TD-4242

They look to me like the could be some kind of chemecal trey like the ones used in developing film. They sure look familiar for some reason I just can't seem to place it.

99% of the way their. I have finished the rotocast machine other than a few holes that I'll use to mount the molds into the inner frame. I also now have a movie of the real thing in motion so email me if you'd like to see it. wwarner42@cox.net check here for more pictures with discriptions and everything. http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a331/ ... hine/?sc=6 -Bill

Hi **, Kermit the frog here..... Hehehe, anyway Rotocasting is a way to make a resin part that is hallow on the inside. I have been doing it by hand. Basicly I take a mold, pour a small amount of resin into it. Not enough to fill it up like I'd do if I were making a solid part. then I tumble the mold in all directions so that the inside is coated with the resin. That way when it cures the part is hollow, strong and light weight. The problem with doing it by hand is that the molds sometimes weigh as much as 40lbs and the resin takes between 7 and 10 minutes to cure. That is a long time to be holding 40lbs up and spinning it around. Two problems crop up. Either you get repetitive and don't spin it in all directions and everything comes up uneven and full of bubbles, or you get tired and set it down and evertything bunches up in one area. The rotocast machine is going to work like the space chair rides that have two circles that spin in opposite directions and it spins you all around in every direction. Except instead of putting you in the center I'll put one of hte molds. If you'd like to see the lego prototype in action email me wwarner42@cox.net and I'll send you a 450k avi movie file of it spinning. The lego tire in the middle is there to simulate an actual mold. -Bill

Been working on the rotocast machine. Got all the metel tubeing that I needed and am now waiting on some bearings that I ordered on ebay. I also got the assembly about 99% done. I still haven't decided on how I am going to do the sprokets and chain. I'm thinking of just hitting up a goodwill and getting what ever old bike they may have. It'd be nice to have a 1:1 ratio though and unless I could find two bikes with same same sized spokets I wouldn't be able to do that. I may call some machine shops around and see what they may have. Here is the current progress. It is starting to take shape and I can spin the inner section even without the bearings. -Bill

Sorry for the delay in getting these made. After trying to turn these by hand I have decided that my failed parts count was far too high. For each 2 lewis guns I made only one was sellable. Many of the parts were a total loss and I've got enough that are just bad but I can build my own Lewis out of them. but still they were not good enough to sell to anyone. So I decided to get me a roto cast machine. After doing some shopping on line and looking at models and going wow that is only $6000. If I made that and then made about 600 lewis guns it'd be almost worth it. Of course because the world market for lewis guns would be at best 100 and I rather doubt that even. There is no way I'd be buying that machine. So on to plan B. Make my own. I'm not much of a welder but I can get pices of metal to stick together. My dad has tons of scrape steel in various sizes and shapes, and I think I can buy all the other parts (bearings, motors cranks, gear boxes, etc) for under $200. I know many people are wondering what a roto cast machine is. Think of the NASA space chair that you sit in and it spins you in all directions. Now replace you with a mold full of liquid resin. Well I started with building a prototype out of legos to make sure I understood the gearing and the general how to make it. Think of the lego tire as one of the lewis gun molds. If you are intested in seeing it in motion email or pm me and I'll email you a 460k vidio of it in action. wwarner42@cox.net I then spent this weekend picking though some of the steel at my Dad's place and cutting it into the sizes needed. Brought them all to my house and tonight I started welding them together. I still need to get some more steel tube for the outer rotating section. Overall though it has started up and I think will be comming together some here before too long. -Bill

Well, how is it?

Again this year. This is the Dune Sea Garrison's 5th year of walking this 6.1 mile course and it will be my second year. Check out my MS walk page and if you feel like throwing a pledge in please do. -Bill TD/TK/TC/ARC-4242

That looks just like the one I have the master for. It isn't a direct casting from a real lewis but is very close. -Bill

Dang hobby store was out of resin again. I use regular resin for a few of the small parts. As soon as I can get some I'll be requesting payment. I have one 99% complete and the second 75% complete. I had a problem with a few parts so I wont be able to get 3 out in this shipment. -Bill

Id say the answer to that would be similar to the question: Why dress up at all? Why not just wear regular clothes? That and the fact that in a crowed of 100 Stormtroopers you just look like another stormtrooper. But if you're a stormtrooper with Vote for Pedro on your chest then you are a specfic trooper in a crowed. Ohh, that pisses me off still to this day!!! Can's open, worms are all over the place....

I say have at it. It could even be taken to an expanded univers canon event if you wanted, but mepd membership is a movie canon detachment so you would also need one of the required BFGs for that.

I didn't mean to insinuate that you were a deadbeat buyer I was just saying that it's hard to tell as an ebay seller. This guy does seem like he is probably a dead beat seller though. I'd say take the money you got back and bid on another. If he has left you feed back then leave him negitive. Otherwise your just taking years off your life for the stress of some other idiot. And don't accept the mutual thing. stick him with the ebay charges.

That's why you never follow links in emails. If you get a complaint like this from ebay, log in from your history, bookmarks/favorites, or by typing in http://ebay.com. Never click the link and log in. Always check the URL bar too, to make sure that it says ebay.com. if it has a straight IP address in in change your password ASAP because you most likely logged into a fish scam.

Log in and let ebay know that you did not mutually agree to this. I don't know why as a seller he hasn't contacted you but I have had to go through the non-paying bidders problems in the past. While good buyers do get scammed by the occasional bad sellers there are 100x as many dead beat buyers out there. -Bill

Give me to Friday to make sure that I have them all done and ready. I'd hate for one of the molds to tear or something to happen and I not be able to deliver. -Bill

I can do Paypal, money order cashiers check, personal check (if you want to wait for it to clear) or any other method you can suggest. (sorry no credit cards other than through paypal) -Bill

Just started them today and made a mess. I'll proably start filling the list by Friday and shipping next Monday for those that pay over the weekend. I'd say I should have the first 3 people on the list ready by Friday. No gurantee yet, but I have started. -Bill

cool, I added you to the list.

I just finished up some other comitments I had and will be starting on them this week. As I finish them I will be contacting the people in order of the list. -Bill

Not a problem I'll notify you as well.

Looking great. and your garage looks much better than mine.

You're on the list. I'll PM you when I have the next set ready to go. should be about 2 weeks from now depending on time.

The detail came out pretty well with the vac forming. The pictures are a bit blury but the detail is great. I wanted something that would be lighter then resin and more durable than the original. I'll probably make a few and give them out to my local friends but that's about it.

Well, I got my radar dish from E-bay and it looks like it was the right one: I pulled it apart and filled it with Resin then pulled out the resin and made an MDF backer to make the mold stick up a little higher: I then cut a piece of MDF 1/8 of an inch diamiter larger circle Threw them both on the vac table and painted the smooth disk black put them together and was able to make this: Unfortainatly I don't think I could make them for cheaper than you could buy the originals. I may put out a few on E-bay though I'd need to get about $25 to make them worth while.

I just ordered the matirial to do another run of about 5. I'll be posting here first with 3 and the other two will be going to E-bay. -Bill