it is now, i.e. fixed on the body 🥴 - 2. it remains a too wide gap between the front of the door and the opening, particularly seen from above. I must filled this gap with putty, difficult job since I can't remove the door ! Nevertheless, nothing that would be impossible 😉 See you next week for next steps Merry Christmas to all of you and your family 🍾😎 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 I’m absolutely sure that you will manage to decrease the gap between door and body. Merry Christmas to you too (and to all our friends here). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 2 hours ago, CrazyCrank said: too wide gap between the front of the door and the opening Would it be possible to add a shim of plastic card to either the leading edge of the door or the front edge of the door aperture. Stay safe and seasons greetings Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 I would try to do fix not fully in door side, but in front panel of it. But will it be then visible compared to co-driver side? Anyhow excellent work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 53 minutes ago, Hamden said: Would it be possible to add a shim of plastic card to either the leading edge of the door or the front edge of the door aperture. Stay safe and seasons greetings Roger The gap has been filled with putty and the thoroughly sanded, little by little. 40 minutes ago, Vesa Jussila said: I would try to do fix not fully in door side, but in front panel of it. But will it be then visible compared to co-driver side? Anyhow excellent work. I've already fixed the gap in major part on the body panel in front of the door. I've not totally fixed the gap, because there will be several layers of primer, paint and clear coat, which will increase the thickness. Actually, I would say the gap is reduced from 60% in front of the door and 50% at the rear. I've now to spray 2 coats of primer, with sanding in between and check if the door keeps on closing correctly, and if the gap is reduced enough and not too much everywhere. All this preliminary work on the body is quite tedious and time consuming but is mandatory to get a perfect (hum, if possible) aspect before the painting job 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 27, 2021 Author Share Posted December 27, 2021 Good evening guys Hope you all had a merry Christmas 😎 Back to my bench today, I had launched this night a 3D print of my 3D designed headrests.... I'm rather happy with the result, whose shape is good, and bottom curvature Ok with the body.... Unfortunately I made a mistake while measuring the original kit part and drawn it 7 mm shorter than it is ! So I just redid the design job and will print a draft this night (5 hours). Nevertheless, I've made progress on the rest of the body, after several sessions of filling with putty, sanding, priming to reveal the imperfections etc. Hereunder is the result that I guess it's the final one : I'm particularly pleased with the nose of the car and the connections between the body sides and the vents. Making the driver's door open like on the real car was a real challenge, and the result I got is quite nice, if not convincing. the most difficult task has now arrived: to create two hinges between body and headrests, that are both perfectly horizontal and perfectly aligned, otherwise it will be impossible to lift the assembly they form with the trunk lid. The piano hinges that exist on the real car are not difficult to make on a 1:24 scale, with 0.5 mm brass tube and 0.3 mm piano wire. But the fact that they have to be functional complicates the task, as it may be difficult to glue each element solidly to the plastic parts without the glue spilling over to the adjacent elements, compromising the mobility of the whole set... I'll try with a sacrificial piece, and if it's not conclusive, I may have another solution to allow the opening/closing of the trunk, which will be a compromise between the real and the possible. I've to sleep on it, and before, to 3D print new headrests and make adjustments. Stay tuned if you like 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 I love that door hinge. I'm sure you'll manage the piano hinge, although I managed to buy some for my 1:12 Bentley from a dolls house supplier. Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 3 hours ago, Brandy said: I love that door hinge. I'm sure you'll manage the piano hinge, although I managed to buy some for my 1:12 Bentley from a dolls house supplier. Ian Thanks Ian I promise I'll do my best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 28, 2021 Author Share Posted December 28, 2021 Evening gentlemen The second draft of my 3D printed headrests is far better than the first one, in terms of length, bottom curvature and global shapes. Nevertheless, it's not satisfying, because what I didn't pay initilally attention to is the fact that, seen from the front, both headrests haven't a symmetrical shape in relation to a centre vertical line starting from their top. This is due to the curvature of the body