Scratchbuilding Engines 101, My humble contribution to The Waaagh! Options

[Da Goff Rokker]

Well, during the making of my Micro Fighta Bomma (link to the original post here) I needed a big hulking engine for it, and found nothing that could be used in my (very thin) bitz box, so I decided to make my own Soopa-Charger-V6 engine.

I think that it is very easy to assemble, and if not something spetacular, it could be easily used in a buggy or bike with very few modifications. Now for the steps:

1) For this you will need plasticard of 2 different thickness (in this example I´ve used 1.5mm and 0.5mm), pieces of sprue (both the chunkier and the more thin ones), rivvitz and any other gubbinz that you think will look nice...

2) You start by cutting small retangles from the thicker plasticard. The exact size will depend on the final size of the engine you want, so a little bit planning is needed at this stage. Around 8 pieces will work fine.

3) Now cut another 8 rectangles from the thinner plasticard, but adding 2mm both on its lenght and width. You should have something like this:

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4) Cut other 2 rectangles out of this thinner plasticard, but with the same size as the smaller ones, to act as a finishing of the engine top. Take extra care to make the cuts as precise as you could!

5) Now glue each smaller thick plasticard piece to the center of each biggest thin plasticard one, like this (I´ve used different pieces for this pic). Use plenty of glue on this operation:

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6) You now has 4 sets of pieces. After waiting the glue to dry (this is important!), glue each of those pieces on top of each other, making 2 "stacks" of 3 to 4 piled pieces. Take care to align then properly, and wait for the glue to fully dry. Glue those 2 smaller thin pieces of Step 4 on top of each stack. You should have something like this:

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7) Now to make the engine block. Take some leftover sprue, both the thicker and the thinner ones. Cut 2 pieces from each one, slightly smaller than the width of the smaller rectangles, and glue them in the way the pic shows:

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8) Cut 2 other slices of the smaller sprue and glue then to the top of the stacks. Now you should have something like this:

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9) Glue the stacks on the sides of the engine block (the part that used the smaller sprue), add some rivvitz and gubbinz and you are done!

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The final design could be changed to your needs, you coud make V6 engines, W8 engines, single block ones, etc...

Hope this could be of some help to someone! And if you guys need any clarifications or doesn´t understand any of the steps, just tell me and I will try to make it clear!

Cheers!

Da Goff Rokker

[Greenstuff]

Damn! Off to make some engines i go! Thanks for that awesome tutorial, it will come in very useful.




Greenstuff

[Greven]

simple and effective... thats whats orkses are all about,good one

[Bozo]

i agree.

make sure you post this tutorial in the 101 thread aswell.

[Gashbad]

InterestingCoca-Cola or Pepsi Cola Err i mean tutorial. I may have to try this out. Maybe If I can finally get motivated to work on Projekt Doomsday again

[Ein]

Mm, that's the method I use to make the engine bits on my stompa's ankles and such. The hardest part is getting the smaller section in the middle lined up equidistant from the edges - tweezers work best for me, I find, as it keeps my hand out of the way and lets me see everything.

[Grazbuk]

nice work, mate!

make sure you post a link to this in the 101s.

oh, for the time to make trukks using engines like these..

[4tonmantis]

i'm going to add something to this if i may. to help jamsession and anyone else with lining things like this up. when going for your final line up put a tiny dot of elmer's (pva) in the middle and move it how you want. if it doesn't line up pull it up and rub off the film and start again. when you have it lined up proppa use some acetate (i use a product called Plastruct Plasticweld). It will run into the area between the plates and fuse them but whatever is left on the outside will evaporate. This makes the plastic a wee bit mushy after a few seconds so be careful not to leave fingerprints or deep gouges. Coincidentally if you want to replicate deep gouges or acid attacks/nurgle rot this works wonders... go figure...

I guess I should briefly describe the acetate and it's use to help those who've not heard of it. It's thin (to the point of water and just as clear). It has fumes, they won't burn your eyes like superglue but they will make you woozy if you don't have a fan going or propper ventalation. It won't stick to your skin though it will burn if there are large amounts and it's left on for like an hour <_< anyway... the I use comes with a brush on applicator built into the lid. If you get one that doesn't then you will need to buy a cheep nylon brush (like the ones that come in enamel paint "starter" sets...) You may have to do a few quick passes but always opt for this instead of 1 big puddle. In large quantities it will make a model look like Nurgle's butthole... Also don't dump the bottle on your kitchen table...it will eat away the finish >( If you use a dot of superglue to put something together you can run a thin bead of acetate along the join and then work the pieces (VERY gently) and the gap will mostly vanish. this is a quick fix which sadly has gotten me out of the habbit of putting putty in gaps. take your time and be precise if you're going to use this stuff...that's it i reckon...

[Boss Stompy]

Nice tutorial. I can see myself referring back to this in the future. Thanks for writing it up.

[OG Gleep]

High five! I will definatley use this, as any hobby noob (read:me) can manage this one!

Ty sir.

[Totgeboren]

Thanks alot mate! This will come in handy, since I have been struggeling with making some nice engines for my non-walker vehicles.

[Doi]

Thanks a lot

Now I can make an engine big enough to fit the buggy I'm working on

[Dreachon]

Oh yeah, more kustom jubs to the engines.

[Pinky]

Thank you sooooo much for this, will raise a glass to you tonight at my birthday bash!

Well done.

[Ace]

Can we pin this or add it to the 101 topic?

[Da Goff Rokker]

Hehehehe, glad to see that you all enjoyed it! This is a very simple idea, but the fact that it can be done to fit into almost any size of vehicle or gap is the most important thing to me...

@ Jamsessionein: You are right! Replying at you Stompa thread a few minutes ago I noticed the "plasticard stacks" on the legs! Well, probably that image was in my "sub-conscious" mind when I had this - not so new now - idea... Kudos to you! Great minds think alike!

@ 4tonmantis: That glue you are describing is the same that I use, but with an "applicator bottle" with a needle thin tip tube. Thanks for your help on the aligning issue, it really is a pain to align the plates properly... Drawing some guiding lines with a pen before cutting helps too.

@ Pinky: Thanks dude! Happy birthday to you!

@ Ace: Added a link to this in the 101 compilation...

Cheers!

Da Goff Rokker

[oberst_kramer]

Book marked for sure ya skilled git! Let's see If I can give the battlewagon a very big V8 engine!

[BigMek]

Looks good, thanks for sharing...sure is gonna use this tutorial, jobs a gud un

[Greenskin87]

Ive found this great way how to make something similar, thanks to Mecano, that i had as a kid, just stuck the togethaa and if dis isnt ork, i dont know what is, you might want to try it, mine was about to be thrown away, now its gonna be part of my bosses new Battlewagon!

(pics coming)


Thanks for the great idea with the plastic card!

[WAAGHnumbnuts]

read da rules ya git!
Da WAAAGH doesn't appreciate threadomancy. If you have a 101 to contribute look up. There's a sticked 101 thread.
now where's me choppa!