THE RHINO IS DEAD, SMASHED TO PIECES.

[Yeoman1942]

Oh no that sound awful.

On the other hand you are getting your money's worth out of that kit :-)

[Badder]

Oh no that sound awful.

On the other hand you are getting your money's worth out of that kit :-)

That's true.

Ever tire of seeing all these perfect builds and paint jobs on BM? Personally, I'd like to WIPs where things go wrong! We learn from our mistakes. If anyone learns from mine then I have done them a service!

Rearguards,

Badder

Edited May 21, 2016 by Badder

[Badder]

So here's the damage done after cleaning off the bicarb 'snow'. If the bicarb hadn't been so thick in this area, then the damage wouldn't have been so great.

And now for the commencement of the repair.

Here you can see the areas that I completely cleaned back to the plastic. Also you'll see how I deliberately cleaned back the side panels, exposing more of the original 'whitewash'.

TFL

Badder

Edited May 21, 2016 by Badder

[FrancisGL]

As you say, I have learned something, do not touch the baking if not by an indigestion ... lol. On the other hand, although it will be hard, I think you can still save the kit.

It has occurred to me to solve the problem of space for photos, maybe, if you create a user and a new email, you can have the accounts you want on Photobucket, if not control via IP.

Cheers Badder

Edited May 21, 2016 by FrancisGL

[Badder]

As you say, I have learned something, do not touch the baking if not by an indigestion ... lol. On the other hand, although it will be hard, I think you can still save the kit.

It has occurred to me to solve the problem of space for photos, maybe, if you create a user and a new email, you can have the accounts you want on Photobucket, if not control via IP.

Cheers Badder

Thanks Francis.

I will look into new user etc. Not something I've thought of. I am a Luddite. And yes, I think I can 'Save the Rhino!'

Rearguards,

Badder

[Vince1159]

And yes, I think I can 'Save the Rhino!'

We've all got our fingers crossed...

[Ozzy]

Looking good Badder, I've never thought of using bicarbonate soda. I've used chalk before that was quite effective, as I read in a book that the Germans used chalk as a white wash substitute.

[Badder]

Looking good Badder, I've never thought of using bicarbonate soda. I've used chalk before that was quite effective, as I read in a book that the Germans used chalk as a white wash substitute.

Thanks Ozzy

I used talc in my teens, and even put some on a model 8 ton half-track... and it was ok, but I thought I'd give the bicarb a go after reading about it on here and watching vids. I don't think my first attempt was a complete failure.. it did work... I just applied too much in places.

The bicarb itself is not a problem though, it's the hairspray. It might dry okay, but if wetted it reactivates and strips paint and varnish when brushed off.

In retrospect, I should have applied the snow as the very final act.

Still, repairs are continuing and I'm fairly confident it'll all be okay in he end.

[/url]

Gun dry-fitted loosely, hence the gap.

You'll see that I've sprayed the damaged areas on the glacis with red brown, and on the side panels with dark green. As before, these areas will be whitewashed and weathered.

The gun has been fixed permanently in position now. During final assembly, I came across the first bad fits in this model... that being the fixing of the mantlet to the gun via the mounts and then the seating of the mantlet against the hull form.

I would advise lots of test fitting before glue gets anywhere near the mantlet, the mantlet mounts and the gun AND refer to the instruction sheet photos because the mantlet DOES NOT bed against the hull plate but is raised up slightly. In other words, the mantlet protrudes above the height of the adjacent armour plates.

If the modeller was to fit the mantlet to the gun as per instructions and THEN fix the mantlet mounts, the mounts would not in fact meet the mantlet.

I hope this helps.

TFL

Badder

Rearguards,

Badder

Edited May 21, 2016 by Badder

[FrancisGL]

Little by little will look good, cheers Badder

[Badder]

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

Can't say too much but the poor old rhino is not in good shape. A lot of maskol and sprays with the cammo colours and then an overspray with what was supposed to be flat white (but which for some reason cured greyish) turned into a right bleeding mess.

