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Preparing a Diecast (Restored)

 
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 11:06 pm    Post subject: Preparing a Diecast (Restored) Reply with quote

This is copied and pasted from the web archive of the old board. It was originally posted by Mortar Dog



Hey boys,

Have gotten alot of questions on how I prepare a car (diecast). So I thought I might give you all a work in progress description as I go along.

Phase 1 for me is all the metal prep work. The planning, grinding, drilling and bondo work. First thing I do is I obtain as many reference pics as possible for the project. Formulate a plan of attack and start stripping the car of all the parts. Concurrently as I remove parts, I clean them up, as the manufacturer uses glue or heats plastic sprues to adhere the objects to the car. Then I remove the side skirts on my table sander.



I just grind up to the top of the original skirt. Next, using my Dremel tool and a grinding wheel, I remove the roof rails, the rear molded fuel over flow tube and the hood / rear decklid retaining pins. Then with a metal punch, I pre-hole the fuel over flow tube hole, fuel filler and the "B" pillar electrical connector hole. Using 1/16" metal drill bit, I drill out the electrical connector, fuel over flow tube hole and using the same bit, pre-drill the fuel filler hole.





Now I inspect the body for pitting or other blemishes and prep the front fascia for the bondo. Up front I take a dental pick and scratch up the metal to give the bondo something to grip. (see pic 4)
For the pitting or blemishes, with a red maker I circle the affected areas. (see pic 5) With the bondo mixed, I spread the product quite liberally on the fascia and sometimes, like on this project, I'll fill in the front grill area. Don't forget circled areas. Then I let the bondo sit for 24hrs before sanding. With the sanding, I begin with a coarse grit of sand paper on a sanding block, usually 120 grit and progress upwards with finer grits. Once happy that most of the bondo has been removed, using a rectangular block of wood with 220 grit sand paper taped to the block, I uniformly sand the front to obtain the correct shape. Finally, with Squadron sanding sticks, I feather out the edges where the bondo and metal meets. (see pic 6)





Phase 2, the construction of the Side Skirts with scratch built dual exhaust vents and the front Valance.

Supplies:
Top and Bottom exhaust plates:
#114 .015 x .08" (0.4 x 2.0 mm) styrene strips

Side chamber walls for the exhaust:
#8204 .022 x .043" (0.56 x 1.09 mm) styrene strips

Side Skirts and Front Valance:
#128 .020 x .188" (0.5 x 4.8 mm) styrene strips

Side Skirt bracing:
#291 .060" (1.5 mm) Angle styrene.

The exhausts.

Looking at ref pics for the 2007 Talladega race, I determined that most of the Monte Carlos were using a 3 chambers dual exhaust, your typical Super Speedway exhaust set-up. With these exhausts, I don't really have any measurements, just using my army issued eyeballs C1, Mark 1. I started with the 4 exhaust plates (#114 .015 x .08" (0.4 x 2.0 mm) styrene strips), once cut, I measure out where the outside and chamber walls will be glued. (see pic 7) I just measure it out evenly and mark it. (see pic Cool Then I cut the outside and chamber walls (#8204 .022 x .043" (0.56 x 1.09 mm) styrene strips), glue them on the marks and let the super glue set. (see pic 9)








The finishing touches are then added to the exhaust vents, some sanding and filling may be required. Once your happy Very Happy , set them aside.

With the ride height, the front springs are removed or cut down. With the rear end, I cut 1/8" off the rear axle posts. With the retaining screws placed back into the axle posts, I adjust the rear ride height. Much the same way the teams do, using a screwdriver I raise and lower the axle by screwing or unscrewing until the tires fit correctly within the wheel wells.

Now, with the side skirts. Place the body onto the chassis, screw it down so that you have a true ride height. With a pencil, I roughly lay out where the jack posts and the exhausts will be. I grab a few different choice of strip styrene and decide on which height I will use. With this project, I went with #128 .020 x .188" (0.5 x 4.8 mm) styrene strips. I cut a piece of the styrene, using a little bigger piece than the body. With super glue drops, I tack the styrene side skirt(s) to the body and transfer the marks over to the styrene. Also at this time, I determine the ride height using metal rulers. (See pic 10)



