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My Repaints/Scratchbuilds/Restorations-By Mattcrackers


mattcrackers

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Cheers Shadow,

 

The shell was off a $20 R/C body.

 

This car was originally the Craig Lowndes Silver 888 Vodafone Commodore.

 

I had purchased a few of them for my kids to use in the different liveries, (3 kids, 6 cars lol)

 

Knowing they would get bored pretty quickly and having two of the Silver Vodafones one was always going to become a slot car.

 

cheers

 

Matt

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  • 2 months later...

what a wonderful build.

 

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH PVC.

 

When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer (dioxin is the most potent carcinogen known to science) and harm the immune and reproductive systems. ...PVC products also release toxic fumes if they catch fire.

 

Try and source some styrene if possible.

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Actually thinking about it, is there any reason you couldn't use laminating pouches, they are PET which is relatively safe and they are super cheap and easy to come by.

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Hi Grant,

 

Thanks for having a look, and thanks for the info regarding the PVC.

 

I haven't tried any of the laminating pouches yet but might give them a try next time I need to vac-form something.

 

My wife is a teacher so she's always laminating something for the kids so there's always some different sizes laying around.

 

cheers

 

Matt

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I just tried and they are a bit thin, don't heat very well, they shrink and wrinkle.

These were 80 micron though, don't know about the 125 micron whether they would be better.

 

Where is a good source of styrene sheets and what thickness works best looking for around 300x300ish.

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  • 1 year later...

Finally managed to make my way back to racing at WASCRG on Saturday night.

 

With the Weddings, Birthdays etc out of the way I might be able to make the rest of the meets this year now.

 

Anyhow, a fellow slot racer asked me to look at a car he had and if I was able to fix , repair, restore it for him.

 

The car in question is a Tamiya 1:32 Lotus 30 kit from quite a few years ago now, seen in the pic below.

 

41964788821_4890f2b0b9_o_d.jpg

 

Pretty old I hear, probably like most round here :P .

 

The kit itself has been assembled and painted, but does need a little tlc.

 

The chassis is in good nick, needs a bit of spit and polish, and a new set of tyres for the rear, motor runs well.

 

The front mount has broken off and a hole has been drilled from the top of the body to accomadate this :wacko:.

 

There's a few nicks here and there but all in all should be an easy repair.

 

41964788121_d726c46b74_b_d.jpg41964787491_f7431ce359_o_d.jpg41964787091_2e28e96215_o_d.jpg

 

As you can see by the pics the original assembler loved to use glue, and plenty of it, even got his fingerprint on the back.

 

The screen also has some glue on it, only a little :lol: but I'll get to that issue later.

 

41964783711_8294e5fcf0_z_d.jpg41964782941_d45f335308_z_d.jpg

 

41964786521_c099eba6c5_b_d.jpg41964785931_647ecb5500_o_d.jpg

 

I've stripped the body from the chassis, carefully removing the screen, carbis etc. With the amount of glue used on the screen it was a wonder it came off at all.

 

I've also managed to strip the existing paint off using some metho but as you can see by the pics the metho does not remove the glue or decals as with modern cars.

 

 

41964784371_b7333b59a2_o_d.jpg41964785281_518fa33ef4_b_d.jpg41964782181_31ac32a1a0_o_d.jpg

 

I have started the slow process of removing the glue with a scalpel, picking and scraping away at it.

 

I have a couple of questions for those in the know though.

 

Can I get some replacement tyres for this model?, see pic above of rear wheels please.

 

How, can, you remove glue from the screen and carbi cover without damaging the clarity of the screen?.

 

Or did anyone ever make any?

 

Anyway that's where I'm up to at the moment.

 

I'll post some more progress pics as I go.

 

cheers

 

Matt

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Great project, they were really competitive in the club I was in back in the day!

 

If you have trouble getting the old decals off, I'd try caustic soda. I've had success with stripping back '60's bodies with it.

 

Keep an eye on Pattos site, when he is back up and running he would have tyres to fit plus he has a vac. formed Lotus 30 for the windscreen at a pinch.

 

Worst case scenario, you go to Pauls Slot Car Shop on e-bay and he does a ship load of vintage tyres. And he is a good guy to deal with!

 

Chris.

Late Model

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Thanks for the input.

 

I did have a look through DM's post from a few years ago regarding the Lotus 30, was going to add to his thread but thought I'd keep it in my restoration thread.

 

It's a pity this kit isn't mine, although I do have a Hawk Lotus 30 kit that I purchased some years ago to turn into a slot car.

 

Purchased the decals to do the job too, pity when I went to assemble it I found it was missing one of the sides.

 

So at least I already have the decals for the car.

