The Motorized Bicycle Project - The Original Idea

In early June of this year, with gas prices beginning to creep (and sometimes outright leap) higher and higher, I began looking at other methods of transportation that would be more fuel efficient. I figured out that my idea for a reverse 3-wheeler similar to the old Morgans of the 1930s (though more fuel efficient than a regular car) would cost quite a bit more than I could scrape together ($10,000 is a great deal of money to me), so in the short term the idea had to be shelved.

This got me thinking of other methods of transportation. One idea that I stumbled upon while searching on the internet, was that of a motorized bicycle. This idea isn't new, but it still got me thinking. I always loved the look of the old Whizzer Motorbikes that were made from 1939-1965 (and then revived in 1997).


The only thing was that a new Whizzer NE5 Classic costs somewhere around $2000-2500 and requires a motorcycle endorsement on your license and insurance because of the 138cc motor. What I was looking for was something that didn't require a license to ride (thus not requiring it to go through registration hell or need insurance). It seems that most states require any motorized vehicle with a displacement greater than 50cc to be registered, insured, and licensed. So I knew the max displacement I could use. The original idea I had went as follows.

The Donor Bike:
A 7 speed Schwinn Jaguar (that I bought at Target) that's been modified with a vintage all metal Shimano derailler (to replace the plastic one it came with), a springer front fork, chrome ducktail fenders, black leather touring seat, white wall road tires, a chrome luggage rack, and a chainguard off a 1941 Columbia Superb. For brakes, I would use a v-brake in the back and a Sturmey Archer or Shimano drum brake hub in the front.

The Motor Bits:

The motor would be a frame mounted Honda GXH50 4 stroke engine or Huasheng clone with a v belt centrifugal pulley clutch. From the clutch, I would use a short 1/2" v belt to a 5/8" (shaft) x 6" (dia.) pulley that shares a shaft with a 5/8" (shaft) x 1 3/4" (dia.) pulley that in turn drives a 20" BMX bicycle rim (it's actually 15 1/2" in diameter for whatever reason) that's attached to the rear rim of the bike via 6 steel brackets (3/4" wide x 1/8" thick) like the old 1903-1912(?) Harley Davidsons and the old Shaw Motorbikes. (See photo)


The total setup would give an approx. 18:1 gear down of the Honda motor (which seems like the best gearing for these motors). The pseudo-jackshaft would be mounted to a plate with a pivot point at one end that will have a small heavy duty spring attached to it (to keep tension on the belts and allow them to be changed). I then planned to mount an old Briggs and Stratton cylindrical gas tank behind the seat on the front of the luggage rack. The motor would be mounted via an adjustable mount available through Bicycle-Engines.com. I would also be picking up a wide crank setup, muffler, and throttle linkage from them as well.

The Custom Panniers:
I found a supplier of dark brown oilskin (the stuff Australian dusters are made of that's 100% waterproof) that I planned to make my own improved version of the Brooks Brick Lane Roll-up Panniers out of. It'll cost less than the Brooks version, be 100% waterproof, have better closing straps (buckles instead of the magnets that they use), look better, and have a vintage flair. Also if I'm happy with how they turn out, I might start making and selling them to interested motorized bicyclists and regular bicyclists at a nominal fee (more information will come in a future post).

The problems I hadn't figured out yet:
1. Where to find the 5/8" shaft with bearings to attach the reduction pulleys and how to mount it to the pivot plate.
2. Length of the belts needed.

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Customized Steampunk Nerf Guns - Part 5

To continue with my modification of toy guns where Part 4 left off, the next three have a bit more aging and weathering to them. After I got my new painting supplies, I now had a number of colors to work with to create more rugged and aged finishes. Most importantly, I was now able to take a more realistic approach to creating Post-Apocalyptic Dieselpunk weaponry.


With the successful sale of The Lady From Hades, I wanted to push the envelope a bit to see if I could do the same with a water pistol. So, on one of my trips to the junk store, I found a double barreled water pistol to test the theory out on. Of course, as is typical of most toy guns made today, the colors were (to put it mildly) atrocious. Once I tested the gun to make sure it worked, I went about sanding off all the lettering and smoothing out the seams, before hitting it with a coat of Rust-oleum Satin Black spray paint. As soon as that dried, I misted the gun with Rust-oleum Metallic Satin Silver spray paint to get a good two-tone base to work from. I got a bit of overspray on the handle from the silver, so I went ahead and painted it with Tamiya Flat Black. The barrel and muzzle were painted in Tamiya Gunmetal first and then washed over with layers of Testors Model Masters (MM) Steel to give it a more realistic look. Once that was done, I added some pinstriping on both sides of the handle in MM Silver and some pinstriper flames in MM Silver and Tamiya Flat Black on the barrel. To finish it off, I gave it the usual wash of India Ink to bring out the shadows and details and coated it with a healthy dose of Future Shine to protect the finish.


