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THE Idiot's Guide to Kitbashing


WraithVerge

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1) it depends upon the shape you are trying to cut out. for straight lines, i find that an xacto knife and a metal straight-edge are really all that's required. it's really more about technique than anything. just score the plastic deeply, then put it over the edge of a table, with the cut line directly on the edge, ans snap the edge of the plastic down. presto! a clean line. for other shapes, i reccommend a template.

 

2) i really don't know about any rendering programs for that. most of my planning is with good old paper and pencil.

 

Kitbashers: anyone out there with an answer to this?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Heya WV, RodVTS or anyone from all the others who's names elude me and are also very knowledgeable in kitbashing:

 

I'm working on a kitbash of LoC HotShot (details can be found here), and I concluded that the opaque windshield and door-windows aren't all that pretty.  Besides, it's not Deluxe-sized-Exillion-accurate. :)

It would be nice if I could cut out those parts and replace them with clear parts, if possible.  Is there any kind of clear plastic that would allow me to have it shaped or bent to fit the curve that I need?

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You could try Vivak. It's a co-polyester that can be thermo shaped and is very strong (probably stronger than ABS plastic). It can be bought in both transparant and solid version. Downside is that it reject chemicals (like paint and glue), so you'll have to do some experimenting which paint and glue works.

 

There's some information on the website of the european supplier: right here

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Heya WV, RodVTS or anyone from all the others who's names elude me and are also very knowledgeable in kitbashing:

 

I'm working on a kitbash of LoC HotShot (details can be found here), and I concluded that the opaque windshield and door-windows aren't all that pretty.  Besides, it's not Deluxe-sized-Exillion-accurate. :)

It would be nice if I could cut out those parts and replace them with clear parts, if possible.  Is there any kind of clear plastic that would allow me to have it shaped or bent to fit the curve that I need?

  LoC, Huh? At that scale, all you would need is a piece of plastic from a CD jewelbox. Just heat it ( a propane torch or gas oven burner should soften it enough.), and form it to shape.

 

A technique I use for aircraft canopies is the "heat and smash " method I learned off of starship modeler: first, make a mold of the part you need from wood., shaping it to take into account. Then, you heat a sheet of clear plastic in the oven at about 150 or so, for a couple of minutes, or until the plastic just begins to sag. then, using oven mitts, you "smash" or pull the plastic down over the mold, and let cool. Then just trim to shape and glue on/in.

 

I don't know if this would work for your project, freedomgundam, but it works on larger projects. Just keep in mind that CD jewelbox cases are clear polystyrene, and crack easily.

 

-WV

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Heya WV, RodVTS or anyone from all the others who's names elude me and are also very knowledgeable in kitbashing:

 

I'm working on a kitbash of LoC HotShot (details can be found here), and I concluded that the opaque windshield and door-windows aren't all that pretty.  Besides, it's not Deluxe-sized-Exillion-accurate. :)

It would be nice if I could cut out those parts and replace them with clear parts, if possible.  Is there any kind of clear plastic that would allow me to have it shaped or bent to fit the curve that I need?

  LoC, Huh? At that scale, all you would need is a piece of plastic from a CD jewelbox. Just heat it ( a propane torch or gas oven burner should soften it enough.), and form it to shape.

 

A technique I use for aircraft canopies is the "heat and smash " method I learned off of starship modeler: first, make a mold of the part you need from wood., shaping it to take into account. Then, you heat a sheet of clear plastic in the oven at about 150 or so, for a couple of minutes, or until the plastic just begins to sag. then, using oven mitts, you "smash" or pull the plastic down over the mold, and let cool. Then just trim to shape and glue on/in.

 

I don't know if this would work for your project, freedomgundam, but it works on larger projects. Just keep in mind that CD jewelbox cases are clear polystyrene, and crack easily.

 

-WV

 

And to make sure that the clear plastic has the rightcurl to it on the doors try cutting the interior of the windows and using them for frames like car doors have. For the windshield just cut out the gold area leaving a frame down the sides and using testors super glue glue the windows in place. I recomend the testors super glue because it is better than any other glue I`ve ever used.

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Always happy to help, JOP. When you get to it, let me know how it goes.

 

A-ha!

 

The soldering iron *finally* turned up today. Hot damn. The company has some cheek, advertising it as available in 'November'... Turns out they meant that it was available to pre-order in November. Anyway...

 

I've already given it a whirl on the pins connecting the front and rear panels, and, well, it isn't going all that well. Trying to keep the tip balanced on the pin is tricky... it slipped once already and started melting the plastic of the flap. I had forgotten how plastic likes to stick as it melts... fortunately I realised quickly and moved the two apart, but now there's a nick in the plastic. Incredibly minor, really, but I'm a terrible perfectionist. ^_^

 

I'm going to try a few more times, but the main problem appears to be that no matter how much I heat the pin, I cannot work it out of it's hole... I was hoping that gravity alone, or maybe giving it a good whack from the other side, would be sufficient to work the pin out far enough to grab it. No such luck yet though. ._.

 

One of the possibilities is that I'm not heating the pin long enough. I'm going for about twenty seconds at a time, until there's a little wisp of smoke and the delightful scent of melting plastic in the air... is this far too much, or far too little?

 

Barring this working, I'm going for plan B; drill holes in a diagonal direction from the top of the waist (which will normally be hidden when joined to the torso)... I'm a little worried about doing this though, as I don't know exactly what's inside and fear drilling straight through a retaining mechanism or some such. Hopefully I can get together a little diagram to show exactly what I'm thinking. (Pretty sure also that this is what you suggested Wraith, although I'm not sure if I exactly understood the positioning of the drill holes.)

 

Grr, I'm not a happy chappy right now. First this, now I discover the AC adapter on my PSTwo melted itself. Whatever happened to the good old days of quality control, eh?

 

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy knowing what's happening here, even if it's not good news. ^_^

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are you keeping the alt part that you are working on secured, or are you holding it while you hold the iron? If you are holding it, try putting it down on a table or a hard work surfacce. That way, you can concentrate on keeping the end on the pin.

 

As for the heating time, it's likely that you're not heating it enough. Try heating the pin for about 25 seconds, and then increasing the time in 5 second intervals, until you can safely remove the pin. In fact, you may want to test this out on a spare pinned part to get the feel for pin removal.

 

As for that nick, don't worry. Prime has nicks all over him, and who's going to notice one more? :lol  Seriously, it won't really matter.

 

But truth be told, you might have to nip off part of the plastic surrounding the hinge (about 1/16 of an inch) and use a pair of needle-nose pliers to pull the pin out. It's not the best technique, mind you, but it may be the only option left.

 

I previously recommended drilling, but now that I think of it, it may not be for the best after all. I'll have to take another look at my MP prime to see.

 

-WV

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Rawhide, VW, RodVTS:

Thanks for the tips guys.  Will try it out when I get the chance (dammit, work is taking up too much of my time!  :P)

 

On a side note, any of you guys know if Krylon Interior/Exterior spraypaint work well on plastic?  It's written "works on wood/plastic/blahblahblah" on the can, but how well does it really work?  I saw some uber-shine silver and gold cans of it at Wal-Mart, so I wondered if it sticks well enough to TF-plastic...

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I don`t know about the Krylon interior/exterior paint but the Duron all purpose gold paint on my Rodimus Prime`s flame detailing. Although that is on diecast metal and alluminum. On the 96 Ram VTS I was working on before I got the 03 Ram model I used testors gold spray paint.

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