junkmunki 846 Posted April 4, 2020 I cant actually use the words here to describe my frustration and anger at the disaster that has just struck my Ascona restoration. What were Tamiya thinking? I have just spent the last week painting and applying the decals to the Ascona body set i was lucky enough to buy, at i might add, fairly high cost. Everything is finished, and i go to fit it for the first time. The result? The roof split in three directions! The design is such that when the clamp for the roll bar opens, it flexes the roof with disasterous effect. A total waste of time and money. Bad day... J 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
graemevw 823 Posted April 4, 2020 🙁 Did it feel in any way brittle to start with? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtbkym01 4008 Posted April 4, 2020 Oh no, what a shame Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junkmunki 846 Posted April 4, 2020 8 minutes ago, graemevw said: 🙁 Did it feel in any way brittle to start with? Nope, it was quite solid. The holes drilled ok, and as far as i was concerned, it was ready to fit. I know its a 35 year old shell, but i didn't expect that. J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KEV THE REV 2319 Posted April 4, 2020 Bad news for sure . Could it be covered with more decals rather than looking at the crack ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
graemevw 823 Posted April 4, 2020 I dont know how the drilling went, but (as im sure you know), and slight nick in an edge can be a starter for a crack. All lexan edges need to be super smooth with no nicks or sharp internal corners. Did you drill, or ream the holes? As i say, im sure you know this, no one is building these nib bodies without a fair bit of experience behind them! Just trying to figure some kind of reason why it may have happened. I dont know these cars though, is it a common failure point on old used cars? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Jon 684 Posted April 4, 2020 Man, that's really too bad. Such a great looking body, too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hobbimaster 190 Posted April 4, 2020 Same thing happened to my rere Sand Scorched body. It started to crack right in the back, under the metal spring/bar mount. I was lucky to see the crack forming before it got really bad. I was able to CA glue it from the inside for a repair, and it was barely visible from the outside. Sold it off in short order. If I can't remove the body to charge the battery without worrying about it cracking more, whats the point? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CoolHands 816 Posted April 4, 2020 I don’t know anything about that body but could / should the holes be drilled a bit loose? Maybe less likely to stress / crack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mokei Kagaku 2706 Posted April 4, 2020 Due to high age surely. I have an original Audi quattro body which is very brittle too. Also, cracking like this wasn't a typical problem for the quattro and Ascona "back then". Typical for the Sand Scorcher though. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snakehands 124 Posted April 4, 2020 Are you going to stop drill the cracks to stop them spreading? I feel your pain. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junkmunki 846 Posted April 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Snakehands said: Are you going to stop drill the cracks to stop them spreading? I feel your pain. No, i am going to put it on a high shelf and pretend its not there. Im just going to leave it as it is. The damage is done, and seeing as its not going to be a runner, theres no point in doing anything else to it. J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yogi-bear 2321 Posted April 5, 2020 yeah, that one is a tough call. I think leaving it a good idea as you could end up making it a lot worse. I was thinking you could run some Weld-On No.3 along the crack, which would partially dissolve and rejoin it. But that would ruin the paint underneath. You could always reinforce it underneath with a thin layer of epoxy. At least that wouldn't be visible and minimise any future damage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markbt73 5316 Posted April 5, 2020 Oh, that's a shame. And you're right; it's not a brilliant design. But I guess it's one of those "it was early on in the hobby, nobody knew what they were doing yet" things. Part of the charm...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busdriver 6209 Posted April 5, 2020 In order to stabilise it try putting tape along the outside and use UV setting glue along the length of the crack on the inside. Give it a wizz with the light and you have a quite strong repair. I saw this done on an internet tutorial somewhere. I have just bought some and it works really well on Lexan? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nicadraus 6201 Posted April 5, 2020 My brother had this shell as well as the Audi Quattro. We used to play with it back in the mid 80s. I remember this kit being so heavy (compared to the Subaru Brat). I don't recall having cracking issues with either of the bodies. It's most like because of age. Plastic gets brittle overtime. Same thing happens to old (pre-2000) Tamiya ABS plastic. I've had plastic cracking issues with another FF-01 kit and some parts from the CC-01. They've become brittle and cracked easily unlike when they were new. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pablo68 1049 Posted April 5, 2020 Ummm, you did use the correct paints on the body yeah? Dumb question I know, but I have been told that the incorrect paint type on lexan can make it brittle. I guess you can keep that body for the shelf, maybe after you are no longer *******ed off with it you can get a repro body and do that one up as a runner. As far as worst designs ever, you do know the Striker is a thing right? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moffman 5752 Posted April 5, 2020 21 hours ago, junkmunki said: I cant actually use the words here to describe my frustration and anger at the disaster that has just struck my Ascona restoration. What were Tamiya thinking? I have just spent the last week painting and applying the decals to the Ascona body set i was lucky enough to buy, at i might add, fairly high cost. Everything is finished, and i go to fit it for the first time. The result? The roof split in three directions! The design is such that when the clamp for the roll bar opens, it flexes the roof with disasterous effect. A total waste of time and money. Bad day... J It's still looks like a brilliant restored car worthy of any display shelf!, I can imagine the pain when your heart sank I had that a fair few years ago with a Ford ranger body I thought (stupidly) to wipe the remaining small bit of paint left on the bonnet after hours of painstakingly taking it off by elbow grease with a bit of turpentine..........it melted 80% of the bonnet............and probably the same as you with "have you ever seen a grown man cry" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junkmunki 846 Posted April 5, 2020 16 minutes ago, moffman said: and probably the same as you with "have you ever seen a grown man cry" I was too fed up to even be angry about it... I just sat there staring at it. 5 hours ago, Pablo68 said: maybe after you are no longer *******ed off with it you can get a repro body and do that one up as a runner. Unfortunately, there is no decent repro shell for these. Some time back i had a TBG Audi quattro shell from TBG, but the moulding wasnt great, and stuff didnt line up very well, so i dont hold much hope for their Ascona. I dont run my models anyway, the enjoyment for me is the sourcing of the original parts and restoring them. Still, while the shutdown is happening, i still have many more to get on with... J 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
