Choosing a glue bomb..

[Mike999]

Glue bombs and dirt bombs!  Found these 4 at a local flea market.  The glue was so old and brittle that some parts were already falling off when I bought them - check out the load of loose parts on the trailer.  The '60 Ford truck is a real rare one - nothing had ever been glued into the bed. The gas cans, tool box etc. were in the bed but loose and unglued.  The original builder used the custom taillights on the pickup truck.  But I was lucky - he put the stock taillights on the trailer.

 

[highway]

I don't usually do glue bombs because knowing me, I'd probably bust it trying to disassemble it, but when I do get any they are very much often someones half started project that might be somewhat assembled and/or painted. I also don't pay for them, it's usually as someone else said earlier in the thread, they find me! 

Now if you find something like this...........RUN!! RUN VERY FAST!!! GET AWAY!!! 

That horrible mess actually found me in a LHS from some kits they had gotten from an estate or something years ago. I seen the old Monogram "Exotic Car" series box for it and had been wanting a Countach so I grabbed it  off the shelf and opened the box to inspect it. Obviously the guy running the shop hadn't looked at it before putting it on the shelf because after I nearly threw up looking at it, I took it to the counter and showed it to him and thought he was going to faint!  He asked me if I wanted it and I told him I did until I seen this, but then he said just take it and get it out of here, it's free and you might be able to salvage something off of it or just throw it in the garbage! 

[ChrisBcritter]

2 minutes ago, highway said:

Now if you find something like this...........RUN!! RUN VERY FAST!!! GET AWAY!!! 

Yes - always run away after you light the firecracker.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Correct!

It's a recipe for destroyed roof pillars.

 

Steve

So far, I've only had two beat me. A an original AMT '69 Mustang, and an original AMT '65 Vette roadster. I managed to get the glass out of the latter, and even polish it up enough for possible re-use, but the hard top is glued on so tight that I couldn't remove it without destroying either the top or the body. I'm working around it, and proceeding with the top in place. Makes it a little harder, and restricts my paint choices a bit. But I'm driving on! 

[Ron Hamilton]

1 hour ago, Mike999 said:

Glue bombs and dirt bombs!  Found these 4 at a local flea market.  The glue was so old and brittle that some parts were already falling off when I bought them - check out the load of loose parts on the trailer.  The '60 Ford truck is a real rare one - nothing had ever been glued into the bed. The gas cans, tool box etc. were in the bed but loose and unglued.  The original builder used the custom taillights on the pickup truck.  But I was lucky - he put the stock taillights on the trailer.

 

Wow!!!! Great Haul!!!!

[StevenGuthmiller]

5 hours ago, Snake45 said:

So far, I've only had two beat me. A an original AMT '69 Mustang, and an original AMT '65 Vette roadster. I managed to get the glass out of the latter, and even polish it up enough for possible re-use, but the hard top is glued on so tight that I couldn't remove it without destroying either the top or the body. I'm working around it, and proceeding with the top in place. Makes it a little harder, and restricts my paint choices a bit. But I'm driving on! 

I've been pretty lucky too.

I only have one that stumped me.

An AMT '62 Mercury convertible that I managed to get the windshield almost completely jimmied free except for about a 1 inch long section of one of the A-pillars.

It's completely welded & I have found no way that I will ever be able to free it.

My only option at this point would be to build it with the glass in place & just mask it during the process.

 

Steve

[disabled modeler]

11 hours ago, Mike999 said:

Glue bombs and dirt bombs!  Found these 4 at a local flea market.  The glue was so old and brittle that some parts were already falling off when I bought them - check out the load of loose parts on the trailer.  The '60 Ford truck is a real rare one - nothing had ever been glued into the bed. The gas cans, tool box etc. were in the bed but loose and unglued.  The original builder used the custom taillights on the pickup truck.  But I was lucky - he put the stock taillights on the trailer.

 

Love that pickup Mike..!   Very cool finds..!

