Give Us Some New Bodies

[Don Garrett]

Good grief Doc....you just as well ask "how high is up".
A body only '27 roadster certainly wouldn't be as expensive to produce as something like the Cuda or a '49 Merc. See what I mean?

Question: Do you know how long a piece of string is?

The above question may sound like there is no possible answer......but that's not the way TDR functions.
TDR 's answer to that question is simple:
"A piece of string is as long as it is from one end to the middle".

Seriously, there's a couple of ways for you guys to handle this "give us some new bodies" thing.
If you were to have TDR produce the master for you to do with what you please (belongs to you not TDR ) you'd be taking a fair chunk of change from the piggy bank....that would break down into a computer model and then Tim's time at the keyboard to flesh it out and convert to something that is RP printable.
Due to the current size constraints the body for something like a Merc. would have to be printed in chunks and then assembled and finished out for casting .
So now that you've taken on all those costs you have a master....a one off .

On the other hand if you guys get organized and settle on a body that you all just have to have here's a suggestion. Gather yourselves into a group and decide what you want to do. At that point assuming the master will belong to TDR offering it for sale to the public...... you get a body for your investment in the project.......so if you have a half dozen investors (hundreds not thousands of $) is what it would cost you as TDR would absorb their labor costs. What all this boils down to is you could have the body of your dreams....all you would have to do is the leg work to get together your investors and then approach TDR with your wish list.

Please, unless you want to pay a "just 'cause it's butt ugly" up charge don't gather up investors for an Edsel.

[3.Star]

For myself, there is a correct body of the Mercedes-Benz Spezial Roadster on the list. Don't dare to take the saw and cut the original Pocher body. I know, that's a wish, that never will come true.

Cheers
Michael

[rob8802]

Hey guys i mite be out-of-line here,but if a new body is wanted by members here,they(we) should start to get funds together ,(fun box) to get the project off the drawing board. Naturally donations only:).This way tdr knows what we want.
(If you build it, build it big.)

[Don Garrett]

You're not out of line Rob...actually you are on the right track.
Right now this thread has lead to confusion etc.

On one hand, I get the impression that some of you just want to throw some coin at a project & have TDR do all the work & research so that you can have a body. Nuthin' wrong with that but kinda' lop sided.

If you guys are serious........before this thing ever gets a chance to get off the ground you must get organized........line up your players, decide on the car etc.

Rick started this thread and has (still is) involved with this type of project with TDR , MF etc.
He knows what's involved and can perhaps point you in the right direction.
Seriously gang..... TDR will work & help you out anyway they can but unless you get a handle on things like CG models, who's going to do the finishing for the master, will it be ready to cast or need work and so on.........see what I mean? Far too many variables for TDR quote prices or provide you with technical info.

[Rick]

I think that everything that needs to be said, has been said. Unfortunatly, what hasn't happened is agreement on a body and more importantly, nobody has stepped up with an offer to fund a project.

I've been down this road a few times and I can tell you from experience that choosing and funding a project are the easy parts so if we can't meet those two goals, then there's no use in proceeding further. Add to that, Don and MF are already very busy with personal and business projects. Thats not to say they wouldn't look at a fresh project, but certainly not until a well thought out and financed package is put on the table.

Time to close the thread, thanks for everyone's input.

[87fierogt]

I would love to see some detailed muscle cars or 60s wagons that are a complete top to bottom kit

my number one would be a 86-88 Fiero gt fast back with optional small block

68 Dart gts 440 or hemi
69-71 Cutlass 442 or rallye 350 options
67-68 Camaro(SBC and BBC already available)
62/63 or 66-67 nova wagon custom 2 door
68-69 le mans wagon or gto hardtop
66,68-9,70 Chevelle hardtop,vert or 2 door wagon

The list goes on
It would be cool if they were complete because there's many out there not comfortable scratch building and would gladly pay for a complete kit when possible (I'm out of work currently ) (chevys could be a roller & could use big t sbc or tdr SBC or BBC)

Prostreet on any of em would be even better

[nascarnbroncosfans]

I am wondering if anyone has really decided to do a 33 or 34 Ford 3 window.

[comp1839]

since this topic has come up, i feel i should kinda jump in and tell you. i worked with TDR and Dan Palatnik to do a 1/8 scale '69 camaro pro mod. i spent the better part of 2 full days measuring and taking pictures off a real car. i sent all the info to Dan (who is a VERY good 3-d artist) he produced a 3-d rendering for TDR . TDR then took the rendering and massaged it to be printable. the project was totally successful. the car is now available from TDR in any scale you want. from 1/8 to 1/43. here are some shots of my 3-d printed '69 camaro.







i'm not saying the process was cheap. it's not.....but if you try paying yourself just $10.00 an hour to draw up and produce a body that will not split at the seams and is just about a perfect replica of the drawing you created. i think you can see my point. with the amount of time i put into hand machining the all the parts that go into one of my builds, the last thing i want is a body that is suspect. in my opinion it was money well spent!

[dpride]

Re: the 29 Tudor, Dan Palatnik has modeled one that looks accurate. If he sells the 3d models someone could mill the components at any scale. I was thinking about milling my 31 coupe (1/4) scale body but ended up hand shaping. You could mill the larger shapes and print smaller more detailed ones. The hobby sized 3 axis routers are cheap to build and maybe someone on the forum has one. I built mine for large wood sculpture and the Z axis would be too slow (ATM) for .5mm step over type stuff. Now I'm thinking about the 29 body again, I could just change the gearing......

[hot ford coupe]

I didn't know you guys knew Dan Palatnik. He's definitely one of the best 3 D artists around. I've spent many hours on the site where he has his models and drooled all over the keyboard.

[comp1839]

jeff, dan did all the 3-d drawing for the pro mod camaro. i supplied a ton of drawings and measurements. dan took all that spagehtti and made a bunch drawings. he is a master at giving you what you want. here are just some of the drawings.









in the end he even incorporated the scoop that he drew earlier for me and added wheels and tires for that completed view of the car.

tim at TDR took that image and made it 3-d printable. the whole project took some time but it was all well worth it in the end. the great thing about this is. you get a car printed. you don't have to search for investors or people to by cars or go buy 20 lbs. of latex to make molds and then go through a bunch of crap to cast it. what you draw.......is what you get. if you want to keep it a one of a kind, you have that option. i opted to let TDR have the drawing and sell the product. that way the modelling community gets a chance to buy something unique.

[hot ford coupe]

And you don't have to worry about all those casting problems and whether or not the casting will pull out of the mold. No warpage characteristic of a body that size. It's a great solution to a long lasting problem. I can tell that's Dan's work. He's outstanding.