1/12th scale Pro Touring '69 Camaro

Wo Rus thisthing is coming along.
Looig good as usual.

No where near as fast as I hoped. Its been almost 2 years since I started this. I have just about got the black paint perfect. Trying to decide on the color and type of stripe.

Well, I'm kinda glad I went with the black and gunmetal. Let me know what you guys think

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF5839.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x124/brady_381/bigscale69camaro.jpg?t=1188319145

i just scored one off ebay my self as well!:evillol:

Very cool color combo. Missed the thread. Got to love your skills.

Thanks. All of my projects have kind of been put on a stand still while I sort out some major changes in my life. When I get back to things, #1 on my priority list is to re finish the mustang coupe body I mastered. Then back to this thing. If this new job works out, the money to get parts and machine work done for this thing will be there

Well as promised in my 2010 Camaro threads. This thing has risen from the ashes. I've got the base for the rear tires formed, I think I've figured out how to create a fast 90/90 intake, I've spent most of today working on the front sub frame, waiting on some molds to dry. I re-worked the heads, removing valve covers and making new masters for each. I'm waiting on the mold for the heads and the mold for the tread blocks for the tires to cure so I can start casting those pieces. The tires will be TOYO proxes4 20"front and rear. I am hoping to stagger the widths front and rear. I'm still looking for someone to machine some wheel "hoops"for me without charging an arm and a leg....

First off the tires. I'm not sure if there are pictures hiding in here somewhere, but before all of my stuff got packed away, many moons ago. I had created a sidewall for a tire. I pulled that out, cleaned it up, and poured a mold. I took 5 of those and created the skeleton. 2 on inside and outside pressed together and one in the center for some support. Next I heated and wrapped a 2cm wide stip around the skeleton and glued it into place. Then I stacked 2 1.5mm strips and wrapped them around the center of the tire for the center rib. Once that was glued into place. I sketched the 3 different tread blocks that I needed and poured a mold. I'd much rather use a little casting rubber and be able to create identical pieces, than try to recreate them all by hand. My goal is to have a front and rear master, and cast them in casting rubber, we will see how that goes.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6900.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6899.jpg

Next is the front sub-frame. I had lots of issues with this, I re-did it about three times today, and come to find out, it is the chassis that is warped, not my scratch built sub frame. Once the kit is all together and everything is tweaked properly it should be just fine. There is still a lot of work to do with this. The bar where the engine will mount to still needs to be constructed, mounts for both the rack and pinion steering, and the a-arms and suspension need to be done.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6898.jpg

Flawless! Its a beautiful build!
I'm surprised that there are very few comments in this thread....
Keep it up!

the three molds I poured early last week never set. I think the RTV may have gotten too hot in my truck. I mixed it exactly as stated and they never cured.

Russell, that tire looks awesome! Much better than the one I sent you to reference. Great work, I am glad to see you back in the saddle and await the next update.

Thanks Mike. Do you ever dig the scratchbuild out?

I'm getting a little discouraged. having trouble finding a machinist, and my RTV is curing properly.

A little more work done on this thing. Got it all sanded down and some fresh clear on it. I left out the trash this time, but a nice coat of orange peel took its place, gotta love the learning curve. The big update, well atleast the pictures are for the front suspension. I've got the base for the passenger side upper A-Arm done. I modeled a Detriot Speed and Engineering unit. The frame is different size brass tubing soldered together. The finer details will be done with styrene. I did this by first bending the outer bars, then it was all tacked to the kit a-arm to keep the proper placement. Then everything was soldered together. It ruins the kit part, but makes for a great template!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6920.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6916.jpg

Well this thing keeps giving me fits, I wonder if I'll ever finish it. I finally got some kind of mold for the tread, got a couple of blocks cast, and well the resin I have isn't flexible enough to allow it to form around the tire. If I keep starting over, I will never finish any parts. So instead of Toyo Proxes 4 tires. They are now going to be BFGoodrich TA/KD's. The tread blocks are all square. Careful measurement and I can use styrene instead of casting them. I've got to wait a bit to re-stock my styrene supply, or Maybe I'll cut some strips from the sheet I have. Who knows. Thanks for keeping up with this and the words of encouragement. Ah the world of scratch building parts.

