Hey there makers! We have Logan’s wheelchair back for some updates and repairs.
The goal is to have the firetruck presentable for open streets later in September.
Would someone be willing to lead up this effort? Also, who is available to help out?
It’s a big task, but it’s definitely one of those cases of trying to eat an elephant - it’s easier in small pieces. Here’s what we know needs to be done so far:
Make a new board to attach to Logan’s actual wheel chair
Haven’t heard much more on the wheelchair but the event is still scheduled for tonight at 7pm to discuss what still needs to be done and get people coordinated.
It was a small group tonight, but we took some time to wipe down the firetruck and assess what all needs to be repaired and what materials we are going to need.
-All of the painted parts had bubbles in the paint.
-The passenger side rear panel is in decent shape and might take an hour to repair and prep for paint.
-The driver side is probably half a day of work ahead to repair the lose taillight and crumpled up corner before it can be prepped for paint.
-The front isn’t in bad shape either, but we will need to come up with a more robust way to attach the front bumper (probably do like a composite aircraft panel - hollow out holes in both parts, fill holes with epoxy, and then bolt back together), so that might take a solid day or two to repair and prep for paint.
We still need the dimensions of the new wheel chair before we really decide how to progress.
We are also in need a few materials to get to rolling on the repairs:
Foam Safe Epoxy
Bondo
Red Latex Paint
Black Latex Paint
White piping material or a way to re attach the piping around the window of the fire truck
Replacement decals (I heard someone was working on a new set of these)
We looked around MakeICT for the materials but did not see any of them here. Would anyone be able to help us come up with those materials?
Any and all help (I know I feel like a broken record) is really really super duper ice cream sandwich worthy appreciated.
I personally would like to take steps to make sure this costume will stand up to alot of wear and tear. Spend the extra little bit of time to make sure everything is strong and sturdy and will last for years to come.
List of things i would like to see improved
Find a way to make sure the paint doesnt bubble up again. Pulling the air out with a vacuum and a good base should help ensure a strong and durable coating,
Ensure the mounted parts have a reliable mount
Have the mounted parts be easier to remove and get access to.
We still have some funds set aside for this project. If you make a detailed list of what is needed, I’ll see that you get it. There will also be some minor changes because of his new wheelchair. I’ll post photos and measurements this weekend.
(This is a super cool project to fix the fire engine costume we made for Logan who is in a wheelchair last year. I know it could sure use some extra folks to help out, so if you have time… please help)
Sooo… The firetruck is going to need a lot of help if we’re going to get this done by October 12th.
I started removing the blisters on one panel but found that the Foam Coat that was used before did not stick to the foam. And I have a feeling that any moisture that got in there completely set the Foam Coat free from the foam.
It made me feel sick to peel off the sticker and have all that paint and coating come off with it.
Instead of re-applying the Foam Coat, I think we’re gonna have to conside a different route. We may have to repair the panels with drywall spackle and then consider making a 2 later fiberglass shell. We effectively have the molds made, and we can have all the fiberglass and resin in by the end of the week, but there is no way this can be done in time with just one or two people.
I’ll see if the guys that built the quarter scale Cessna Citation (this r/c airplane was 20ft long but only weighed 35 lbs) would be willing to help but I would like to hear suggestions before going this nuclear route.
The dry wall spakle seems to be working pretty good. What we are finding is that foam coat will offgas when exposed to heat. So we have been able to use a hair dryer to quick dry the spakle, but using a heat gun will cause additional bubbling.
When I walked through and looked at the problems on the firetruck. I found that my mirrors were broken. Do you plant to remove them or try to keep them? If you would like to keep them I would be happy to make a new beefier set that are less likely to break. Let me know what you think.
I know that one thing we talked about changing on the original truck was to ditch the very heavy 6V batteries. I have since been given a box of fairly small lithium-polymer battery packs, and they are fairly light. We’d need to set up safe charging for them, but I’ll be happy to donate one or more for the cause. There are a couple of samples in the ERP lab, on the shelf with the batteries (south wall).
