Chop Top How to?????

does anyone know where i can find a chop top how to? i know ive seen one before i just cant find it, any help would be great!

does anyone know where i can find a chop top how to? i know ive seen one before i just cant find it, any help would be great!

:iagree:

Later, Mike. :smokin:

Theres one in one of the Scale Auto Enthusiast Books. I cant remember which one it is. I have it at home and the chop top how to is pretty in depth.

As far as any online, Im stumped.

what kind of chopped top

like a lower top or like a convertable?

well heres how to do both

a chop top
cut the top off saving the roof. then cut the posts lower the roof supports.then you will need to cut the window frame and lower that. glue it on mold it back done.

convertable
cut the roof off with a dremel or saw saving the window frame.

what kind of chopped top

like a lower top or like a convertable?

well heres how to do both

a chop top
cut the top off saving the roof. then cut the posts lower the roof supports.then you will need to cut the window frame and lower that. glue it on mold it back done.

convertable
cut the roof off with a dremel or saw saving the window frame.
Now that the obvious has been stated.

I would suggest that you try to search the completed and inprogreess threads *several* times b/c i have also read one here ( I think ).
several times b/c you will get diffrent results every time.

I would also try to look in the layitlow.com forums HERE (http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?act=SF&f=18) . This kind of mod shows up alot more there. If there isn't already a thread someone can make it a simple process for you i'm sure.

here is some advice given to me when i asked how to do a chop top. my model was a 1:24 diecast

Ok the dreaded chop top. Now if your new to customizing I would stay away from this till you have a handfull under your belt. The choptop on the S-10 road rat nearly killed me. I though I was going to throw it away at one point.

Ok if your still reading I haven't scared you away. The key to the chop top is to mark your cuts with masking tape so they are even all the way around. Make sure the amount you cut out is even all the way around...remember measure twice (or more) and cut once. Well except for the windshield. Only make one cut on the A-pillars (the part that holds the windshield). Don't remove the same amount as the rest of the pillars. Thats where I screwed up. I had to lengthing the a-pillars and lean them WAY back to get it to work. If I wouldn't have cut the pillars short it probably would have fit perfectly.

I reattached the roof with a very strong epoxy and bondo. I had to do this process twice before I nailed it down. Expect it to be a pain and maybe it won't be so bad for you. Once the pillars are sectioned lay the top back on and then figure how much you have to take off of the A-pillars and windshield. this won't be easy and I don't have an exact way for you to measure it. If you have any specific questions just PM me or make a new post. Good luck.

Well ...this aint really my specialty,but I will add this... I have heard that in additon to what FlySkyline said if you cut the a pilars,then cut the roof from front to back,and side to side(into 4 pieces). You can enlarge the roof with sheet styrene and not have to lenghten the a pillars. I hope that makes sense.

Here is an How to about a Top Chop on a 1/18 Diecast beetle. It's in french but the images speak for themselves.

To see the other pages click on 'La suite' button.

Beetle Top Chop (http://maquettedecox.free.fr/topchop01.html)
Copyright Guillaume Lefèvre aka Maquettedecox

If only it were as easy as Supermod04 said.

Each type of roof is unique in its chop.

The Rambler wagon I just chopped was a simple chop. All of the pilars were basically straight up and down. They were just angled inwards. So basically when i cut the bottoms of the pillars the width became about 2mm too narrow. To fix this I had to cut the entire roof legnthwise, and add 2 1mm strips of styrene to make the whole top wider. All of the pilars lined back up fine and it was a simple glue and putty job. Most cars are much more difficult, and must be sectioned into 4 pieces or more like someone mentioned above.

There is a book "Tex Smith's How to Chop Tops" available for pretty cheap. It's for real cars, but it works for our scale too.

Here is a page with a diagram that may help.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1878772074/ref=sib_rdr_zmin/102-3688789-9792147?p=S005&j=1#reader-page

If only it were as easy as Supermod04 said.

Each type of roof is unique in its chop.

The Rambler wagon I just chopped was a simple chop. All of the pilars were basically straight up and down. They were just angled inwards. So basically when i cut the bottoms of the pillars the width became about 2mm too narrow. To fix this I had to cut the entire roof legnthwise, and add 2 1mm strips of styrene to make the whole top wider. All of the pilars lined back up fine and it was a simple glue and putty job. Most cars are much more difficult, and must be sectioned into 4 pieces or more like someone mentioned above.

There is a book "Tex Smith's How to Chop Tops" available for pretty cheap. It's for real cars, but it works for our scale too.

Here is a page with a diagram that may help.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1878772074/ref=sib_rdr_zmin/102-3688789-9792147?p=S005&j=1#reader-page

exactly. all roofs are diffrent. i would suggest draw some lines, see how much you want to take out. thn like nother guy above said mask it off and cut along the tape. with a chop top, some times the top wont alwaya fit back how it chould, so it might need lengthening. i watched on TLC's Rides, they did a 33 ford sedan, and chopped the top on it, and the ended up lenthening the top to fit.

just draw lines and plan it out. the cutting is easy, t is the prep that sucks

The Rambler wagon I just chopped was a simple chop.


How much longer until you start posting progress of the Rambler Wagon. I looked through the April ACME pictures and it looks really sweet and I want to see more!

How much longer until you start posting progress of the Rambler Wagon. I looked through the April ACME pictures and it looks really sweet and I want to see more!

I'll get something up this weekend possibly. I'm testing House of Kolor paints right now on some other subjects. So that I don't mess up the Rambler.

Heres one for a 49 Merc that should give you some ideas.
Contrary to what supermod said chopping is an art. You need to consider the orginal roof line, overall shape, symmetry , and does the chop blend witht ht erest of the cars styling?
a good chop should look as if the factory designed it in my opinion
http://www.cjhilton.com/models/chop.htm

To make the glass fit easyer you don't want to change the angles of the pillers. The beas and hardest way is to cut the top into at least four pieces. I gust chopped a Chyrsler 3000. Here's some pix, I hope they help.
Mark
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/650Mark/makxpix/IM002674.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/650Mark/makxpix/IM002667.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/650Mark/IM002689.jpg

does anyone know where i can find a chop top how to? i know ive seen one before i just cant find it, any help would be great!

There is one on ScaleWiki (http://models.magietec.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chop_Top) by our friend Mike.

I wish I knew...I'm just roughing it out on my merc. Just goin at it till it looks right.

im in the early stages of a datsun 510 chop top project... i have already done the chopping... and i did it where i cut the roof off just above the bases of the pillars, and then i sectioned the roof into 6 peices, so that the pillars would still be in the same locations. then i just used putty to fill the gaps, with styrene underneath (which i probably shouldnt have done, i should have just put the styrene in the spaces, but i'll fix it up.. heres a pic of it like half a year ago, and right now it hasnt changed much, ive only added some tamiya epxoy putty to the top to give it more strength. heres what it was a while ago:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/100039carshow015.jpg
oh yeah.. i read a how to for chop tops i think in the how to section here... or someone else had a chop top going that i looked at for help..