I recently started a restoration of an Airfix 1/32 Bond Bug (M10C). It had been hanging around for almost eighteen months and I thought it time to get working on it.
I had spent years looking for an Airfix Bond Bug to add to the stash but was unable to find an unbuilt one. However, I managed to get hold of this built one on eBay. It has some vinyl stickers on it and has been glued pretty badly with what seems to be Evo-Stik contact adhesive. As it turned out, that was a blessing in disguise:
Since I purchased this built one, I did manage to get an unmade polybag kit but I will still carry out this restoration:
Because this had been assembled with Evo-Stik, it was pretty easy to pull it apart:
The parts were put in a freezer bag along with a good dose of Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner and left for 24 hours. Note that this stuff is powerful stuff and ventilation is a must when using it. I sprayed it outside:
Here the parts have been rinsed of Mr Muscle, cleaned with soapy water and then rinsed with water. Once that was done I was able to carry out some more disassembly. It is now ready for final cleaning up before I get down to painting and re-assembly:
These decals are the ones included in the polybag version shown earlier and I will be scanning them so that I can produce another set for this build:
The windows were cleaned up and I have masked them up ready for painting the frames and lower screens black. The engine halves were glued and I began to assemble the chassis and suspension:
In order for the chassis/suspension assembly to align correctly, I have dry-fitted it to the underside of the bodyshell while the glue sets. Once it has dried I will add some small pieces of plastic card to certain areas to give added strength and then move on to the assembly of the front suspension:
Talking of the front suspension, I discovered that somebody had done a repair job on it using some of the black parts shown in the third picture of my first post. Here is a picture of a Bond Bug sprue showing the three parts that are missing. The tin gives a good idea of the sizes of these pieces that should be easy to make:
That is all for now
Dave
I had spent years looking for an Airfix Bond Bug to add to the stash but was unable to find an unbuilt one. However, I managed to get hold of this built one on eBay. It has some vinyl stickers on it and has been glued pretty badly with what seems to be Evo-Stik contact adhesive. As it turned out, that was a blessing in disguise:
Since I purchased this built one, I did manage to get an unmade polybag kit but I will still carry out this restoration:
Because this had been assembled with Evo-Stik, it was pretty easy to pull it apart:
The parts were put in a freezer bag along with a good dose of Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner and left for 24 hours. Note that this stuff is powerful stuff and ventilation is a must when using it. I sprayed it outside:
Here the parts have been rinsed of Mr Muscle, cleaned with soapy water and then rinsed with water. Once that was done I was able to carry out some more disassembly. It is now ready for final cleaning up before I get down to painting and re-assembly:
These decals are the ones included in the polybag version shown earlier and I will be scanning them so that I can produce another set for this build:
The windows were cleaned up and I have masked them up ready for painting the frames and lower screens black. The engine halves were glued and I began to assemble the chassis and suspension:
In order for the chassis/suspension assembly to align correctly, I have dry-fitted it to the underside of the bodyshell while the glue sets. Once it has dried I will add some small pieces of plastic card to certain areas to give added strength and then move on to the assembly of the front suspension:
Talking of the front suspension, I discovered that somebody had done a repair job on it using some of the black parts shown in the third picture of my first post. Here is a picture of a Bond Bug sprue showing the three parts that are missing. The tin gives a good idea of the sizes of these pieces that should be easy to make:
That is all for now
Dave