The result was Hephaestus Revenge. It recently sold on eBay to a nice fellow in England.



Happy with the finished look of Hephaestus Revenge, I turned my sights on one of the Nerf N-Strike Maverick Rev-6s I picked up awhile back and hadn't gotten around to painting. I decided to give this one a similar paint scheme but with some changes.


After sanding off the Nerf logo and all the lettering, I removed the air restrictors completely (to allow for maximum air flow and the use of any foam ammunition) and gave the gun the "Russian Roulette" mod (as it has become known as) to allow for the ammo chamber to flip out fully. I then hit the gun pretty hard with the sander to give the appearance of battle scars and dents. Before reassembling the gun, I gave it a coat of Rust-oleum Satin Black and a misting of Rust-oleum Metallic Satin Silver. With the gun reassembled and working properly, I filled all the screw holes in the body of the gun with Milliput and smoothed a few seams out. Since I accidentally mixed a bit too much epoxy putty up, I didn't want to waste it ($8 for 4 oz. and it has to be imported from England which doesn't make it easy to get a hold of in the states). So, I went ahead and used the remaining bit to modify the opening of the barrel to fill in the notches on the sides of it, filled in the groove on the front of the gun to look like a welded spot, filled the center slot on both sides of the trigger to look like a weld repair, and altered the lines of the area under the ammo chamber to smooth them out. After the Milliput dried, I sanded it smooth (except for the areas I wanted to look like welds), and hit the gun with some more Satin Black and Metallic Satin Silver to even out the finish.


To create the Post-Apocalyptic finish, I painted the handle in Tamiya Flat Black and then covered the rest of the gun in washes of Tamiya Gunmetal and Testors Model Masters Steel. Once I was satisfied with the realism of the metal finishes, I went about dry brushing multiple layers of Testors Model Masters Rust to the gun. To bring out areas where the rust would have been worn back to raw metal, I lightly dry brushed a few layers of Testors Model Masters Steel over top of some of the rust. Then, using a DecoColor Broad Line Black paint marker, a DecoColor Fine Line White paint marker, and some Testors Model Masters Bloode Red, I added a couple of WWII style "Shark-faced" bombs to either side of the cocking mechanism. The gun was then layered with washes of India Ink and finished with a coat of Future Shine.


The result was Hell's Belle. Just like The Lady From Hades, the gun was named after a bomber that flew during WWII.



The same time that I picked up the gun that became Hephaestus Revenge, I found this next dihydrogen monoxide blaster. It had the same basic look and feel of Port and Starboard, so I decided to give it a nautical Steampunk look as well. However, with this one, I wanted to make it look like it had been salvaged from the depths of the sea. I didn't like the rubber strap that connected the fill plug to the body, so I cut most of it away leaving only the plug. I then painted the gun with a the base coat of Rust-oleum Metallic Antique Brass, added dry brushed layers of Testors Model Masters Brass, painted the copper elements with Tamiya Copper and Tamiya Dark Copper paint, and painted the handle, front grip, and rubber plug in Tamiya Flat Black. Once that was done, I coated the copper in several heavy washes of Testors Master Models Verdigris (to give it the look of heavy corrosion), dry brushed some Testors Master Models Rust on the handle, front grip, and plug (to give the appearance of rusted cast iron), and added a bit of rust to the brass. The gun was then layered with washes of India Ink and sealed with Future Shine.


The result was The Siren's Song.



Both Hell's Belle and The Siren's Song will be put up for sale on eBay in a couple of weeks. Your bid will help support further modified water pistols and foam dart guns.

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Customized Steampunk Nerf Guns - Part 4

So it's been awhile since I last posted information about my progress with customizing Nerf guns and water pistols to give them a Steampunk or Dieselpunk appearance. I've discovered that I have a tendency to begin documenting certain things pretty regularly, but then after a few posts, I will allow it to slip from being a priority which causes me to have to play catch-up.


Since my last post on the subject, I've successfully modified and sold (on eBay) six Steampunk themed dihydrogen monoxide blasters. With the exception of one of these, all of them were picked up rather inexpensively from a couple of local junk stores, tested, and given a bath and a new paint job.