[Ron Hamilton]

Speaking of Glue bombs, I have bought and restored more than my fair share. Two of such are original AMT 63 Impala SS Hardtops I have. One I bought at the Three Rivers Show , which was painted, and quite raggedy. I bought it a couple of decades ago, and fortunately for me, I also had my first encounter with the Modelhaus at that show, where I bought a set of tail lamps, and a boot for it. Yes, I whacked the roof off, as well as using the chassis and powertrain from the just introduced 62 Bel AIr kit. I lowered the suspension, and put a set of Buick Riviera wire wheels on it. It even had a lovely spray can enamel paint job on it. I displayed it until the windshield frame became broken, and now it has been disassembled, and its whereabouts are unknown. I know the engine ended up in a Revell '63, which I also turned into a 409/425 convertible, and the wheels ended up on a 67 Cadillac.

The second 63 was unpainted, but had the glass welded in the roof where it left dimples. and it had the custom hood scoop and trunk scoop glue-welded on, and a set of custom bubble tail lamps welded in the tail panel. I have this one on my bench now to be fixed soon.  The upside of this one is that all the emblems are crisp, and it was never painted. and I have most of the parts to bring it back to life as a street machine, and I have the ability to fix the roof, hood and trunk with no additional problems. It has been cleaned up, but no bodywork has been done. It will be rebuilt, even though I have 3 Revell 63 Impala Hardtops, and another later tool AMT 63, all unbuilt. I just like this one better for some weird reason. The detail is very sharp, and the satisfaction of bringing it back to life is very good.

2 of my Revell 63's are slated to become Z11 cars in the race livery of Malcolm Durham and Dave Strickler, as I have the Appropriate aftermarket decals,  MCW  Bench Seat interiors, and the engines from one of the several 62 Bel Airs I have.

I really get a kick out of restoring glue-bombs. I will be spending most of the rest of my life doing them, but there are some I will not touch. Newly released subject matter, and heavily chopped up, lacquer checked beasts. That is a total waste of time, and too costly to fix.

Edited March 28, 2018 by Ron Hamilton

[Oldcarfan27]

On 3/26/2018 at 5:06 PM, highway said:

Now if you find something like this...........RUN!! RUN VERY FAST!!! GET AWAY!!! 

I especially like the rear engine hatch glued on upside down. Looks like a wacko engine scoop!

Actually, my favorite thing to do is acquire large boxes of junk cars, parts and cast offs when I go to kit shows or swap meets. Many times the seller is just happy to be rid of the junk so he can focus on his "collector kits". I go home and sit there for days just picking through and sorting out my prizes for future projects. Many times I find rare models that I would never be able to afford if they were intact and complete. I also find parts for other projects that I have been searching for for a long time but had been elusive.

This type of treasure hunting is how I came across a broken, but complete 67 Galaxie body with bumpers and glass, which I'm in process of restoring. I also accumulated 5 original Ala Karts this way. I got an original Surfite with the shack long before it was reissued. Found the major parts to an Ironsides van along with the wheelchair and the hi-top roof. Also found some hard to find Japanese kits and other cool cars that I've never even seen for sale in any condition before. This is the most fun part of the hobby for me.

I guess it's true what they say about "one man's trash...."

[PARTSMARTY]

On 3/27/2018 at 1:29 AM, StevenGuthmiller said:

I've been pretty lucky too.

I only have one that stumped me.

An AMT '62 Mercury convertible that I managed to get the windshield almost completely jimmied free except for about a 1 inch long section of one of the A-pillars.

It's completely welded & I have found no way that I will ever be able to free it.

My only option at this point would be to build it with the glass in place & just mask it during the process.

 

Steve

Just recently put a 57 chevy in the pond with the windshield in as a last resort.Came out and the glass looked new-like Steve said mask it off.

[highway]

14 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

I especially like the rear engine hatch glued on upside down. Looks like a wacko engine scoop!

 

The engine needed air somehow, since whoever had built (and I use that term VERY loosely ) that originally had glued the actual air scoops on backwards and I'm guessing the rear spoiler is now for lift instead of downforce! 

Those aren't the "best" of that though, all I'm going to say is look very closely at the second pic again of the interior! 

