I had a Falcon once upon a time... it was an XD, but utilizes the same gauges as an XE. I painted all of the needles with Tamiya blaze orange spray paint... they were never affected by any extra weight. I also replaced to faces with 'Ford Racing' ones I invented. They were printed on UV resistant vinyl with UV resistant ink by a company that makes signs for buses. Came out really good, shame I haven't got any pics to share
Thanks for the info I'll paint the needle just before I put it together permanently... No idea when that will be :/ It could never be a real F40 case without... NACA ducts! (The round hole is of course for the shifter) Cutting them out was quick and easy, but then I struck a problem: How to make the edge bits? The edges needed to be light, easy to make, and above all, look good! So I used some of the most advanced materials known to man... Chinese-food containers and hot glue The wood blocks were to keep the duct ends even and level while gluing. OK, that part wasn't too hard to do, but the edges were a little rough. So I filled them with some acrylic sealant. I don't know if it will work, it may not be sandable... Takes around 12 hours to dry too So that's what it looks like at the moment... I can't do much more until the filler dries, which will take a least another day or two :/ The front panel has been curing for 24 hours and it's still soft! Project Stats Date: Tues 20 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $111.85 Working Time: 45hrs Glue sticks used: About 8 Dremel disks used: 10 Dremels killed: 0.875 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Continue designing Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Thurs 22 Apr 2004
I'm having HEAPS of trouble with the duct edges I can't find any filler that will work :/ Polyfilla didn't dry hard enough, acrylic filler peeled off the metal, and bondo wouldn't stick to the plastic Same deal for the front panel Stupid polyfilla was still wet after 5 days! I'll have another go tomorrow... I've ordered the wheels and a Ferrari tag for the key They should be here next week some time. Next official update postponed 'til tomorrow.
Have you tried car body filler?? it's usually a fibre glass compound, in the UK it's called isopon P 40, it's premixed with fibre and just requires a tiny amount of hardener. paste it over the area you want built up (use some card board or something behind it for support) and it dries solid - then sand it down and use some finer filler for imperfections. It should stick to metals and plastics alike no prob Here's an example - http://motortraders.co.uk/xcart/catalog/product_16893_Isopon_P40_Small_Glass_Fibre_Paste_250ml.html
Once again, I will reccomend POR's Straight-Line Body Filler. So damn easy to use, almost no sanding needed. They have a GREAT line of body-filler products...
ohh holy ****!!! That looks amazing! Where are you going to put the cd? That is so good that I should send you my new Ferrari shirt, but I will not because of the shipping cost. Maybe you already have one?
Sorry about the lack of updates! I had to take a break off this thing for a while. I should be working on it again from tomorrow morning. I think I know what I did wrong, why the styrene car body filler didn't stick: I didn't prime the plastic surfaces I'll peel/break it off and try again, this time I'll prime it first and it should work a bit better! Thanks for the suggestions, but I can't afford to buy any extra stuff right now I've got basically all I need, just have to work out how to use it T_R: Thanks This system won't have a CD drive because it will be a dedicated Distributed Computing system. It will be running Windows plus a couple of other programs. I only need the CDROM when installing stuff, and I usually do that over the network anyway (The system is already set up in another case, so I won't need to install Windows) No, I don't have a Ferrari shirt, I'm not that big of a fan yet The keytag was expensive enough ($25 + post )... shirts are around $50~70 here :/ Thanks for the thought anyway PS Sorry if there are too many typos... My cordless KB is playing up at the moment :/
I really like the idea of incorporating the ducts into the design of the case! Will the ducts be functional, or purely asthetic? They look great as it is, but if they have a function in the overall cooling design, well that would just make it all the better. Also, nice work on the shifter and the gauge. I know next to nothing about electronics, so the fact that you got the shifter serve a funtion in the case just impresses the heck out of me And your design for the gauge is great. It looks like you ripped it right out of a Ferrari. Great work so far. Should look right sexy in Ferrari Red Can't wait to see it finished. -monkey
