Nothing much, but getting close to the first mould

http://www.desicodesign.com/meerkat/

I presume you mist have some kind of broadband internet connection, Alan. Us underpriveliged types with dial up 56K (more like 44K usually) , we have to wait for the whole bodywork page to load before we can see the thumbnails of the latest work. Could you put the latest stuff at the top maybe, or on a separate page?
Not that I'm moaning or anything.....

John

Moan, moan, moan....

Actually I'm on a 56k dial up too, but don't have much delay loading. However your observations are duly noted.
(I just timed it at 19 secs to refresh, is that in line with your experience?)

I have actually started a new page though just for that reason.
I decided to split the bodywork into plug page and mould/mouldings page, so I hope that helps a little.

As always, thanks for following the story, and giving useful feedback

Alan, looking good.
I totally empathise with your system of getting on with unchartered areas, and leaving the more mundane mirroring until later. So, I didn't think much about it, until I looked carefully at your blue rendered model, ansd saw two things.
I see you plan to leave the front inner wings open, above the body line. Apart from exhausting heat from the brakes, is there another reason for this? Surely the wheels will throw up water/road crap all over you and the bodywork?
The other area that grasped my attention, is the lip around the rear wheel opening. I initally thought this was a mould flange for attaching a return lip. Again, I see from the model, this is a feature. Not wanting to cause offence, and I know you're open for criticism, but in my humble opinion, the lip looks like a hastilly added after thought, spoiling an otherwise excellent design.
It reminds me of the horrid plastic arch extensions that car makers such as Nissan added to the existing, already stepped, arches on their Patrol 4WD, rather than press a new panel.
Any way, it's a sterling job, and interesting to follow.

Bob, thanks for the feedback

I'll clarify a couple of your points.

1) The plan was for inside of the front arches to be open as a feature exposing the suspension - seven style. However, there is a plan 'B' to cover this area if the water/crap is a problem.

2) You were right first guess. They are just mould flanges for the lip returns. I'd better have a look and see were you got the altermate explanation from. Probably something confusing on my part, no doubt.

I hope this adresses your questions and again thanks for the feedback.

(edit) I just read the "blue rendered model" bit...now I see what you mean...

[Edited on 11/28/02 by Alan B]

OK Bob, I think I see. Some of the computer models do appear to have a small "extra" lip on them.

I guess those models are a little outdated now.

Good spot though

Alan,

It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting in my office waiting for some interminable database run to complete and I think - "Let's see what's new on the Meerkat". Well gosh! Lots of progress I see. A couple of points:

- Don't things look better once they're a single colour

- That shape looks bloody good in black!

- Is there enough draft to get the mould off the plug? It looks close in a few areas.

- What's the gel gun like to use? The only gel-coating I've done was in small moulds with a brush - not a easy way to get good results.

Congrats on the progress, I'm jealous


Dominic

Hi Dominic,

Thanks for the kind words

Re: Draft.
It may not show from any pictures, but it should seperate quite easily if pulled backwards and upwards at about 45 degrees from the horizontal (easier to see in the flesh than explain)

Re: Gel gun
It is easy to use as long as you remember the procedure:- point vertical - press trigger, tip horizontal - spray starts. To stop:- tip vertical, then release trigger.
Clean up is easy too, useful tool...glad I got it.

Rear mould now finished
Working my way round to finish the others.

To Bob and others who have commented on the exposed front suspension:-

My plan is to keep my options open by having a bonnet (hood) that does cover the suspension, but can be trimmed back to expose it if required. The mould will be designed to produce either version.

This should give a VERY rough idea.....

What weight mat did you use for the mould and how many layers? Is there a reason you chose black for the gelcoat? To show imperfections maybe? Do you plan of adding reinforcements to the back of the mould?

Do you plan on using polyester resin for the body panels? The reason I ask is that I have seen some thin panels sag when exposed to the sun. A composite guy I know suggested to use Vinylester as it is more tolerant to heat and chemicals. Works very much like polyester and is a bit more expensive but no where near the cost of epoxy.

Lay-up for moulds depends a lot on intend usage. Thin for a one-off, thick and HD for a big run. I used about 6 layers of 1.5 ounce CSM...should be good for 20 uses I'd say...by then I'll have probably changed a few things, know how demand is and can then invest in expensive moulds with tooling gel etc. This mould may not get any further reinforcements as it should be inherently quite stiff. Black, yes it shows blemishes better than any other colour......and it's cheaper than many other colours, $1 per pound cheaper than say red or yellow! The best gel for moulds is tooling gel, but again expensive and best left for production moulds.

I'm working with a guy who is composite expert with a lot of Vinylester experience, but so far he's advising regular polyester...for now at least.

At this stage the project has to be more than just a one-off, but without the big investment for a long production run....who knows?....we'll see how it goes

All good questions BTW.

I was thinking of maybe building and selling 2 or 3 cars once I finished to try an recoup some of the cost. However, the thing that worries me is having legal problems. If someone crashed and injured themselves I could just see a bunch of law suits. While Canada isn't as bad as the US the chances are much higher than the UK.

Alan, that bonnet/hood/lid/cover (depending on your nationality) is a neat solution, and a real fence sitter, if i may add!
My betting is the extensions will get trimmed back in time! I think, unless you design an asthetically pleasing seal, the first time you drive it in the wet, you'll have nasty trails of dirty water tracking up the body from around the edges of the bonnet.
Overall, it's a bold design, and I especially like the effect of muscular rear "haunches" on such a small (looking) car.
Keep up the good work, and photos.

Bob, again, thanks for looking, and the positive feedback.

Re: the hood/bonnet extensions:-

My plan is to have small external returns on the inner wheel arch openings for the extensions to overlap onto.
However, whether they will work is another story
Still it's all part of the fun...I can't think of a better hobby, I love this stuff