Refurbishing old builds

[RonW]

Over the past years I have taken a liking to rebuilding or refurbishing old kits. Not by slapping on fruil-tracks or a lot of PE, but by redoing old kits and restoring them to their old glory or just generally redoing them.

I find that almost more satisfying than building new ones!

It all started when I got some old semi finished kits from a good friend of mine, during for me economically challenging times, so that I could stay in the hobby.

It was the Revell Tiger I Ausf.E

Then came a Type 95 Ha-Go from FineMolds from another good buddy of mine: this is after I had disassembled the kit and stripped the paint.

[RonW]

Next up was a Mirror Models Morris C8 Quad Mk.III

And an AFV Club M5A1 Stuart

[RonW]

And another one is the ancient and less then accurate Tamiya Panther.

[HeavyArty]

Looking good. It’s always fun to rebuild an old kit. I do the same from time to time.

M49A2 Fueler Rebuild

[RonW]

Moral of the story; Do NOT throw away your old builds or your failed projects. Given them a new life or donate them to someone who will.

I think it is immensely satisfying to redo these and let’s be honest; it save a lot of cash too.

BTW I am currently redoing an old Italeri Ferdinand with experimental Tamiya zimmerit, meant for their version. It can be made to fit… sort of.

[SableLiger]

I can almost hear the theme song in my head. Henry Mancini, you little rascal.

[Wig41]

Hey RonW, what do you use to remove paint? I’ve got an F-4B painted in acrylics but would like to strip it down and redo it. I believe the clear coats I used back then were Testors rattle cans. Thanks

[RonW]

I used oven cleaner for starters, since I had no idea what was on there. One night in a sealed bag, completely covered.

What was left was what I suspect was enamel paint. Then very fine sandpaper to sand down rough edges. Cleaning the thing from oven cleaner was a pain though, since it stuck to every nook and cranny.

[barkingdigger]

If you’re in the States and have access to Simple Green in the big jug, it’ll strip the paint without affecting the plastic if you soak it overnight.

[SableLiger]

This is what I use. Make sure you get the full-strength stuff and not the watered down “Ready to Use” version; yes, there is a difference. We used the full-strength stuff in the military to clean our field gear, and if you know… To strip the floors before using that smelly USGI issued floor wax.

[Wig41]

I can get Simple Green. I use it 50-50 with 91% alcohol to clean my airbrush parts in the vibrating machine that’s a jewelry cleaner. So, soak the parts overnight and that should remove the majority of paint.