[Oldcarfan27]

23 minutes ago, highway said:

The engine needed air somehow, since whoever had built (and I use that term VERY loosely ) that originally had glued the actual air scoops on backwards and I'm guessing the rear spoiler is now for lift instead of downforce! 

Those aren't the "best" of that though, all I'm going to say is look very closely at the second pic again of the interior! 

Oh I see it! The 3 pedals glued to the door panel. That's hilarious! Must make for a real AWKWARD driving position. Or maybe you clutch with your knee.

And no passenger seat. Drivers Only, no chicks allowed! Girls probably don't want to ride in cars like these anyways, right?

As for the rear facing scoops, that's so the thrusters blast faster into hyper-drive.

Notice the rear spoiler is on backwards too. Did he even look at the instructions?

Funny! Thanks for sharing. And keep it as it is - it's too entertaining.

[highway]

1 minute ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

Oh I see it! The 3 pedals glued to the door panel. That's hilarious! Must make for a real AWKWARD driving position. Or maybe you clutch with your knee.

And no passenger seat. Drivers Only, no chicks allowed! Girls probably don't want to ride in cars like these anyways, right?

As for the rear facing scoops, that's so the thrusters blast faster into hyper-drive.

Notice the rear spoiler is on backwards too. Did he even look at the instructions?

Funny! Thanks for sharing. And keep it as it is - it's too entertaining.

Yep!! 

I'd actually never noticed until you mentioned it that there was no passenger seat, but I did mention the backwards spoiler. 

It will stay as is, because since those pics were taken probably 10 years ago, it has never seen the light of day again!  I see its box and say "Oh, that junker" and just toss it to another  corner of the model room closet!  Though until I opened the box I had been looking for that kit way back then, since I have gotten the reissue of it, plus 3 or 4 more Countach kits including the very nice Aoshima kit, so I'm not hurting for Countachs! 

[landman]

What do you enter in the eBay search for glue bombs? Glue bombs gave me no results. Built model kits were half a million dollars. 

[Twokidsnosleep]

Restoring glue bombs is a form of self punishment to appease the gods for all the evil you have inflicted on the world

I have a stupid notion about rescuing something that deserves to be repaired and it always turns out to be more work that a new kit would be.

Subject and price are drivers for me....cheap and what I like.

Current ones are Bugatti, Porsche 911, '65 Mustang, AC Cobra and a Mercedes. None have been completed yet

 

[Twokidsnosleep]

1 hour ago, landman said:

What do you enter in the eBay search for glue bombs? Glue bombs gave me no results. Built model kits were half a million dollars. 

try "model car junkyard"

Edited March 28, 2018 by Twokidsnosleep

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, landman said:

What do you enter in the eBay search for glue bombs? Glue bombs gave me no results. Built model kits were half a million dollars. 

You don't go looking for glue bombs per se. You go looking for some particular type of car you want, gasp at the price of mint unbuilt kits, and then settle on an affordable "glue bomb" of the desired subject, if you think you can bring it back to life. If you're lucky, you can find something you can work with for only 10x the price the kit sold for new back in the day. If you're not quite so lucky, you'll pay 15x or 20x or more for it. 

[Ron Hamilton]

As a kid, I built my share of glue-bombs. About 20 years ago, a friend from work who knew I was into model car building made me an offer to sell me most of his childhood collection. He is about 5 years older than me, and I found out that we had similar tastes in cars. I bought the collection, after looking it over. Most of the cars were unpainted, none were sanded on, puttied, or cut up, but most had some sort of custom parts glued on, but in a neat fashion, and at the time, missing parts could be sourced from The Modelhaus, so making the deal was not a bad thing. It was 20 models in all from the early to the mid 60's, and I have finished just about all of them, posting them on the various modeling forums including this one.

The last glue bomb I bought was a Force 440 Dodge Monaco 2 door Hardtop from MPC. I had a little time taking it apart, but it was actually not as bad as I thought. There were minor glue smears on the fenders, holes in the body where the bar light, and antennas were, and unfortunately the wheelbacks fused to the too deep reverse steel wheels, and a big hole cut into the hood. Fortunately for me, I bought an incomplete Monaco Sedan which has a hood.  At this point any needed bodywork will be minimal. and I have the missing parts to bring it back to life. I have to make a tail light, as it broke when I removed it from the body.

