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Delage D8.Ss 1/24 Heller

Started by Stan Forier · 36 ≡ · ↻ 1 year ago · Delage Heller classic cars

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Stan Forier said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Hey all,
On a garage sale last sunday I found this kit: a Delage D8.Ss 1/24 kit from Heller, 44 years old (or about that old, tool is from 1979).
It is complete, all parts seem to be accounted for and the kits condition is good. As an airplane modeler, this will be my first car 😀 something completely different.
One of the sprues is chrome. Now I'm wondering if I should strip it and repaint and polish those parts? Not all of the parts will remain chrome when built.
Any advice on that?
For those of you that build old kits, how do you salvage old decals? I'm kinda expecting them to desintegrate...

Thx for the help.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
George Williams said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Hi Stan @stakke, that’s a good looking car, looking forward to seeing your progress. I think these old Heller kits can be built into impressive models. You might find that the plastic is quite brittle so care is needed.

As for the chrome I’d be inclined to keep it as it is, but some people strip it off with oven cleaner and repaint it. Maybe try that on a piece of sprue first? Hope this helps.
Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Excellent entry, my friend @stakke! I would also keep the chrome and retouch where necessary (like at the sprue attachment points).

Regarding the decals, you may coat them with a specialized liquid (like Microscale liquid decal), which will help decals not to disintegrate (but you will have to cut each decal individually, as the applied liquid will create a solid film). Keep in mind that if the decals are too aged, even the liquid film will not help.
Stan Forier said 1 year, 5 months ago:

thx Spiros, I'll keep it in mind. Not starting the build just yet.
I'm not too happy with how the chrome looks atm but I wonder if I can do better with stripping repainting and polishing... 🙂
Stan Forier said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Thx George, I think I'm gonna use plain bleach to strip them (if I strip). 3 minutes should do the job.
Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 5 months ago:

It surely will be way more work stripping and repainting/polishing, my friend @stakke. In theory, the result will be better...
John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 5 months ago:

This is an excellent kit, Stan @stakke
Add me as well to the previous advise on keeping the chrome, it will look great in the end.
Stan Forier said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Started the build yesterday. Parts and plastic still seems ok. The plastic is pretty soft which is actually quite pleasant to work with. Think I still have to strip some chrome parts.
Pretty chuffed with the kit, considering it's over 40 years old, the fit upto now is really great!
Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Nice that fit is good, my friend @stakke! Looking forward to your progress!
John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Sounds all promising, Stan @stakke
Stan Forier said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Ok, so the chrome thing I can manage 🙂. I tested stripping some parts and that did go well. Not gonna strip all of them. Now this: the main car body parts are warped like they passed through a worm hole in space. I taped the front together in the pics to show you how bad it is. The seams should go together in a straight line. How do I tackle this problem?
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
George Williams said 1 year, 5 months ago:

Hi Stan @stakke. You could try putting them in warm water and see if you can straighten them. Hope this helps. Good luck.
John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 5 months ago:

That is serious warping, Stan @stakke
Both look equally warped in opposite direction, what if you gently bend them towards eachother , hold them with tape and put them for a while in the sun (or another way to slightly warm them).
Stan Forier said 1 year, 4 months ago:

And then this happens...

Did some dewarping by dipping the pieces in near boiling water and bending them in shape. Because the initial form is unknown it wasn't shaped 100%. I did some assembly with dry fitting now and then. Glueing otter parts in place did clear out the exact needed slapen. There was a slight misalignment at the front of the body because of the warping. Soooo, I thought I can heat that part by holding it over small canule buuutttt, all of a sudder it starten to met. Result: see first picture... biiig lessen, online use hot water in the future.

I will get it fixed, needs some extra work shaping it back as far as I can followed by filling and sanding.

I'll keep you guys posted on the progress
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 4 months ago:

These parts do melt easier than we think, my friend @stakke. Surely you'll fix it nicely
Great progress!

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Delage D8.Ss 1/24 Heller