behind the cabin. To illustrate what I mean, it's enough to compare the picture below, from MB collection, and the following (in peculiar the 2 last ones) of what I get actually: The 2 vertical lines are of course parallel and the headrests seem (and are) vertical on the real car, while the centre lines are inclined on my scale model. Sans titre by Thierry Decorniquet, sur Flickr So, I'm actually modifying the designs of the headrests in Fusion 360, to take this in account. Obviously, the left and right headrests will be different, each of which being symmetrical to the other along a vertical axis passing frontally through the middle of the bodywork. Hereunder pictures off the right headrest: 3D printing planed for this night and tries for tomorrow. I'll probably have to modify this draft to get a closer fitting between headrest and body, but, little by little, the shapes enhance. Stay tuned if you like 😎 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 Morning gentlemen Disappointed today cause my 3D print of this new headrest failed, and I don't know why ! Perhaps too thin supports, or badly placed, or too old resin ? So let's go for a new attempt, after some modifications. For some practical reasons, particularly the long duration of the print (more than 6 hours), it will be done next night... 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 Well your supports were completely printed. You have separation at the points where they connect to your actual print so the endpoints seem to be too feeble. I also see that the screw which holds the vat at the right side is loose. If it was like this during printing, it will cause failure of separation between fep and your print, which in turn will leed to your print ending at the bottom of your vat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 1 hour ago, Pouln said: Well your supports were completely printed. You have separation at the points where they connect to your actual print so the endpoints seem to be too feeble. I also see that the screw which holds the vat at the right side is loose. If it was like this during printing, it will cause failure of separation between fep and your print, which in turn will leed to your print ending at the bottom of your vat. The size of the endpoints has been set since several months to 0.3 mm and never changed. The screws were perfectly tightened when the print started and ended...I've unscrewed them to inspect the VAT after the failed print, to see if the missing parts had sunk in the resin. Thanks for your comment, Poul 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted December 31, 2021 Author Share Posted December 31, 2021 Good afternoon, guys The last batch came out correctly and after a little sanding to adjust the curvatures of the bottom side of the right headrest, it fits perfectly over the body on the outer side, but not on the inner one. I could modify slightly the curvature on the Fusion design, but il would affect both sides, and probably the inner side would fit better, but the outer this time would not fit correctly. I've so decided that this will remain as it is, the best being the enemy of the good 😉 Especially since once the headrest is glued on the trunk lid, this will be less visible... Now, I've also modified the design of this right headrest, in order to get it easily movable with the hinge and I've designed as well the front part of the headrest which cover the edge of the body. This could come out as shown below: . it remains to be hoped that this small front part will be solid enough and will come out correctly during 3D printing. To increase the chances of this happening, I opted for an ABS resin. You should notice that I've abandoned the idea to articulate both parts with a piano hinge...too complex to manage and probably less strong than needed to accept multiple lifts, as said @Fastcat The major part could be articulated with the body, and the minor one could be glued in front of it on the body. All this stuff will be printed next night and tomorrow morning could, hopefully, reveal a good start for 2022 new year If it is the case, It will remain to design the two parts of the driver's headrest, and then to fabricate the hinges. It is quite likely that this will not be achieved before I leave for Canada (if COVID 19 allows it). Stay tuned for next steps 😎 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 Hello gentlemen and Happy new you to everyone and yours 😉 I'm glad to show you my New Year production. The right headrest design has been re-worked in Fusion, I found the functions which allowed to do that, so, I've managed to modify slightly the bottom curvature only on the tail of this part, and the result is that it fits now far better over the body. After several tries, I've as well managed to print the front part of the headrest, which attach on the edge of the tub and will hide, partially, the hinge mechanism. It's clearly not close to the real, but the illusion is there. On the top edge of the tiny front part will be glued a fake piano hinge, which