JDowns Limitless Build

[SARRT8]

Really coming together nicely can’t wait to see more. Going to look awesome with paint. Very nice work!!

 

[Notorious J]

Starting to look like something now.

Bottom is all glued and ready for the body work. Top is coming together nicely. Just have two more pieces to print before I start tackling heat forming windows. Lots of small parts to print yet but those can be done while the body work is being finished and prepped for final paint.

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When this thing is done and painted, its gonna be pretty damn close to looking like a real 1:1 car. Can't wait to see it finished???

 

[Fumanseano]

This is one of the few threads that I find myself checking multiple times each day...love seeing the progress, cant wait to see this thing complete!

 

[JDowns]

Small update. Main body and removable top are ready for final wet-sanding and paint. But before that stage I have a small laundry list of items to design and print.

Front and Rear Mounts for removable top.
Drivers pod with steering wheel and servo mount.
Molds for the side and front windscreen to heat form the windows.
Few small items for cable management.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Wow that really cleaned up nice!
Are you using a 2 part primer (base and catalyst?) It looks like the good stuff.
I did quite a few 1:1 car paint jobs in my past life.

 

[JDowns]

Wow that really cleaned up nice!
Are you using a 2 part primer (base and catalyst?) It looks like the good stuff.
I did quite a few 1:1 car paint jobs in my past life.

I used Duplicolor Filler in red and gray. Sticks really well to 3D Printed parts. I'll end up airbrushing the rest with a large tip and then finish it with SprayMaxx 2K Clear.

 

[JDowns]

Drivers pod and DJI transmitter mount are done. The antennas are on swivels for access to the batteries and to swing out when in use to give greater separation from the antennas.

Eventually I'll do a custom steering wheel on a servo, but for now just trying to keep things moving along.

Next step is to put a few coats of flat black down and let that sit for awhile before it gets scuffed up for final paint, otherwise all the parts are printed and ready for final assembly.

One of the side windows is done, just need to cut and heat form the other. I won't lie, the front window is going to be a royal PITA. I either need to make a two piece mold or jig up a vacuum press. Have no clue at this point how that is going to work out.

 

[JDowns]

As expected the front window was a royal PITA. Glad that is over for sure. It's ready for a final wet sand with 600 and paint. I have some minor electrical to do, a a bit of programming for the screens, and black box to integrate with Castle Link. But its slowly getting there.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

As expected the front window was a royal PITA. Glad that is over for sure. It's ready for a final wet sand with 600 and paint. I have some minor electrical to do, a a bit of programming for the screens, and black box to integrate with Castle Link. But its slowly getting there.

Wow! Absolutely stunning!!! It is hard to believe it could get any better than this, but I know with a paint job it will!
Did you end up building a mold to form the front window, or what did you come up with?

 

[adidas303]

As expected the front window was a royal PITA. Glad that is over for sure. It's ready for a final wet sand with 600 and paint. I have some minor electrical to do, a a bit of programming for the screens, and black box to integrate with Castle Link. But its slowly getting there.

This is just BEAUTIFUL!! By chance willing to make any more of those bodies and sell them!!?? ?

Seriously, the work you've done with this project so far is just top notch!

Anticipating the what seems to be the homestretch now!! ??

 

[JDowns]

Wow! Absolutely stunning!!! It is hard to believe it could get any better than this, but I know with a paint job it will!
Did you end up building a mold to form the front window, or what did you come up with?

Thanks man. I'm not sure on the paint scheme yet. Need to spend some time just visualizing it. I am convinced that I should airbrush it due to the small nooks and crannies to avoid any runs.

I ended up printing (multiple times) a single piece mold. I then sanded and coated with epoxy. Put the Lexan in the oven at 250 for five minutes. Then used felt on both sides and hand formed it over the mold. Then trimmed to fit. Took three molds and multiple tries to get it right.

 

[shoyx]

As expected the front window was a royal PITA. Glad that is over for sure. It's ready for a final wet sand with 600 and paint. I have some minor electrical to do, a a bit of programming for the screens, and black box to integrate with Castle Link. But its slowly getting there.

