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Belkits 1/24 Escort Mk.1 1970 London-Mexico World Cup Rally, Mikkola/Palm


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15 hours ago, mbdesignart said:

Parts are now sitting in a tub of oven cleaner. Not sure how long this stuff will take to work? The bleach did remove down to the plastic for the areas that it managed to work on, but I didn't expect it to make so long. I'll post an update in the morning. 

15 hours later and the chrome shows no further signs of wanting to come off. This is becoming a joke. Do I try brake fluid, do I sand the damn stuff off? What about etching primer sprayed over the chrome? :wall:

Edited by mbdesignart
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I feel your pain - I resorted to sanding the chrome off which you'd have to do to a point because of the mould seams on the corner bends. And then I replaced the bolt heads. 

 

I actually think the chrome finish is good, it's just that the seams and placement of the sprue attachments mess it up.

 

Nick

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4 hours ago, mbdesignart said:

15 hours later and the chrome shows no further signs of wanting to come off. This is becoming a joke. Do I try brake fluid, do I sand the damn stuff off? What about etching primer sprayed over the chrome? :wall:

I tried all sorts, bleach/ oven cleaner/ brake fluid...as a last resort i even tried nitromorse on a spare bit of chrome sprue and left it overnight. If anything it made it shinier.

 

I emailed Belkits for advise and they said to use wet n dry which i had already done by the time i got their reply. As Nick said there's a copper layer underneath which might have something to do with it.

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Yes sanding appears to be the solution to remove the chrome and the copper underlayer. Fortunately there has been a bright side to this! I noticed on FEV 1H the lower aux spots have chrome bezels and the various fluids had left these untouched allowing me to sand the outer bowls. Attached is progress with the parts I need having been sanded. Also a bit of a light bulb moment was spraying a bit of sprue with Acrylic Humbrol Matt Varnish rattle can [r/h side of the scrap sprue] to achieve an aluminium look which may work for the headlamp/grille part. Of course this doesn't solve the issue of any mounting points for parts on the sprue which may need touching in, hence the door handles required sanding too.

 

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6 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Why do you mix IPA with the brake fluid Ashley, I've always found the fluid works perfectly as a paint stripper when used neat?

 

Keith

 

Brake fluid on its own takes too long and there's some people that say it damages the plastic, making it brittle. If you mix in IPA 50/50 then it strips the paint faster, reducing any risk to the plastic. I've found that IPA is good at softening the paint, so the brake fluid can remove it quicker.

 

I still haven't got round to testing the Belkits Chrome in the stuff 😔 lol

 

Ashley

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Hmmm, interesting, I'll give it a go next time  I c*ck up a paint job. Shouldn't be long....!! I've never had problems with straight brake fluid affecting plastic though, apart from dulling the surface of most manufacturers polystyrene - which actually helps give a better key for priming. And it normally takes any type of paint off in two days or so, plenty fast enough for my speed of building!! :D

 

Keith

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I thought IPA was for drinking out of a pint glass?:drink:

Whilst waiting for varnish to arrive I've been tinkering with CAD software to model a master for casting some Michelin Tyres. https://www.rallyads.de/Rallye-Teile/pneus-neufs-ann-e-michelin-sa-38426.html

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@keefr22 If I mix enough to fully cover the body I can have it back to bare plastic within a couple hours though I usually leave it a day and just rise under cold water whilst scrubbing with a toothbrush. Leave to dry, and sand with 400 grit to remove any remaining chemical residue. And I agree the plastic after a brake fluid bath does give a good key to the surface, I don't even use primer if I've had to strip a body back lol.

 

And @mbdesignart you can drink if you like, I would recommend having 999 on speed dial first though ;)

 

Ashley

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Floorpan is done and nearly finished the interior, just knitting the seatbelts to do. Wider 7" wheels arrived from the supplier this weekend too.

 

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Kit tool roll attached to bulkhead with added mounting points for the seatbelts to the parcel shelf, fuel filler pipe is to be added for the C pillar filler point to the location hole top right. I have had to remove the seat mount locator to allow for the scratch built seat. I also need to fashion some bracing bars which go from each C pillar to the parcel shelf, no idea how I'm going to sort this out being as the body inc. glazing is fitted over the top allowing no access.

 

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Dash is done too. Steering wheel spokes thinned and drilled, new Halda Twinmaster added along with the bulldog clips either side of the Speedmaster.

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Thanks for the suggestion but I don't fancy redoing a gloss finish. Having mulled this over since posting I may do it in this order. Drill the parcel shelf, add the bars loose, fit the body whilst still in primer to gauge the fit, glue the bars with access through the window apertures then remove the body for painting.

Also I've been looking at another book and found this photo of FEV 1H, unfortunately there was no date attached to the photo. Is it me or does the profile of the front arches look a little different to the kit? The bracing bars can be seen going across the rear window.

 

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27 minutes ago, MetroRacing said:

I think I read in one of the Graham Robson books that the arches weren't a standardised add on part, being hand made for each car that needed them. So the arches could well be different from the ones Belkits moulded.

 

Ashley

Weren't some of the builds farmed out to a few other companies too? Although not sure if this included fabbing the arches. I ain't not never going to be doing any mods to the arches at this stage. I do also wonder, looking in Robson's book, if the 'refreshed' version hasn't had the arches subsequently modded to more factory standard?

 

Any road up, the bracing bars have been added from some Contrail Styrene rod, it has a bit of flexibility to it which hopefully will survive any further disassembly and assembly. The fuel filler pipe has been added too, it having been wrapped with some tape to simulate the banjo clips.

 

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IIRC (40 or so years ago!) there was much variation in bubble arches. You could special order cars from Ford AVO with the steel bubbles already welded on, or buy them from your local RS dealer & have them fitted by them or do it yourself. These should have had the 'lip' on the rear arches that Belkits moulded on but I don't remember them being as pronounced as those on the kit. Then I had a steel arched car that supposedly had had dealer fitted arches (before I bought it) and these didn't have the lip. I also helped a friend weld on a set of dealer arches one weekend that also had no lip! I know there were aftermarket suppliers of steel arches, so maybe Ford used different suppliers at different times?

 

Neat work on the interior & those brace bars Mark, they look fiddly!

 

Will those 7 inch wheels be appearing on the website....?!

 

Keith

 

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9 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Neat work on the interior & those brace bars Mark, they look fiddly!

Once I'd worked out the method fitting wasn't too bad. I pre drilled the parcel shelf with the holes set at an angle then put the body over before adding the bars which I put a slight kink in. Hopefully they stay put when I come to remove the body.

 

Thanks for adding the info on the arches, much appreciated.

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The interior tub has been assembled, apart from side panels [one shown is a loose fit] which require the white body colour applying. Nightmare seatbelt assembly completed using black paper as per the original and most famous Escort build on here. Now ploughing on with the bull bar and associated bars, lamps, lamp brackets etc. Then to try Alclad grey primer to see if it is better than a past it's sell by date can of Halford's finest which required much sanding back to a smooth surface...grrr.

 

162354.jpg  162425.jpg

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Another grey day... all primed up and nowhere to go.

 

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This Alcad Primer & Microfiller is certainly dark [moreso than the photo depicts] but it does give an excellent finish, and even better once I'd taken my foot off the airbrush air hose. The bits in the foreground are the infamous de-chromed spot lights, bull bar & roof to wing bars, AVO lamp brackets, new fuel filler caps and rear aux spotlight. I'm using 7" wide Minilites on this car, even though they may not be true to the original car on the event.

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