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OK guys now Vick has started making the mould I think I need to create this update thread. I have been to see him a few times over the past few weeks to sort things out, answer questions and generally get things moving. The mould making materials have arrived and the flange templates have all been made. Which was the state of play just over a week ago when I saw him last. The bank holiday and having had flu has made me a little lax this week checking up for updates but next week I will be back on it like a car bonnet..

Cheers for the update Richard.

Any more news, Rich ?

D-Rider wrote:Any more news, Rich ?

Yes...........

Haha,.... sorry..


Ok Vick is making the mould at the moment and I have been to see him today. The flanges are done and the gel coat is being done on the first section... He has been a little slower getting started than he hoped as he was doing a Ferrari repair where he had to repair a panel then make a mould and make a whole new structural part... just the repair was missing some huge sections which he had to try and mirror from the opposite side which was only mangled...

So for the time being I am now at the mercy of Vick and his personal lacky too... So for the next week or so I am making some aero package for some odd supercar and a set of seats for it too as he was supposed to be doing those too and cannot do both... Luckily for him I can make those parts while he is making the mould... I will know more by the end of next week when I go to see him again when I drop off the aero package.

Cheers - All sounds good.

Sounds as though you and Vick have some interesting stuff going through

D-Rider wrote:Cheers - All sounds good.

Sounds as though you and Vick have some interesting stuff going through

Vick always has interesting stuff to do.... Jetski's, Ferrari repairs and all sorts of odd things appear... Usually for him to make moulds of but from time to time he makes parts if they are one off or really interesting for him to do... The stuff that challenges him is what has helped me learn from him too... He has been the best tutor I could have ever had.....

OK.... Vick has been doing some head scratching and a LOT of fine sanding too...... The underside has quite a lot of ripples which would lock the base into the mould if he just made the mould from the tank... As you can see there is a mix of light and darker shades inside the dome. He has got is almost smooth and is leaving it at this point now. but will be making the gel coat a little thicker to allow the high spots of the mould to be smoothed now as he has done the majority of the dome area now and it would be faster to remove the moulds imperfections.

Next week lay up starts...... I will be back there next week to check up on him too..... Seems like a now weekly trip...


https://www.dropbox.com/s/cdrjc6dchgr2j ... .jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s2bko4wi38buh ... .jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/utf5w5xg2fnwr ... .jpeg?dl=0

Thanks for the update - and Vic's perseverance!
Things like this always generate more effort to achieve than you hope they will.

Looks as though things are ready to move forward a bit more tangibly

Still slower than I had hoped for.. I had hoped to have a mould here in the next week... I still have the car aero package moulds here so he cannot be distracted if the guy needs more of those... Its putting me back a little too but it is easier for me to catch up work than it would be for Vick. I have still got diving bottle covers to make, Aprilia RSW125 GP bike seat unit and more of Nooj's screens. (although that is partly due to having to remake the mould and all of the post cure stuff too..)

The mould making is well on its way....... Have just had to source 20 special inserts for the threaded bits of the mould so I will be going up to see Vick next week... I am looking forward to seeing tooling material on the tank and its lovely shape disappearing under a mass of gel coat and creamy looking tooling material....

morepower wrote:I am looking forward to seeing tooling material on the tank and its lovely shape disappearing under a mass of gel coat and creamy looking tooling material....

That sounds almost pornographic.

Thanks for the update - I can't wait to see pictures of the finished product.

Hi Rich

3 weeks on from the last update .... has the busy world of mould making and carbon laying progressed at all in the direction of Falco tanks?

It'd be good to get another update

Cheers.

I have not been to see Vick for a couple of weeks... He is slower than promised and I have made sure he has everything he needs... So I called him today as he had an update for me... OK.. here goes....

5 sections have been made for the tank shell... (FIVE?!?!?!?!? OMG) He is trimming them up today and has said the warm weather and cold nights has played havoc with making the mould due to expansion and contraction and he had a 2mm movement on one of the flanges which he had to correct.. But the split lines are good and the shell is ready for a 1500 grit wet sanding and a polish.

The base is next and he is hoping to have it done for the end of next week.... I am too as I am away this weekend and come back on Wednesday so late next week is perfect for me to spend a day with him and get the lay up sorted and have a lazy start back to doing some work.....

He has a few thoughts on the lay up due to its shape and space left for me to work round so I may need to have some stainless steel tubes turned up for the pivot point but this is just a simple one to sort out when I start on the first one..

I have to call him again on Friday so will see if he has started the post cure process or if that will be down to me... No problem just prefer him to do it and save me two 12 hour days of it sitting in an oven post curing.