Now, pop off the side skirts. Here I trace on the exterior of the exhaust and measure out the opening of the jack posts. With everything laid out, I use a sharp #11 X-Acto knife and staying within the lines, I cut everything out. Using my jeweller files, I file out the openings up to the marked lines. In regards to the exhaust opening, while filing, ensure that you test fit often. Once I'm happy with the results, I super glue a piece of #291 .060" (1.5 mm) Angle styrene to provide a rigided brace on the back side of the side skirts. With the glue dry, I lay a bead of super glue along bottom edge of the body and add the completed side skirt. Holding it in place and keeping it flush to the exterior till the super glue sets. Then I follow it up with 5-Minute Epoxy, just some extra reinforcement. When the epoxy has set, I use my Dremal tool with a grinding bit on it to level out and remove some of the dry epoxy, so that the body will fit onto the chassis. Having boh side skirts glued to the body, you can either use Bondo or some of the mixed Epoxy to fill the space between the diecast body and the styrene side skirts. This time I went with the Epoxy. Once set, easily sand it down till it is flush. (See pic 11)



Almost done, the lines that you drew or scribed onto the side of the side skirt is now ready to dissappear. Carefully, you sand the styrene away and check often that the car is level. Remember on the super speedway cars, that you have to have the front end of the skirt raised up a little higher than the rear. With the force of the forward acceleration, the car will settle lower on the front end.(See pic 12)




Front Valance - Using #128 .020 x .188" (0.5 x 4.8 mm) styrene strips, I determine the height. Once again, usng a metal ruler, I lay it under the front end. With the styrene resting on the ruler and a pencil, I trace along the top edge of the strene. (See pic 13)



To obtain a round shape to the styrene, just pinch it against a hard object and pull. Now, super glue the strene valance to the fascia.(See pic 14)



Once set, follow-up with some 5-Minute Epoxy. With everything dry, sand all the outside edges of the side skirts and the valance till verticle. This is my completed work, (See pic 15, 16 and 17)








Also, I finished off the fuel filler. I use the same tips as Mach 2 uses (which are in the Tips and Tricks Forum http://randyayersmodeling.com/modelingforum/viewtopic.php?t=178. I just use some different material. So in Phase 1, I added the 3/16" aluminum tube. In this phase, I have plugged the tube with a ball of Tamiya tape. Then with some 5-Minute Epoxy, I fill in the hole. Once dry, I remove the ball of tape and from behind with a 11/64" drill bit, I drill out the hole. Using my Dremel tool with mini grinding bits, I roughly fabricate the opening using reference pictures as a guide. With the jewellers files, I fine tune the opening and finish it off with some fine grit sandpaper. Concurrently, I constructed the fueling mechanism with additional aluminum tubing and brass rod.

Phase 3 the construction of the Roof Rails and Rims.

Supplies:

Roof Rails:
#291 .060" (1.5 mm) Angle styrene.

With the roof rails, I use Evergren styrene #291 .060" (1.5 mm) Angle styrene. Now, using refence pics, I determine two things:
1st - Where the roof rails are located
2nd - How many individual roof rails will need to be contructed.
Once determined, I scribe a line on top of the roof for reference using a hard edged surface (metal ruler and #11 X-Acto blade), your sytyrene will but up against this line (see pics 18, 19)






Usually pre-COT cars have 4 individual rail pieces on the left side and 3 on the right (Note: The COT cars run a one piece rails system on the right and left, on the left, the only extra construction needed is for the roof flap). I always start my rails at the front and work my way back. The front two L/R have 45 degree angle cuts at the front base of the rail. All remaining ends are flush 90 degree cuts. I eyeball the locations and cut accordingly. Once all rails have been cut, I glue them on with Super glue, ensuring the outside edge is running along the scribed line. (see pic 20)



And straight. (see pic 21)



Also, confirm the spacing between each rails is even. With the glue now set, you can begin sanding down the rails. Your ref pic will provide you the height required. Just eyeball and then confirm everything is level with a ruler. Finally, sand the base of the rail to allow for a more scale appearance and don't forget the roof flap. (see pic 22)




Now, your diecast masterpiece is ready for washing. Before I spray on the etching primer, actually with diecasts, before I spray any product on any piece of the car, I hand wash it with a good detergent.

