Blue Groove RC Concepts,
Air scoops provide an effective way to direct a cooling airflow through a vehicle’s body and onto the chassis. If properly positioned, scoops will help to cool nitro engines, electric motors and speed controls by allowing air to flow through the body and over these components. Most RC bodies don’t have functional air scoops, but thanks to Blue Groove RC Concepts, you can now remedy that with its new Heat & Press Air Induction System. The kit comes with a 3-piece molded-composite die set that includes male and female halves and a pressure post that can be inserted through the back of either half. The instructions outline exactly how to add a scoop to an unpainted Lexan body because that’s how this kit was intended to be used. I wanted to add scoops to painted bodies, though. The kit requires the use of a heat gun, and I’m not interested in melting paint. I instead decided to make scoops out of sheet plastic and strategically attach them to existing painted shells.
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STEP 1.
The Blue Groove Heat & Press Air Induction System comes with the molded die set and a small bottle of gel that’s meant to protect areas around the mold from the heat. You need a heat gun to soften the plastic or Lexan because a hair dryer does not get hot enough. For my scoops, I picked up a $3 sheet of 0.040-inch-thick plastic at the hobby shop
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STEP 2.
I started with a piece of plastic that would be large enough for at least two scoops. I removed the protective sheeting from both sides because it could melt or even ignite. The larger half of the mold is the female half. I placed it in the center of a folded towel to prevent it from moving around and to protect the surface underneath.
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STEP 3.
I used the male half of the mold to cover the “active” area while I sprayed the gel on to pre- vent the surrounding plastic from getting too hot.
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STEP 4.
With the heat gun on the lower of its two settings, I waved it slowly to and fro about an inch off the surface until I saw the plastic begin to soften
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STEP 5.
I quickly removed the heat gun and pressed the die halves together. It is best to do this several times instead of trying to heat it all at once. Heat, press, heat, press, heat, press.
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STEP 6.
Even with the gel, this is what you get when the plastic has cooled. I’ll flatten this out during the next couple of steps.
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STEP 7.
I put the scoop back into the mold and turned it face-down on a hard surface. (Make sure that the surface can handle heat without melting or being scorched.) I heated the edges until they softened and then used the other half of the die, placed on its side, to “iron” out the wrinkles. I did this to all of the four sides while keeping constant pressure on the main mold.
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STEP 8.
Using a metal ruler and a sharp hobby knife, I cut out the scoop leaving about 3/8 inch all the way around.
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STEP 9.
I used my Dremel tool with its cut-off wheel to open the scoop. You can get creative here. I was going for the hood-scoop look; you can open it wider if you need more of an airflow. It’s now ready for paint. Silver was handy, so silver it was.
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STEP 10.
After determining where I wanted the scoop to go, I put masking tape on the surface and traced the male half of the mold on it. I used my Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to remove a section and allow the scoop to come up from the inside of the body.
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Subject: Vents for your RIde 
Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:57 am
