Scratch Building a 1/8 Scale Engine

[Mario Lucchini]

Will do Don. I can show some of the internals and you can show how you do the externals. I think that's a great idea that you're doing the Hemi along side the Rocket.

Thanks Mario. I'll go ahead and give you the design as soon as I can and we'll go from there. I did my last engine like that with sticky paper but the wife went and relocated my label paper and now I can't find it. I started using the templates so I could lay them down on the styrene , trace and cut. I like the sticky method better since you can stick all your shapes on a styrene sheet and cut all the parts out at one time. BTW, how do you get that great crinkly cast surface on your painted engine parts. Are you using the Krylon suede textured paint first?

Not at all!
I simply spray flat black on the part & let dry 48 hours.
Then I spray silver or aluminum (Or any color you wish) from 1 meter distance in short bursts.The temperature of the environment must be between 20 & 25 Centigrade.
I check how its covering and repeat as necessary.
When satisfied, I let dry another 48 hours & finish with a very light distant spray of matt clear polyurethane.

The Shadow rests...

[Don Garrett]

Mario, good buddy....you got a milling machine?

[Mario Lucchini]

Mario, good buddy....you got a milling machine?

Big Boss:
I do... Why?

Mario

[Don Garrett]

Watch this space tomorrow for a pic and a question for the Shadow.

[hot ford coupe]

Not at all!
I simply spray flat black on the part & let dry 48 hours.
Then I spray silver or aluminum (Or any color you wish) from 1 meter distance in short bursts.The temperature of the environment must be between 20 & 25 Centigrade.
I check how its covering and repeat as necessary.
When satisfied, I let dry another 48 hours & finish with a very light distant spray of matt clear polyurethane.

The Shadow rests...

I'll do some of that. It sounds fairly easy and gives a beautiful finish.

[Don Garrett]

Big Boss:
I do... Why?

Mario

Mario...take a break and grant me a audience with da Shadow for a few, kind sir.

Mr. Shadow, I been messin' round with these 392 Hemi valve covers for a while and I'm starting to get burnt out on 'em, here's a pic of the "real" cover....




This would be easy enough on a CNC but I don't have or intend to buy one...Dan has a CNC machine but is still learning how to use the software. What I would like to do is create a master in brass (just one) and replace the "Chrysler Fire Power" script with "ScaleMotorcars". I could send you some resin 1/8th stock covers for size. I've tried doing photo etched script on a blank cover and I'm not happy with 'em. I'd like to send the master to Dan to be cast in metal and make them available to the members.

How sweet is that? A ScaleMotorcars Hemi.

If you can pull it off I'll send ya one of the "not yet released" clear crayons and a hearty " Hi-O-Silver" ....who was that masked man?......the Shadow knows.

[Mario Lucchini]

Mario...take a break and grant me a audience with da Shadow for a few, kind sir.

Mr. Shadow, I been messin' round with these 392 Hemi valve covers for a while and I'm starting to get burnt out on 'em, here's a pic of the "real" cover....




This would be easy enough on a CNC but I don't have or intend to buy one...Dan has a CNC machine but is still learning how to use the software. What I would like to do is create a master in brass (just one) and replace the "Chrysler Fire Power" script with "ScaleMotorcars". I could send you some resin 1/8th stock covers for size. I've tried doing photo etched script on a blank cover and I'm not happy with 'em. I'd like to send the master to Dan to be cast in metal and make them available to the members.

How sweet is that? A ScaleMotorcars Hemi.

If you can pull it off I'll send ya one of the "not yet released" clear crayons and a hearty " Hi-O-Silver" ....who was that masked man?......the Shadow knows.

Sure thing Sir!
Send me the resin samples for dimensions and I'll give it a try.
What kind of font do you need for "Scale Motorcars" ?
The raised letters pose me a certain amount of difficulty, but not unsurpassable...
I'd appreciate all the information you can afford.
Always at your service...

The Shadow


Working for the community & for kicks!!!

[hot ford coupe]

Oh wow, the coveted clear crayons. You'll be livin' in the tall cotton then. Hey Don, what about a brass master for a Caddy rocker cover or one for the Chevy. We could have a whole set if it wouldn't be too difficult and time consuming for Mario.

