TOPIC:

does any one know if molding rc parts is legal?

More of a general technical question so the post has been moved into a topic of it's own.
There are many aftermarket brands that create parts for existing cars so I'd say it's legal.
Unless you put the original name on it of course...

guess it depends a little bit if they are for private use or if you plan to sell them.

There are some Tamiya parts available on the bay (that are no longer produced) like driver heads or blazing blazer parts that are made from molds and even some parts that are made by 3D printing.

Think if you plan to do whole cars Mr. T won't be happy

Uncanny.... just started moulding some bits & bobs & I can tell you that IF you can still get hold of proper parts, buy them. From what I've seen so far, moulding at home is expensive & the resins tend to be very brittle. Being thermoset type plastics, you can't weld it or use styrene cement type glues, so you're kinda stuck with epoxy for fixing it together. Another nuisance is prepping for paint - unless you post-cure the parts (Stick 'em in the oven for a million hours @ 50 C) any uncured chemical will leach out causing irritating pinholes in the paint.
HOWEVER, some bits you want just aren't made commercially, & for these bits a drop of DIY resin moulding is a godsend.
Personally, if it's possible to make parts from "Plasticard" or "Plastruct", I do that, it's far easier. If you need armfuls of spotlamps, drivers, heads etc moulding is best.
Starting to look at sand casting metal parts now, may or may not actually happen, depending on time...mostly

Some examples....
Rough Rider driver bust, Holiday Buggy & Rough Rider spot lamps (Just out of the mould & need cleaning up) - polyester parts, silicone rubber moulds. Also done some transmitter battery covers the same way.
Rubber switch cover is just a test to see what would happen, have now ordered some black pigment & will take more care doing the real thing. Mould is polyester resin.
Downsides are you need an original part to mould from, or spend a lot of time making a pattern. Silicone mould rubber is expensive - 7gbp's worth of silicone for the driver's bust mould, for instance, so only viable if you plan to do a lot of them

thanks for the info.

Nice work, eddrick

Cheers Jonny! I'm surprised you haven't had a bash at it yet...
Trouble is, once you've done a couple of bits, you start thinking about all the other hard to come by bits you could make & sell & become a millionaire, which is a bit distracting & slows progress with what you're supposed to be doing

eddrick wrote:

Cheers Jonny! I'm surprised you haven't had a bash at it yet...
Trouble is, once you've done a couple of bits, you start thinking about all the other hard to come by bits you could make & sell & become a millionaire, which is a bit distracting & slows progress with what you're supposed to be doing

I know all about making RC parts for profit

Thinking about it though, I suppose the way to have made some money off the tool chests/welders etc would have been to make one & make moulds & cast from them, then sell it as an unfinished kit. Or maybe not

Actually eddrick - I would still like to see a tutorial on casting bits - products you used, etc - even if I don't use it in a practical way