Revell change their friggin plastic???!!

[Hawk312]

I just looked at all my RMX model boxes...or atleast the ones that were convenient (I have 100`s in storage). The *only* one made in China is this one! > I think I am going to contact Revell and let them know how I feel about this. Yeah, I know it probably wont make much difference, but I would gladly pay an extra $1 or 2 to not have to worry about ending up with a worthless peice of molten plastic.
By the way, it is going to take some heavy sanding to get the body smooth again, even after stripping the paint. The etches into the plastic are so deep, I`m not sure I`ll be able to sand them out without losing details or proportions.

[Murray Kish]

Finally, something that helps me believe I'm not losing it! I've been having trouble with Krylon and Duplicolor primers for quite a while now. I couldn't figure out how everyone else was saying that these were such awesome primers.

I use Tamiya primer now. So far no problems.

Murray

[MustangMuscle]

This accident reminds us that automotive primers are hot paints after all, and as such shoud be sprayed over styrene with great care.

I have had the same problem once, a few years ago, with a Revell 69 Mustang I tried to prime with Duplicolor. Problem is, once the plastic is etched by the primer, subsequent primer coats will react again, as the plastic structure is now modified and sensitive to solvents. The only route to save the kit is then to use cool paints instead of lacquer, to avoid further crazing problems.

It seems PlastiKote T-235 gray primer is less aggressive with plastic than Duplicolor, could anyone confirm this ? (I tried once to spray a heavy coat of it over bare plastic, without any crazing...)

[MustangMuscle]

By the way, I checked the recently issued Revell kits, and they are all "made in china" since 2004. So far I have not seen another complaint regarding the the styrene quality on this and other boards, so I guess not all the kits are affected by the crazing malady, we are simply out of luck on this first C6 batch... Thanks for pointing it out, I will take that into account when painting it, as I will use the Cobra Colors lacquers (Daytona Sunset Orange, of course!)

The kits I checked are:

-67 Chevelle (California Wheels)
-65 Mustang 2+2
-69 Dodge Charger Daytona
-65 shelby Cobra S/C
-70 Mustang Boss 302

NONE of the recent kits (post 2003) I have are made in the US. Gloups...

[carmodeler2112]

I bought 5 of the C6 Vettes and had the same problem with all of them. The person above is correct, prime the body as you would, hit a few VERY light coats, then 1 semi-wet and color sand with 3600. Let the whole mess dry and harden for a week or 10 days, come back and hit it again. You may have more crazing, but mine smoothed out after 3 wet coats. I used acrylic enamel, and the same thing happened. I know Tamiya and Testors will not have an effect, as I paintd those over the bare plastic. When in doubt, try sprue from the actual kit to experiment with...NCWVSM

[Hawk312]

Originally Posted by MustangMuscle

So far I have not seen another complaint regarding the the styrene quality on this and other boards, so I guess not all the kits are affected by the crazing malady, we are simply out of luck on this first C6 batch...
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The kits I checked are:

-67 Chevelle (California Wheels)
-65 Mustang 2+2
-69 Dodge Charger Daytona
-65 shelby Cobra S/C
-70 Mustang Boss 302

I decided to do a little testing with the following Revell kits, all made in China:
2004 Corvette Coupe
`70 Boss Mustang 302
`67 Chevelle California Wheels Edition
And of course, the new C6.
All but the C6 did *NOT* respond negatively to the duplicolor primer, or to Plastikote primer. They also did not respond negatively to a heavy coat of duplicolor color laquer, which I sprayed on heavily after only 3 minutes of spraying the primer. With the bleed through of the Corvette kit (molded in red), this produced a very interesting finish.
I sanded the C6 kit as best I could, and sprayed it with heavy coats of Plastikote primer. It appears that the C6 kit can handle the Plastikote, but not the Duplicolor primer. So there is definitely something going on with the C6 kits. I am not sure if I can rescue the C6 though. The Duplicolor really ate into the plastic, changing the flow of the lines of the car from the "droopiness" of the melted plastic. It looks like it was left in the oven for a few minutes.