[Don Garrett]

Really appreciate you giving it a shot Mario.....I tried a number of ways to do the script but short of spending mega hours with a magnifying glass and doing a carving I'm not getting what I'm looking for.

The font that "ScaleMotorcars" at the top of the forum is set in is in keeping with the original "Chrysler" script. Being a cursive type font is what makes it a challenge.

No pressure, no big hurry....think on it for a bit......I'm still working on the block. If it ain't fun....it's not worth the hassle.

[Don Garrett]

I usually start with a rough sketch and then either make a card stock template or draw directly on the styrene .

[hot ford coupe]

That's the way. Card stock or plastic, either one is good. I used card stock before but then went to plastic for the heck of it. As long as you have the template, you can duplicate as many engines as you can.

[slingshot]

Excellent thread! A lot of great information so far, can’t wait to see how they turn out.

For the hemi, how about this popular valve cover? I got the picture from the We Did It For Love site, the visitors section has a lot of stuff, the member section has a whole lot more.
http://www.wediditforlove.com/
I have a very good aftermarket generic valve cover like the picture in 1/16, I’m going to scale it up to 1/8 for mine.

For my engine, I was thinking of building the major parts out of balsa and then laminating on plastic and use Milliput for some of the smaller details. Just picked up a new camera today so when (if) I ever figure out how to use it or ever make my way through the thick instruction book I will post some pictures.

[hot ford coupe]

Here's some more on the scratchbuilt engine. So far we have a basic frame and now we need to complete the cylinder banks. In the last installment, we made the top surface of the bank by measuring and cutting the holes for the pistons. Here is that piece we cut as a reminder.



At this point, we cut 4 cylinders from the 1/2 inch plastic tube. From our scaled down measurement of the piston stroke, we find that the correct length of each cylinder is 18mm. Don't forget that you need to include the thickness of your top section of 2 mm in that 18mm making the tube section 16mm. In case this is confusing, the total length of the cylinder should be 18 mm:-- 2mm for the top and 16mm for the tube. The tubes are centered, then glued into position as shown in the picture.





From this point on, you'll need to stick to the diagrams and measurements of the particular engine you're building. The engine may be different but the building principles are all the same. You'll need to do a bit of research and download as many pics of your engine from as many angles as you can so you know what details to add and where they go.

The nest step is to start to cover the exposed cylinders making the valley and the space for the camshaft and crankshaft. Here are a few pics of what the block should look like. One side is further along than the other so you can see how I work. One thing that I must clarify is that this is not the only way to add your detail to the engine. I tend to do a lot of carving of plastic while others like Don like to build things up. That's just the way each of us approaches the same task. Pick what you like and go with that if one technique is more difficult for you. Here's where we are now.





Hopefully you can see how the flat pieces go together in the block. Now you can start adding your details. Carefully studying the photos( I can't put them on the site because of copyright laws), you drill all the holes in the cylinder blank for things like your pushrods, water circulation and retaining bolts. I do this with a pin vise and the appropriate size drill bit. Don't rush on this or you can break your drills. Here's the result.



I thin add the internal details I find all over the engine. Don't forget that this is an early Olds v8 and this is what the internals look like in the picture. They'll need to be cleaned up and carved to shape. You can see how I started the detail on the side of the engine.




I'll be using the cam shaft you've seen before which I turned in my drill press using a 1/4 inch diameter styrene rod and a custom made cutting tool to cut the areas between the cams and the bearing areas. The cams were trimmed using small files to shape, the shaft was painted gun metal and the cam surfaces were covered with BMF . It will fit perfectly and will be visible when installed.





Right now the details look pretty rough. Next installment, I'll have them all cleaned up, correctly shaped, smooth and the second cylinder completed. We just keep adding what we see in the pics one by one. It will be about 2 weeks or so until I can get the next installment done because of my scheduled surgery on the 14th. It'll take me about that long to be able to sit at the hobby table long enough to get something done. Here are a few pics of some other engines that are a bit further along so you can see where we'll be going. The techniques are alot easier than they look.




Catch you later.