Thanks The ducts will be semi-functional. They're right in front of the power supply, so they may help to cool it a tiny bit. I wanted to use bigger ducts, but there wasn't room :/ The PSU actually touches the top panel of the case! Not a good design I must say... Very cheap I wanted to move the PSU to the bottom of the case, but there isn't even enough room on the back panel for another power connector! I still haven't started on the electronics side of it yet The paint I bought is possibly not bright enough. It's called Cherry Red and it's almost the same colour as my car (Mars Red), but it's not quite as bright as standard Ferrari Red :/ I'm going to have a look at another shop (Cherry Red was all Bunnings had last time I looked there) Luckily I only bought one can Look what arrived today! Cost me $25 :/ I trimmed the backs of the ducts because they were getting in the way and I couldn't test-fit the PSU. I removed the styrene filler from the edges I'm going to try one more thing before I give up... If they sell filler in a tube I should be in luck... This part was supposed to be secret until just before the end, but I've had so much trouble thinking of new designs and then thinking of reasons they wouldn't work... I just don't care anymore It's not going to be as good as I wanted, but here it is... Of course it will be painted black to match the rear grille on the actual cars I didn't fancy having to glue the shifter mechanism in, so I cut the hole out so I could fit it in in one piece instead of attaching the top seperately. Making sure it fits. Unfortunately I dropped the knob on the concrete... twice so I've had to repair it a bit. I have since given it a sanding and coat of paint and it looks as good as new Still has to be clear-coated again tomorrow if it isn't raining... The remains of the ducts after I sanded/power-brushed the styrene off At last, a pic of the shifter plate in pieces It simply bolts onto the top panel. Much easier than trying to glue it on after it's painted... and then maybe finding it didn't fit or something... Just a couple of random pics... At this stage the front panel looks like it's going to turn out I was worried for a while, but the styrene worked nicely. Not a whole lot of room... Most of this space will be used for the control circuits. Still waiting for the wheels to arrive. Hopefully they'll be here this week, then I can get on with the rest of the designing! Date: Wed 28 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $135.80 Working Time: 50hrs Dremel disks used: 13 Dremels killed: 0.875 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Keep working... Buying more small bits tomorrow Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Thurs 29 Apr 2004
$25! Hopefully thats real italian leather . You could have bought a cheap keychain that looked like that and printed out the logo on some glossy photo paper and with a little work it would look (almost) authentic.
I have no idea what sort of leather it is :/ It's pretty good quality, but yeah IMO not worth $25, never mind the price some of the other Internet shops were asking ($75!! ) I may have tried that, except I don't have a working inkjet at the moment :/ Only got a mono laser Another package arrived today... What could be inside? A set of wheels! Yes, I know they're not the right style for an F40 But they'll have to do... I bought some reflectors to simulate taillights on the back. Here's one (I had already started painting the other one) Here it is in action... Doesn't look quite right :/ Maybe this will look better... I had another look through the filler range at Bunnings, and found this stuff The tube came with a nice long nozzle thingy that made it very easy to apply evenly I checked the duct piece 1/2hr ago and the filler has dried nicely, but receded slightly. I may have to apply another layer tomorrow. Some essential bits... Shame they're so expensive The wheels were no use staying off-white coloured, but the tyres were glued on I tried to mask and paint one, but it turned out a spectacular mess, so I pulled the other ones to bits. The tyres were VERY hard to remove, but I eventually did it... Left: the paint I bought a few weeks ago. Right: The cheap paint I bought today. I'll do a couple of test pieces and then decide which looks the best. The caps are usually pretty inaccurate. As you can see from the stats, the cost is starting to add up :/ And I still have to buy more paint, fans, cables, lights and sleeves, which will be another $150 or more... Project Stats Date: Thurs 29 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $200.65 Working Time: 53hrs Dremel disks used: 13 Dremels killed: 0.925 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Finish ducts and work on PSU design Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Fri 30 Apr 2004
This is one of my favorite projects going on right now. With that aside, how close do you think you are going to be with your original list?
