How to: Fender flares on the cheap

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This is really the first time i have done a "how to" but i hope somebody gets some kind of idea from it. I also want to apologize for the crappy pictures.


Buying RC parts can be pretty expensive if you dont have alot of disposable income so saving a little here and there really helps. Here is something that will hopefully save a bit.

What you will need:

Scissors- i used some small hobby shears, body scissors will work fine

Plastic bottle(s)- depending on the size of the bottle and what you are doing you can usually get 2 flares out of one bottle, different shapes and sizes give different results

Marker/sharpie- Anything that can make marks on the plastic that you can see works

RC body- whatever you wish to put flares on is good to have on hand to determine where to cut and how much to cut.

A way to attatch the flares- I did this in like 15 minutes and used some top quality nickel town customs assembly tape (duct tape) just for demonstration, glue or hardware would be a better choice



LETS GET STARTED!

Here i have my coke bottle and truck cab, it needs some style!


You can see the diameter of the bottle isnt the same as the wheel arch but its close, good enough


Cut the bottle somewhere alone the widest part (its normally above the label). I also plan on cutting out some tabs to help attatch the flare to the body you need to cut below these, tabs arent always needed but its easy to cut them off if you find you dont need them.


top cut off below the tabs, i made alot of lines before i got a straight one haha


Time to cut the spout off the top, the distance above your lowest line will be how wide your flares are. I made huge ones in hopes it would be easier to see.


Here is what we have so far, i bent the tabs out so it would sit flat on the table


at this point you put a split in it so you can pull apart the circle, you can hold it up to the fender and see it gives a nice natural looking curve, if it kinks you need to use a larger bottle. I colored mine in with sharpie and used the assembly tape to put it on the body for pictures



Here it is with something round under it just to give an idea of what a wheel/tire could look like



That flare is gigantic but i also made a more practical one without tabs


Top down shot







and thats it! These will hold up to some bashing for awhile and when they finally give way you will only be out a few minutes of your time and a bottle or two that you would have thrown out or recycled anyway. This is somewhat of a spring board to give way to other ideas and improvements, with more time and creativity these could be a base to make something truely awesome. ENJOY!