Right off the (16 years ago abandoned models) j**k yard.
My last build before a 15 years vacation, my wife rescued it from an old model box in our old house. I was so proud of this build, that I decided to bring it back to life.
It is severely damaged, with some parts missing, but full with memories, This is an 1/25 AMT model, I could not find it in my regular stores, so I planned on rebuilding using a widely available 1/25 Revell Viper... Well that thought me a few things, the most important: even at the same scale, everything measured different between the AMT and Revell parts, I was willing to put some time to cut here and there to make some parts fit, but when we talk about fenders, hood, fascias, etc, I just knew I needed the original model, because this was a rebuild. Lucky me, I found the donor model in the "Motor City Madness" show, I paid only 3 bucks for it, I was happy!
So, here goes the old model into disasembly, and a nice brake fluid bath for 3 days to remove all the old paint (at that time I used automotive paint).
With the new instruction sheet, I started the reassembly, using as a base all the old parts I had available, of course, I felt I needed to challenge myself on this rebuild, I am wiser now (older, according to my kids), and the market has evolved, with this in mind, I added photoetch parts for the engine and made use of laser printers for Engine stickers, etc.
The most challenging part has been to modify the Viper's suspension to accept photoetched brakes, the old AMT model had the brake calipers and the rotors molded as a unit that did not move when the wheels turned, I had to fix this, so using the old calipers, I cut them in half, and used styrene sheets and tubing to create a hollow caliper that now could fit the new photoetched brakes, some sanding of the rotors mounted in the hand hels grinder and the results so far are acceptable.
Today is August 20th 2013, I am hoping to have everything completed by early October, most of the parts are ready and now come the electric build, I will add some LED's for the instrument panel, headlights and stop lights.
I'll keep you posted.
Having resurrected old promos & 3-in-1 kits & made them into Indy pace cars for a client I know what you have put on your plate here.
There is a certain satisfaction gained by bringing an old model back to life. Better be because it is usually harder than starting with a fresh kit.
Keep at it Victor.
Looks like a big job, Victor, looking forward to seeing the finished model. Not many road cars have a V10, they sound great, maybe you can add a sound box too!
Victor,
I can't wait to see the finished models. What is shown so far is excellent.
Restoring old, beat up models (mostly aircraft) is a real hoot. Ship models, especially a sail powered vessel, is a real challenge. If the truth be known, it's often easier to build a new kit than face the challenge of restoration of an old favorite. I look forward to your models completion, good luck!
Guys, Thank you for you encouragement words, I really appreciate the support, what a great community we have!