Pre-announcement announcement: N scale school bus kit

[DKS]

The model looks really good but the clear cast is going to be frosted-looking in appearance unless the surface (especially the windows) are polished to a smooth surface. Coating with a clear gloss will help but will require so much that it will begin to obliterate the details.

Parallel surfaces on the windows will help in seeing through the finished body, however the refractive nature of clear resin will play havoc with your overall desired effect. Also bear in mind that the first color you put on this model will be the interior color and will be see more than your windows on the other side. Tinting helps but how many school buses have you ever seen with tinted windows?

I've tried in vain to convince modelers about the downsides of clear resin in a solid cast model. Believe me, I've tried all the tricks and have determined that for the smaller models (like autos) it's just not worth the effort. As far as a bus model (because of the large windows), ultimately a hollow body with interior is the only way you're going to get that visual effect you're after.

One problem I ran into with casting in lighter colors like school bus yellow is it tends to look translucent if back or top lit. Painting may be more work but in the long run you'll get a better model that doesn't appear to glow in certain lighting circumstances.

I'm offering clear simply because that's what a lot of people want. For myself, I'm OK with the windows painted black--I've got loads of photos of buses and they're black in the vast majority of the shots.

As for translucency, I add quite a bit of white dye to the resin, which improves opacity significantly.

[Freight Train]

If you make the bus exactly like this with the photos included in the windows I will be able to use this on my Children Of The Corn layout I'm building....nice & scary!



Just Joking! 

[packers#1]

Good to see Mrs. Colonel is a closet PACKER Fan Dave.............................. GO PACKERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Oh now, this should be fun........................ )

Having not seen this post...

GO PACK GO!

DKS, the yellow looks the best to me

[Mark5]

Looks amazingly better than the alternative(s)!

Hmm, yellow cast looks good ... decisions decisions!

Mark

[jimmo]

I'm offering clear simply because that's what a lot of people want. For myself, I'm OK with the windows painted black--I've got loads of photos of buses and they're black in the vast majority of the shots.

As for translucency, I add quite a bit of white dye to the resin, which improves opacity significantly.

I hear you David. I offered clear on my vehicle line for a while but only one customer actually ordered it. Fortunately for me it was not a large order of clear that basically went to waste.

Do you add your color to clear or white resin? I add color to white, it seems to come out a lot more opaque that way. Your castings look pretty solid.

[DKS]

Do you add your color to clear or white resin? I add color to white, it seems to come out a lot more opaque that way. Your castings look pretty solid.

I use white resin for colored castings, but mostly because white resin is much kinder to the molds than the clear.

[delamaize]

If you make the bus exactly like this with the photos included in the windows I will be able to use this on my Children Of The Corn layout I'm building....nice & scary!



Just Joking! 

....must suppress short bus comments.....

[Catt]

David, can you sweet talk Karen into making window decals(minus Tom). Most of the school buses (maybe all of them) in West Michigan have tinted windows.That yellow looks dead on to me.

[Ian MacMillan]

I think you're safe here - Ian don't even think of moving this 

Its still N scale related. Now, if we wanna DCC this bus...

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I think it needs to be Rock Island related to get moved off N-Scale

[cfritschle]

I hear you David. I offered clear on my vehicle line for a while but only one customer actually ordered it. Fortunately for me it was not a large order of clear that basically went to waste.

Do you add your color to clear or white resin? I add color to white, it seems to come out a lot more opaque that way. Your castings look pretty solid.

Jimmo,

Now I feel bad that I was the only customer that ordered the clear cast vehicles.  But I really do like them!

Carter

[pennsyfan1361]

Carter, do you have any photos of the clear cast vehicles? I like the idea of clear windows also.      Rich

[peteski]

Jimmo,

Now I feel bad that I was the only customer that ordered the clear cast vehicles.  But I really do like them!

Carter

I would also be ordering the clear-cast ones (if I knew at that time that he was selling clear ones).  I'm surprised that jimmo said that he "wasted" all the remaining clear models (instead of hanging onto them until someone (like you or me) would buy them.  Such a waste.

[cfritschle]

Carter, do you have any photos of the clear cast vehicles? I like the idea of clear windows also.      Rich

Rich,

I have only finished one because I need to develop a better method of masking the windows.  With a good paint job, they would be comparable to the early Wiking models with the clear plastic block window insert.

I am reluctant to show what I did because of my poor paint job, which is not a reflection on the casting.  However, if you can imagine the Ford Escort in the photo below with a good paint job, then you can get an idea of what is possible.

 
Wiking Rabbit (Golf I) with Willmodels Ford Escort in clear cast resin.

Carter

P.S.  Jimmo please forgive me.

[pennsyfan1361]

Carter,  I like the clear casting better then the solid color resin casting. It would be nice if clear casting were available that are hollow inside so the clear cast vehicles were more see through. It would be easy to make a floor to finish the vehicle myself or make an interior.     Thanks Rich