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filling windows


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hello all, my next build i am going to pick up the ecto 1 kit from hobby lobby and convert it from a 1960 ambulance into a 1960 hearse. to do this i need to fill in the rear quarter windows so they are smooth with the body. ive done a lot of model work, but ive never filled windows before. does anyone have tips or pointers? links to a walk through would be killer too. thanks all!

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I do a lot of heavy bodywork. Filling large openings is pretty straightforward if you're careful. 

First thing to do is to make accurate templates of the openings you want to fill. I usually do this by applying masking tape to the opening, stretched tight, and cutting around it carefully with an X-acto.

Stick the pattern to a sheet of .030" or .040" styrene, and cut your piece slightly oversize. Then CAREFULLY fit the pieces you made into the openings.

Make them fit closely and try to get them to touch all the way around. Fit them ALMOST flush with the side that you'll see on the finished model.

Not a station-wagon, but I filled the scoops on Revell's Challenger I using the same technique. 

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The piece at the top of this photo has been glued along the seams with liquid cement. The one at the bottom has not. (You can run a bead of thick CA glue around the joint too, if you want.)

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I generally use fiberglass to reinforce the filled areas. This is fine fiberglass cloth made for RC model planes, and at minimum, 30-minute epoxy.

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That should give you plenty of strength to do your normal filling and sanding on the side that shows. I recommend using a catalyzed filler for that work, either epoxy based, or this Bondo brand "Professional" stuff. NUMBER 801. It comes with its own hardener.

Image result for bondo professional glazing putty

Then just fill, shape and finish as usual.

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Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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thats a lot more involved than im used to. ive got some truck parts from my last build that ill practice on first. after i fill the windows it will get a vinyl top. is the masking tape technique still a thing? put it down, brush the edges with glue and then flat black.

heres what im going for...

hearse.jpg

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From what I have read from other threads/posts, if the windows are curved, and you need to use a lot of putty to make the curve, be sure to use the correct putty. Some draws tight when drying and can pull your filler panel out or loose. Just something I remember reading recently, not something I have experience with.

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From what I have read from other threads/posts, if the windows are curved, and you need to use a lot of putty to make the curve, be sure to use the correct putty. Some draws tight when drying and can pull your filler panel out or loose. Just something I remember reading recently, not something I have experience with.

That is a valid concern, and one reason I recommended using two-part catalyzed putty (which hardly shrinks at all) instead of the old-school one-part stuff.

It IS possible to form sheet styrene into mild compound curves (curves that change in two directions) with your fingertips, surely well enough to get a side window contour perdy dang close.

The number-one rule is try to get your plastic work as close as possible, to minimize the amount of filler you have to use.

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Would it be a good idea to cut patch panels from the kit glass to fit into those big openings? Might be less trouble than scratchbuilding them, plus the compound curves would match.

You have an excellent point there, sir. After looking at photos of the model, I think your idea is the best.

Same basic procedure, especially making sure the window inserts are stuck VERY well to the edges of the openings so there's no chance of cracking during subsequent bodywork.

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ok boys and ghouls, heres where we ended up so far. i cut the rear glass free from the rest of the glass (its one BIG piece). i then glued them into place and applied the filler. 

 

ive got to put more filler in the low spots you see, and sand everything down again, but its not terrible for my first ever custom work.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Would it be a good idea to cut patch panels from the kit glass to fit into those big openings? Might be less trouble than scratchbuilding them, plus the compound curves would match.

Back in 1990, I reworked the AMT/Ertl Ecto 1a body into a standard Miller-Meteor ambulance, one of the versions having no rear quarter windows whatsoever.  I merely cut sections  of the kit glass slightly larger than the corner window openings and then trimmed and filed them to fit those openings very exactly.  I simply glued those clear plastic pieces in place in the corner window openings so that they fit as nearly flush with the exterior as possible, then filed them to match the exterior contour.  A few swipes of putty, some wet-sanding, and it worked just fine.

Art

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