Thanks. It's all been a fun learning process for sure and everyone's feedback really helps.
Eric and I are so far happy with how the original engine photographs translated to our 3D digital rendering, and how that in turn translates into the actual printed-resin elements. Today Eric assembled our first fully painted test print of the 16 plastic engine parts, plus the first seven ignition wires (Eric used Uschi rigging). Still need to attach the next 7 wires to each spark plug then the 28 pushrods (the jig so we printed was misaligned so have to redo it). That totals over 50 separate parts for something smaller than a penny! Not all parts fit quite perfectly yet - there's a distracting seam where the engine halves meet. Also, a few of the cylinders are out of alignment with the pipes not quite connect. This is a relatively easy fix in the design. Thankfully no major breaks occurred, though we need to come up with a way to separately print the many small details on the rear engine side as they are too susceptible to breakage during handling while assembling and painting.
Regarding the paintwork, it always helps to work over a fresh white-paper-lined surface. For this test he applied a thin coat of back primer to everything then applied Alclad dull aluminum to one pair of engine casings (the darker ones), which went on ok; and AK Xtreme metal on the brighter pair. Eric reports that the AK seemed easier to use but was much brighter. The cylinders were similarly done in two sets with Alclad and AK copper. The Alclad looks amazing with excellent coverage and no visible metal flakes. Eric reports that the AK copper was awful to apply but likes the color. The intake pipes and hoses were respectively painted with Model Color silver and black but this proved less satisfactory. Tamiya Dark Iron was used on the exhaust pipes. The springs were highlighted Oilbrushers silver, which went on too thick though it applied easily. The brass elements were done using Model Color, Oilbrusher and a Tamiya, but the results were unsatisfactory. All had big metal flakes and looked like glitter with terrible coverage and many details lost trying to get color on. He applied a thin wash to enhance the details.
Thanks for looking!