I considered doing the kind thing and shooting the Nashorn in the noggin.... but I am nothing if not stubborn.

The Nashorn has thus received a liberal all-over spray with hairspray (which seems to have the same paint stripping power of a blowtorch) and is now sitting in a bowl in the kitchen sink, soaking in hot water.

IF I can strip it all back to the bare plastic, I will start the paint job all over again. So far, some 50-60 percent has just 'fallen off'. Hopefully the rest will too, although I suspect some of the smaller parts may need a going over with a stiff brush to remove the stubborn bits. And even if it all does strip back, some of those parts are going to be a devil to repaint.

Anyway, fingers crossed.

TFL

Badder.

[FrancisGL]

Hi Badder, I have seen this on a page and I think that might be what you need, I have not used it, but maybe you find it useful

http://www.hobbiesguinea.es/en/deluxe-materials/12017-deluxe-materials-deluxe-strip-magic-112-ml.HTML

Cheers mate

[Badder]

Hi Badder, I have seen this on a page and I think that might be what you need, I have not used it, but maybe you find it useful

http://www.hobbiesguinea.es/en/deluxe-materials/12017-deluxe-materials-deluxe-strip-magic-112-ml.HTML

Cheers mate

Thanks for the link Francis.

That stuff certainly looks useful, but I don't think it was designed to remove paint from an entire model. I now have 90 percent of the paint removed from mine, and most of it's left in all the fiddly nooks and crannies, especially on the gun. The hairspray seems to work well though and does no damage at all to the bare plastic, whereas the product above, does.

Rearguards,

Badder... choking on hairspray.

[Badder]

Progress report:

Stripping the entire Nashorn back to the plastic was never going to be an easy job, what with the multiple layers of enamels, acrylics and varnishes, but it was worth a go. The hairspray has worked well as a paint remover when combined with liberal brushing and rinsing with fairy liquid and hot water. The removal of more stubborn paint was aided by a direct spray of hairspray immediately followed by picking and rubbing with the point of a toothpick,

My main concern was with stripping and repainting of the gun, which I had decided to glue rigid and fix into place permanently prior to the disaster. Luckily, however, I had used CA, and, hot water, hairspray and careful prising has allowed me to detach the entire gun assembly without damage. This will make any further stripping of the gun and subsequent repainting much easier.

So far, the only damage to have occurred during this stripping process was the bending of a tie-down, which has snapped on one side. It may yet be saved, but it is one of those that will be hidden by the rear doors when they are in the fully open position.

Of course, I have lost the decals, but I may be able to procure some replacements. Failing that, I may try airbrushing the markings.

Pics of progress later.

TFL

Badder

[Badder]

So here's the Nashorn almost entirely bared back to the plastic:

The gun barrel will be stripped. The interior will be tidied up, stripped where necessary, left alone where not.

Work will continue later today.

TFL

Badder

Edited May 23, 2016 by Badder

[Yeoman1942]

Holy smokes Badder, when you said strip the paint you really meant it.

If you can't get the decals you may be able to make some masks by printing them onto masking tape and then cutting them with a scalpel. I tried it this weekend and it seems to work well.

Stick some frog tape onto a sheet of paper and then print as normal. It's so thin that most printers seem to take it without a problem. Give the ink some time to dry as you can smudge it. Then cut out with a new blade. With careful cutting you can get positive and negative stensils out.

Hope this helps and good look with the repaint

[FrancisGL]

Often thankless job, I also had to do that with some models and is frustrating, because the worst is that small pieces break helplessly.
In my case I could arregarlo, I bet you will too, cheers Badder

[Badder]

Holy smokes Badder, when you said strip the paint you really meant it.

If you can't get the decals you may be able to make some masks by printing them onto masking tape and then cutting them with a scalpel. I tried it this weekend and it seems to work well.

