Filling wheel arch to body gap

[M4tt83]

Does anyone have a good technique for filling the gap between the inner wheel arches on the chassis and the wheel wells on the body. I have tried extending the wheel arch to meet the body with styrene, but I don't know how to make an accurate template of the contours of the inside of the body so that the wheel arch extension fits flush against the inside of the body.

The gap that I am trying to fill can be seen here between the white coloured inner wheel arches and the body.


----------------------------q--------------------|
The gap can also be seen here--------------------v


Thanks

Matt.

[RallyRaider]

Lately I've been using epoxy putty to fill the gaps like below. Time consuming but it worked out fairly well on my Escort.



Another method is to make some inserts out of plastic that can be glued in after the chassis is fitted to the body, like on my Lancer. Quicker and easier but after you glue them, it makes it well nigh impossible to remove the body.

[RallyRaider]

As for how you make the inserts. Use masking tape to make a template then transfer it to styrene.

[M4tt83]

As I was writing that I thought 'I know RallyRaider will have a solution' and look who posted first.

Anyway the first method looks interesting, but I would still like the wheel arch to have a lip. As for the second method, that is exactly what I was trying, but gluing the insert onto the chassis before fitting the body. I just felt that the insert should hug the curves of the inside of the body more closely.

Edit: I was trying to use masking tape to make the template, but so far with unsatisfactory results.

[RallyRaider]

Pleased to be of service.

Yeah a bit of a lip is nice but not always easy to do with the way the kits are engineered. Some cars don't have much of a lip in 1:1 either.

Trouble with gluing the insert in first, is it makes for a hell of a struggle fitting the body. There is a good reason why Tamiya leave the arch cut off where they do. It doesn't look the best, but makes for a whole lot easier construction. The main area you will want a good fit is at the front and back of the arch, doesn't matter so much at the top since it will be hidden by the tyre.

[freakray]

I use sheet styrene to build the chassis itself out, check out my Subaru Impreza WRC w/ engine thread and you should be able to see what I do.

[Nobbys Nuts]

Originally Posted by freakray

I use sheet styrene to build the chassis itself out, check out my Subaru Impreza WRC w/ engine thread and you should be able to see what I do.

Ditto in my Possum bourne Impreza thread