Rbray47 Posted April 18, 2020 Posted April 18, 2020 I was really excited to get my hands on this kit, as I owned a 76 for years. I actually liked it, despite its tendency to rust as a hobby. But, after receiving it, and messing with it for a bit, I'm a little disappointed. Whatever plastic it is molded in, is horrible. It tends to rip and tear even with a fresh, sharp blade. Using nippers to remove parts from the trees makes an even worse mess. Also, Tamiya cement and even superglue doesn't stick too well. The first pic shows where I had to reinforce the cab wall. It would just pop loose. Sanding the joints with a coarse grit helps, but not all joints are conducive to doing so. As supplied, the kit comes with 8 lug rims. They're nice, but not accurate. The second pic shows what I chose to use. They're the extra 6 lug wheels from the MPC Deserter kit. I originally intended to rebuild the wheel openings to depict the truck a little closer to stock, along with moving the taillights from under the tailgate to either side, to depict a slightly newer model year. However, that plan went out the window as I'm afraid I'll destroy the body trying to work with this horrible plastic. Third pic shows a preliminary mockup.
espo Posted April 18, 2020 Posted April 18, 2020 The plastic issue you describe sounds like a no go for me. I really was thinking I would like to build one of these. I'll wait and see how your turns out.
Plowboy Posted April 18, 2020 Posted April 18, 2020 Someone else mentioned the same problems with the styrene in the review thread. It's obviously an issue. It's strange that Tamiya Extra Thin won't bond it. It'll bond any styrene. Does the styrene seem to be hard and brittle or soft? I want this kit. But, I don't if it can't even be glued together.
Rbray47 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Posted April 18, 2020 Plowboy, the styrene seems on the soft side. It cuts (too) easily.
slusher Posted April 19, 2020 Posted April 19, 2020 14 hours ago, Rbray47 said: Plowboy, the styrene seems on the soft side. It cuts (too) easily. Just curious try using Testors orange tube glue. Sounds like there could be something on the plastic. Could it be a mold release....
Rbray47 Posted April 19, 2020 Author Posted April 19, 2020 8 hours ago, slusher said: Just curious try using Testors orange tube glue. Sounds like there could be something on the plastic. Could it be a mold release.... I dont have any right now. I'd thought of the mold release angle, but washing the parts didnt seem to effect anything. The best way I've found so far is roughing up the gluing contact points.
Rbray47 Posted April 19, 2020 Author Posted April 19, 2020 My example had an upward bow in the middle of the chassis. This made the fit between the cab and bed off quite a bit. Given the issues thus far, I decided to skip trying to straighten it and leveled it instead. Also, the front spoiler/lower pan thingy popped off twice. It only has two small contact points at the bottom edge of the fenders. I added some bracing to give myself more areas to glue as well as keep the part from flexing.
Jon Cole Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 Thanks for the warnings. Revell needs to address this issue.
Rbray47 Posted April 23, 2020 Author Posted April 23, 2020 Some more work done. Painted the body Rustoleum Gloss Seaside (which takes forever and a day to dry) I haven't tried the Rustoleum paint+primer line on models until now. I sprayed it right over the bare plastic. It covered great and dried (mostly dried) smooth. I originally wanted to go with dark blue like the truck I owned, but I also needed a bright color (for my ar500 steel) Turns out, I like it. The kit comes with a 265 V8/4 spd. I switched it out with a 1996 4.3 V6/auto. It lined up perfect, didn't even have to change the driveshaft length. Still a lot left to do, but it's starting to look like a truck. Oh, the radiator traps the hood hinge in place. Installing a radiator hose is going to be a challenge.
Modelbuilder Mark Posted April 23, 2020 Posted April 23, 2020 Good looking results from a cool little truck+
Jantrix Posted April 23, 2020 Posted April 23, 2020 On 4/18/2020 at 10:46 AM, espo said: The plastic issue you describe sounds like a no go for me. I really was thinking I would like to build one of these. Same here. I intend some chassis/drivetrain modifications. If its going to be a nightmare to glue or cut. I think I'll pass for now.
Plowboy Posted April 25, 2020 Posted April 25, 2020 Looks like you're working through the issues of this kit. That 4.3 is a perfect touch!
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