I need help to fix this kit please

[patoffspyder]

Hi guys!
I bought a kit some time ago, a Mazda RX8. I opened the box yesterday and there is two things I was to fix.

First, there is small broken piece of plastic near rear of the car. How can I fix this? Stryrene, putty? I have 020" at home.


Second, there is a gap between the junction of the rear bumper and the taillights. I guess it not too complicated to fix using putty?


Is there some tutorials to fix those kinds of problems?

Thanks a lot!

[mickbench]

Well, looks like someone tried to remove the rear bumper, and failed. I'm not sure how to fix this but I've read about superglue and talc or plastic dust being used, but then this would be REALLY hard to re-scribe the panel line afterwards, as once you fill this, you'd need to recreate the lines as it would be filled in.

Thinned down putty might help, as they are hard sections to fill in. It it was me, I'd perhaps build another kit for the time being, but perhaps someone with more knowledge can help you better.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

I generally tape a bumper in place to paint it to match the body, and then later glue it to the model during final assembly. However many people like to glue the bumpers on first.

If you want to keep the bumper separate for now, you'll have to make the repair by carefully cementing a small piece of styrene to that corner, and carefully shaping it when dry. You may be able to back it with a small tab for more strength.

If you are gluing the bumper to the body now or if it's already glued in place, your best option is to cement a styrene tab behind the gap to make sure the bumper is well supported, and then you can either splice in a tiny triangle of styrene or try your luck w/a small amount of putty, making sure to use a thin/sharp object (even a business card) to rescribe the panel line while the putty is still soft. Putty won't stick to that corner w/o the backing. Then the painstaking work of shaping the repair. To me it looks simple, but I've been doing this stuff for years.

As for the other area, fit the taillight lense at this time and see if that effectively covers the visible gap under the cluster. I suspect it will. If not, you can squeeze some putty into that area (I'd use epoxy putty, applied from inside the body) and then use a toothpick or cardstock (edge of a business card or similar) to remove excess and shape the filled panel line properly. Make sure the taillight lense still fits. Hope this helps.

[mickbench]

Knew someone could help you out. I'm not very "up" on body repairs. I actually thought the bumper was moulded on and someone had tried to remove it.

[patoffspyder]

Thanks for your help, gonna try that.

No, the body is not in one piece, there is the main body, the front and the rear bumber.

The bumper aren't glued now, so I will try the first way. The second problem doesn't looks too hard to fix, but the first one will be a pain, since I never worked with putty and styrene before.

Damn Fujimi kits, I hope that my 3 Lamborghini will be in better condition :-(

[nugundam93]

putty.

now as for the 1st pic, try to put in a thin cardboard backing first, and then use putty to fill the missing area and just carefully rescribe the gap afterwards