Hi all
I have a couple (about 2 dozen) aircraft in 1/48 scale that were my very first models ever built. In a couple of months, I’ll start a project where I wish to rebuild some, if not all, of them. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to go about this. All aircraft were built using standard tube glue, and not the greates results were acheived. So, I need to know how to disassemble them, strip them of paint, etc. Also, I’ve allways had troubles accenting raised panel lines, so I’ve never even done it. Any suggestions, tips, etc would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hey, zokissima! I don’t know how to go about removing the bonds glue makes, but i know there are various ways to strip paint. some of these include DOT3 brake fluid and oven cleaner… MikeV has a good site that explains this: http://www.bonediggers.com/1-3/strip/strip.html
I also think that disassembling the parts depends heavily on what kind of glue was used - there are some out there that melt the plastic to weld it together… maybe MikeV can help you here as well. [:)]
I’m also planning on tweaking( and repairing) the first kits I built. Look in the paint forum for paint stripping. That might soften the seams some too. I’m not sure about disassembly. I would see what can be seperated easily after the paint comes off and see if maybe some of it could stay intact.
Oh, i forgot to mention earlier: I read somewhere that Brakefluid will help disassemble parts. I’m currently watching over something that’s been marinating in brake fluid for a while now. I’ll let you know if the parts come off easier. [:)]
Great, thanx for the reply and the URL. I’ll give it a shot soon. I have to start experimenting with at lest one of them, probably one I don’t intend to keep.
Any tips on panel lines? 
For raised panel lines you could pre shade them with black or dark gray. Then, after
the final color coat dries you lightly sand them with 400 grit or finer wet or dry sandpaper. Go easy so you don’t sand off the preshading.
Gloss coat or Future followed by decals and lastly, dullcoat to seal it
all up.
Ray
A clear coat between the pre shadeing and the actual color might make it easier to keep from over sanding.
I’ve noticed that regular tube glue can sometime be pried appart with a modelling knife. It only worked for me when I could get some ‘purchase’ . On one plane, I was down to one surface where the glue had made a good bond. On suggestion from this place, I put it in the freezer for a while and then found the bond would break.
Thanks for the tips! I really gotta try this now. I’m actually getting quite excited thinking about it. It’s been some time since I built anything skybound
This amy seem like an odd question but, why would you want to go through all the trouble of prying apart a model that will probably break and strip paint just to re-build it? It’s easier to just build another one and keep the others as a reminder of just how far you’ve come in the hobby.
I got into modelling by watching Top gun when I was a kid. I managed to collect and build all the aircraft represented in that movie, through the years, as I didn’t get money from parents, but had to earn it. Now, my situation has not changed. I’m a full-time university student, and the cost of buying another dozen kits would be astronomical.
Further, they are models that I just loved to build, that I learned from, so why not go back to them and apply what I have learned. Yes, you’re absolutely right, it will be a pain in the @$$, but it’s something that I’m going to throughly enjoy…yet again
Same thought with my project. I was 7 and me and Mom put a lot of time into them.
Cass, that’s rather cool that your mom helped you… the only family member that ever helped me was my sister when she “hijacked” my first glue model ever - Blue Thunder. What kid would’t want to build Blue Thunder, right?!? She went on to say that glue is dangerous and requires “adult supervision” (even though she was just 9 herself…).
In short she built it, and all i could do was look on in horror as she got testor’s tube glue everywhere. I think i had a really good cry that night… [sigh]
As for the brake fluid, it didn’t really do the trick for me… i tried marinating the part for 24 hours and then going at it with a tooth brush. I only got a bit of the paint off… Maybe i’ll try oven cleaner…
Hi there Zokissima. A word of warning here: i tried to get a coat of gloss blue revell enamel off a p-51 spinner once by dipping it in paint thinner. Sounded logical at the time, because what do you use to dissolve paint? Paint thinner right? Wrong! When I went to check on progress, the whole spinner had disappeared! Paint and plastic had dissolved completely… What I learned the hard way is that paint thinner WILL get the paint off your models, but will destroy them if you use it as a marinade Try soaking for a short while and then wiping the thinner off with a paper towel or something. Oh, and do this outside because the fumes make you go gaga.
Good luck!
Thanks Filibert. I was afraid that something like that would happen, if I left plastic soak in the thinner. I heard someone mention before (on another forum) that turpentine works great, plus you get it for insane quantities at low prices. I’m afraid that it’ll soften the plastic too much, so maybe I’ll try soaking for a few minutes then going at it with an old toothbrush or something
I haven’t tried it yet but I know that it takes the chrome right off of a piece…and very nice too! Castrol Super Clean, it is a pretty powerful degreaser but I don’t know if it works on paint or not. I plan on doing some “rebuilding” myself so I will find out.
Jerry
Yeah I loved it. Mom would put newspaper on the table for me and help me get stuff of the sprues and snap the stubborn pieces for me. She often did the finer painting and the outlines for me to. I’d build while she worked at the other end paying bills or something but still available to help. Now she helps get the lids off of the paint since i ruined my grip 7 yrs ago. I’m reworking the first kit we did now. I unsnaped my F18 this morning.
I just used Castrol Super Clean recently to remove some paint. It worked very well. I have also used Easy Off oven cleaner, the kind that you brush on. It does the job also. What didn’t work for me was brake fluid. The part was in for several days, and it didn’t do a thing. If prying, or freezing doesn’t work for separating pieces, you might try a razor saw on the seams.
If I were to go through this much trouble, the reason would be that now I am more experienced and am using an airbrush as opposed to a can.
Before, I probably ran into problems with fogged windows because I was using the tube glue. Anything that I built before had seams and LOOKED like a model.
If I ever get seams to disappear, then I will have the old planes looking like real planes.
I have a big B-29 at my folks place. If I were to want to redo it, I would want to get rid of those seam.
I’d also give the model a new lease on life since parts are falling off because of the tube glue.
ngc7293, you must have read my mind. See, that’s another good reason. I did spend so much time and money on these, I don’t want to just forget them. I want them to be enjoyed more.
As well, you’re absolutely right on another account. Now, I have an airbrush
Hell, most of them are still in ‘out of the box gray’. There are so many things to improve upon. It’ll also be interesting to take “before” and “after” pictures. It’ll be a good indication of how my skills have progressed, and what I can do even better.