Now onto the rims/tires. Once you have these items off the chassis, separate the two. Remove the tampo graphics off the tires and rims with non-acetone Nail Polish remover (Cutex). She never figures out where it all goes, tee hee, me so sly. Anyway, focus Derek. Next wash the rims and tires, you may find as I have, that Action uses some type of oil on the rims. I guess for ease of placing the tires on, once washed this substance will be gone. Once these parts are dry, I give'em a blast of Model Masters (MM) Gloss Black and set them aside to dry in the dehydrator for about 45 mins to an hour. Next I paint the axle caps, wheel nuts/studs and the wheel weights with MM Gloss Aluminium and back into the dehydrator. Once again, checking the ref pics, I determine what color the team is using for their wheel nuts and paint them on and using the MM Gloss Black, tidy the area around the wheel weights. Back to the dehydrator. (see pic 23)



Then using a tooth pick with the tip slightly sanded flat, I place a small drop of MM Gunmetal on the top of the wheel nut to represent the tip of the wheel stud. (see pic 24)



Finally, with everything painted, dry and re-assembled. Spray a couple of light coats of Tamiya Clear over the wheels, light because sometimes, the Tamiya products will react negatively with MM products when sprayed with a heavy or "wet" coat. Also, it should be noted that Model Masters Clear sprays will NOT cure on rubber tires, don't know why, me Infantry. Only Tamiya clear will do the trick.

Phase 4

So here are the finished Tires / Rims. Once the decals had dried, I sprayed the tires with MM Flat Clear and covered the rim area with a dime. With two light coats of the MM Flat Clear and they were left to set for 48 hours. (See Pic 25) To finish off the Rims, I hand brushed some Tamiya Clear on the rims to seal the decals.




Fuel Line

Supplies:

Fuel Line:
#222 .060" 1/16” styrene Rod with 1/16” drill bit.

Fuel Line Supports:
#222 .025 styrene Rod with #69 Pinvise drill bit.

With the fuel line, I used #222 1/16” Rod lightly sanded, primed and painted Tamiya Bright Red. Then along the floor pan, which is removed from the chasis, I draw a straight line and mark 3 spots, evenly spaced along the floor pan. Next with a #69 pin vise bit, I drill out the holes for the Fuel Line Supports. I use #219 .025 styrene rod, painted Aluminum for the supports. Finally, using 1/16” drill bit, drill a hole into the fire wall and rear wall. Mount the Fuel line supports and then the styrene Fuel line rod. Add decals, if required. (Check Interior pics for viewing)

Jack Screws

Supplies:

Jack Screws:
#221 3/64” styrene Rod.


For the 2 Jack screws, I replicate them with #221 3/64” styrene rod. I noticed on one of Sterling’s Super Speedway cars that the jack screw tubes sat flush into the rear window. I used the original mounting holes in the pan for the base of the tubes then with the rear window taped to the body, I commence with the test fitting and sizing. Once happy with the height and angle of the rod that follow the angle of the rear window, I open up the tops with a #64 pin vise drill bit. Finally a quick spray of Tamiya Aluminum and then once fully dry, I mast the lower end and spray the upper portion with MM Titanium. (See Pics 26 & 27)





Interior Painting and Detailing

The interior of the body, the roll cage and floor pan are painted with Light Grey. I begin with the roll cage, the painting of the padding using Flat Black. Note, the “A” pillar bars, the front cross member bar and the Earnhardt bar are normally painted Flat Black during the ’07 year up to today. Also inside the cockpit I relocated the cockpit fire extinguisher and the Fuel cell compartment Fire extinguisher that sits behind the driver’s seat with a line running to the rear compartment. With the driver’s seat, I used the Modern Motorsports resin seat with added styrene detail. I wish an accurate seat would be produced in either resin or plastic. After detail painting the interior, I added a Modern Motorsports radio that was detailed with decal and wires. (See Pics 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32)














Dash

Supplies:

Toggle Plate: #126 .020 x .125 Styrene Strip

MSD Boxes: #166 .080 x .125 Styrene Strip

Ignition Plate: #9007 .015 (0.4mm) Styrene Sheet

Gauge Plate: #129 .020 x .250 Styrene Strip

MSD Connectors: #113 .015 x .060 Styrene Strip

Dash Roll Bar: #222 1/16" Styrene Rod

I begin with the cars original “Junk” dash. I strip out the rear gauge backing, shave off the toggles and with a razor saw and Dremel, I cut out the ignition plate. Starting from left to right, I fabricate a new Toggle plate for the ignition, blowers, etc. out of styrene strip #126 .020 X .125”. Measure out where each toggle would go and with a #79 pinvise drill bit I drill out the holes. Next I lay down a cost of MM Aluminum Paint, added detail to the four corners to replicate the screws. The stretched spruce toggles will be added at the end. While I’m fabricating the toggle the freshly painted MM Flat Black dash is drying in the dehydrator. Once dry, a coat of MM Semi-gloss clear is sprayed on and dried. Moving right, I detail the dash gauges with MM chrome silver and use either a black or gunmetal on the Rev. Limiter. With the MM Chrome Silver out, I paint the battery master switch, then follow-up later with some Tamiya Clear-Red. Underneath the Master Switch, I fabricated a Brake Bias control knob from parts found laying around. Colors will vary on this item, (check your Ref. Pics). Next, using #9007 015” thick (0.4mm) styrene sheet, I cut a portion that will be used for the ignition plate which will be painted with Tamiya Primer Grey, colors will also vary on this item as well, check your pics. (see pics 33, 34)





