What is the best solution to disassembling an old model built with the classic modelling glue and paint?
Freezing it can make the glue brittle and easier to pop parts off.
No problem!
If the glue just holds the plastic use Arty’s solution. If the glue melted and bonded the plastic, see above illustration.
A razor saw or even the back of an old knife blade can cut through a lot of old glue. Freezing can help, so can shocking it-I use a (very small) brass hammer. Dropping the model on the floor, by accident, also works, even if you don’t want it to. And then a small set of screwdrivers to pry pieces apart.
However, sometimes you simply cannot get all of the pieces apart, at least not without destroying it. I that case, just disassemble it as much as you can and then start from there.
Ken
If all else fails you could try this…
That was a 25 year old Tamiya SdKfz 222 - way too sturdy, needed much more oomph
That looks like you had way too much fun!
Ken
Somebody needs to apply at ILM.
Love it ! Feels like I am 12 again !
It’s the best attitude for living longer as long as one doesn’t blow oneself up in the process
I understand cats are pretty adept at causing destruction and mayhem. A dog person myself, mine only care about the modeling space when I’m running the space heater. But cats, I’ve heard tales of projects involving dozens if not hundreds of hours being reduced to a pile of parts in the blink of an eye and a swipe of a paw.
I had one of mine knock a Dragon Sd.Kfz 251 Stuka Zu Fuss off my display shelf and although the rocket frame had a couple of the rocket launchers pop off nothing actually broke except one of the aiming vanes and that glued back on with no scar to suggest anything happened. I was crazy lucky with that.
Brilliant!!!
Oven cleaner (e.g. MrMuscle) can be used to remove the paint. Put in the model in a zipbag, fill it with oven cleaner foam, wait 12 hours and most of the paint can be rinsed off. Also most glued parts tend to come off too usually. Break fluids can also do the trick (paint and dissasembly) but test your plastic first if it holds and be extra cautious with it.
I never really had any problems with my cats. a couple of times i found a part on the carpet but nothing drastic. I did have a girlfriends cat (Dixxie) lay on top of a car model i was building at her place and flatten the roof. I had a talk with her and it never happened again
Joe
May be a dumb question but Cheyenne56a , why would you want to disassemble/strip a model?
Best regards
John W.
Why not?
It is always fun to go back and see how much better you can build it now as opposed to when you originally did it.
Gino I noticed on pg2 in your FSM link that @Stikpusher asked about the grounding rods, presumably these are stowed in the pump/controls cabinet?
Cajun
No clue. Your guess is as good as mine.
I only build armor in 1/35.
Got a bug and decided to build the Kitty Hawk MH-6 in 35th. Fun, hard to put on my tank sized shelves with rotor on so it went on top where my cat promptly gave it a flying lesson.
“We build tanks Dad. NO Helicopters.”