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Before

This particular model is put together in a way that makes it relatively easy to take apart for painting. It only needed a little work to separate the parts. As you can see the sun had bleached the red badly. Red is particular prone to this. The correct colour was established by looking at the areas concealed inside.

Preparation and painting

Raymond recommends two methods for removing the old paint. The obvious one using a commercial chemical paint remover and alternatively the method he used here. First soften the paint with boiling water then add a little caustic soda which will dissolve the paint. He warns though, not to use this method on models with alloy wheels as they will be destroyed. Any residues can be removed with a toothbrush and a wooden tooth pick. The hot water also helps to soften the tyres so they can be easily removed. It may be possible to revive deformed tyres in this way too but when new ones are available it's not worthwhile.

The finished product

The thing that makes a model look repainted, is adding the "brightworks". The factory used all kinds of methods, amongst them are spray and airbrush-like techniques. Using brushes can making the result too bold or precise looking. Examine an original model. Sometimes the lights are hardly filled in or sprayed "out of place". This makes a model seem more original.

The base was de-rusted with the use of a small rotating brush in the Dremel tool, then sprayed in black. Stained versions look best but are hard to copy and bound to rust quickly if exposed to moisture.

Thanks to Raymond for contributing the photos and information for this article.