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Wow man, if it wasn't for the pictures I would never believe it. What a great job! It looks amazing!

 

[bicketybam]

That looks awesome! Killer build ???

 

[JDowns]

Base coat of black is starting to go down today. Painting will be a lengthy process since I need things to cure fully before masking.

But the steps will be.

1. Tamiya flat black in a rattle can for the base coat. I need a good base coat with good etching properties and Tamiya paints deal well with acrylic as a top coat once cured.
2. Airbrush with Createx Wicked acrylic paint. Let cure between colors at least 3-5 days before masking.
3. Rinse - repeat for each color.
4. Let cure for a few days before the final gloss coat which will be a 2k gloss.
5. Let cure for a week before wet sanding and polish. Hopefully the clear goes on perfect then I can skip the wet sanding and go straight to polish.

can't wait to get this project done and start driving it. Then I can move on to the next project which will most likely be based off the Kraton 8S chassis.

 

[adidas303]

Base coat of black is starting to go down today. Painting will be a lengthy process since I need things to cure fully before masking.

But the steps will be.

1. Tamiya flat black in a rattle can for the base coat. I need a good base coat with good etching properties and Tamiya paints deal well with acrylic as a top coat once cured.
2. Airbrush with Createx Wicked acrylic paint. Let cure between colors at least 3-5 days before masking.
3. Rinse - repeat for each color.
4. Let cure for a few days before the final gloss coat which will be a 2k gloss.
5. Let cure for a week before wet sanding and polish. Hopefully the clear goes on perfect then I can skip the wet sanding and go straight to polish.

can't wait to get this project done and start driving it. Then I can move on to the next project which will most likely be based off the Kraton 8S chassis.

Like most, I think, definitely wanting to see that when you finish painting!! Effin solid build and work!!

 

[JDowns]

Small setback in this project.

A few weekends ago I had finished the final wet-sanding of the white base-coat and was excited to get it painted.

Went to go play a few rounds of golf while the body was drying. Now I have a 6 month old lab that has an obsession with bath towels. I had put the body on a towel on the top shelf up about 6 feet. In the back of my head I had thought to myself that I should just take the towel down so its not a temptation. But figured its up 6 feet so no worries. You guessed it. Came home to the base chewed enough that it wasn't going to be worth trying to Bondo and patch. Good thing I love my dog, and in the end it was my fault, I should have not left it on the towel knowing the possibility for destruction. I still have no idea how he got it down from that high without knocking anything else off the shelves.

So a week and half later new parts are printed. I just finished last night the last bit of body work, put the first coats of primer down this morning, and I'm hoping to have the white base-coat down tomorrow, so its ready for paint next week.

I did take the opportunity to change a few things since I needed to reprint. I never did like the side vents. They just seemed to look out of place so I removed them. Changed the material from CPE+ to Proto-Pasta HTPLA Carbon Fiber. Main reason to switch the material was that the HTPLA Carbon is just much easier to work with, and I didn't realize just how much lighter. Just by holding the base and top piece in my hands, the base which is significantly more material, is noticeably lighter.

 

[JDowns]

Final coat of white primer went down. Can't wait to get this thing painted this week.

Sneak peek at the drivers pod.

I am going to need to start tracking down some vinyl. Hoping I can beg ARRMA for some stickers without having to buy bodies for no reason.

 

[BashingBrian]

Hoping I can beg ARRMA for some stickers without having to buy bodies for no reason.

This build looks sick, can't wait to see it finished..!!!???
Send them a copy of your build thread and I'm sure they will send you a bag of goodies..!!

 

[JDowns]

Last coat of primer is down and wet-sanded. Its ready for a good base-coat of white.

Not completely decided on the color scheme yet. It will definitely be multi-colored, just not sure what yet. There will be a lot of tape work that's for sure.

 

[JDowns]

White pearl coat is down and curing. Now to start deciding on a paint scheme. I made the mistake of looking at Sean Bull and his designs to get some inspiration. To say the guy is talented would be an understatement. Some of my favorites from him.