Revell poor quality chrome

[NOBLNG]

I put some Tamiya tape on this radiator shell to protect the chrome while handling it. As I carefully removed the tape a large chunk of the chrome came with it. I assume there is little to no chance of getting a replacement from Revell?....so I guess I have a good excuse to try the alclad I bought years ago and never used. Anyone know of a better option?

Thanks, Greg.

Edited December 14, 2020 by NOBLNG

[Plowboy]

You could try hitting it with a Molotow pen. Or, you could paint it body color.

[NOBLNG]

I just thought of painting it too. I guess I’ve got nothing to lose by trying the Molotow first.  Is this a normal state of affairs now with newer kits, or is this a defect? It flaked off of the bottom of the front axle also.?

[OldNYJim]

I've had 2 of those do the exact same thing.  Seems like these kit's chrome parts don't have the yellow-y lacquer basecoat under the chrome that we often see...not sure if that's relevant or related...

[peteski]

Is that standard tan-color tape, or Tamiya tape?  Standard tape has a fairly aggressive adhesive - I wouldn't use it on "chromed" parts.

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, peteski said:

Is that standard tan-color tape, or Tamiya tape?  Standard tape has a fairly aggressive adhesive - I wouldn't use it on "chromed" parts.

It is Tamiya...the chrome is not adhered well to the styrene. Like Jim said, there doesn’t seem to be a layer between the chrome and the plastic.?

[peteski]

Duh!  That was the first thing you mentioned in the initial post.  I need to retake the reading comprehension test! 

Maybe they did miss applying the clear base coat?

[OldNYJim]

You might also notice a broken alternator bracket, when you get that far.

Every one of my kits had had that part broken (and sometimes with chrome over the split, so it was bust before they even chromed it.)

[espo]

My suggestion would be to consider using Bare - Metal Foil. I would completely remove the kits chrome from the part to eliminate the chance of any additional chrome coming off and this would also give you a chance to clean up or change anything about the part you might want to do. You could also give the radiator grid a more realistic appearance without the kits chrome plating filling any details on the part.  

[maxwell48098]

I remember the chrome flaking off of the big rig kits I bought that were  produced for Revell Germany back in the '90's and early '00's.  You use a file or sanding stick to clean up the edge of a chromed piece before gluing, and you'd take 1/8" to 1/4" of the chrome on the face surface with it.  You could scrape the chrome off with your finger nail, if you tried.  Those parts didn't have the clear base coat either so there wasn't anything for the electroplating to adhere to.  That's one reason I quit buying Revell Germany truck kits.

 

A.J.

[NOBLNG]

4 hours ago, CabDriver said:

You might also notice a broken alternator bracket, when you get that far.

Every one of my kits had had that part broken (and sometimes with chrome over the split, so it was bust before they even chromed it.)

Mine was not broken thankfully.

4 hours ago, espo said:

My suggestion would be to consider using Bare - Metal Foil. I would completely remove the kits chrome from the part to eliminate the chance of any additional chrome coming off and this would also give you a chance to clean up or change anything about the part you might want to do. You could also give the radiator grid a more realistic appearance without the kits chrome plating filling any details on the part.  

I don’t think BMF would wrap around the curves without wrinkles. The Molotow  I used is visible, but not too bad. I think I will leave it alone. The only other option I see is paint.

[Deuces ll]

On 12/14/2020 at 4:28 PM, NOBLNG said:

I put some Tamiya tape on this radiator shell to protect the chrome while handling it. As I carefully removed the tape a large chunk of the chrome came with it. I assume there is little to no chance of getting a replacement from Revell?....so I guess I have a good excuse to try the alclad I bought years ago and never used. Anyone know of a better option?

Thanks, Greg.

Ouch!... ?

[Luc Janssens]

On 12/14/2020 at 10:28 PM, NOBLNG said:

I put some Tamiya tape on this radiator shell to protect the chrome while handling it. As I carefully removed the tape a large chunk of the chrome came with it. I assume there is little to no chance of getting a replacement from Revell?....so I guess I have a good excuse to try the alclad I bought years ago and never used. Anyone know of a better option?

Thanks, Greg.

Personally I would try to get a replacement part, as they do send to North America, and show them the problem too

The following form let you send a picture to their customer service department.

Revell warranty request – Revell GmbH (revell-service.de)

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Luc Janssens

[NOBLNG]

3 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

Personally I would try to get a replacement part, as they do send to North America, and show them the problem too

The following form let you send a picture to their customer service department.

Revell warranty request – Revell GmbH (revell-service.de)

 

Thanks for the link Luc!? I e-mailed them a picture. We’ll see what they say. It’s in the purple pond now....so time to get back on my other projects.

[Venom]

This is interesting... all I read was the title of the topic and it got me thinking of the four AMT kits I just bought. First time ever buying AMT’s and all of them are poor quality. Some of the chrome parts on three of them are bumpy and bubbled and some other parts have minor inconsistencies and deformations. I’ll never buy an AMT again, that’s for sure. Makes me wonder if that’s why the pictures on the box are all artist renderings rather than photos... because of all the flaws.

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Greg!

Lately, I've been chroming many fairly big parts with the Molotow ink... but NOT with the pen. I bought a Molotow REFILL at an art supply store (about 25$), and I just put a drop or two in a shallow paint palette, and use a fine brush to apply a liberal heavy coat over my parts. The trick is to NOT try any recoat before it is dry, otherwise, the finish will not be as smooth. It works incredibly well, is not too sensible to handling (reasonnably, of course), and remains very lustrous and shiny. 

You could "fill" your chip very wet in one application, and let it dry flat for a day. My guess is nobody would be able to tell...

CT

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, Venom said:

This is interesting... all I read was the title of the topic and it got me thinking of the four AMT kits I just bought. First time ever buying AMT’s and all of them are poor quality. Some of the chrome parts on three of them are bumpy and bubbled and some other parts have minor inconsistencies and deformations. I’ll never buy an AMT again, that’s for sure. Makes me wonder if that’s why the pictures on the box are all artist renderings rather than photos... because of all the flaws.

The chrome on this kit LOOKS beautiful. Very little flash and No details hidden...likely because of no intermediate adhesion layer.

15 minutes ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Greg!

Lately, I've been chroming many fairly big parts with the Molotow ink... but NOT with the pen. I bought a Molotow REFILL at an art supply store (about 25$), and I just put a drop or two in a shallow paint palette, and use a fine brush to apply a liberal heavy coat over my parts. The trick is to NOT try any recoat before it is dry, otherwise, the finish will not be as smooth. It works incredibly well, is not too sensible to handling (reasonnably, of course), and remains very lustrous and shiny. 

You could "fill" your chip very wet in one application, and let it dry flat for a day. My guess is nobody would be able to tell...

CT

It didn’t look too bad (even though I overlapped the undamaged area too much) and I was going to use it, but then I rubbed through it on the fins while giving it a second blackwash. Oh well, it’s in the pond. I think I will paint it and if Revell is sending me a replacement, I’ll wait and see which I like better.

Edited December 16, 2020 by NOBLNG