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Hitari A Team van cleanup

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My mate's partner is a long-time fan of the original A Team TV series, as well as its associated merchandise. One piece of such merchandise is the subject of this thread. Yes, it is the iconic GMC van.

The vehicle in question is a Hitari product, in what I believe is 1:15 scale. I know they made it in two sizes, and this is the larger of the two.

This example was in a house fire, and while it appears to have escaped heat damage, it is well-coated in soot and has had a thorough soaking. A bit of a cleanup will be required.

This is how it arrived on the workbench:

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Initial inspection found another issue that will need looking at. As with many toy-grade RCs, this one uses AA batteries in the vehicle and a single 9V one in the TX. Unfortunately it looks like someone left the batteries in the vehicle, and they have leaked.

The positive contact is severely corroded, but might be salvageable. The negative one is fine. However of the three bridging contacts, one has mild corrosion, one has about the same level of corrosion as the positive contact, and the third has turned to powder.

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I have liberally painted the affected contacts with rust remover gel. Now to wait and see if it helps...

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If it were mine, I would seriously consider it. However it belongs to my mate's missus, who sees it primarily as a display piece rather than a vehicle, so it would be a bit of a waste really.

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While I have not been able to remove all of the brown deposits from the plastic portions of the battery bay, the salvageable metal portions are clean, and the unsalvageable parts have been replaced. The vehicle can now take batteries again.

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(The one battery is in there to keep the contacts steady while the glue that holds them in position has time to set.)

I am a bit disappointed at not being able to remove all of the brown deposits. However it looks neat enough with the battery cover in place, which is how it will be displayed.

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Bullbar is back on.

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It cleaned up reasonably well, but there are a few areas where the soot and ash that landed on it must have been quite hot, as the surface has been marked.

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The antenna cable was a bit loose and frayed, so I resoldered it to the board.

DSC05033_zpssfxdvho8.jpg

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With the shell cleaned and waxed, and a new aerial tube fitted, the van is back together.

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And that is pretty much it - job done!

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