Quote:
Originally Posted by ET2SN
Well, this project is almost wrapped.  |
I need to have that engraved on my tomb stone.
While this die-cast isn't fighting me, its making life an adventure.
The door hinge is fixed and working nicely.
I got a dandy pair of "Vampliers" to remove the loc-tite'd screw then scratch built a plastic shim/washer to add some tension. A quick test fit showed it was working the way I wanted so I finished the re-install with some more Loc-tite and bound the screw back down after doing some detail painting on the door panels and adding some Bare Metal Foil to the inner door handles.
After another tear-down, I got the "it just needs to be there" radiator installed with some "micro" sized self tapping screws. It worked almost like I knew what I was doing.
No worries about the radiator ever breaking loose or flopping over.
The only thing that still "has" to get installed is the gauge cluster that attaches to the A pillar next to the windshield. The gauge faces (white background with red pointers), bezels, and "glass" faces are done. What's holding me up is the best way to glue the cluster back in place. The cluster sits next to the windshield so I don't want to wind up with smeared glue or fogging when the project is 99.999% done. Its also a die-cast car which means the plastic parts are funky which makes them more durable and they need to get bonded to metal. In other words, model glues ain't going to cut it.
I'm not going to use super glue unless its my last option, so I have a couple of options I want to test before I commit to anything. My main contender is Loctite "Stick'N Seal" glue. This stuff is thicker than Testor's tube glue or PVC cement and takes a while to fully cure.
All that's really left are seat belts and carpet. For the belts and buckles I already have a plan of attack.
Each belt will use three of the photo-etched buckles in my stash. One buckle just has to get glued into the belt, its the actual buckle you would use to put on the shoulder belt. The other buckles will get a small hole drilled in them so they can be screwed to the the plastic interior. What I still have to figure out is how to get the belts glued together so they look like they are hanging naturally.
With the carpet, I already know how to do it which is why it will probably happen.
This car has a "black out" type of interior so the only person who will know I put in the effort will be me. I'll also need to break the glue joints to remove the seats in order to do it right. Decisions, decisions..
What's fun about these die cast projects is that I had everything taken apart to finish the work on radiator and get it installed. That was earlier today and everything is now screwed back together.