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Shite in Miniature II


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I CAN HAZ Ertl kit of Steve Bolander's Impala.

 

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Don't like this:

 

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Primered:

 

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Flocked:

 

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Like so:

 

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The rest was pretty straightforward tongue in cheek assembly. But I didn't like the stance:

 

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And I didn't like, that the kit came with the standard tailpipes, which terminate at a downward angle.

Whoever saw the movie will recall, that the car had a much more pronounced rake, and that the

tailpipes were straight.

 

So...

 

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I then decided to lower the front, which I did by modifying the uprights. this is the result:

 

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How to make the Yatming 1959 Buick hold its own against Sunstars.

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The model needs some help.

- the most annoing thing is the silver painted trim around the beltline. This needs to be covered with Bare Metal Foil.
- the interior could be improved with a flocked 'carpet'.
- the grille is way too bling-bling.

Disassembly is very straightforward, the model is simply held together with six screws. Just take them out and the model comes apart.

You can just pull off the front seat cushions, and you will see, that the front seats are screwed on from above:

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The back seat is screwed on from underneath:

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Kit builders, eat your heart out!
Each front seat consists of SIX (!!!) pieces, two of which are plated.

 

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The pedal assy is heat riveted in place:

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Just scrape off the heat riveting from the back with an X-Acto knive and the pedals can be removed.



Out comes a well stocked flocking collection:

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This colour is already very close:

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but a bit too dark. It has to be mixed with a dash of light grey:

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See:

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For flocking, I brush paint the area I want to flock with semi gloss clear enamel varnish. Select a slow drying one, it stays sticky longer. I then rub the flocking through a tea sieve, let it sit for a few minutes, then shake the excess flocking off. It will not look very convincing at this stage:

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But all you have to do is stay patient and wait. Once the clear varnish is dry, the appearance will be very uniform and smooth.

The lower portion of the door cards was carpeted too and hence also needs to be flocked:

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Next is the grille. The entire bumper/grille assy can be removed by cutting away the heat riveting from behind:

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Please note, that the bumper has neither a mold separation line, nor sink marks, nor was it ever attached to a sprue in a visible location. This is modern industry standard, but according to the model kit industry technically impossible. Bloody ridiculous.

Albeit this isn't apparent at first glance, the grille can be separated from the bumper:

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Here is the grille after a healthy dose of black wash:

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A lot more convincing, isn't it? Nay worries, it looks better once the paint has dried flat.

I filled the 'nostrils' in the bumper with black wash too:

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You can also see that I prepared some Tamiya clear orange. This is used for the indicators. I know, it is factually wrong, but it just looks better. Here is the end result:

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And this is what the flocked interior looks like when it is back in the car:

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Entirely btw., the body colour Yat Ming applied does a good job approximating 1959 Buick Lido Lavender Poly:

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OK, out comes the Bare Metal Foil.

For Bare Metal Foil, I need exactly four tools. My metal ruler, a sharp X-Acto blade, a toothpick, and a Fingernail.
Now, as for the fingernail, if you are a bit challenged in that respect, like I am, they are available in every shop that sells cosmetics...

I got this pack from a pound shop for 1.50:

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It contains 18 (!) pairs of nails, a tube of Cyanoacrylate glue, and a nice sanding stick, which may come in handy some time.

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All this for 1.50!

So here I start to apply the foil:

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The wheelarch trim needs to be foiled, too:

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And this is the end result:

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Certainly not AutoArt, but it will hold its own next to a Sunstar or Highway 61. And all that was necessary are two evenings of work and a few quid in materials.

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The next time this happens, fix it.

All you need is a piece of piano wire and a metal drill bit with the same diameter. I use 1.2 mm for that.

Drill a hole into the centre of the axle, as far as you can, and one into the centre of the hub.

Insert a suitable length of the piano wire, and glue everything together with a dab of superglue.

 

I have to do the same with my '37 Studebaker Coupe Express.

Shall I do a tutorial?

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The next time this happens, fix it.

All you need is a piece of piano wire and a metal drill bit with the same diameter. I use 1.2 mm for that.

Drill a hole into the centre of the axle, as far as you can, and one into the centre of the hub.

Insert a suitable length of the piano wire, and glue everything together with a dab of superglue.

 

I have to do the same with my '37 Studebaker Coupe Express.

Shall I do a tutorial?

That would be handy to know if happens again!

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Thinking about repairing damaged stuff has reminded me of something....

 

Is anyone interested in a box full of damaged (mainly) Italian 1:43 models? Mostly Norev / Solido partwork editions.

 

We've got a load of ex partwork stuff that arrived damaged thats been sat here for a good long while which for various reasons its not worth us doing anything with.

 

To give you a rough idea, there are approx 8 x Fiat Unos in Blue, 2 x Alfa 159 Estate, 6 x Fiat Ritmo Abarth in Red, 1 x Lancia Aurelia, 1 x Fiat 600,  1 x Facel Vega, 1 x Fiat 500 Giardiniere, 1 x Fiat Ulysee, 1 x Renault Dauphine, 1 x Citroen DS, 1 x Alfa 6, 1 x Fiat 124 Spider, 1 x Lancia Appia, 1 x Renault 4 plus theres very probably another handful which I'll dig out tomorrow morning.

 

They are all in one way or another damaged. Nothing horrendous - most of the Unos have broken off mirrors, broken wheels or bent axles and the like. Others are missing bits (mirrors most common), a couple have been slightly squashed. 

 

I don't really want to get into sorting and photographing these and would rather everything went to one person so £15 incl UK shipping will get you a big box of 1:43 scale salvage. If you really only want one then they'd be about £4 each to cover postage and all that jazz.

 

Ta.

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