Warped body

[crossfire 2004]

Chose the repop AMT ‘59 El Camino as my next build and was somewhat disappointed to find this twisted hulk in the box. Opened another fresh kit that has a far better body with just a slight twist in the rear section.

My question to you guys, is body no.1 beyond help or salvageable, and what is my best approach ?

 

[Snake45]

Email Round 2, send them these pics, and ask for new bodies. 

Sometimes, though, bodies magically straighten out when mated with their interiors and chassis. Not all the time,  but often enough to try it. I think that would work with your leeser warped one, and might even work with the other one. 

[crossfire 2004]

Thanks Snake, I’ve sidelined the worst body for now so that I can press on with the build but would like to save it if possible.

Not sure if Round 2 will come across with a new body as I’m in the U.K. but I guess it’s worth a shot. Failing that I could always build one along the lines of this with very little work.

 

[64SS350]

I think they are both salvageable. I use dry heat, as in a hair dryer, not a heat gun. Some guys I have heard use warm to hot water. I like the dryer so I can control the heat and manipulation better.

You need to tape it down to something flat and similar size, you may need to do this in stages for the really bad one, but remember to 'over straighten' a bit as it will spring back a small amount. Heat body evenly, slowly and be patient, when finished a round of heat, you can hit with cool air to set it, but let it taped up for a couple hours at minimum (or overnight) to set a new memory within the plastic,

[gijoe]

I think you can fix them using a hair dryer as well.  Like64SS350 said, take it slow and don't try to get it perfectly straight in one go.  Be care where you apply heat, and pay close attention that you aren't damaging the thin bits, like the pillars.  It may be a bit of a hassle, but you could pre-paint the bodies, dark colors will heat up faster, so you could leave the pillars a light color, or bare plastic so they don't heat up as much as the rest of the body., and paint the rest black/dark, that way you know that the pillars will be at least a tiny bit cooler than the rest of the plastic.   

[BigTallDad]

Try using a dehydrator (like the ones used to dry paint). Clamp the warped part in it and let it work overnight.

Edited February 15, 2019 by BigTallDad

[crossfire 2004]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I have a dehumidifier so that is certainly an option too.

I have emailed Round 2 regarding the issue, I’m wondering if all those parts crammed in that tiny old style box along with the body is part of the problem, let’s see what they have to say.

[Bucky]

I have a few of these ElCamino kits, from a few different issue eras. None of them have a warped body like this, so I don't think cramming it in the box caused the problem. It could be the way it came out of the mold. I had an AMT '65 Bonneville with a warped body, but it straightened out when I did the final assembly. Your more severely warped body might not work with that method, but the other one may.

[MrObsessive]

That's one of the more crazy making things for me in this hobby and I quit tolerating it! I'd be either dropping them a line or calling them to get a new body, but that's me. Part of the problem is not so much the size of the box (same box as many years ago and this was rare), but their unwillingness at times for the sake of production to not let the bodies cool sufficiently thus the warping.

The fact that you got TWO that are warped tells me they've rushed things. Totally unacceptable with the cost of kits these days.

Edited February 15, 2019 by MrObsessive

[espo]

Obviously something major has happened here. Besides manufacturing problems that should be corrected and the body replaced, What condition was the kit box in ? Between the production and boxing of this kit you have to wonder if something in transit from here to there had happened. If this kit was exposed to an extended time of high heat and pressure on the body could be a cause ? Are any other parts in the kit effected in the same manor ? 

[Yahshu]

18 hours ago, crossfire 2004 said:

 

The body's not twisted. 

[crossfire 2004]

1 hour ago, Yahshu said:

The body's not twisted. 

Yeah, thanks for that pearl of wisdom.

[64SS350]

You can certainly try the dehumidifier, but I highly doubt  that it will get hot enough to let the plastic relax. 

But, maybe some brands of dehumidifier will...

[MrObsessive]

3 hours ago, 64SS350 said:

You can certainly try the dehumidifier, but I highly doubt  that it will get hot enough to let the plastic relax. 

But, maybe some brands of dehumidifier will...

I think you might mean a dehydrator?

Either which way, you can only bend a body only so much with your hands before it can disfigure another area. The twist in this is so bad that frankly, I see this as nothing more than a good scrap body to practice paint on or something.

I don't know what I hate worse............badly distorted glass which is so thick it looks like eyeglasses, or a twisted body which to me is useless. At least the glass I can replace, but a severely warped body like that I'd sooner replace than to go through all the drama trying to fix it.

And then there's the possibility since it was warped that can go back to its warped state somewhat due to the 'memory' that's now in the plastic with that shape. ESPECIALLY after some rather hot paint is laid on it.

Edited February 15, 2019 by MrObsessive

[BigTallDad]

3 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

I think you might mean a dehydrator?

 

Arghh, yes, that's what I meant. Good catch!

[crossfire 2004]

1 hour ago, BigTallDad said:

Arghh, yes, that's what I meant. Good catch!

Ha ! I too read it as dehydrator yet still wrote dehumidifier.

Heres mine in action.

 

[64SS350]

1 hour ago, MrObsessive said:

I think you might mean a dehydrator?

Either which way, you can only bend a body with so much with your hands that it can disfigure another area. The twist in this is so bad that frankly, I see this as nothing more than a good scrap body to practice paint on or something.

I don't know what I hate worse............badly distorted glass which is so thick it looks like eyeglasses, or a twisted body which to me is useless. At least the glass I can replace, but a severely warped body like that I'd sooner replace than to go through all the drama trying to fix it.

And then there's the possibility since it was warped that can go back to its warped state somewhat due to the 'memory' that's now in the plastic with that shape. ESPECIALLY after some rather hot paint is laid on it.

Oops what was I thinking, thanks!

[Daddy Mack]

It's junk. Been there and tried to fix them. Too much going on as the previous poster described.

[Dave G.]

Junk imo too. Try some custom paint techniques on it, good for practice as mentioned already.

[BigTallDad]

With the proper set-up and patience, a dehydrator can correct warped parts. Don't expect results in ten minutes or so...it's an overnight process.

[Yahshu]

12 hours ago, crossfire 2004 said:

Yeah, thanks for that pearl of wisdom.

Please forgive me 

[Tom Geiger]

That body makes the kit a good donor for a resin body... try the Jimmy Flintstone 59 Chevy wagon!

[Rodent]

3 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

That body makes the kit a good donor for a resin body... try the Jimmy Flintstone 59 Chevy wagon!

Paul Hettick has one of his amazing 59 Nomad kits on ePay right now.

[crossfire 2004]

2 hours ago, Rodent said:

Paul Hettick has one of his amazing 59 Nomad kits on ePay right now.

Very nice, but  $115 + shipped to the U.K. is s bit steep - I could buy 4 replacement el camino’s for that !

I like the Buick el Camino trans kit but do not have the grille / bumper parts.

[crossfire 2004]

Thought I’d post an update regarding the worst of the two bodies having successfully built the Elky using the spare body- see it in the ‘under glass’ section.

Using a technique shown in the latest issue of Scale Auto, I chopped up a length of off cut timber to fit inside the body shell then drilled 4 holes in the sides of the body.

Holding the body squarely on the timber I screwed the 2 together then placed them in a plastic container into which near boiling water was poured and the body weighted down.

After a few minutes the body was transferred to the kitchen freezer while still attached to the timber, then after approximately 3 hours the screws were removed and Voila ! just the 4 holes to fill and it’s as good as new.

I must say I’m pleasantly surprised by the results and recommend giving this method a try.

Edited March 10, 2019 by crossfire 2004