For the ignition package component, I use a mixture of styrene and resin. For the MSD Boxes, I used #166 .080 x .125 (1/8”) styrene painted Tamiya Bright Red with the power slide MSD decals. Then I drill the holes and add wire. For mine, I use Model car Garage Engine Detail wire Black with a fabricated connector constructed out of #113 .015 X .060 styrene and pre-drill holes for the wire into the styrene box. A #79 pinvise bit is drilled into the rear of the box for a White wire that will eventually connected to a relay box. This process is done again for both MSD Boxes. The relay box and HVC Boxes are Modern Motorsports resin components with the correct decal added and corresponding pin vise holes. For what I call the distributor cap, that rests at the rear, left of the plate; I use a modern roof camera resin part form Modern Motorsport with 3 #76 pinvise drill bit holes. One wire will be pushed through a #76 pinvise drill bit hole at the back of the ignition plate wall. Another two are drilled into the right hand wall of the ignition plate area. These would be for the wires that would run to additional parts and components of the actual car. Once everything is dry, I fabricate the little ignition box number flags out of very thin stretched sprue and Tamiya Masking Tape, they are painted, numbered and then adhered to the connector plugs of the respected MSD box. A chassis light grey painted 1/16” rod is glued onto the edge of the plate between the dash walls.
NOTE: Use of Ref Pics is very important. I have seen many different ignition plates layouts with different colored MSD Boxes and wiring. Finally, the last part to be added is the gauges. Using a strip of styrene #129 .020 X .250, just wide enough to cover the dash gage openings. I take a sharpened pencil and layout where the gage decal will lie and then clear coat. Apply the decals, checking each decal to ensure it sits centered in the holes and once dry, spray another coat of clear over. Then they are finished off with Microscale Micro Kristal Klear to replicate the gauge glass. (See Pics 35, 36, 37 and 3Cool











Concurrently while all this was going on and items were drying, I have primed and painted the car it's primary color and have painted the Spoiler, Roof Rails, Side Skirts and front Valance. Also, I have placed the tire back onto the chassis, cut 2 sheets of decals and searched / cut off the seperate contingency decals.

Phase 5

Windows

Supplies:

Rear Window Spoiler:
#126 .020 x .125" Styrene

Rear Window Spoiler base Plug
#8204 .022 x .043" Styrene

For the windows, the only thing you have to do is the basic clean-up of the plastic except the rear window and the small, NACA window (not sure of the correct name). With the rear window, the first thing I do, is drill out the openings for the jack and wedge screw holes with a #61 Pinvise drill bit. Then, with Tamiya Tape, I cover the rear window complete with 1 strip of tape over the Screw Openings. With a Squadron Coarse Grit sanding stick, I carefully sand away the raised portions of the jack screw. I find this looks more accurate and allows the Powerslide decals to lay down nicely. (See pic 39)



For removing the manufactured rear spoiler, I carry out the same drill as with the screw openings. Tape around the base of the rear spoiler, add some additional tape over top of the window, just for the added protection. Sand it down with Squadron Sanding sticks, starting from coarse to a fine grit.(See pic 40)



With the car that I'm doing, I noticed that the Rear Spoiler was a single blade but the base of the original spoiler has a break on the base. So with #8204 .022 x .043" Styrene, I add a PLUG of styrene on the base as a filler. Once the Gorilla super glue is dry, use a sanding stick to sand flush the plug to be flush with the spoiler base. (See pic 41)



To replicate the blade of the rear spoiler, I use #126 .020 x .125" Styrene. First measure the length required, noting that the forward portion of the spoiler will rest right behind the left side roof flap. In order to obtain the angle for the portion that will rest on top of the roof, I submerge the styrene into hot water and hand massage the angle into the styrene. Take your time, this process will take a little time. Once your happy with the angle, grab a sanding stick and sand in the curve on the rear of the blade. The front of the spoiler will need to be sanded verticle. (See pic 42)



Then mount (don't adhere at this time) the rear window to the body for the gluing of rear window spoiler ensuring you add some masking tape to the left side of the spoiler base for the super glue. Sometimes, some super glues will fog clear plastic. I haven't noticed this to much with the Gorilla Brand of super glue. I place the window in, to ensure I have the proper angle before the glue sets. I use the already mounted roof rails as a guide. You want the spoiler to run IN-LINE with the roof rails. (See pic 43)



Finally, mask off the area around the spoiler and the base and spray the required color. Let dry and then add the Jack screw and Wedge adjustment openings with the required colored decal. Use you reference pictures to obtain the correct color pattern.

