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Resolving misshapen plastic models


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I've bought a Dapol Brakevan kit and sadly the solebar/base of the brakevan has bent. The assembly instructions suggest that this can be resolved by placing them in hot water and manipulating them using finger pressure. 

 

How hot should the water be? Should it be boiling or is hot water from the tap good enough?

 

Thank you

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The hotter the better, all you are doing is softening the plastic slightly so that it can be eased into shape without stress fractures. Obviously don't burn yourself!

The approach I would use is 1) boil water 2) decant into bowl or saucepan and drop part in 3) after a few seconds add a bit of cold just so that you can dip into water without burning yourself and manipulate the part

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37 minutes ago, Inspired said:

I've bought a Dapol Brakevan kit and sadly the solebar/base of the brakevan has bent. The assembly instructions suggest that this can be resolved by placing them in hot water and manipulating them using finger pressure. 

 

How hot should the water be? Should it be boiling or is hot water from the tap good enough?

 

Thank you

Hi Inspired,

 

I wear rubber gloves and have the water as hot as I can stand it. It is also best to let the item stand in the hot water for a short time to allow it to soften before attempting to manipulate it.

 

Gibbo.

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On 09/08/2020 at 16:35, andyman7 said:

The hotter the better, all you are doing is softening the plastic slightly so that it can be eased into shape without stress fractures. Obviously don't burn yourself!

The approach I would use is 1) boil water 2) decant into bowl or saucepan and drop part in 3) after a few seconds add a bit of cold just so that you can dip into water without burning yourself and manipulate the part

 

On 09/08/2020 at 16:40, Gibbo675 said:

Hi Inspired,

 

I wear rubber gloves and have the water as hot as I can stand it. It is also best to let the item stand in the hot water for a short time to allow it to soften before attempting to manipulate it.

 

Gibbo.


Thank you both for your advice. I’ve just tried and it has worked.

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