Hi Russell,
Hey mate, I'm really pleased you're persevering with this big one....:smokin:
Frustrating they can be at times, but we who wish for things not on the open market, need to make our own way....and you're on the right track.
I've only tried doing my own resin once, the 1/25 Munro conversion I did a few years ago.....:rolleyes:
I wanted desperately to make my own wheels and tyres for my 1/12 Datsun.....I got as far as making the masters, then sent them off to be made for me. :)
It won't give me the full satisfaction as making them from start to finish, but I'll know I played a major roll...

I went with the individual tread blocks, all hand cut separately....time consuming, YES !......perfect.......well, NO .....But they look ok, and will be ok in rubber.
Here's where I was at before sending them off....
http://images14.fotki.com/v371/photos/6/63306/7073322/tread002-vi.jpg

And both tyres completed....
http://images50.fotki.com/v1515/photos/6/63306/7073322/oddsnendsjune008-vi.jpg

Keep persevering with your ideas Russell, I know you're on a winner mate..:thumbsup:
cheers
Greg :aus:

I appreciate the kind words Greg. The TA/KD was my original idea for tires. Simply because it had the less complicated square type tread blocks. It looks very similar to your tires. I was hoping the resin casting would yield a usable tread block so that I could have something a bit more complicated looking and add to the cool factor. It could work if I wanted to cast the tread separate then attach it to the side walls, however, I'll stick to the way I'm doing it for the Camaro. I'm learning a lot with this one, and it will be applied to the Mustang I have in progress. I plan to build several more large scale cars. There is just so much detail that you can add!

A little update. You can go back through and see how the rear end housing was modified and the additions that were made. I drilled holes where the diff cover bolts were, then sanded them all flush. After that was done, I painted the housing with duplicolor primer then followed with some wal mart gloss black. After the paint cured, I then added the machined bolts with a bit of super glue. Hopefully the detail shows up in the pictures. I'm going to call this completed sub assembly number 1!!!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6934.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6933.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6932.jpg

Nice work, the paint looks perfect.

Excellent work, seems like its coming together nicely.

Well a small little update for tonight. Only one picture, but its taken me about 3 hours worth of work to get this one little part done. I've got the passenger side lower 4 link arm done. Well its mocked up. Teh part that mounts to the housing is done. And, as I type this I realize that I've made a mistake. The adjustable end should go on the housing side, and the stationary end goes on the chassis side of things. Well looks like thats going to require some correction. Anyway, this is the way all 4 4-link arms will look. The uppers will be shorter. They are constructed of brass, aluminum, and styrene. Painted flat black, followed by testors dull cote, and finished off with machined aluminum bolt heads and nuts from Hiroboy.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6935.jpg

The 4 link is looking great, cant wait to see this thing finished, I see you have been away from building for a while just like me. I need to get back into it as well

Got some major work done on this guy. The rear 4-link is pretty well finished up as far as fab work. I may have to break apart the inner bars and adjust them a little bit, it looks as though the pinion angle is going to be a bit out of whack. I'm still unsure as to how I'm going to secure the outer bars as everything else is drilled and pinned with styrene rod so that it will actually articulate. There may be enough for me to build a box to attach them with and insert it into the front leaf spring mounts after everything is detailed. the only thing not painted as far as the 4-link goes is the panhard bar. It may need some adjustments as it looks as though right now it may be in the way of the coil overs. They aren't complete yet so I haven't been able to check. Enjoy...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6943.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6944.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6945.jpg

Almost to 30K views here on this forum! Just a quick photo update. I cut some styrene circles to help me mock up the rear end and get the lengths fo rthe 4-link set correctly. I also used these to get an idea of what this beast is going to look like at ride height. I noticed that I'm going to have to re-work the front sub frame, yet again. The cross member that spans the length between the a-arms is hanging too low I think. There is a possibility it may be about right. I'll need to get the front suspension just about worked out to know for sure. Enjoy...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6950.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6951.jpg

sick bro, sick. i want to be like you when i grow up..lols.