Stick some frog tape onto a sheet of paper and then print as normal. It's so thin that most printers seem to take it without a problem. Give the ink some time to dry as you can smudge it. Then cut out with a new blade. With careful cutting you can get positive and negative stensils out.

Hope this helps and good look with the repaint

Often thankless job, I also had to do that with some models and is frustrating, because the worst is that small pieces break helplessly.

In my case I could arregarlo, I bet you will too, cheers Badder

Thanks for the tip Vince. I was going to make masks for the crosses using my trusty drawing board and set squares... not too hard a job, but downloading images and printing them out is a much better idea. As for the 'Pommern' decals, I shall have to rename the Nashorn and find some simpler image to use as a mask. The 'snow tiger/leopard' badge maybe I can mask off the shield and paint the 'tiger' freehand'. We shall see.

Francis, so far I've only had a couple of very minor breakages (two tie-downs) one of which I have repaired. I might be able to fix the other using stretched sprue or wire.

BTW, the wheels are all dry fitted so they can be removed to aid the final stripping of the hull, and the wheels themselves, The ammo racks are going to be the hardest job. They were CA'd in place so I may be able to remove them and re-spray the gold leaf on the rounds.

And now for more stripping!

TFL

Badder

Edited May 23, 2016 by Badder

[Yeoman1942]

No worries Badder.

I tried it this weekend and it seems to work. I would think the trickiest part of doing the name will be getting it lined up and spaced correctly. The crosses and the shield should make nice masks and nice clean edges.

Frog tape with paint block has become my making tape of choice. It's about £7 for 40m of inch wide stuff. Much cheaper than Tamiya tape we all know an love.

Yeoman

[Badder]

No worries Badder.

I tried it this weekend and it seems to work. I would think the trickiest part of doing the name will be getting it lined up and spaced correctly. The crosses and the shield should make nice masks and nice clean edges.

Frog tape with paint block has become my making tape of choice. It's about £7 for 40m of inch wide stuff. Much cheaper than Tamiya tape we all know an love.

Yeoman

Cool... although what we need is transparent masking tape. Is there no product out there?

Stripping has continued: the gun barrel, drive wheels and lower hull, as well as those few stubborn bits dotted around the exterior. I managed to remove the gun mantlet without causing any damage, so that will make the repainting of the gun mount and controls much much easier.

Rearguards,

Badder

[Badder]

The Nashorn is naked now, except for bits of the gun mount and controls.... it's just far too fiddly to get in there and strip everything completely. I managed to get the ammo racks off though, AND get the rounds out, so these have been stripped as well. I'll be able to get them looking nice and shiny again. If this had been a Tiger, or Sherman the job would have been a lot easier.

Anyway, the Nashorn has been saved, in as far as it now gets the chance to have me spoil the paint job for a 2nd time!

TFL

Badder

.

[Yeoman1942]

Massive congrats on the save.

I'm sure you will pull it off this time

[Vince1159]

I'll second that Yeoman...

[Badder]

Massive congrats on the save.

I'm sure you will pull it off this time

I'll second that Yeoman...

Thanks for your confidence in me, guys!

I've learned a lesson anyway in respect of paint/varnish/hairspray/bicarb, i.e. DON'T apply hairspray and bicarb until the model is fully constructed, fully painted and weathered!

This time, rather than use acrylics, I've given the Rhino a base coat of enamel and will add the cammo, also in enamels, before attempting to airbrush the vehicle's markings. Then I will be applying 2 coats of acrylic gloss varnish, which I believe will hold up better to the chipping, whitewashing and weathering than one coat alone. I will still be adding snow, but that will be the very last act, and I won't be going overboard with it this time.

Having said all that I now have a weekend of live music and beer ahead of me, so work will be erratic. Hoping your weekends are great,

Rearguards,

Badder

[FrancisGL]

Sounds good, both (music and beer), cheers Badder

[Vince1159]

DON'T apply hairspray and bicarb until the model is fully constructed

Bloomin' good job you're not a hairdresser lol...