Lengthening a model

[Christian]

I want to make a Mercedes 220S out of a Brekina Mercedes 180, the trouble being that a 220 is 2mm longer in 1/87 than the 180.
How do I saw the model apart with a clean cut? An ultra-fine Japanese saw is on its way to me, but using it how can I avoid drifting off with the blade? Any ideas?

[only87]

I'm more the butcher type of modeler, so I may be the wrong person to answer. But if the saw is a sharp one it shouldn't be a big problem, you can tape something with a clear, straight line on the roof and take the edge as a "track" for the cut. After the cutting, simply release the tape with the "track"
If you want a straight cut all around you can take a U-profile made of thick Evergreen sheets or metal plates.

[stanhas87]

christian said:

I want to make a Mercedes 220S out of a Brekina Mercedes 180, the trouble being that a 220 is 2mm longer in 1/87 than the 180.
How do I saw the model apart with a clean cut? An ultra-fine Japanese saw is on its way to me, but using it how can I avoid drifting off with the blade? Any ideas?

Dear Christian:

On MAR (Model Auto Review), there is this gentleman (Graeme Ogg) who does several vehicle conversions (albeit in different scales) and they give all the details how they done it. May be useful for this particular project.

[cfesmire]

There's an old saying among carpenters that goes "I've cut it three times now and it's still too short". I've found that in splicing together two different models, the safe way to make the cuts is to make them longer than necessary and file/sand down to the accurate line you want. I spliced 2 Wiking Mercedes into a limosine project and had very good results, the paint job ruined the piece but before painting it looked great. My '37 panel truck in the showcase was cut and fit in this way. The given here is that you have two models to work with.

[Lee]

A miter box is used to cut straight across and down. I use an Atlas Snap Saw to make my cuts out side the line and a NWSL True Sander to finish bring the pieces to the correct size.

[only87]

cfesmire said:

The given here is that you have two models to work with.

Not necessarily, you can still "fill the gap" up with some Evergreen sheets or something similar, but you'll have to putty a bit then. But if you want to lengthen a model you'll have to do that anyway.

I normally scratch a line around the vehicle along with the help of a knife and a ruler. I repeat that until I have a deeper track. Then I take my old wood saw that has cut more than a dozen Lesneys to pieces and cut the plastic along the track. I normally lose about 1mm or more mainly caused by the half-twisted saw. With a sharp knife and saw that should be no problem. If I don't want to lose that much of the material I keep on scratching with the knife until I'm trough or replace the saw by some scissors and simply cut the two sides apart with it. Or I just take the scissors from the beginning on, it depends on the material and the risk of breaking something. Normally I break something, but that can be glued and a lengthened model should be painted anyway and you shouldn't have that problem with a saw that cuts the plastic like warm butter.

So, if you have two models ready I would advise you to use Chester's method. If not, I would give the same advice, you can lose as much of the original material just as it's necessary, you'll have to open the putty tube anyway.

[Christian]

Thanks for the tips, all! Of course I don't have two models ... it would be too easy then. It wouldn't help me much anyway because the 2mm can be filled more efficiently with Evergreen. Actually, what I didn't mention yet is the fact that I need to lengthen the hood by 1mm and the rear doors by 1mm ...
A miter box is a very good idea, but I will have to scratchbuilt one for this purpose.

[only87]

In case you need a second body, I have one of those shells lying around. A painted one, but otherwise in good shape.

[skunk]

I have hitherto been using only87's "butchering" method, but I just purchased an excellent miter box, with saw, for a reasonable $10. Of course, I right now share a 40 m² apartment with four others, which leaves me w/o space for modelling.

I have been planning (for some time, now) to turn a Wiking MB 600 into a Pullman version. And yes, dear Wiking purists, I have a BS-design Pullman as well, and yes, I still intend to cut the Wiking in half. So there. My only tip is to strengthen the joints with some aluminium foil glued to the inside of the body. I also prefer using plastic of a similar color to that of the rest of the model, to minimize the amount of paint one has to use. Especially for something as small as a 1 mm expansion, it shouldn't be impossible to find suitable pieces in the scrap box.

[h0collector]

Dear Christian,
In order to obtain your wanted MB 220 - would it be easier to use an old Wiking MB 220 (use a junkyard sample, as old Wiking 220's can reach high prices), and then evt. add details such as grille and bumbers, from a Brekina 180 ?
Of course the old Wiking models of the 1960s does not have Brekina's standard, but in this way, you will save yourself the lengthening job. The Wiking's MB 220 is in fact about 2 mm. longer than the similar 180.

Bjarte

[Christian]

Bjarte: I have thought about that but finally decided that the Wiking model is not detailed enough for my purposes. When you say the 220 model is 2mm longer than the 180, do you mean Wiking's 180 or Brekina's? I suspect that the 220 is 1/90 scale and therefore shorter than Brekina's Benz.

[ghoti]

Christian, I just received an email from Micro mark concerning their sale which is just starting. One of the items which caught my eye was a precision miter box which will cut any angle from 45º to 90º. It looks like a good tool and only costs about $25.00 and includes a fine pitch saw (I think it said 24 TPI). Check out this site....http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=15215.

[ghoti]

Christian, I just looked at the site again and realized I didn't remember things quite right. A senior moment! It has a 54 TPI saw and will cut 65º each side of center. Sorry. Jim

[ghoti]

I guess it's just not my day I tried opening the site using the address I put in my post, and it don't work. If you use : micromark.com there is a picture at the top of a bunch of tools around the center picture. In the lower right corner there is a picture of the "Miter/Cut-off Machine" . Click on that and it will open the page of the tool. (It is tool # 15218) Three posts to get it right, (I hope), it had better be a good tool !! ;D Jim