Hey Russell, who did those front aluminum rims? I love them! And your styrene tires put a whole new meaning to "white walls"! :rofl:

That wheel was done by an ex girlfriends brother on a CNC machine. They do much larger jobs, this was something he tried to do on the side. All I asked for him to do was to make sleeves for my wheel centers. He didn't quite understand what I was asking for and attempted to machine the entire thing. I used to have a wheel that wasn't missing the spokes, I might have sent it back to him. But they are far from usable. The spokes were crooked and the alignment of the holes was terrible. Oh well, you win some you lose some. The only thing it cost me was the cost of the aluminum I bought for him to work with.

Looking mighty fine Russell..:smokin:
LOVE the 4-link mate, that looks wicked. I'll have to detail my 12-bolt like that when I get to it.....the extra details like real bolt heads add just so much.:thumbsup:
Looks great in black too.....sinister even......and I 'specially like the stripe ....:wink:

That stripe really helped to add some character to this thing. The wheels will be a brushed aluminum for the sleeve and probably a clear coated gunmetal color to match the stripe. Should look killer. If I can get the sleeves machined. There is a place online that I'm toying around with, looking at something like $190 per pair of sleeves......?!?

No pictures of any progress just yet. I got a little bored tonight and started kicking around some ideas for turbo construction. After about 30 minutes of research and gathering pictures, I think I'm on my way to a very convincing Turbo. If so, there will be resin turbo's in 1/12th scale for anyone interested. I plan on doing them in 3 sections, the compressor housing, the center section, then the exhaust housing. I've got to hit the hobby lobby in the next couple of days to get a hold of some supplies and tools. Look for some pictures of the Turbo in the next 24 hours. Waiting on the epoxy putty to cure so I can sand it down and shape the seams.

Looking forward to seeing the turbo Russell...:grinyes:
I kinda cheated for mine..(will go on my 1/12 RX-7..) I have an old one from a Tamiya Porsche kit.....:wink: :)

I was going to do the same thing and pick up kit bash a 1/12th kit. But, I got bored and this is shaping up better than I had expected.

How about some new pictures and an update. I've made some headway one the Turbo, it also looks like I may have created a centrifugal supercharger as well in 1/12th scale, the compressor housing could be used as just that with some slight modification. There will be 3 primary parts, the compressor housing, the turbine housing, and the center section. The center section will have the oil feed and return connections, as well as have the turbine wheel on both ends so that they are visible.

Current assembly from the side

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6962.jpg

Current assembly from the front

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6963.jpg

Close up of the rear of the compressor housing

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6967.jpg

Current state of the 3 pieces

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF6965.jpg

How about a statistical update as well, this build is posted on 3 different forums. A car modeling forum and 2 car enthusiast forums:

The build started in November of 2005 with hopes of completing it within 12 months.

It has been viewed 51622 times and spans 33 pages between the 3 forums.

Is there any way I can get a mod to change the title of this thread? Is that possible? Maybe 1/12th scale Pro Touring '69 Camaro?

Is there any way I can get a mod to change the title of this thread? Is that possible? Maybe 1/12th scale Pro Touring '69 Camaro?

Fixed. :)

Thanks Mike!

Well I think its about time for an update on this thing. I've taken some time off to try and re-arrange/begin re-modeling my house. As well as working on some smaller 1/24th scale masters to cast and sell. I've also found someone who is going to machine the wheel sleeves for me. As soon as I get those back, I will get started on the third set of wheel centers. I also need to work out a template for the bolt pattern so that when I go to drill all of that stuff it is correct this time around.