At this point I have several cleaned up ex-glue-bombs in boxes awaiting their turn to be painted and built. I really get a kick out of resurrecting them.

[slusher]

4 hours ago, Ron Hamilton said:

As a kid, I built my share of glue-bombs. About 20 years ago, a friend from work who knew I was into model car building made me an offer to sell me most of his childhood collection. He is about 5 years older than me, and I found out that we had similar tastes in cars. I bought the collection, after looking it over. Most of the cars were unpainted, none were sanded on, puttied, or cut up, but most had some sort of custom parts glued on, but in a neat fashion, and at the time, missing parts could be sourced from The Modelhaus, so making the deal was not a bad thing. It was 20 models in all from the early to the mid 60's, and I have finished just about all of them, posting them on the various modeling forums including this one.

The last glue bomb I bought was a Force 440 Dodge Monaco 2 door Hardtop from MPC. I had a little time taking it apart, but it was actually not as bad as I thought. There were minor glue smears on the fenders, holes in the body where the bar light, and antennas were, and unfortunately the wheelbacks fused to the too deep reverse steel wheels, and a big hole cut into the hood. Fortunately for me, I bought an incomplete Monaco Sedan which has a hood.  At this point any needed bodywork will be minimal. and I have the missing parts to bring it back to life. I have to make a tail light, as it broke when I removed it from the body.

At this point I have several cleaned up ex-glue-bombs in boxes awaiting their turn to be painted and built. I really get a kick out of resurrecting them.

Ron do you ever have a builder or glue bomb that is to glued together that you can't get apart?

Edited March 29, 2018 by slusher

[Ron Hamilton]

14 hours ago, slusher said:

Ron do you ever have a builder or glue bomb that is to glued together that you can't get apart?

No. I f I have to, I will cut it apart with either a knife saw or dremel. I have broken parts off of a car, only to reproduce them in sheet styrene.  Sometimes I will splice a piece from another model to make things work. I have ground away pieces., filled in sinks with putty or baking soda and super glue. Sometimes they have to be a custom. The only things I can't deal with are twisted, deformed, heavily glued and melted to the brink of not being recognizable, or burnt assemblies. Other than that, I 'll give anything a go.

Recently I received a 2004 GTO in a raffle at our club meeting. It was glue-bombed together, and missing the engine. I was able to get it mostly apart, except that El Gluebombo glued in the head and tail lights. Of course the clear styrene was frosted and brittle from the glue, and I had to break them from the car. I have to make new lenses, for the head lamps. To add insult to injury, I found an unbuilt one in my collection, so right now, it been put was waay on the back burner. I decided not to fool with it as I have so much to work on. I'll use it for a painting experiment, so it will not go to waste.

Edited March 29, 2018 by Ron Hamilton

[Oldcarfan27]

I've had a few that tested my abilities.

I got a 67 GTX that had so much glue all over it that there was no point in restoration, but the roof did come off to restore another Plymouth that had become a bad convertible. And of course the engine and wheels have been set aside for another project. The rest sits in my model car junkyard, waiting to donate more parts to other projects.

Then again - the body could be sanded down and converted to a low level Belvedere station wagon. Hmm, with some fresh sheet plastic, maybe it does have a future after all!

[oldcarfan]

Usually for me, it's more of a spur of the moment thing, maybe some kit that I had as a kid. I rarely find them in a store so when I do, I get excited. I also tend to shy away from one's where the trim is covered with glue or the chrome is missing unless I have specific plans for it.

[PowerPlant]

I often buy glue bombs, but this is usually only to strip them off useable parts such as wheels, engines etc... If they are totally interesting to me, unpainted, not quite caked in glue and mostly complete, I might consider finishing them, so to speak...

But to tackle fully restoring a glue bomb with heavy paint and glue, it really would have to be a rare kit, unlikely to ever be reissued, along the lines of a Jo-Han or something similar