Shaving badges and reusing?

[spope]

Hi all. I am fairly new to proper scale car modeling, I used to build cars when I was younger but never painted properly, but I have some other modeling experience.

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to shave molded on badges from 1/24 bodies?
I have the new Aoshima R32 Skyline 4-door that has the "Nissan" and "Skyline" badges molded on the boot. I would like to cut them off, paint the body as normal, then re-attach the badges.
Leaving them in place will mean they get coated with clear and I am sure they will lose definition.

Has anybody done this? Do you just use a #11 blade? A saw? Some other method?

I am going to post up a WIP on the Aoshima Evolution I am building, which is what prompted me to ask this question, this car also has the Mitsubishi emblem molded onto the boot and even after a couple of light primer coats and 2 color coats it's already lost definition. This one I am not so concerned about though because I have PE badges to go on.

Any info/pics would be hugely appreciated, this forum has been an absolutely massive help to me so far, I have learned an incredible amount!

[MidMazar]

What you want to do is very difficult if not impossible. What you can do is use a chisel type blade and scrape the badge right off. I don't know if im clear, but a flat shaped knife. Take it on an angle and try to cut just the badge off. Almost like trying to put the blade underneath just the badge, going right through.

Although i think you should avoid doing this because there are easier alternatives. For instance you can buy photo-etch parts that contains badges. They actually look better once complete.

But i think you should go this route...http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...=651059&page=2

[hirofkd]

You can do it if you have a good knife.
I use OLFA's design knife, which is an OEM for Tamiya Design knife (74020).
http://www.etamiya.com/shop/tamiya-7...es-p-6500.html

The idea is to gently inset the blade into one side at a time, and repeat the process several times in clockwise or counter clockwise direction. Eventually, the cuts from all sides will meet at the center, and the script will come off. During that, the script will curl up because of the thickness of the blade, but once it's removed, you can place it on a convex object to bend it back.

Alternatively, you can use the method called foil-casting.

Have a thin aluminum foil ready (or fold a piece of Bere-Metal), and place it on the script to copy the shape using your finger and maybe a tooth pick. Then, carefully lift the foil and fill the grove on the back side with several layers of superglue (or superglue and accelerator). Once the superglue is completely dry, and doesn't stick to anything, lay the script on a cutting board and remove the excess area with a sharp knife.

Either way, you'll most likely have to paint the indented areas (in the letter a or e) with the body color.

[cinqster]

I would suggest there is only one way to do this properly, but it may sound difficult and is certainly not cheap!
I would get some latex moulding material (comes as a liquid and has a separate catalyst). Make a square wall around the logo/name with plasticene and pour the mixed latex into the square orifice - most of these moulding materials need 12 hrs or more to cure.
When set, peel it off the model and you now have a perfect moulding. Use a good quality resin mixture and gently pour into the moulding allowing it to fill a couple of mm over the top of the mould.
Now you can sand the back of the new piece on a sheet of wet n dry until the backing part of the casting (eg. the copy of the car body surface) has gone.
This is the only way you'll get a badge at the original kit thickness and allows you to reproduce more than one, in case things go horribily wrong. It's also a great way to learn casting, which is invaluable in model making.
Good luck!

Oh, and you just sand off the original badge from the model which saves some time, at least!

[spope]

Thanks for the info guys!
The paint over BMF method I have seen before, I have a couple of concerns with that method however, the first being that I will lose definition with such small parts, the second being how to make the edge of the BMF appear flat under paint.
The whole motivation behind this is to make the badges appear more 3D, as if they have actually been stuck on. I guessed the best way of achieving that is to actually stick them on!

I gave the foil casting method a shot last night, made two foil molds, one has CA glue hardening in it now and the other has Tamiya liquid primer. I'll see how they go, otherwise I might look further at the casting route.
I am now fairly certain removing the badges with a knife will just result in the destruction of the badges, they really are tiny, and i don't have the steadiest hand in the world!
Once I have something to work with I'll post up some pictures.