will increase the illusion Furthermore, I've designed in Fusion the 3 parts of the left headrest: its main body, the front part which attach on the edge of the tub, and the fuel flap. It remains to 3D print them. Next, will come the hinges fabrication, a microscopic and delicate job, due to the thinness of the parts, and to the difficulty to adjust them for both headrests in order to allow a correct lift of the whole set. Principle of the mechanism I'll intend to build: Wish me good luck and stay tuned if you like 🥴 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Looking really good, Thierry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 Morning chaps Hereunder the last 3D print batch with 3 parts of the driver's headrest. All came out perfectly 😎 Of course, the edges of the fuel flap opening will be thinned. Staty tuned if you like 😉 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftdale Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 The hinge you have designed is a very elegant solution, good luck with its execution - Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Looks really nice. Good luck with hinge. Parts are really good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 Good morning Gentlemen A lot of problems with French administrations (the worst in the world) prevent me to sleep, so I'm working on this MB 300 SLR The mechanism of the hinges for the headrests is being manufactured, and it's a lot of hard work. So, I rested while making the hinge for the fuel flap on the driver's headrest: It's quite useless (except to show the fuel cap on the tank underneath) but it's fun Stay tuned for next steps (It's more than likely that I couldn't travel to Canada next week due to strong epidemic of COVID 9 there) 😷 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 Afternoon chaps A bit of progress on the headrests hinges Have scratched 4 plates in 0.3 mm thick brass sheet, 2 for each headrest. The plats are not strictly identical and it remains a little bit of sanding to do to equalize them. The head of each plate is a little "ring" drilled 0.4 mm, with 0,3 mm wall. The 2 holes of each couple of "rings" will be threaded by a 0,4 mm rod, which will cross as well the inner and outer wall of the headrest. 4 Notches will be placed at strategical points o the body, which will host the base of each 4 plate. The height of the "rings" of each plate will be adjusted in order to get a perfectly horizontal steel rod for each headrest and to get the rods aligned as if they were only one. So, when I'll lift the headrests, they will lift in strictly parallel plans, allowing to lift the trunk lid correctly in the same time, without putting torsional stress on the hinges. Hummm, have you understood what I mean ? Hereunder some pictures to illustrate my goal: The front part of the headrest need also to be sanded to get straight and even. Step by step, the projet is moving forward 😎 Stay tuned for next step 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Afternoon guys The fabrication of the hinges for the headrests and the trunk lid has progressed. Notches have been cut off with a jeweler saw (0.3 mm thick blade), I've threaded together with the same steel rod the two headrests, and the 2 hinges inside of each one, inserted the hinges into the notches, joined temporarily the trunk lid and the headrests with masking tape, and made a little video, to see how it works, and to show you as well the result. It works apparently without constraint, and the two headrests remain parallel during the lifting of the trunk lid. So, it seems OK and ready for painting. But before, I've to glue the two headrests on the trunk lid, in strictly correct position. My God, another challenge to face ! Stay tuned for next adventures 😎 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Afternoon gentlemen Headrests and trunk lid glued together, after several checks to ensure a strictly correct position of the parts. After that, it remained little gaps between headrests and trunk lid, so, I've got the putty out of its shelf and applied a first coat where necessary So I'm currently at this point: Of course, after sanding, it will probably still remain some gaps, needing more filling...no problem ! Obviously, the unique steel rod I used to align perfectly the headrests will be replaced by 2 small rods, which I hope to make as little visible as possible 🙄 (another challenge) I hope to be able to prime the whole body before leaving for Canada (Finally, we leave ) It's not visible but I've sanded the "3 point star MB emblem" and the inscription "300 SLR", because I've planed to replace them by photo-etched parts. I own a MB 3 points star emblem, good point And I own a "300 SL" undesigned Photoetched part. The letter "R" is lacking BUT, I've studied several tutorials on Youtube, explaining how making simply at home photo-etched parts, without spending a lot of money, and I decided to embark on the adventure... but it's another story 😉 See you soon 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now