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1/48 F-14D Twisted Sister---Revell kit of course!


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I just received this in the mail. It was an EviBay $7.00 bargain. The box was

shrink wrapped and inner bags sealed. The problem is the fuselage halves

are warped and twisted to beat the band. I have seen some warping and twists

with Revell-Monogram kits, been building them since early 60s, but this one is

the worst. Both halves are porpoised front to rear and twisted side to side. I

guess I'll start by running them under hot water. They look like they were stored

in a tin shed in Florida for a few years. Any suggestions are most welcome.---John

36050442111_210562e3e0_z.jpgOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by jvandeu53, on Flickr

36050453931_9017841345_z.jpgtwisted tomcat 2 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

36015986692_93d4ef1d8d_z.jpgOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by jvandeu53, on Flickr

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I ran the top fuselage under hot water near the area where the wings fold into the rear fuselage

and ran the bottom fuselage under hot water where the forward fuselage joins the body by the

intakes, gently twisting when the plastic was pliable. It was still a bit warped but I got it taped together

for a test fit. It's too bad I can't do like we did at the shop I worked at, we fabricated metal parts then

put them in a stress oven to relieve the residual stress. Dare I take the tape off????? Oh well it's only a model!---John

35794241810_aa379a646a_z.jpgtwisted tomcat 7 by jvandeu53, on Flickr

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What's really got me scratching my head is the antenna on the fuselage spine near the

RIOs cockpit. If you look at it in the 3rd picture down it is bent over to one side, not really

bent but has an arc to it. I straightened it as seen in the 4th picture and the bend area turned

really almost from gray to white, looked like the plastic was going to snap. A couple hours later

the antenna curled over back to it's arced form.Why? What

happened to this model, severe heat for a long period of time? It's got me baffled.---John

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That'd be my guess. It could've been a storage issue or a plastic problem. Poor mix on the chemicals and it turned rubbery. Years ago there was a LHS here in chicago that would take returns like this. Instead of contacting monogram/revell or whoever he'd would just re-shrink wrap and resell it to some other customer. The guy thought he'd pull a fast one and maybe someone would'nt return it. He went out of business pretty fast once word got out. Bad kits, missing parts miss decals. Sounds like this is one of his re-wraps to me

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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Yeah, I remember in the late 90s and early 2000s I built a couple Revell

NASCAR kits made in China. They had a funny texture and didn't take

well to glue or paint. There was a big "brew ha ha" at one of the car sites about

that strange rubbery Chinese plastic.....hmmmmmm.---John

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