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DeadMeat666

Need help with a problem (body shells)

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Ok I just realized I have a problem. I absolutely love building Tamiya kits....  just as much as I absolutely hate cutting/painting/stickering body shells.

End result (in order of purchase date, oldest to newest):

Lunchbox: Finished - hardbody didn't need cutting and was already black, so this was easy (yay!)

TT02B: Chassis finished, body finshed (yay!)

DF03: Chassis finished, body cut, but not painted or stickered

TT02S: Chassis finished, body not started (el-cheapo chinese prepainted body stuck on incorrectly for the time being) (yay?)

M07: Chassis finished, body finished (yay!)

M08: Chassis finished, body cut but not painted or stickered, a second body not started

M02: Chassis finished, body cut but not painted or stickered

TB04R: Chassis finished, body not started

TT02: Chassis finished, body not started

XV01: Chassis finished, body not started

MF01X: Chassis finished, body not started, second body not started

M06: Still unopened (but I want to build the chassis lol)

Perhaps I can send all the bodies to someone in a box and they can do them all for me? But on the other hand, I like for my kits to be done by me, not someone else.

What I've ended up with so far is 3 nice runners, one runner with a chinese crap body, and a closet-full of unfinished kits.

Hence the problem. Any advice would be welcome.

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I either didn't like cutting body shells because every mistake is irreversible but painting and stickering for me is a rather nice work. Also there are some possibilities to ruin the body but in the end I like it. Important is not to rush. It takes a little time to prepare and do it but it's worth it.

Do you have the paint for the bodies? When I order a new kit I always order the paint I need with it. And as you already said it's very satisfying to see the finished result and to know that you have completely done by yourself.

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38 minutes ago, Aerobert said:

Do you have the paint for the bodies?

The paint? It wasn't easy with having to ship it all in, but I'd say yes (and that's not all of it; there's more):

IMG-20201114-013557.jpg

 

It's just the will that I'm not finding lol.

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What's in your arsenal of tools? Tools can make it a bearable task, supplemented with working in spurts so you don't wrack your nerves from worrying about mistakes.

Makeshift tools can help, such as using a sanding block to make the bottom of the body straight, or wrapping a paper towell roll in sandpaper to round the fenders symmetrically.

Personally, I fear body cutting scissors and also the score-and-tear method. I found the good results are easy to achive by making a rough cut 1/4 inch from the cut lines, then sanding the edges up to the line to avoid removing too much material in an "oops moment".

 

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1 hour ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

I fear body cutting scissors

I'm sorry to hear this SC82

For: DeadMeat666

My first body cut out, learned a lot about repair work, i use different methods to cut these flimsy shells, curved, straight body scissors, score multiple times with X-acto and straight razor blades, bend the Lexan back and forth until it starts to separate and snip where needed.

I Dremel any confined hole areas such as grilles, vents, window ect... openings.

i sand all rough and sharp edges with120, 150 grit sand paper, (then without being wet) wet/dry sand paper 180 and 320G, and also a fingernail emery board works very well. any mistake can be mended , extra Lexan pieces, chassis protector material, even vinyl wrap, Shoe Goo, and or Amazing GOOP, and RTV Silicone (comes in a few colors).

The Ol' sayn' , how does that go again? " If i told you that you have a beautiful body would you hold it against me"? :lol:

Lets face it, practice, trail and error with all aspects of this hobby, we all didn't learn it over night and i for D A N G sure got ok with it because of my mistakes, so that other saying comes to mind (and trust me it echos in my mind all day and  every day) "When all else fails try, try again.

how about the time i messed up $160 2 sets of MIP rear axles, because i didn't realize that the female part of the splines did not travel through enough to catch the male side when the rear arms were lifted up on rebound. things happen so that all said take your time find some Vids and see how it's done.

If it took two hours back in the earlier days to do a shell, depending on the detail of what's being cut, now takes about thirty minutes.

Good will and luck, keep focused but don't over think it. first and foremost you are having fun.

PS do a lil' at a time then walk away and come back to it.

Till this day i always rush my paint jobs and truthfully i do not know why.

 

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2 hours ago, Aerobert said:

every mistake is irreversible

no it will never be the way it should of been, that's when you learn to repair it and hide it, or you are just going to be purchasing another one.

i thrive on adversity, i have proof here somewhere;)

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Just my two cents... I'd say push it and paint them yourself, it will be worth it ;) you've already done a few, just a little willpower and at the end you'll be happy to look at your own result.

Only if in the process you realize you really can't be bothered with it anymore, then yes ship the bodies to someone else, but as long as in doubt just keep going!

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Who says you have to do the bodies? If your pleasure comes from building the chassis (and there is a lot you can do with just the chassis), then leave the bodies in a box!

I'm not good at bodies, I do them as a chore,  most of my race bodies are single colour, and even then I have never done one particularly well!

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3 hours ago, sosidge said:

Who says you have to do the bodies? If your pleasure comes from building the chassis (and there is a lot you can do with just the chassis), then leave the bodies in a box!

I'm not good at bodies, I do them as a chore,  most of my race bodies are single colour, and even then I have never done one particularly well!

This comment actually helped me A LOT psychologically. Hopefully if I can stop thinking of the bodies as a chore that I must do, I might actually get around to doing them, if that makes any sense.

In short, thanks @sosidge:D

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I put a wanted add on here and had two responses.

 

I now have 4 new bodies to finish my collection (so far!)

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48 minutes ago, Baddon said:

I put a wanted add on here and had two responses.

 

I now have 4 new bodies to finish my collection (so far!)

While very enticing, my location would make shipping prohibitively expensive. I suppose I'll just have to suck it up and do what needs doing. Thanks for the suggestion though!

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6 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

This comment actually helped me A LOT psychologically. Hopefully if I can stop thinking of the bodies as a chore that I must do, I might actually get around to doing them, if that makes any sense.

In short, thanks @sosidge:D

You just have to feel secure enough in yourself to be comfortable running a naked chassis. It's the guts that count, anyway ;)

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