Question: Best way to glue shut and fill doors on a model that was manufactured with 'opening doors'

[Casson16]

Hi everyone. I love the Revell 56 Ford pickup kit; but cant stand the unrealistic 'opening doors' it comes with. Each time Ive attempted this kit ive been disappointed. Id like to try and build it, but glue shut the doors, and somehow fill the unrealistic gaps and make 'panel lines' that are just like most kits have for the doors and trunks. Has anyone ever attempted this? How did you do it, and what were the results like? Im worried if i fill them, the lines will disappear entirely, or i will end up with 'globs' and ridges inside the panel line.

My other option is seeing if i can simply find a 'cab' to use with this kit that is 3d printed with doors which are closed. so far, no luck with that though. Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on my problem above, or if you have built this pickup.

 

 

[rattle can man]

Glue styrene strip of appropriate thickness to the door or opening and sand to shape and fit. if you are careful, you can leave just enough of a gap to represent panel lines. Or you can just fill everything and then re-scribe the panel lines. And of course, reinforce joints by backing with more styrene.

[NOBLNG]

I thought the same when I got this kit and started to glue the doors shut. The door gaps are not too bad so with a few reinforcements on the inside, they should look OK. I gave up on it because I’m not a huge fan of these trucks.

[Casson16]

7 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

I thought the same when I got this kit and started to glue the doors shut. The door gaps are not too bad so with a few reinforcements on the inside, they should look OK. I gave up on it because I’m not a huge fan of these trucks.

Hey, thanks for sharing those pics. Is that as far as you got with it? Id love to see even more pics, even if not finished. I wonder if I could glue a thin strip of styrene to the front edge of the door and sand and fill it. and make the doors a much tighter fit. not sure if they sell strips that thin though. any thoughts? thanks again for sharing ! 

[Fat Brian]

I've done this two different ways. One is to use thin strips of plastic to make like a door jam around the opening in the body then glue the door to them. I overlap about 1/8" to give a good surface for gluing. Another way is to use very thin strips to go around the door piece. Glue them a little lower than the surface of the body panel, this will create you panel gap once the part is in. Now sand the added edges down slowly until the part fits the door opening snugly and glue it in.

[OldNYJim]

6 hours ago, Casson16 said:

Hey, thanks for sharing those pics. Is that as far as you got with it? Id love to see even more pics, even if not finished. I wonder if I could glue a thin strip of styrene to the front edge of the door and sand and fill it. and make the doors a much tighter fit. not sure if they sell strips that thin though. any thoughts? thanks again for sharing ! 

You don’t need STRIP necessarily - you can pick up Evergreen or Plastruct sheet that’s pretty thin and just cut strips from that.  Most actual pre-packaged strip would likely be too thick for this task, I’d bet 

[Casson16]

8 hours ago, CabDriver said:

You don’t need STRIP necessarily - you can pick up Evergreen or Plastruct sheet that’s pretty thin and just cut strips from that.  Most actual pre-packaged strip would likely be too thick for this task, I’d bet 

Cool, thanks, I'll see what i can find! There is no hobby shop near me, so ill try to order something.

[NOBLNG]

17 hours ago, Casson16 said:

Hey, thanks for sharing those pics. Is that as far as you got with it? Id love to see even more pics, even if not finished. I wonder if I could glue a thin strip of styrene to the front edge of the door and sand and fill it. and make the doors a much tighter fit. not sure if they sell strips that thin though. any thoughts? thanks again for sharing ! 

Yes that is as far as I got. I think the door fits pretty good and the gap looks OK as is. There is already a lip on the top half for the door to sit against and it  just needs to be extended down the latch side. The front edge might need a thin piece added inside the body for the door to be glued to. The only bad spot is the corner at the cowl which may need some backing or filler?