fseva Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 I gave up on my AMT 65 Bonneville - really hated that one-piece chassis; so, that must have factored into my eventual setting aside of the kit. Was trying to deal with the front bumper. I had the horrible mold parting lines cleaned up and fairly nicely covered with BMF. But then I started on those hideous chromed headlights, and that was my Waterloo. I was attempting to do what Steve G said he's doing now - drilling them out and replacing them with buckets. Well, I have a lot of extra buckets, but not a single one that would have been easy to work with. On the third bucket, which was at the top, I must have left too little surround, and when I pressed the new bucket in place, the frame at the top broke off. And then, one of the completed buckets (#2 at the bottom)... I noticed that my tool had removed some of the chrome in front of the bucket. So, that would have been another BMF repair. Regardless, I would like to know if there is any mfr that makes a Bonneville using a "modern tool", that includes a full suspension and other goodies like separate door panels. Please don't include stuff from Trumpeter - I've tried their kits and they've always left much to be desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 You're pretty much stuck with old AMT & MPC kits if you're looking for Bonnevilles Frank.As far as I know, there hasn't been a new Bonneville kit produced since the early 70s, except for the trumpeter '60.Just wanted to tell you Frank, I don't replace the headlight buckets, I just "create" them by hollowing out the old ones with a dremel tool.It's a slow tedious job, & sometimes it works better than other times.It's a judgment call as to whether it's worth the effort, but I do like the realism it adds. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 You're pretty much stuck with old AMT & MPC kits if you're looking for Bonnevilles Frank. As far as I know, there hasn't been a new Bonneville kit produced since the early 70s, except for the trumpeter '60. Just wanted to tell you Frank, I don't replace the headlight buckets, I just "create" them by hollowing out the old ones with a dremel tool. It's a slow tedious job, & sometimes it works better than other times. It's a judgment call as to whether it's worth the effort, but I do like the realism it adds. Did I misunderstand your technique, Steve? I hollowed out the entire headlight except the frame surrounding it. Then I added buckets by pressing them into place from the outside (the inside would have been better but the hollowing-out process left an uneven surface on the reverse side. This is the technique you said you just started to use, after you had already devised a way to BMF the inside of the hollowed-out bucket... (???) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Did I misunderstand your technique, Steve? I hollowed out the entire headlight except the frame surrounding it. Then I added buckets by pressing them into place from the outside (the inside would have been better but the hollowing-out process left an uneven surface on the reverse side. This is the technique you said you just started to use, after you had already devised a way to BMF the inside of the hollowed-out bucket... (???) Yes, I don't replace the buckets. I just use my Dremel tool to hollow out the plastic where the headlight used to be leaving a bowl shaped bucket & then foil it & add lenses. Here are a couple of pics. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fseva Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 (edited) Yes, I don't replace the buckets. I just use my Dremel tool to hollow out the plastic where the headlight used to be leaving a bowl shaped bucket & then foil it & add lenses. Yes, I remember this, but I thought that you said you had just started to try a new technique involving the use of separate headlight buckets instead of the need to BMF, and you stated the new technique as an alternate to BMFing raw concave plastic... could it have been someone else... Edited December 4, 2015 by fseva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Yes, I remember this, but I thought that you said you had just started to try a new technique involving the use of separate headlight buckets instead of the need to BMF, and you stated the new technique as an alternate to BMFing raw concave plastic... could it have been someone else... Must have been. I know that there are a lot of guys who drill them out & install new buckets. Yuri from Russia is a master at this. I believe he buys aftermarket buckets & lenses intended for military models. I just thought this would be a way to save some extra parts by using what was already there. Except for the lenses of course. Unless you're talking about the "Homemade Lenses" thread that I started a while back. That was just a technique to save me from having to scrounge up a bunch of extra lenses for this technique. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I read that some guys use craft store "Googly Eyes" that are made for stuffed animal toys. Someone said they bought a bag of 100 in different sizes at Michaels. These are those eyes with a clear lens, white back and a black eyeball floating around in it. They pry them apart and use the back part for a headlight bucket. I haven't done this myself. Maybe someone who has can chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I read that some guys use craft store "Googly Eyes" that are made for stuffed animal toys. Someone said they bought a bag of 100 in different sizes at Michaels. These are those eyes with a clear lens, white back and a black eyeball floating around in it. They pry them apart and use the back part for a headlight bucket. I haven't done this myself. Maybe someone who has can chime in.I believe I've heard the same thing. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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