junkyardjeff Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Do not get me wrong I do enjoy new builds but there is something about bringing one back from the dead that I like alot,most are not anywhere close to where it was built the first time but I like breathing new life back in them and putting them back on the shelf where they belong and not used for parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Me too! There’s just something right about restoring an old model that’s been waiting 40-50 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott8950 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 i absolutely agree.. i enjoy restoring them a little more than a new build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Ditto! Restoration is more fun than starting with brand new for me. It's like finding old treasure and bringing it back to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Plus, if you don't succeed, it's not like you ruined something new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89AKurt Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I thought everyone who did this was crazy, but I've done a few now, and appreciate what it takes to do a decent job. The subject is usually crude by today's standards, but with modern parts, glue, paint, etc. it could come out better than last century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I especially enjoy restoring vintage kits and using modern parts to upgrade them. Vintage kits are pretty much the only thing I build now, because I love the challenge of seeing how these old kits can benefit from some modern techniques. Plus the subject matter is completely different from what's available today. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam I Am Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 29 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said: I especially enjoy restoring vintage kits and using modern parts to upgrade them. Vintage kits are pretty much the only thing I build now, because I love the challenge of seeing how these old kits can benefit from some modern techniques. Plus the subject matter is completely different from what's available today. Steve I agree, I have a few old subjects with modern donors to really add to the details that were short on the originals. I also have restored a number of models that were built by family members back in the 60s, ones of my own from the 80s, and am currently restoring some big rig subjects that are old ebay purchases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 One example that immediately springs to mind, is that I had a very old Wills Finecast white metal kit of a 1933 MG K3 Magnette, which was in it's original box and 46 years old....... now I do appreciate that many collectors would keep this kit in the original box and put it on a shelf, never to open the box or build the kit. That is not how I saw the model car at all, but instead I carefully researched the real car, built and painted this wonderful old kit and proudly displayed the completed model with other 1:24 scale model cars in my diorama at an important exhibition. To me, this build honoured the manufacturer's production of an excellent kit, which would have been wasted as a stored ' in the box ' model. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyardjeff Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 My current restoration is a AMT 34 Ford p/u that I am making into a big truck,the cab and hood are from one I built 40 plus years ago and the rest of it are parts from ebay and other sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCRWDRVR Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) I enjoy the restorations better too, for me I think it’s all the years of schooling and years working I had in the 1:1 auto restoration field. I always enjoy that work and the satisfaction of what I accomplished and doing the kits brings that back for me... Edited January 20, 2020 by SCRWDRVR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landman Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Finding a box of old models is what brought me back to the hobby. While most have had a few loose pieces glued back on and displayed, there are several that were taken apart and redone, a few of them rebodied in the process. I have to agree , they were very satisfying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Oh you KNOW I am down with this topic! I've got three of them on the bench even as we speak, and two more lined up right after that. As JJ said, it's more fun to bring some old crock back from the dead than to work with the finest new kit on the market (which dozens of others are working on at the same time). In many cases it's the only way to get a rare old model, or at least one you can afford. In other cases it's just fun to take some old unloved cast-off piece of junk and see if you can with minimal effort make it acceptably good to sit on your shelf. Glue bombs forever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 General question for everybody: what's your favorite chemical for dissolving that 50-year-old tube glue? When the freezer trick and others don't work? Here's a discussion on another board. It's from 2016, so Photobucket repo'ed the pictures. But he seems to be talking about Testors Model Master Paint Remover, which I think is the "ELO" (Easy Lift Off) stuff for paint and decals. Other faves mentioned are nail polish remover and its cousin, pure acetone. I've had some luck with super glue de-bonder, even though it's not meant for dissolving tube glue. I apply it around the glued area, let it sit for a while and sometimes the part will pop right off. I just did that with a '64 Vette that had the tonneau cover and driver side headrest "fin" glued on. I ran some Hobby Lobby Debonder around the seams, waited, and the parts came off pretty easily. Last night I was fooling with a '61 Tempest. The builder glued side exhausts on it with wood glue. That peeled off pretty easily. But under that was a layer of tube glue that will have to be sanded off. He also glued a parachute on the trunk...right on top of its 2 ribs/character lines. So far that has cleaned up pretty good, after some careful work with sanding sticks. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/scale_racing_lobby/old-glue-debonder-t269.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I haven't had much luck with debonding chemicals and haven't fooled with any for a while. I get stuff apart by prying, cutting with Xacto or razor saw, or, in extreme cases, grinding with a Dremel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Mike999 said: General question for everybody: what's your favorite chemical for dissolving that 50-year-old tube glue? When the freezer trick and others don't work? Here's a discussion on another board. It's from 2016, so Photobucket repo'ed the pictures. But he seems to be talking about Testors Model Master Paint Remover, which I think is the "ELO" (Easy Lift Off) stuff for paint and decals. Other faves mentioned are nail polish remover and its cousin, pure acetone. I've had some luck with super glue de-bonder, even though it's not meant for dissolving tube glue. I apply it around the glued area, let it sit for a while and sometimes the part will pop right off. I just did that with a '64 Vette that had the tonneau cover and driver side headrest "fin" glued on. I ran some Hobby Lobby Debonder around the seams, waited, and the parts came off pretty easily. Last night I was fooling with a '61 Tempest. The builder glued side exhausts on it with wood glue. That peeled off pretty easily. But under that was a layer of tube glue that will have to be sanded off. He also glued a parachute on the trunk...right on top of its 2 ribs/character lines. So far that has cleaned up pretty good, after some careful work with sanding sticks. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/scale_racing_lobby/old-glue-debonder-t269.html The problem with tube glue is the fact that it is a solvent that bonds by "melting" the plastic parts together. To remove it means that you need to somehow remove plastic. If you have parts that are very stubbornly bonded together, the only solvents that will loosen it will also destroy the surrounding surface. Like straight acetone. Guaranteed to destroy the body if you are not extremely careful with it. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTrucker Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I agree, just seems that some of my best and most enjoyable work is on a built up or what was left of one that someone else discarded and I saved from the trash! I guess it is just the challenge and seeing the transformation that makes it so! Just like builds from the parts box! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedotwo Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Add me to the list of "restorers" ? I have more fun and challenge bringing these back to life than newer kits. Although, I still put new kits together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchook Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I have to say, most of my builds are rebuilt from old kits. I enjoy turning something old into something new again. It's funny, I buy new boxed kits & find myself using all the parts for rebuilding something old. I guess that's why I have such a huge parts pile, it ALL ends up just parts, no complete kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtx6970 Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) 14 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said: I especially enjoy restoring vintage kits and using modern parts to upgrade them. Vintage kits are pretty much the only thing I build now, because I love the challenge of seeing how these old kits can benefit from some modern techniques. Plus the subject matter is completely different from what's available today. Steve Same here. Im pretty much to the point sell off al my modern kits ( kits made in the past 25 - 30 years ) And concentrate on my older annuals and drag kit builtups from the late 50s to early 70s This is just the old shelf. Pretty much everything in this shelf was made prior to approx mid 70s time frame. So I think I have more than enough stuff to build in here alone Edited January 20, 2020 by gtx6970 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatz4u Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I enjoy restoring old kits when I can find them, it is a nice change once in a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 9 hours ago, Mike999 said: Last night I was fooling with a '61 Tempest. The builder glued side exhausts on it with wood glue. That peeled off pretty easily. But under that was a layer of tube glue that will have to be sanded off. He also glued a parachute on the trunk...right on top of its 2 ribs/character lines. So far that has cleaned up pretty good, after some careful work with sanding sticks. Mike, I have one of those in the pipeline too. Are you thinking about fixing the door pillars/window surrounds? It takes a little work but it really improves the look: Take a close look at the hood, too - it's wavy from the louver cutout lines underneath. I filled them with UV resin which made it stable enough to sand down the waves. Good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 33 minutes ago, ChrisBcritter said: Mike, I have one of those in the pipeline too. Are you thinking about fixing the door pillars/window surrounds? It takes a little work but it really improves the look: Wow! The things you don't realize unless someone points them out. I've had a couple of these for eons and never gave this a second thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 2 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said: Mike, I have one of those in the pipeline too. Are you thinking about fixing the door pillars/window surrounds? It takes a little work but it really improves the look: Thanks! You did a great job with that fix. Grabbed those photos. You made it (almost) idiot-proof. Which in my case, is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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