I dug out the old brake molds and cast some of those parts. I want this car to be as realistic as possible, incorporate cutting edge technology and not break the bank. Well I thought the perfect place to cut back on cost would be the brake rotors. Instead of having 4 rotors machined out of aluminum, I decided to re-use the resin casts I had for the front rotors. I found a picture of a ZR-1 Corvette's front carbon ceramic rotors:

http://image.automobilemag.com/f/multimedia/photo_gallery/8068821/0712_15z_1024x768+2009_chevrolet_corvette_ZR1+carb on_ceramic_brakes.jpg

To be honest, looking at this thing a second time, I may do my best to duplicate those rotors as well. I think that anodized blue look will fit right in behind the wheels. Anyway, after getting some help on how other people are achieving this look, in scale, I devised this method:

I started with a base of flat black. Then I dug out some Duplicolor Gunmetal. I held the can away from the part so as to only get some spatter of color, repeated until I had the desired effect.

And now the finished part:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF7029.jpg

Now that I see them side by side, they need a little bit of work, more of a metallic look than a black look...

Your rotor is excellent! That will look superbly realistic. Well, actually, how about more, smaller holes? Use a pin perhaps and just create a whole lot of little pin-pricks?

They really aren't that out of scale. Remember this thing is 1/12th scale. its approximately 30 MM in diameter

I just went back and looked at the picture of the vette rotor. If you compare to that rotor in particular, it doesn't look realistic. They were however originally designed to mimic a set of Baer drilled rotors..

Fair enough, they do look great as is, for sure.

Wow! Good work on the rotor.

I stopped by Wild Bill's in Irving today and browsed around a little. I came across some HPI Wheels that I thought were the right size. From there, I went to Rockwall and stopped at Hobbytown USA for some more plastic tube. There, I found some HPI tires, Falken Azenis I believe. After spending too much money, here is what I came home with, They are bigger than what I was hoping for though hopefully I can make them look right. Not quite as impressive as fully machined, or scratch built, however, It will hopefully save time and get me motivated for this thing.

The HPI wheels and tires
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0072.jpg

With the 1/12th GT500 wheels
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0071.jpg

A couple of views showing height/size difference
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0073.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0074.jpg

Finally, a couple of shots of the wheels under the body. The GT500 wheel and tire in the back, the HPI wheel in the front
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0075.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0076.jpg

One thing I have learned with model cars, more often than not, bigger wheels typically look better, not sure how I feel about the HPI wheels though. I think they are on the verge of too big.

A comparison shot for wheel size. This is a 1:1 first gen with ZR1 wheels

http://i439.photobucket.com/albums/qq118/Stielow65/DSC_2635.jpg

Russell, to me the wheels look great. Especially after viewing your last pic.:2cents:
They seem to be the exact thing/ size for it.
Keep up the great work.

Mark

The more I look at that picture of jackass (the full size Camaro I posted), the more I think the wheels may be ok the way they are, and just alter the width of the fronts.

Then change the body color back to the original sunset orange metallic or going with cyber gray metallic and paint the wheels aluminum with a gunmetal center....

I agree with you Russell.
As for the color scheme personally I would go for the cyber gray metallic and aluminum wheels with a gunmetal center.

Mark

Some better pics of the wheels. They feel too big at this point. They scale out to ~25. Which in my mind, is just so wrong for an old muscle car

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0115.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0116.jpg

A little update on this. As awesome as it would be to say that the wheels are fully machined, I've found an alternate route. www.shapeways.com offers 3-D printing services. Basically you upload a 3-d image file and they sell you prints of the design. I've spent the last couple of days teaching myself solidworks and working on a design for a wheel center. I'm not sure if I will go so far as to make the wheel "sleeves" or not, or if I will have someone machine them for me.

Here is a picture of what I'm working on:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/2JPG.jpg

The great thing about this is, the possibilities are nearly limitless once I'm proficient at solidworks. Some things will still be scratchbuilt, however, the items that I have trouble with, or can't get proportions right, they can simply be printed!

