Reproducing, rare, discontinued, valuable kits.

Hi guys, after losing an [apparently] rare kit on fleabay this afternoon by $2.50 AUD, i thought it might be worth my while [and hopefully others] to look at casting my own shells, chassis, bits and pieces from pre existing kits in order for other hobbyist to enjoy them down the track with out bowing down to ridiculous mark ups and the stress surrounding fleabay bidding.

My idea is when I get hold of one of these golden egg [discontinued, rare, or downright expensive] kits that I cast moulds, of everything, leaving everything on the sprue, so i can build the model how i please and retain the original in a [hopefully] pristine condition.

So what i'd like is any and all links, yt vids, tutorials on reproducing scale models that anyone is likely to come across and any & all tips that people have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.


Ps, due to legalities i wont be selling any, these will be for my own personal use. [And for trade]

have a talk to kirkside products for all your moulding materials
and good luck

Iansmodels wrote:have a talk to kirkside products for all your moulding materials
and good luck

Thank you for the tip.

I have a (ge) sigma kit which im planning reproduce later on

Brendon wrote:I have a (ge) sigma kit which im planning reproduce later on

Haha thats gonna awesome mate, make sure you make a 2.6l scorpion engine for it

I'm not a caster, but i'm pretty sure you'd have to remove the parts from the sprues and make a mould for each individual part.

VintageJDM wrote:

Brendon wrote:I have a (ge) sigma kit which im planning reproduce later on

Haha thats gonna awesome mate, make sure you make a 2.6l scorpion engine for it

Already done. engine went into a L200/Triton (its in the showroom somewhere) But I've got another one to mould

Some kits are very hard to mould because the sill curves back in so the inside mould gets trapped if that makes sense.

You can cast the whole sprues but you'd need to be able to "inject" the resin for the best results and that would require an expensive vaccuum chamber. The resin would need to be drawn into one side of the mold then sucked through to the other end. You'd also need a lot of rubber which could raise the cost of the exercise to more than it would cost to buy the original kit in the first place.
I've been asked over the years to cast and sell copies of Aurora figure kits- some of which the originals sell for thousands of dollars but I politely refuse due to the initial cost but mainly because of the morality of it. If you decide to go ahead and have a go at completely molding a whole kit for your own use or to share free with your modelling mates I wish you the very best of luck with it.

Chris.

Only reason im planning to cast the sigma is I want a gh turbo and a gj wagon (like my car) so it would be a great starting point. and this is the only sigma kit I've ever seen.

I also have a legnum vr4 which i will cast as the sedan looks better then the wagon by alot.

So im not reproducing the kit i plan to make new models from it.

It's definitely better to modify some castings than to cut up a few rare kits, that's for sure!
I'll be doing the same thing with a Trumpeter Spittie as soon as I can find one for a good price. I need 6 Merlins but I'm not prepared to buy and wreck 6 kits for 'em....

Chris.

Six Merlins? You building a tractor puller Chris?

Or a pair of MTBs?

I'm gonna build a nice little burnout beast using a kit that hopefully will look totally stock on the outside. I just want to bump up the power a bit- theoretically 12,000hp and 15,000 ft/lb to the wheels....
I've got a crapload of Allisons but to keep the theme I need Merlins and I can't justify paying over $700 to ruin 6 Spitties.

Chris.

I'd love a merlin for a rat rod i want to create

They're a fair way off JDM. I still have to find a Spitfire kit to cannibalise and I don't want to pay retail if I can help it (I'm a cheap bastard ).
I'll let you know when they're eventually done if you like....

Chris.

Auroranut wrote: (I'm a cheap bastard ).

Chris.

I think we'd all like to avoid retail mark up's mate lol

Thanks Drew.

No worries Drew. I'll let you know when I have castings. Don't hold your breath though- it'll be a while...

Chris.

Hmmm, wanting to use Merlins rather than Allisons suggests it's a pom vehicle but what is big enough to hold 6 V12 aero engines while still looking stock?
Revell's double decker bus springs to mind...

....not telling....
'tis a seeekrit....

I know I know!! But I ain't telling

Yep Kirk- only your good self and a couple of others know of my cunning plan.....
BTW mate, I dug out an Allison engine for you. Do you want me to post it out or do you want to wait 'til the comp?
Either way's cool with me....

Chris.

Happy to wait Chris.
Had a thought, anyone got any of the bike helmets that came in the Matchbox/ Airfix 500/Moto GP kits (1:25) I've got about 6-8 but some more would be good. If anyone has any they want to donate I'd be happy to paint them up, if you do, send me a PM.
Cheers
Kirk

If you bring a few to QMHE I'll see if I can cast 'em if you like...

Chris.

Auroranut wrote: If you bring a few to QMHE I'll see if I can cast 'em if you like...

Chris.

That's what I want them for Chris, the display. Will post in that thread. Sorry to hijack.