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Vac form advice please

1K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  gasowder 
#1 ·
Inspired by the recent Blobby appreciation thread I've decided to bite the bullet and have a crack at a vacform blob! I ordered a True Scale Iso Grifo A3/C (Russkit repop) last year but need some advice on how to cut it and paint it.

I have some curved nail scissors that I have considered using, would I be best to cut the body out as close as possible and then finish with a file or just go for it?

With regard to painting it, I guess I should paint the details first (windscreen trim, shading in the vents etc), are acrylic paints ok for this?. I plan to use Tamiya spray paint that they use on their RC bodies for the main body colour.

Any other advice is welcome please


Thanks,

Pete
 
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#3 ·
Hi Pete, by far my favourite is an exacto with a curved blade (and flexible thin gauge at that)

i find that once you get used to it, this gives you by far the best control as when you cut, pulling towards yourself, and twisting your hand slightly you can get very very clean and precise control and beautiful curve cuts at wheel wells, windows etc etc - let the blade do the work and it is far easier to get nice results than you might think

takes some practise but i haven't found anything better - i usually cut off the main bulk with regular scissors (straight ones ) great for cutting along rocker panels / door sills - sometimes a piece of masking tape as a guide too

anyhow good luck - i think you will enjoy working on clear bodies


cheers, Ron
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Pete,
I do the same as 300SLR but finish off with abrasive paper wrapped round a cylindrical former.
Usually one of the plastic container drums used for storing sponge tyres!
Rons cutting method is another accepted way but I'm not to be trusted with knives & usually end up slipping & slicing into the bodywork

Either my own or the car's that is, will leave the painting side to someone more qualified to answer

Eddie
 
#5 ·
Brush-painted acrylic model paints are fine for the details Pete (acrylic is essentially a coloured glue after all) but metallics can be tricky as they keep the brush marks and this effect gets worse the more coats you add. For things like chrome trim I use a silver paint marker. For panel-gapping I use a fine CD marker for speed but you can get a much better effect by scoring the panel lines and then applying black ink or thinned black acrylic paint and letting capillary action pull the paint from the bristles and into the grooves.

Coop
 
#6 ·
Be careful with Tamiya RC paint. I got an old cheetah clear body completely collapsed after a coat of their RC metallic green. Tamiya acrylics work fine to me, painting on the inside. You can achieve nice metallic colours by airbrushing -always on the inside- a clear coloured coat first (they have clear red, green, blue, orange...) and then, after drying, a second coat of flat aluminium. Just try to be even with the first coat if you want a uniform shade.

Good luck,

Eduardo
 
#7 ·
QUOTE Be careful with Tamiya RC paint. I got an old cheetah clear body completely collapsed after a coat of their RC metallic green.

Sounds like it was butyrate, especially if of 1960s vintage. The Tamiya paint will be fine on modern vacs which are lexan, PVC or PETG.

Coop
 
#8 ·
I also use a Dremel with drum sander to neatly shape the wheel arches, if I finish off with sandpaper I wrap it round a wine bottle cork as they have a slight taper and you can find the point along the taper that has the correct diameter for the arch.

When I cut out a 1960s F1 windscreen for a hard body shell I open out the inside shape of the screen with a Dremel, that way the vac form is still rigid and easy to hold, once that is all neat I then cut out the bottom edge of the screen.

David
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the advice guys, really helpful. I've gone down the Dremel sanding drum route and finished it off with some wet and dry. I've done all of the car but the 2 arches on one side. I think the tricky bit is going to be matching the shape of the arches on both sides, any hints? I tend to loose the guideline when I get going but I have been using an original Russkit as a template. The arches on my original seem to be a little bit bigger than the guidelines so that is what I am going for, watch this space....

Thanks,

Pete
 
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