Zenrat's Flying Circus

zenrat · August 21, 2020, 02:19:56 AM

MiG-3 is finished and La-5 is nearly done. I'll take beauty pics of them together. Possibly Sunday or Monday.

Other than that today I mostly concentrated on continuing to build a Hot Rod chassis.
Today I drilled lightening holes and carved away plastic which was stopping the engine sitting where I wanted it. Some may think it might have been better to build the chassis such that the engine would sit in it without cutting chunks off. But I consider that approach to be far too sensible. It smacks of pre-planning and being organised. We'll have none of that here.

T-55 Hot Rod WIP 21-08-2020 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

T-55 Hot Rod WIP 21-08-2020 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Old Wombat · August 21, 2020, 02:30:17 AM

Nice work!

PR19_Kit · August 21, 2020, 03:56:17 AM

I've worked on weaker looking BRIDGES than that chassis Fred! I don't think you'll have too much trouble with excess engine torque...........

IMPRESSIVE work.

zenrat · August 21, 2020, 04:16:33 AM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on August 21, 2020, 03:56:17 AM
I've worked on weaker looking BRIDGES than that chassis Fred! ...

Hence the lightening holes.
Maybe it's aluminium?
I'm going for the Rat Rod aesthetic but without the rust, unfinished look, and bolted on random crap a lot of them sport.

I recently obtained a new supply of Plastruct lengths and having failed to read the website properly didn't realise these I sections came in 500mm lengths. I therefore have a fair bit of this size. Handy if I want to scratchbuild armoured car or truck chassis.

PR19_Kit · August 21, 2020, 04:17:38 AM

......or even a bridge.

buzzbomb · August 21, 2020, 05:10:55 AM

Bahh.. Only one engine ?

Chassis looks ace

zenrat · August 26, 2020, 03:21:34 AM

I've been sorting out the suspension and engine mountings on the Hot Rod.

T-55 Hot Rod WIP 26-08-2020 03 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

T-55 Hot Rod WIP 26-08-2020 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

In common with a lot of heavily channelled Hot Rods the transmission will be inside the cabin with the driver.

PR19_Kit · August 26, 2020, 07:20:13 AM

That's one HEAVY DUTY rod you're building there Fred.

TheChronicOne · August 26, 2020, 09:41:56 PM

This is sweet... it's like.... you're building up a real one, just small. It's not just a model of the "shell" ("curbside?") but more a true representative. I've seen work on real full-size actual vehicles that isn't as sound.

zenrat · August 27, 2020, 04:26:58 AM

Thanks guys.

If I don't build it this way Brad C then I won't know it could all work IRL.

PR19_Kit · August 27, 2020, 05:14:10 AM

Quote from: TheChronicOne on August 26, 2020, 09:41:56 PM

I've seen work on real full-size actual vehicles that isn't as sound.

Yes, you and me both!

Including the guy running an extended wheelbase drag racing Ford Cortina which broke in half about 1/3 of the way down the strip!

zenrat · August 27, 2020, 05:33:10 AM

When I build cars and bikes I like to figure out the engineering so it could be possible IRL.
With aircraft i'm not so bothered, concentrating more on aesthetics.

TheChronicOne · August 28, 2020, 10:03:06 PM

Quote from: zenrat on August 27, 2020, 04:26:58 AM
Thanks guys.

If I don't build it this way Brad C then I won't know it could all work IRL.

I can appreciate that in multiple ways. It's not just "strictly" correct but doing so should be pretty fun. Micro-engineering of sorts. Or... "micro-mechanicing?" Whatever.

I had to add new suspension parts to my "new-used" truck a few weeks ago. Not fun. There was a time when I enjoyed working on vehicles but these days I'd rather pay someone else to do it.

TheChronicOne · August 28, 2020, 10:08:41 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on August 27, 2020, 05:14:10 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on August 26, 2020, 09:41:56 PM

I've seen work on real full-size actual vehicles that isn't as sound.

Yes, you and me both!

Including the guy running an extended wheelbase drag racing Ford Cortina which broke in half about 1/3 of the way down the strip!

Bingo.... that's the problem. Folks make things that seem solid but they don't seem to understand science and how things actually act "at speed" and under tremendous stress. My cousin had been building one and even I could tell his efforts at welding and the materials were ahhhh.... "flimsy." It was disallowed to participate in the local races and I'm not surprised.

PR19_Kit · August 29, 2020, 02:37:21 AM

Quote from: TheChronicOne on August 28, 2020, 10:08:41 PM

Bingo.... that's the problem. Folks make things that seem solid but they don't seem to understand science and how things actually act "at speed" and under tremendous stress. My cousin had been building one and even I could tell his efforts at welding and the materials were ahhhh.... "flimsy." It was disallowed to participate in the local races and I'm not surprised.

The car I raced at the time was an experimental lightweight Hillman Imp, and the body shell was pressed from .028" material instead of the normal .032". It made a surprising difference in the weight of the whole car, but it was maybe 30% weaker in the structural tests that we carried out, so they gave up on the idea.

My pal John and I saw the possibilities of drag racing it and we bought the shell, completely painted and trimmed, for £75.

(A new Imp at that time cost about £650) We stripped it and I built a banzai engine for it and we raced it quite successfully for a couple of seasons, but the tech guys at the various ad hoc strips we attended were always a little wary of the way the roof ballooned upwards when we closed the doors!