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Lee76

Avante 2011 Lexan Body Trimming

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For all the new builders out there like me, I thought I’d share how I trimmed out my lexan body. Hope this helps.

1: experiment on the surplus’s with the score and snap technique. Looks easy on the videos but the sharp angles of the Avante and the small details will bring on the fear.

2: take your brand new tamiya curved scissors and start chopping off the excess. Do this in about 50 passes getting smaller each time.

3: think to yourself, perhaps now the part has been rough trimmed you should try the score and snap again. Score a small edge, scare yourself with how flexible it all feels and give up.

4: go back to the curved scissors, do a few more laps getting ever closer to the edge of doom.

5: the edge can be quite hard to see, take a tip from the web and draw round this with a sharpie. This makes the line even harder to see, wish you’d not done this and go back to trimming with scissors.

6: by this stage you will have trimmed off most of the excess and even have some of the easy bits tight to the finish line. Now a good time to try some sanding, well, more because you’re a bit tired of the trimming. Try sanding a straight edge on your dinner table so you get told off by the other half.

7: POWER TOOLS! Dremmel, should be in your mind right about now as you’ll realise the curved cutters are quite rubbish at getting into the sharp corners and not much good for taking off small cuts of straight lines.

8: Dremmel sanding wheel makes short work of the body and really goes through the surplus’s material where the front suspension sits. It will leave a melted edge though, so don’t cut too close. Stop when the other half points out the baby is napping in his push chair and you’re making too much noise. Have a nice tea break.

9: Why not try the micro reaming attachement, boy this thing cuts well. Have a chew on some surplus’s lexan and again start chewing the hard to snip places. 

10: have another sand, hand sanding this time, it’ll calm you down after all the nail biting reaming,

11: Repeat steps 2 - 4, then perhaps some 8...4, 4, 4, 8 and some 10.

12: By now if you’re careful, you’ll have a body rough trimmed and almost up to the sacred line. Put it aside for now.

13: Next plan is to use some wet’n’dry to get a good edge finish and tickle my way up to the sacred line.

Within 3-4 hours, if you follow my guide closely you’ll have...

A: have a body (upper and lower) roughly trimmed and in need just of a few days detail sanding. 

B: a house full of sharp lexan shards and dust.

C: a feeling that something is missing... The Rear Wing! Still in the box. Now where is my jigsaw...

 

Hope this helps.

  • Haha 3

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This all sounds sooooo familiar, I HATE cutting the bodies.....its the main reason my projects have stalled. I have promised myself till they are all done I wont do any more or the strip and rebuild bit that I actually enjoy.

I have rough cut out a 

Thunder Dragon & Terra Scorcher ;-

Still to do

Thunder Shot, Fire Dragon, Boomerang, Winger & BigWig.....

Oh and once this IS all done you only have the painting to do.....remember to mask carefully do super light even coats in a well ventilated area ( I Use a large box opened out on the hob with extractor hood running. Hate this near as much as cutting out the body.

Then on to the best bit - you know the decals that really finish off or totally ******* up all the hard work to date......

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Funny read!

I didn't enjoy cutting the Avante body as much as the Egress & Top Force.

Stickers, i paid attention to detail.

 

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