Chip's DB5 Recovery Job***Repaired***

[Molly-new]

I was given this by a friend who also does modelling.



It wasn't till I got home that I realised why. All the parts are present:



But the wheel hubs have been fitted without the wire spokes insert, the dashboard is in but wonky, and the gear box has been put in upside down:



The windows (1 piece) have been fitted but I suspect that PVA glue was not used in this instance:





Apparently he picked it up at a car boot sale!! Reminds me of one of my first builds.

As I doubt that I can do a particularly good recovery job on it I thought it would be perfect for this GB. Now to raid the decal box to see what scheme to use.

[ShaunW]

Nice to see another DB5 Chip. Oh dear, there's a bit of work to do in recovering this but it's certainly not beyond the realms of possibility. Although the glazing looks cream crackered by the tube cement that has probably been used to glue it in, I think some clear plastic packaging material or similar will sort that.

[Sissel]

Oh dear, that is some nasty glue mess on the windscreen. Bit of work on this, but I have faith in you that you will overcome it.

Have you found a scheme yet?

[Miss-Stang]

Looks like a bit of restoration work to first, but I'll be interested to see what scheme you decide to do - the DB5 is one of my favourite British classics (expensive taste )

I'm sure you'll be able to do something amazing!

[fredk]

If you want a replacement windscreen set ask Airfix, they could supply you with one. Even if you tell them its not a lost or broke part it'll only cost a couple of ££. Might be worth it rather than all the effort to try to clean it up?

[Molly-new]

Have you found a scheme yet?

I have decided to go with a German F-86 Sabre scheme as I have spare decals from this:



I think the yellow nose with the black tulip design should look quite funky.

If you want a replacement windscreen set ask Airfix, they could supply you with one. Even if you tell them its not a lost or broke part it'll only cost a couple of ££. Might be worth it rather than all the effort to try to clean it up?

Nice idea, I will send them an e-mail later.

Although this looked a bit daunting at first, it has turned out to be quite fun.

The first task was to dis-assemble the gearbox and axle from the chassis:



Closer inspection of the instructions revealed why the wire spoke inserts were missed (take note Sissel)



The glazing was a bit more problematic, but with a lot of patience and some strong language I managed to remove it with only a small amount of damage:







The next stage is to sand down the remaining bits of glazing and give a general clean up to the bodywork to remove all the flash:



The radiator grill will be staying in position but the gaps will be filled.

[Sissel]

Nice start! Yep, the amount of flash on this kit is daunting. Glad you got the windows off with such little damage.

Should look good in the scheme you've chosen.

[ShaunW]

That will be a great scheme Chip, I agree, the tulip nose should suit it very well.

[Narayan]

Great choice of car Chip and you've made a great start.

_________________
Narayan

Last night, Darth Vader came down from planet Vulcan and told me that if I didn't take Lorraine out that he'd melt my brain.

A:B 2013 36:10 2012 20:05 2011 11:10 2010 44:12 2009 19:16 2008 16:03 Overall 229:61

[Miss-Stang]

Looking good so far Chip!

And I agree with ShaunW, the tulip nose should look great

[general rocket]

The Tulip Style flash (in orange) looks good on the modern racing Aston's, so should look the part on this one.

[fredk]

I agree, that tulip design will look good.

[Molly-new]

I just hope that I can get the bodywork smooth enough to carry off the silver paint OK, It usually shows off every blemish.

Most of the clean up is now complete, but found a couple of spots that required filling:



Once sanded down I can get a coat of primer on to see how she looks. I also need to replace the trim from the left hand side of the window frame as it was lost with the old glazing.

On Wednesday I filled out the form on the Airfix website for replacement parts for a new glazing piece and yesterday I received the following e-mail:

We have today sent your spare parts out 1st class delivery. Best Regards, Airfix spares.

WooHoo, thanks Airfix.

[ShaunW]

You can't really get better than that for customer service Chip, well done Airfix! Silver paint work is a menace for showing up any blemishes as most of us are probably aware Best of luck tidying it up!

[Zee28]

Great work so far Chip, and I think the colour scheme will suit nicely.

Zee