The first gun I worked on since The Lady From Hades was a small water pistol that had the words "No. 268" marked on the side of it. The numbering got me thinking and I decided to call it The Model No. 268 Pocket Ray (which would become the first in a line of Pocket Rays to follow). Before I began painting, I sanded off all the writing on the gun except for the No. 268 and smoothed the plastic seam between the two halves using my Dremel with a couple of different sanding attachments and a sheet of 400 grit wet/dry sand paper. To create the finish, I started with a base coat of Rust-oleum Metallic Antique Brass spray paint. After the spray paint dried, I applied several layers of Testors Copper Enamel, then dry brushed some Testors Gold Enamel over areas of the antique brass to give the appearance of polished areas of the gun. Once that was completed, I did several washes with India Ink to bring out some of the shadows and give the look of old oil and grease that got stuck in the grooves over time. I did some research and discovered that a number of professional model painters used Pledge Floor Polish with Future Shine to seal and protect their models when they were done painting them. It turns out that Future Shine is a gloss acrylic sealer that does a better job than typical spray-on acrylic sealers to keep dirt and dust from collecting and ruining a paint job. It also allows paint to be handled more without wearing off on the user's hand. So I picked up a bottle at my local Wallyworld and gave the Model No. 268 a nice bath of floor polish to seal it up.


The result is remarkable.


After I finished the Model No. 268, I began working on another Pocket Ray. This one would be the Model No. 310 Pocket Ray. I'm still not sure where I came up with the number, but it sounded right at the time. It didn't have any writing on it that I wanted to keep so I sanded it all off and smoothed the seam. I then applied the same paint colors and methods to the finish of this one and finished it with the washes of India Ink and coat of Future Shine.


The result, The Model No. 310 Pocket Ray.



While I was working on the Model 310, I made an order with The Great Models Webstore for a number of Tamiya and Testors Master Models acrylic modeling paints (my copper was running dangerously low, my flat black was getting clumpy, and I was running through thinner like it was my job), a few packs of Milliput (the World's best modeling epoxy putty IMHO), and a Tamiya Weathering Set C (designed for dry brushing silver, gunmetal, and rust using a handy make-up style applicator or brush). Around the time that the Model 268 and Model 310 sold, I got my order. Now instead of being limited to Copper, Gold, Flat Black, Steel, and Rust enamels, I had access to Copper, Dark Copper, Bronze, Gunmetal, Flat Black, and Flat Base acrylics by Tamiya. As well as, Brass, Gold, Verdigris, Iron, Steel, Silver, Rust, Leather, and Blood Red Master Model acrylics by Testors.


I had already painted the base coat of Antique Brass and painted the copper elements on the next two guns while I was waiting for my order to arrive. Since they were similar in design, I decided to try out selling a pair. I've always been a fan of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", so it seemed appropriate to give this pair a more nautical theme. I dry brushed on some Brass Acrylic to the pair to brighten up the polish in areas and applied some Verdigris and Dark Copper to the Copper base to give it some aging and corrosion. Leather paint was then applied to the handles and straps that connect to the plugs and the finish was completed with washes of India Ink and a coat of Future Shine.


The result, Port and Starboard (I know I could have come up with better names, but that was all I could think of at the time).



Satisfied with the look of Port and Starboard, I began working on an old Super Soaker I had picked up that also had a rather nautical look to it. Since it had screw holes, they were filled with Milliput and sanded smooth before the gun was painted. Once again, the same techniques were applied. Base coat of Rust-oleum Metallic Antique Brass, the areas that would be copper were painted with Copper and Dark Copper and finished with washes of Verdigris, and the antique brass was given a bit of polish with dry brushed layers of Brass. The gun was then finished with India Ink and Future Shine.


The result was The Submarine Captain.



Just before the Submarine Captain and Port and Starboard were listed, I found a source for what looked like same squirt gun I used for the Model No. 268 on Amazon. They were cheap, so I ordered eight of them. The only catch was that the seller would send a mixed grouping of four different water pistols so I wouldn't know how many of which one I would get until I opened the box. When the box arrived, I found that I had gotten three of what looked like the Model No. 268 (only with a shorter barrel and smaller trigger hole), two of what would become the Model No. 245 (details in the next paragraph), one of what would become the Model No. 287 (which has not been listed for sale yet), and two of a model I haven't started working on yet.


Rather than work on the Model No. 268 Snub-nose (at least that's what I'm thinking of calling it), I decided the first gun from the box I worked on would be the Model No. 245 Pocket Ray. After the lettering and seams were sanded smooth, I applied the base coat of Antique Brass. The paint reacted with the plastic to give a really fascinating texture. I then added solid layers of copper and brass to the gun followed by subtle washes of verdigris, dark copper, and dry brushed brass. To add another level to the realism, I used steel to add solder seams to the areas where the piping met the chamber before adding the finishing touches of India Ink and Future Shine.


The result was The Model No. 245 Pocket Ray.



All of the guns have successfully sold on eBay, so I've still got a 100% sell rate on my creations.


Be sure to check out Part 5 of the Customized Steampunk Nerf Guns for more customized Nerf Guns and Dihydrogen Monoxide Blasters.

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