Trying to get Yura1961's results with American parts.

[Monty]

If you've seen Yura1961's builds, you've probably been impressed by the difference his headlight treatment makes.  Long story short, he drills out the chromed, molded-in headlight and replaces it with a chromed backing piece and a clear lens.  If you're looking for a good way to enhance the realism of your old Johan, MPC or AMT kits, this will help immensely.  

Here's where I need help with sources. IIRC, Yura gets his backing pieces and lenses from somewhere in central or eastern Europe.  I'm wondering if there are resin or other sources here in the US that can provide me with these.  I'm aware of MV railroad lenses, but they don't seem to have the cross-hatching found on automotive headlights.  

So: Instead of buying more kits or raiding the ones I have, I need American sources for 1/25 chromed, curved receptors and cross-hatched headlight lenses.  Anyone?  Bueller? Bueller?

Links would be greatly appreciated!

Edited March 8, 2016 by Monty

[Deathgoblin]

I've never bought any chromed buckets for the lenses.  I've used those googly doll eyes, since they come in multiple sizes.  Just trim the back part off and lose the "pupil", glue in the rounded part and foil/chrome.  Spare lenses from other kits or model railroads are available, or they're not really hard to cast in clear acrylic/epoxy resin.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Believe me Monty, I've looked!

They don't seem to exist.

Could be a lucrative item for an enterprising resin caster. 

But in the mean time, you could always go the "home made" route.

If you have a Dremel tool & reamer bits, you can carefully hollow out the head light buckets, foil, paint or chrome them & then add home made lenses.

I've recently made lenses with "Laser Bond", (ie. Bondic) and it worked out very well.

This technique may not quite measure up to Yuri's, but it may be one of the few options we have here in the good 'ol USA.

 

Steve

 

[peteski]

M V Products makes headlight lenses with reflectors for model railroad hobby. They can be used in model cars too. But they have smooth lens and are fairly expensive.  They are simply made by placing some clear resin over an aluminum foil reflector.  I usually make my own.  One way is to make RTV mold of the kit's headligth (molded with the bumper) Then fill the mold with resun high enough so it forms a dome. That dome will be the reflector.  After resin hardens I remove it from the mold and stretch and burnish some BMF chrome foil over the domed part.