Short Shot Fix

[Joe Handley]

Any recommendations  on how to fix this short shot or should I just email R2? It's the AMT Ecto-1a kit and the store I aquired it from (got a KITT and General Lee glue kits for my birthday and I returned the GL) and it's a bit of a haul to get their.

[Skip]

Remove short shot section in about 1/4” long section, leave as much of the left corner as possible.  (Cut should be just as long as it takes to remove the affected material.). Next square up the cuts.  Measure the two widths and thicknesses of the two individual steps, get the closest sized Evergreen Scale Models, “Strip Styrene”.  Cut the two styrene strips to length and compare their width, match the width as closely as you possibly can.  Now is the time to match the radius on the long edges to the edges of the door glass opening. 

Using liquid cement, glue in first strip making sure it is in place square with as tight of a fit as possible, should almost be a pressure fit before cementing in.  Lightly sand and do the body work prep  for the first strip using a fine sanding stick.   Do the same for the top strip to form the stepped section.  Lightly sand using fine sanding stick,  brush the dust out of the joints with an old toothbrush.  

Next run a small bit of thick gap filling CA (superglue) glue into the joints and press it in with a light piece of card stock, wiping away as much excess as you can.  Carefully sand the joints, the superglue is harder than the styrene use care not to sand the styrene lo wer than the glue joint.  Finally fill the joint areas only with any lacquer based glazing filler, it should barely take a smidgen of filler, use a single edged razor blade lengthwise to lengthwise on the body to work and smooth the glaze.

Allow glaze to set up in your dehydrator or ambient temperature until fully cured.  Sand and blend out any high spots with a fine sanding stick, prime, repeat any wet sanding as required with a super fine sanding stick, repeat spot priming as necessary to work out any evidence of the joint or ghosting.

  Prime and topcoat as per your normal procedures and you shouldn’t be able to see the repair after the first full body primer coat.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Skip
Corrected Autocorrect.

[Theo]

Another option to try is using Bondic or similar to gradually fill in the gap in several layers.  Sand back the excess  and blend into the sides.  I have been able to make this work several time. Upside is that it is much faster than a complete cut and fill repair and if it doesn't work you can still do a complete cut and fill.

[randx0]

Just email 

[Skip]

On 10/26/2021 at 12:56 PM, Theo said:

Another option to try is using Bondic or similar to gradually fill in the gap in several layers.  Sand back the excess  and blend into the sides.  I have been able to make this work several time. Upside is that it is much faster than a complete cut and fill repair and if it doesn't work you can still do a complete cut and fill.

Not totally familiar with the Bondic material, pretty sure it is stable enough to fill the gap but it’s not styrene.  I’m not saying “it ain’t gonna work!” 

I’ve used the above method for some time on old glue bombs and rare kits where significant areas require replacement.  The remove and replace styrene with styrene has always worked out well, probably because it’s the same stuff.  I’ve found that fitting the section that’s been removed with a new section that fits in as tightly as possible yields a stable patch.  The best patch material are panels from another glue bomb kit of same vintage, or even another body like the one being repaired.  On newer stuff I typically use either Plastruct or Evergreen sheet, it’s pretty close to the Chinese recycled styrene.  Plus it is soft enough that it can be formed to fit the contours of the section it’s replacing.  

I believe I first saw this repair method in Fine Scale Modeler, probably 30+ years ago for ship and aircraft models, I’ve seen and heard of other variations, I just adapted it to fit my needs.  (CA glue and baking soda is another gap filling method which I’ve also used in repairing old collectible models, (Sci-Fi stuff, Aurora diorama & horror stuff long before any of them were re-released. - Courtesy of The Amazing Figure Modeler magazine.)

[ I have several examples of original Revell - Ed Roth monsters, Hawk - Wired Ohs, Revell, SMP, AMT annuals, Johan kits and Promos…. In my collection and collections of others some over 25 years old with this type of repair which are as stable as the day they were repaired. ]

if the Bondic works I’m all ears, I'm always looking for easier ways to fix stuff, as long as it’s stable and can stand the test of time, (I.e. no separation or hairline cracking etc.).

[iBorg]

I'd contact Round2. For what they're charging, this should have been caught by quality control.