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Alfa romeo RL SS carved in balsa wood

3K views 29 replies 7 participants last post by  fabianl 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum, and also to the hobby. My name is Fabián and I am from Córdoba, Argentina. I started by making my track out of wood and buying some commercial cars, until I saw some wood model building threads that I really liked and so I decided to try carving my own cars, just for fun. I initially come from model railways and then I went through the construction of motorized scale model airplanes. Please excuse me, because I am not a specialized carver, but I want to show you some progress in this attempt to build from scratch. From here go my respect and admiration for the wonderful wooden models of some carvers, whose work encouraged me to present my car. The idea is to try to rescue the spirit of the car, in this case an Alfa Romeo RL SS from 1926. I found very little documentation of that model, not even plans or measurements, but we'll see what can be achieved. Also, apply some techniques that I learned in the construction of model airplanes such as carving and the use of brass and aluminum sheets. The model is out of scale, because as it is the first carving, I wanted to do it in a large size that allows me to work more comfortably with some details. I started trying to make a plan starting from the few photographs found. Here, the first advances. I hope you like it, and from now on, advice is heard. Greetings and thanks.
Rectangle Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain
 
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#6 ·
we momentarily fix the plan or scheme on the aluminum piece in this case, underneath, we put a piece of balsa or soft wood
Rectangle Font Automotive design Fashion accessory Paper

then, with the help of a ruler and a pen, we mark over the grooves

We remove the paper and it would look like this

now we mark the final limits of the piece that we are manufacturing, this can be done before, but it is easier for me to do it in that sequence

finally, we cut the piece. Any questions, you can ask me

 

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#7 ·
question for forumers: I want to post a photo of the original car, most of them are under copyright. Can someone tell me how they do when a forum member uploads photos in a thread? are they free of rights? Or can they just be posted? I will appreciate help
 
#8 ·
advances in the hollowing out of the copckit, varnish layer on the bodywork, carving, painting and placement of seats
Automotive lighting Wood Office supplies Rectangle Trowel


Wood Rectangle Wood stain Tool Kitchen utensil


I also started with the aluminum cutouts that bound the copckit and the doors. They were glued with cyanoacrylate




I can see somewhat annoying details in the joints of the aluminum strips but I will have to live with that.... :sneaky:
the interior of the cabin was not painted until that moment, I could not decide on a particular color
 
#9 ·
The chassis...
I went for the idea of making a plywood chassis cutting it with a bench jigsaw, but the pieces were very thin and broke, so I went to my friend lisandro and his magical cnc laser cutter... sorry gentlemen, but then it was that the CNC "terminator" and its electronics killed the craftsman and his hands ... :(;)






 
#15 ·
Hello, I show you some small advances, with the bodywork already mounted on the chassis....














Where I live it is difficult to find spoked wheels, I decided to make my own version, they are turned in balsa wood, I used a hand drill for this task, the hub of the wheel is a brass pipe. So that it is well fixed to the axle, I press the end of said hub with a plier, then the wheel is placed under pressure, they work well for me ....



still missing lights, rearview mirror, steering wheel, etc... and of course, a pilot. I can see a lot of imperfect details, but I like the overall view, and I must say that I am really enjoying this build. Comments and advice will be well received, I hope you like it.... greetings
 
#23 ·
Hello friends, after several days without posting, I finally had time to show you some progress, but also, some very happy events happened to me and they have to do with friendship and camaraderie that originate from our hobbies. As I told you in the first posts, I come from a model airplane environment (I also went through model railways), as you can imagine, my wife packs my bags at any time and takes me out of my home... :):)
I also told them that I couldn't find wheels for the car and decided to turn them into balsa with my hand drill. I always dreamed of having a lathe but in my country it is something very expensive, this led me to constantly joke with my friend Ariel (aeromodeller), who had an old Swiss watchmaking lathe that he inherited from his father. I told him...." when you decide to sell that lathe, you let me know first...." And the weekend that happened was not the exception to that joke, but, to my surprise, he replied, ..... I'll sell it to you!!! I was surprised because I did not expect the answer... inside I said, what problem did I get myself into, because now I don't have that money, but right away my friend Ariel noticed my bewildered face and, smiling, told me ".... Don't worry... you can exchange it for your biplane plane... !!! ;)
I was very happy and immediately said yes!! Wow... it seems that the Lord heard my prayers, I told myself... Gentlemen, let me share it with you







and their corresponding accessories



and, here, the plane that paid for the lathe.... I have doubts about who won with this barter.... anyway, we are both happy!! :unsure::geek:









It is an RAF SE5 (British aircraft), built by me in an artisanal way, in balsa and kiri wood, covered with jacket fabric, and painted... I'm going to miss it... :cry:
I hope you like it !!
 

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#24 ·
so far, the anecdotal. Now back to the progress. Before having the lathe, I had managed to shape, using the drill, one of the bowls for the headlights, I had done it in balsa, and the idea was to hollow it out and put a microled, but it is a very soft wood to turn parts very small. Then, having the lathe, I decided to try kiri wood but it is very porous and it crumbled. Finally, I tried cedar, a semi-hard wood and once machined it has a good finish. In the photo, the previous bowl in green, and the new one, turned in cedar....







For now this is all, I was busy with my work and also practicing with my new toy.... ;) I hope you liked it. Greetings!!!
 
#26 ·
Hi guys, after some very busy days in my profession, I was finally able to get back into the hobby and make some progress in the alfa. I continued with the manufacture of the headlights whose "rates" had already been turned on my last acquired toy, the clockwork lathe...
here, the structure that supports them, made of welded brass pipe

Wood Kitchen utensil Natural material Metal Hardwood


Wood Metal Fashion accessory Rectangle Balance


Twig Wood Metal Balance Fashion accessory


the smaller led lights i got didn't fit in the sockets so i remembered my old emergency led lamp...so i did major surgery on it and got some beautiful "micro" leds....luckily it's still working

Sports equipment Gadget Electronic device Rectangle Audio equipment


Automotive lighting Hood Netbook Rectangle Bumper


I also wanted to achieve some "opacity" and "dirt" on the headlight glasses and I thought that a translucent packaging plastic could serve me ...
Bicycle part Office instrument Tool Font Metal


And this is the result ...


Wheel Tire Vehicle Automotive tire Hood


Wheel Tire Vehicle Hood Automotive tire
 

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#27 ·
for the taillight, i got a small red led. All the LEDs were too bright and I decided to put resistors with a higher value than they should be placed in order to dim the brightness.

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Tread Synthetic rubber


Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive design Automotive exterior Bumper


Wheel Automotive lighting Tire Asphalt Motor vehicle


Wheel Motor vehicle Tire Vehicle Wood


as you can see I also placed the license plate, I did not imagine how it would be the same at that time, so I was inspired by the one of a car that I had a long time ago... easy ;)
and the pilot .... he himself is not finished, but he seems to be a capricious millionaire and dangerous driver, soon you will see why ... ok friends I hope you like it and see you soon. Greetings
 
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