I haven't changed many things Here's the list, and what I've done/kept/discarded: Already done/will be done Won't be doing Not applicable to the new case Not sure A variation will be done/has been done That was only a partial list, there were a few other things I had to change along the way.
I had some stuff to type, but my eyes are playing up and I can't concentrate any more. :/ Time for bed I think! But here are some pics... Project Stats Date: Fri 30 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $200.65 Working Time: 62hrs Dremel disks used: 13 Dremels killed: 0.9375 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Finish spoiler and order decals Looking for: Decals Next update expected: Sat 1 May 2004
I woke up late today, thanks to the neighbours who kept me awake till 4AM with their subwoofers Didn't get much done, but the front panel is now ready to paint. I won't be painting it yet though, just in case I think of more things to do to it. The intake. It was fairly quick + easy to do, but I'm totally 100% hopeless at getting things symmetrical It's far from perfect, but turned out near enough... The car has a curved bit between the ducts and the centre intake, so I tried to simulate it: Looks a bit better with some primer No, I didn't kill a koala That's the 2 different paints I bought. The 2 patches on the outside are the cheap stuff, and the centre is the better-quality stuff. Unfortunately both types look too dark However they're both clear-based so they may look better with some undercoat first. I ran out of time, will try that on Monday. Meanwhile, I was also working on the switch panel. I did a very quick chop of one of the pics I took yesterday, to see what it would look like with screws in the corners. I thought it looked OK, so I got the drill out and made a few holes... Just a quick shot of the completed bits. The CF sheet on the switch panel will be replaced, I just put it on for the pics I may do something with the keyswitch... If I can find a pic of a Ferrari ignition switch I might make a surround bit to suit. Haven't started on the side panel yet That's all for now... More on Tues or maybe Monday if I get anything done then. Project Stats Date: Sat 1 May 2004 Cost to date: $200.65 Working Time: 67hrs Dremel disks used: 13 Dremels killed: 0.9375 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Order decals Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Tues 4 May 2004
I like what you've accomplished - you're evoking the car without replicating it, which is nice as for your paint dilemna, check out http://www.modelersite.com - there are articles on building Ferarri models nearly every month. You can probably find a half dozen "recipes" for the color you want in the various articles... Ferarri F50 article in June 2003 Ferarri F40 article in January 2003 good luck!
Thanks I'll have a look at the articles, but I may just have to buy some bright red paint of a different brand if this stuff doesn't work. I'm using cans, so there's not much I can do in terms of mixing colours I had a nice rest of this thing for a while But now I'm back into it The top panel is finished, so... Time for some paint! The rear grille before and after a coat of satin black The frame... Just sitting there, awaiting its turn I pulled the PSU to bits after I finally worked out the exact details of what I needed to do to it. I'll be relocating the IEC power input connector to the bottom of the back panel. Unfortunately the PSU has a filter board attached to the input socket, so I had to keep the socket there and attach a new set of wires to it. This is obviously very dangerous, because the socket pins would have 240V on them So I filled the socket up with hot glue to insulate it I can get a new socket easily enough if I ever need to un-convert the PSU. PSU Grille. After the paint dried I measured the grille up and made a few holes in it... As usual I managed to stuff the measurements up and the grille's not centred properly :/ But that shouldn't be too visible once it's done (I hope ) Here's how it looks when installed... Tomorrow I'll be applying the first coat of red (if it's not raining...) Here's how the ducts line up WRT the PSU. I think I'll install some little grille bits to improve the appearance. The spoiler is nearly ready to glue on. Project Stats Date: Fri 14 May 2004 Cost to date: $230.35 Working Time: 71hrs Dremel disks used: 13 Dremels killed: 0.9375 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Paint time! Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Sat 15 May 2004