 

If you have a screen you'd be prepared to part with Phil, the car would look so much better. :D

 

I could probably vac form one myself now with my limited skills but I'd prefer to have something more like the original.

 

I'll have a look at Pattos site and around the net for the tyres as well, hopefully he's in good health soon.

 

cheers

 

Matt

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Managed to get a little more done over the weekend.

 

Chassis has been stripped down, cleaned and re-assembled.

 

28224930698_e7291bd808_o_d.jpg

 

New front screw mount added (used an old mount from my Scalextric V8)

 

28224930438_153569f305_z_d.jpg

 

 

The pic below is of the assembled car.

 

28224928928_4114b1ffec_b_d.jpg

 

Will give the car a prime to see where it's at, sand and see how it's come up.

 

There are a few cracks over the body, hopefully the glue I've applied to the inside of the body will help with these.

 

Have sourced new tyres online for the front and back.

 

Not happy with the decals I have at the moment so I'll search for more.

 

The windscreen and clear carbi cover are both covered in glue, not sure how to deal with these.

 

They don't really show up in the pic but once the body has been painted they definitely will.

 

cheers

 

Matt

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Hi Phil,

 

Thanks very much for the screen Phil.

 

I know nothing about these kits, only what was in the box and how the car was assembled.

 

Looking at the pics on the net (searching for Tamiya Lotus 30), some show the clear cover, some don't.

 

cheers

 

Matt

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It's slowly getting there Steve, still a bit to go yet.

 

I managed to get some paint on the Lotus 30 over the last week.

 

Grey primed it first, sanded, refilled and grey primed again.

 

I then applied a coat of white undercoat, allowed it to dry, sanded then applied another coat of white.

 

I've now applied one coat of green, will sand this when it's hardened satisfactory and give it a light sand and give it one more coat as I've missed a bit on the tail.

 

Here's a few progress pics.

 

28395125958_fded2a4db0_b_d.jpg

 

28395125668_397d7018da_o_d.jpg

 

I've masked the cockpit, will finish this by hand, still deciding what colour to paint this area, thinking either black or beige at the moment.

 

41366387775_5855dd833d_o_d.jpg

 

I've ordered some decals from Pattos too, good to see him up and about .

 

I'll give the car a coat of clear before applying the decals as well.

 

 

 

cheers

 

Matt

  • Upvote 2
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Beige, definitely beige .... or tan, yeah tan .... or maybe aluminium, that's the one aluminium ... or maybe beige.

 

Hope that's some help Matt :wacko:

 

The green looks very nice.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update time.

 

Painted anther coat of green followed by a clear coat.

 

Started applying the decals on Monday.

 

Was coming along nicely until my fingerprints were all over the clear coat which hadn't hardened properly.

 

Bloody cooler weather takes it toll on painting times.

 

Here's where I was at, even blackened the interior.

 

40802763470_48a78d3c75_o_d.jpg41709822795_97d4a3ce88_o_d.jpg

 

And here's where I'm back to.

 

27741865607_4e634c716d_o_d.jpg

 

Will recoat when I get a warmer day.

 

The tyres turned up yesterday from Paul Gage, fit nicely too.

 

cheers

 

Matt

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Hi Mattcrackers

 

Nice looking car. I am in process of putting same together for SCCA 1951-1965 proxy in USA. Body I have is very old - bought on NZ Trademe. Appears to be some kind of resin??? over fibreglass. Currently completing some minor body repairs as it was slightly damaged when I purchased.

 

Will have same colour scheme but number 4. See there is one running in IPS Proxy at moment as well.

 

Regards Chas Le Breton (charlesx)

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Hi Chris,

 

Pattos decal sheet came with 3 types to use (for Lotus 30's and 40's), I'll see which fits/looks best.

 

Hi Chas,

 

I see on the decal sheet there's the number 4 as well. I did want to do the No 33 like the cover on the Tamiya 30 box, still might.

 

The resin/plastic on this Lotus 30 is quite fragile really and had quite a few cracks in it.

 

I'll see how the weather is over the next few days, might be able to get it back on track.

 

Matt

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Hi again Matt.

 

My Lotus 30 also looks a little fragile. Not sure how old it is although still in plastic wrapper when I bought. Had thought of rubbing some resin with lots of sanding filler into surface. Would try a small patch first. Is Betta & Classic brand but nothing like the bodies produced by the likes of Munter (John Warren) and Tassie Phil. The topside appears quite shiny and hard but you can see glimpses of the FG clothe and underside even more so. Hate to think how it would go if it crashed to the floor. Hopefully will never get tested.

 

Best of luck with your. Regards Chas Le Breton

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