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THE Idiot's Guide to Kitbashing


WraithVerge

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I think I went and bought too many Alts. :D Not even sure where I want to start...

 

Thinking about trying to make the RAM grill spin around in bot mode. Like the piece that's joins the roof on skids, but half the size. Would this even work?

Cutting that piece that joins the grill to hood in half. Drill a hole in one half. Cut that half in half lengthwise. Dremel out a little grove at the bottom of the drill hole in both. Hammer a finishing into the 1st half. Glue the 2 quarters together over the finishing nail. A pretty crude diagram is attached. (Hopefully my kitbashes won't be anywhere near that bad. :P)

 

Also, how likely is it that an alt came with the wrong size neck ball joint? My nemesis' head is so loose you can just flick it, and it will spin clean around. Put a ton of nail polish in the socket, but it still spins really easy. Now it just won't tilt. Guess that saves me from trying to figure how to attach that neck to the vette. I think I'll just sand it down.

 

Didn't realize there was such a range of head size. Just planning my head swaps is going to be a bit of a project.

 

Thanks for the replies guys

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4. Are there many gued parts on most alts. Any tips for removing old, dried glue, before regluing the parts?

 

And a couple of specific questions.

1. Should I even worry about regluing the corvette exhasut pipes under the chest? Seems like it'll hold ok if I just jam it back in. Maybe add a bit of clear nail polish to the pegs.

2. What's holding the corvette dashboard in place? Is there another screw under the windshield flap?

4) Glued parts? Not really to my knowledge, although that would largely depend upon the alternator in question. I would try working the part free before using any strong chemical removers. If that fails, start with good ol' rubbing alcohol, and work from there.

(4) I know for a fact that the Acura RSX (Prowl) has its dash glued together in a very painful way, as well as the seats to the floor of the car. I know that the Ford GT's (Mirage) seats are also glued (the factory glue leaked all over the place, and glued the chest panel hinges...)

 

And the specifics:

(1) I wouldn't worry about it. Hell, I didn't do it when I took apart the Corvette. :thumb

 

(2) I think there's a screw somewhere, hidden from view. But I didn't need to take apart the dash for my repaint back then, so I didn't bother with it...

 

Looks like I won't need to take ravage apart. I do need to work on my pin removal technique tho. Only got that long windshield pin to move a millimeter.

 

Also ran into glue taking off BT Dead Ends head. Still, popped apart pretty easy. Bit of a seam now with just the screw holding it together.

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  • 1 month later...

hey gang.

 

i have a question involving repainting a custom.

 

a few years back i repainted and modded the head of my alt windcharger and he became wildrider.

 

i have never been happy with the paint quality of what was my first venture of repainting on a large scale.

 

he was painted using humbrol enamal silver paint (paint brush strokes are what is annoying me most)

 

what i'd like to know is

 

1) is there an easy way to remove the original paint other than scraping (started and it's taking forever)

and

2) is there a certain kind of paint i should look for that would act as a suitable replacement (spray)

 

thanks :wave

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While I'm no expert on the subject, a bit of isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip seems to work pretty well. Used it to take the paint off the legs of an alt side swipe. Only problem I've noticed is streaks left on the plastic. But that shouldn't be a problem if you painting over it again.

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I poked around and did a search and came up with nuttin, so if this has been asked already I apologize. heh.gif My alt Mirage's hood won't lay flush with the car body in alt mode... is there a quick-n-dirty way to mod that assembly so it lays flat? I tried shaving plastic from a couple of places but it didn't seem to have any effect. Thanks in advance! :thumb

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hey gang.

 

i have a question involving repainting a custom.

 

a few years back i repainted and modded the head of my alt windcharger and he became wildrider.

 

i have never been happy with the paint quality of what was my first venture of repainting on a large scale.

 

he was painted using humbrol enamal silver paint (paint brush strokes are what is annoying me most)

 

what i'd like to know is

 

1) is there an easy way to remove the original paint other than scraping (started and it's taking forever)

and

2) is there a certain kind of paint i should look for that would act as a suitable replacement (spray)

 

thanks :wave

 

 

With enamels, I'm assuming it was an oil based paint.

I love using Humbrol for other model car applications.

 

I remove dried paint with Polly S's E-L-O (Easy Lift Off). Basically it is a paint stripper.

You could also use Castrol transmission fluid... Seriously!

 

By submerging your plastic head in the liquid, or simply brushing it on, you will be able to remove the paint with an old soft toothbrush.

 

Don't forget to wash, and rinse the plastic before repainting, otherwise it will not hold.

 

Hope it helps.

 

I poked around and did a search and came up with nuttin, so if this has been asked already I apologize. My alt Mirage's hood won't lay flush with the car body in alt mode... is there a quick-n-dirty way to mod that assembly so it lays flat? I tried shaving plastic from a couple of places but it didn't seem to have any effect. Thanks in advance!

seeing as you already did what my first suggestion was going to be, try #2

 

If you can remove the hood, I suggest you place it in really warm water and "coax" it in the proper shape. Follow immediately with cold water so that it retains its shape, replace hood and bingo. It should work.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

ok, so im about to attempt mt first kitbash. I'm getting my first cars oon, and its going to be a 2005 black jeep liberty, so i want to try and bash any TF i can into one. Anybody have any ideas for what tf? Also, can someody honestyl just help me out? i have no idea what im doing, and how to plan everything and get into this. Sorry that sounds so....pathetic? :tftongue but yeah, so i dunno how to start, or what TF to use. I was thinking baout re-shelling (i think thats what it's called?) a Alt. Swinde into it, but how would i go about doing that?

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ok, so im about to attempt mt first kitbash. I'm getting my first cars oon, and its going to be a 2005 black jeep liberty, so i want to try and bash any TF i can into one. Anybody have any ideas for what tf? Also, can someody honestyl just help me out? i have no idea what im doing, and how to plan everything and get into this. Sorry that sounds so....pathetic? :tftongue but yeah, so i dunno how to start, or what TF to use. I was thinking baout re-shelling (i think thats what it's called?) a Alt. Swinde into it, but how would i go about doing that?

I'll say it before anyone else does: but if it's your first kitbash, a reshell is generally not a very good/easy/convenient place to start, unless you have years of modeling experience elsewhere... It sucks to have to sound negative on this, but reshells are generally a lot of work, planning, and test-fitting, and is generally not recommended to beginners. On the other hand, if you feel that you're up for it anyways, go for it, as we're always looking forward to seeing new creations. :D

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