Here is where I sit with the painting and decaling. The first 3 pictures show the car painted with the primary color and the added details painted. Also, any trim work has been completed. (See pics 44, 45, 46)









With the decals, I do the larger side sponsors /associated sponsor decals first, then I move to the hood and rear decklid decals. Then starting at the left-front corner, I start decaling and move right around the body and finish at my start point. Next I add the contingencies and finish off with the roof numbers. When using Alps decal, I always use two sets of decals. Just for the issue of color bleed thru. As I do use two sets of decals, my dehydrator comes into play quite a bit, add a side of decals, let dry in the dehydrator for 45 mins to an hour and lay down the second set and carry-on. Next, once all the sheet decals are down, I add the detail decals, for example, the grill tape plus the numbered pull tape, rear spoiler tape, inspection dots, all the window decals, etc. Finally, with the roof number decals down and dry, I mix some paint the same color as the roof number and paint the interior areas of the roof flaps. I find this adds a nice clean look to the roof flaps. (See pics 47, 48, 49)








So, here is what the car looks like now with all the detail decals added. (See Pic 50, 51)





Supplies:

NACA Window:
#9007 .015" (0.4mm) Thick, Clear Styrene

With the window blade added to the rear window, I started with the paint and decal details, I also made a new NACA window. For the decals on the window, I use the great Powerslide sheet. To construct the NACA window, I use #9007 .015" (0.4mm) Thick, Clear Styrene. Using Ref. Pics I obtain the proper size and scribe the new window onto the clear plastic. Using a pair of scissors, I rough cut the window out and the with a sanding stick, carefully sand down to the scribed lines. After a couple of test fits, I begin adding the black outline around the window. Using Tamiya masking tape, I lay a strip down to begin the outline and brush paint some Model Masters Flat Black. Once dry, I do the other three side, using the dehydrator between each side. With the window completely painted, I added the rivit details with a sharpened toothpick and some Model Masters Aluminum Paint. Finally, I add the NACA vent decal. (See Pic 52)



Here are the remaining pictures of the decaled and paint detailed windows. Always using ref. pics for proper position and color schemes. (See Pic 53, 54, 55)








Once all the windows are complete, the assembly process begin. Taking my time, I add the windows being careful not to damage the paint job. I adhere all the windows with 5 Minute Epoxy. Once the glue is dry, with Model Masters Flat Black paint, I paint over the Epoxy glue. Sometimes there are gaps between the windows and the metal body. The Epoxy will fill these in and the flat black paint will ensure that no additional light will be present between the window and the body. Once the flat black is dry, I carefully paint around the window perimeter with the same color of the interior.

Next I apply 3 light coats of Future Floor Wax, allowing 48hrs between coats.

Supplies:

Window Net:
Scale Model Speedway Window Net Kit

Antenna Base:
#219 .025" Styrene Rod

Fuel Overflow Tube:
1/16 x .014 Round Aluminum Tube

Finally, with the all the windows and hood / rear decklid attached, I add all the little accessories. For the window net, I use Scale Model Speedway Window Net Kit. This is a multi-media kit with photo-etched metal bars and roll bar fastener clips and a paper window net. It constructs easily with white glue and can be painted any color with a rattle can. The net assembly is adhered to the roll bar and once the car is completely put together, I adhere the net to the exterior with two small super glue drops at either end of the backside of the net. Next I add the Modern Motorsports resin Roof cam and antenna bases with #219 .025" Styrene Rod. I adhere both with 5 Minute Epoxy, use very small drops. Next throw in the Fuel Filler mechanism and the Fuel Overflow tube AND THAT IS THAT. One nicely detailed diecast ready for your shelf.

Here are the finished car pics. ENJOY...


















The actual car:







Here is the link to all the WiP photos:
http://public.fotki.com/Mortar-Dog/wips---work-in-progress/2007-talladega-wm--/

To my Fotki site:
http://public.fotki.com/Mortar-Dog/
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