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Post by jeffs396 on Sept 6, 2012 20:10:57 GMT -5
Michael! Welcome to our little offroad site!!! I'm glad you chimed in, but now you'll be inundated with requests for etched parts for our 4x4 builds! I'm looking at your site now, looks like you have some really great items! Let us know what you need from us, and I'm sure we'll be asking for lots of different items to be produced and added to your catalog ;D If you want a complimentary set of SoReal rims, drop me a PM & I'll have them in the mail ASAP!
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Post by dirtmodeler on Sept 6, 2012 21:16:46 GMT -5
Thanks, it's much appreciated.
I'd meant to say hi a while ago, i'd bookmarked the site at work quite a while ago, and decided to stop by today while it was slow.
What i'd like to start off with is beadlocks/wheel covers and move from there.
I really would want to know the specific brands and styles that you folks would most want.
I'll make sure they fit the wheels.
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Post by revshag on Sept 8, 2012 9:32:27 GMT -5
As far as PE parts, how about stone guards for offroad lights.
Bodyside molding would be great too.
Chris
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Post by randx0 on Sept 8, 2012 12:42:20 GMT -5
For those that haven't ordered from dirtmodeler,I can vouch for the quality and quick turnaround. they have quite a few pieces that can be used for our purposes here and it is an extremely good value. I hope we can get the beadlocks for the so real wheels as that opens up so much variation for those tires we love so much.
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Post by dirtmodeler on Sept 8, 2012 13:26:54 GMT -5
The Rock Guards for the lights would be another good one that i can get made on this current plate i'm working on.
What i'll need help with is picking out which styles are wanted, and what sizes.
I don't have any off-road truck models to measure from.
What i would want to do is have a single fret with a bunch of different options on it.
If someone can pull out some calipers and get me the dimensions of the different lights that are out there in 1:24, and send photos of 5-10 different styles of guards, i can get them drawn up to match.
I'm really hoping to continue expansion and need everyone's help to make it happen. Right now i'm pretty much selling just enough parts every month to pay the shop rent, power, and insurance.
Since i can't create more modelers, i need to expand to reach more of the modelers that are out there in the world.
thanks.
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Post by dirtmodeler on Sept 8, 2012 13:40:03 GMT -5
For those that haven't ordered from dirtmodeler,I can vouch for the quality and quick turnaround. they have quite a few pieces that can be used for our purposes here and it is an extremely good value. I hope we can get the beadlocks for the so real wheels as that opens up so much variation for those tires we love so much. Much appreciated. Since there have been so many fly by night modeling aftermarket companies out there, i've tried to go the other direction. And add some stability and quality. We do order sweeps once or twice a week (depending on order volume) and try to get orders out as quick as possible.
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Post by jeffs396 on Sept 8, 2012 13:56:20 GMT -5
Michael, thanks again for your willingness to help our small, specialized type of builds we do...I'll get you a variety of things gathered up, along with the SoReals and send them out to you Monday.
I think it'll be better for you to have lights, etc. in hand to make your parts to, rather than us supply you with measurements. Sometimes things can get lost in translation ;D
Guys, anything else you can think of that we can use photoetch of? We've gotta get Michael a variety of things to make a full fret!
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Post by randx0 on Sept 9, 2012 1:18:14 GMT -5
Guys, anything else you can think of that we can use photoetch of? We've gotta get Michael a variety of things to make a full fret! shock mounting brackets for chassis and axles,just something generic because making them out of plastic doesn't always look right. Also leaf spring hangers ,leaf springs with retaining clips for that matter.and anything that will make a winch look better. toggle switches just a guess but i would bet a Jeep specific fret might work out nicely especially if we can spruce up the MPC Jeepster/commando.
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Post by wtsf150 on Sept 9, 2012 15:41:00 GMT -5
Hey Michael i have a set of photo etched beadlocks i could send you one if that would help out with anything they fit the soreal rims if interested just drop me a pm or just email me at Wtsf150@yahoo.com one of my etch pieces would be a set of roller fairleads i know some aluminum tube would be needed to make them look reight but the bracket/housing for them would be great also if you have the permission i guess some ethched badges I/E for, Dodge,Ford,Chevy,Jeep, Toyota,ETC i like the idea of the mesh covers for the lights too the round foglights and some for the rear tailights of the Jeep CJ's also the round and square headlights or photoeteched grilles for all makes Thanks, Willie
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Post by Plowboy on Sept 9, 2012 18:08:58 GMT -5
Michael, something I think you should consider since you do photo etch,is make some nice wheel centers in the 15 and 16 inch range. If you have a lathe,you could also make the rims to go with them. Or.. you could cast the rims in resin. I like the So Real wheel and tire setups,but the wheels sometimes look too big and so far, I only have one project that I plan to use them on. It's a 1/24 scale F-250, so they work pretty well on it. But, on 1/25 scale pickups,they just look too big in my eyes. I may be too old school though.