[hot ford coupe]

This will be part of the tutorial I'm adding as a second thought. I put in the last installment without doing my usual step by step, piece by piece construction and let the builder decide how to make it work. You can say I sort of did that on purpose. One of the big hurdles I found in scratchbuilding is problem solving, i.e. figuring out how to get your material to do what you want them to do, how to make the part shapes you need and what tools you need to do it. Here, since I'm talking about general engine building, the specific details for the Olds do not apply for the Caddy, the Chevy or whatever engine you choose to make. Don't forget that my aim in doing these tutorials are really not so you can duplicate what I do, unless that's what you want to do. My aim is actually to give you enough techniques so that you become free of the kit or be able to add whatever detail you need to basic aftermarket parts. With that in mind, I'd like to discuss how to make what you see. I'll use several pictures of parts that I took at a few car shows to demonstrate how to literally "take a part apart" i.e. visually.



This is a picture of the rockers on the die cast 1/6 Hemi engine by GMP. If you look at this assembly as one whole thing, you'll be frustrated and will say "I can't do this, it's impossible". Or you'll say "I don't have the talent to make that". You can say those things and you'd be wrong. you say? Take a look at the picture but only concentrate on one small part like one rocker arm. If you notice, the shape is a tube with a diagonally placed rectangular piece cutting across the tube. The next thing you'd need to figure out is how to get the rectangular piece on the tube. You make 8 of those and you're almost there.

Next, take a look at how the tube is attached. Your rocker tube has been threaded onto a rod with springs in between. Next, you would make the pushrod and one by one you'd duplicate each shape you see until lo and behold, you've made your assembly.



Here's another picture of an engine valley. If you look at it as a whole, again, the words "I can't"
will be spoken. The way I approached this was to first make a rectangular piece for the cylinder bank top, locate the holes, cut the holes , add the little holes and make the scalloped area at the inner edge. Next, you take another rectangular piece and fit it in to make the valley. Then you add pieces of half round stock on that plastic rectangle. In between at the base of the valley, I cemented a large half round rod that fit the space. Next with a round bur about 1/8 inch wide, I cut a trench on either side of the middle of the half round rod to get the peaked shape. I added pieces of smaller half round rod to make the part where the pushrod enters the cam shaft space. The last things I did were to spray a coating of a textured paint to imitate the cast appearance and cover with a metalizer which I did polish. An intermediate step looked like this.



Hopefully, you can actually visualize the little added on bits of styrene that made the final product. Remember that every assembly and part is made up of circles, ovals, squares, rectangles or triangles. You just need to carefully look at what you're going to build and break the parts down into those shapes, make them and assemble them. Poof, you're scratchbuilding. If anyone needs more info, I'll be glad to give what I can.

As far as tools go, I use a sharp hobby knife , some sharp, small wood carving chisels, a razor saw, files , sandsticks and wire cutters. I use a cheap belt sander and a small inexpensive drill press when I need them. The whole setup cost me less than $400 and that includes the power tools which I also use for fix-it projects around the house. You really don't need to spend thousands of dollars if you can't to make great models.

[hot ford coupe]

I made some more progress on my Olds Rocket last night by adding some more surface detail.

Picture 1 shows the side of the block in it's raw state. I left it this way on purpose to show an intermediate step where things were not perfect. It'll look different after final filling and sanding . The round freeze plug area is made by gluing a thin slice of round styrene tubing onto the block and then deepening the hole and thinning out the sides with a bur shaped like a cylinder. The "rays are styrene strip. The areas for the head bolts are contoured half round styrene rods. The little red arrow shows a bur mark that will be smoothed out later on.

Picture 2 just shows the block from a different angle so you can see more detail.

Picture 3 shows what I've done with the block valley and the cam shaft. The version of the Rocket I'm doing has windows where you can see the cam shaft so I decided to put one in. Also with this view, you can really see the shapes I used to create the contours I needed. That's how you break down your parts into their component shapes.

Picture 4 shows the camshaft in place. When it gets lined up right, it'll match up with the pushrods. Next, I'll be making the timing chain cover and the water pump parts. When I get that done, I'll post more pics.