Beowulf  | 16 Apr 2008 1:41 p.m. PST |
I am painting a bunch of figures for Dark Future/modern games. They are 20mm, and now I am doing vehicles.
I got some Hot Wheels, which work great, sizewise. However, I havent found a way to separate the chassis and the body of the car. Any ideas? Also, would you strip them, or just prime over the original paint. Any ideas are appreciated. |
| Blackcountrymon | 16 Apr 2008 1:48 p.m. PST |
I believe the Hot Wheels custom scene guys (yes, this exists!) use a Dremel to grind the folded edges of the rivets away, then the base will come away from the body. Stripping the paint from zamac-bodied cars is a pain – in the past I've tried with Nitromors (horribly corrosive industrial paint stripper – DO NOT get this on your skin) but you still end up trying to scrape paint out of the panel lines with a knife. Just rub the tampo printing off with some cellulouse thinners (don't get on the plastic "glass" as it will fog – then again you might like the look as it obscures the fact that the cars have no driver. YMMV) then T-cut the existing paint flat before priming. Back when I was writing Axles and Alloys I used to just spray the cars with matt varnish and weather on top of that, keeping the original paint. HTH Coop |
| La Long Carabine | 16 Apr 2008 1:53 p.m. PST |
Are they still held together with rivets? If so you could drill those out. link LLC aka Ron |
| Beowulf | 16 Apr 2008 1:54 p.m. PST |
"Back when I was writing Axles and Alloys I used to just spray the cars with matt varnish and weather on top of that, keeping the original paint." Thats what I have done with some (Police cars mostly, since I want to use them as that), but I am wondering about painting some myself. I'd like to paint the interiors, and place some drivers inside. I had not thought about using a Dremel. I'll try that. Thanks! |
| Ambush Alley Games | 16 Apr 2008 1:56 p.m. PST |
That's what I do with my 1/87th scale cars, Coop: Spray 'wm with matte varnish and then weather. The varnis fogs the windows, but like you say, that can be an advantage. I've also covered the windows with white glue, then varnished, then pealed the white glue off – this dull coats the vehicle but leaves the windows clear. You can see one example here: picture |
| mattblackgod | 16 Apr 2008 2:15 p.m. PST |
Dremel the studs out! Take care and dont be tempted to prise the bottom off – you will probally snap or bend it. "Back when I was writing Axles and Alloys I used to just spray the cars with matt varnish and weather on top of that, keeping the original paint."
Coop – you wrote these rules? Well done and thanks. Your pages got me back into the wargaming hobby and helped keep my sanity when I had a while of sick. Cheers! |
| mattblackgod | 16 Apr 2008 2:16 p.m. PST |
Thats "off" sick – not of! lol! |
| Blackcountrymon | 16 Apr 2008 2:27 p.m. PST |
>Coop – you wrote these rules? Well done and thanks. Your pages got me back into the wargaming hobby and helped keep my sanity when I had a while of sick. No problem, glad you liked them! That's going back a few years now, but recently I have been thinking about a 2nd edition as I got rather fed up with the original set. Coop |
| Ivan DBA | 16 Apr 2008 2:44 p.m. PST |
I guess just masking the windows and spray priming over the factory paint doesn't work? (Does paint applied over the factory paint rub off too easily?) I've got a bunch of these I'm going to use fo 15mm conversions some day, so I was wondering about this too. |
| Ambush Alley Games | 16 Apr 2008 3:07 p.m. PST |
That works, too. I just kind of like the way the factory paint and details look after being weathered up a little bit. |
| cloudcaptain | 16 Apr 2008 4:06 p.m. PST |
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 Saginaw  | 16 Apr 2008 4:08 p.m. PST |
Ambush Alley Games, the pic you provided, are those 15mm or 20mm figures? Also, I like your suggestion of masking the windows with white glue. Beowulf, everyone's right about using the Dremel. Most toy cars are bradded together, and drilling the center of the brad out will separate the body from the chassis. I have some 1/60 scale vehicles that I'm collecting for my 25-28mm figures. |
| Steve Hazuka | 16 Apr 2008 4:19 p.m. PST |
I used to play in the 70's and 80's with rules from Stan Johansen picture there's a few pictures of this vehicle. I made that in 1983. |
| Smokey Roan | 16 Apr 2008 5:22 p.m. PST |
Stan Johansen does awesome work! (Fellow Palm Beacher) :) |
| Amalric | 16 Apr 2008 7:57 p.m. PST |
I've just drilled out the rivits from the bottom. The metal body seperates from the plastic interior & plastic windows and metal chasis. Prime and paint. I've never bothered to strip the old paint. |
| Hacksaw | 16 Apr 2008 8:46 p.m. PST |
If you do decide to strip the old paint (and usually its overkill to do so), I know from experience that Super Clean will remove the paint. I have stripped Matchbox diecasts this way, in fresh Super Clean an overnight soak is all thats needed (maybe less). |
| IronMike | 17 Apr 2008 9:01 p.m. PST |
A good solvent for removing paint from diescasts is as easy to find as a trip down to the local Chemist: Fingernail polish remover! Just drill out the rivets from the car, seperate the metal from the plastic parts, drop the body into a jar, fill with the aforementioned remover, and let sit overnight! |
| Tangofan | 18 Apr 2008 3:36 a.m. PST |
My girlfriend and I have started a collection of die-cast cars from the Disney film Cars. As we've ended up with a few duplicates, I've turned to my meagre modelling skills to convert a few. Drill out the rivets. You may find that dremel bits may not be large enough. I use my ordinary drill on slow speed. I stripped my first one last night. I used Nitromors and an old tooth-brush. |