I really like Willy's idea of photo etched grilles! I know another good one you could do and that's optional grilles for the Jeep J-10. Gluehead would be the perfect person to get with on that one since he's doing a Gladiator conversion on J-10 at the moment. You really need to check out his build!
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casey
Junior Member
Posts: 63
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Post by casey on Sept 10, 2012 14:32:42 GMT -5
I know another good one you could do and that's optional grilles for the Jeep J-10. '73-'87 Chevy/GMC grilles, too?
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Post by dirtmodeler on Sept 10, 2012 22:26:35 GMT -5
All the ideas sound great. To make it all a reality i'd need actual items to fit the parts to. For me to make any types of grills i'll have to have the bodies to fit them to. This would be the same with wheel centers, etc.
Are there certain kits i'd want to purchase? Are they currently available to purchase?
I don't have any issues in investing in kits or other parts, but i need everyone to lend me your knowledge to point me in the right direction and let me know exactly what to get.
Thanks.
Michael S. Crowey Dirt Modeler
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Post by jeffs396 on Sept 11, 2012 21:20:20 GMT -5
Michael, there are some great ideas flowing from the offroaders here, but I gotta ask, is reproducing manufacturers' logos & brand names something you're willing to do? If so, like Randy said a Jeep detail set would be a big hit, could be used on CJs, Tamiya YJs, Commandos, and J10 (Revell Honcho). Novelty license plate frames (again branding). Same with 'KC' lights stone guards, 'WARN' items, etc. Just something to think about in todays 'royalty driven' $$$ society I can send a 70s Chevy (1/24 Monogram) pickup grille but to me, there are a few reasons NOT to make etch for these: 1. 1/24 AND 1/25 scale kits exist 2. The 1:1s would be difficult to replicate accurately with a thin etch, these grilles have some serious thickness/depth to them that wouldn't look right as only a .010" replacement 3. GMC and Chevy grilles exist, in BOTH scales! Still going thru my kits to find proper offroad lights (no really good ones I'd ever use on a build) but I found some scale 6" round (the most popular 1:1 size) lenses/housings in the Revell '32 Ford kits (the optional smaller headlights in the kits). No kits I have contain any useable rectangular lights (all chrome plated pieces without separate lenses) to pattern stone guards from. I'm sending a Jeep CJ taillight lense, the pair of SoReal rims, and whatever else I find that I think you can pattern after. I'll get these things out to you ASAP, sorry for the delay!
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Post by dirtmodeler on Sept 12, 2012 18:09:25 GMT -5
i'm cool with doing pretty much anything, i'm doing such small quantities that royalties aren't really an issue. Though i would probably lump any scripts onto one fret, and all of the branded light guards onto one fret. so i could pull an individual fret from circulation if i ever ran into a problem.
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Post by gluhead on Sept 13, 2012 6:49:01 GMT -5
You guys are more in tune with this stuff than I am, and I am probably on the more conservative side as far as rolling stock...I'm more interested in the tires in the 32mm - 42mm range, like many of the offerings from Ma's for example, than the much larger SoReal stuff. I consider those pretty extreme. That said, some basic, simple beadlock and rockguard sets in diameters of 15mm, 17mm, and 19mm would allow for the most viable applications for what's currently readily available. Depending on the diameter of the SoReal wheels, I'd think that 3 or 4 sets would go a LONG way...or at the least, make an exceptional start. Maybe something like this, for starters? Here's a link to, probably, more variety in styles than we'd ever need. www.greatlakeoffroad.com/GLO-DIY-Weld-On-Bead-Locks.htmlDefinitely yes on the rock guard grills for the lights. Here again, something basic like the following would offer the broadest usage. We'd just need to sort out the diameter(s). As Roger mentioned, I do indeed have a Jeep Gladiator conversion in progress...and the grill is the major sticking point. The J10 Honcho kit isn't in production, but it's not hard to find, so I think that this is a highly viable resin conversion. But as with the other grill suggestions, the grill for this one is too 3D for P/E. I just need to overcome it and find a way to make the master in a way that will reproduce well in resin. I don't think there's any other way around it. One thing mentioned above that jumped out at me was the bracket for the roller fairleads on winches. A Warn winch itself is pretty easy to scratchbuild, but that bracket would make all the difference in the world. Other chassis brackets were mentioned, but this may be something that's too abstract to be viable. In modeling these trucks, the brackets are bound to be different for almost every individual application. A variety of spring hangers and shackles, though...that'd be great. I'm just trying to think in terms of what's viable. No doubt, we could go nuts with ideas of what we'd like to see produced, but it also comes down to what makes sense from an expense standpoint. I think if we focus on the basics...walk before we run, so to speak, we may actually get somewhere.
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