Thanks for sharing that site! I'm curious where you got solidworks, as I used it professionally for 6 years & would like my own. Looks like they also do metal parts as well

Hey Russell,
Great idea about having a go at that yourself mate. :)
Wouldn't mind that program myself, I'd love to have a go at designing some bits.

And seeing you have Shapeways already, hace you checked out TDR Innovations ??
http://sites.google.com/site/tdrinnovations/home

They use Shapeways, and already have some really awesome parts available in scales 1/43 - 1/8.
Already have a few of their 1/12 items myself, and just about to order the new Camaro body...

They've got some pretty cool stuff there! I've seen a bit of it. Though the body is too rich for my blood!

As for solidoworks, its something I picked up while in the engineering program at a local university.

Still no physical modelling as of yet. I've been working in solidworks and learning its nuances and ways to get this all done. I have been able to create a new wheel center, wheel sleeves that are 11" and 9.5" wide, as well as a wheel stop. The way this will work is, the wheel stop is adjusted to the depth I need for the backspacing I want, then it will be mated to the outer sleeve. Once that is done, the wheel center will be mated to the stop. I've got the stop "drilled" for bolt heads, to mimick the wheel being blind fastened from the back side. Those bolts will be machined pieces.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/11assy.jpg

If you make this work, there is some possibilities there.

It will work! I've got a wheel center, 11" and 9.5" wheel sleeve, as well as a mounting ring ordered to print. Should be here first or second week of march. This will allow me to complete the front suspension. Next up for design are the brake rotors and calipers. From there, hopefully an LSx engine...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897

Another big hurdle for this build were the brakes. these are modeled after ZR1 corvette brakes. I got the "hat" and front rotor done last night. hopefully I can get started on the front caliper tonight.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/frontrotor.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/rotorhat.jpg

Well, I got a little package in the mail today. My prototype parts arrived from the 3D printer. It turns out that the mating ring for the wheel face wasn't printable in its current format so I will have to tweak it. The plastic I had these printed in prints very rough not near good enough for finished quality pieces. I have learned quite a bit so far from looking at these pieces. The most important: the wall thickness isn't as much as it appears on the screen! the sleeves are too thin IMHO. I am also on the fence about the overall look of the wheels. I feel like the spokes are too thin. I like the general design, I just feel that maybe the spokes could be a bit wider. As far as wheel size, this is what I've mentioned about scale correctness not always looking correct. These should be 20" wheels, though they still look a tad bit small.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0136.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0137.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0144.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0148.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0138.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0142.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/black2002ls/pro%20touring%20camaro%2012/DSCF0143.jpg

Hey Russell, for a "first time" effort, I reckon they look pretty darn sweet.
Maybe a size up would be good, but even if they scaled to 18-19 inch, they should look great once some thin tyres are added. :)
Do you mind me asking what you paid, as a once off deal I guess it was for you ??
PM me if you prefer. :)
Cheers mate.

It was EXTREMELY inexpensive. Do you have some ideas for parts? It takes 4-5 hrs for me to design parts at the moment, depending on the complexity. I'm sure we could work out some kind of deal! :D

Really cool project Russell!

I can see the model is a ('scuse the pun) 'vehicle' for you for getting to grips with 3D printing, but the Luddite in me says the money could be invested in a good lathe?!

You certainly have the skills to machine that wheel and I would bet it would be more satisfying than having a part land on your doormat (and be better finished to boot!).

Interesting build though! :)

The reality of it is, I don't have the $$$ sitting around for a lathe. I wish I did though! Those parts cost me about $18 shipped to my door.

Regarding the finish. Once I get my dimensions pinned down, I will get a set printed in a material that offers a better finish. This is the roughest/cheapest material that they have available.

Thanks for checking it out! I have been watching your large scale scratchbuilds for some time!

Different printing methods give different results. There are some that would give a better finish. I would recommend something but I've been out of that field of work for awhile & don't remember them...

Different printing methods give different results. There are some that would give a better finish. I would recommend something but I've been out of that field of work for awhile & don't remember them...

They have several different options for a printing medium. I will try something that offers more detail on the next set I order