GT Spirit Disassembly

[BluesHead]

Hi Guys,
Just caught the modelling/collecting bug again after 30 odd years - interest sparked again by recent heath retirement and the love of all things Motorsport related.
Thought I'd kick off again with a 1:18 model of my current car, Mineral Grey BMW M240i, but could only track down an M235i (visually the same) from GT Spirit Models in Melbourne Red . Thought it would be a nice starter project to respray it to match it's full size big brother but stumbled at the first hurdle...disassembly.
There is 1 screw at the front of the chassis but no other obvious way to remove the chassis from the body - may be simple enough but I don't want to force or risk damaging the body at such an early stage.  Could mask off windows etc but these seem a bit flimsy so would prefer removing before painting.  Would anybody have any experience of disassembling GT Spirit Model cars or offer any relevant advice to get me started?

Many thanks in advance for any assistance.
BH.

[Snake45]

I recently built a diecast kit that had only two screws at the rear part of the chassis. The front end is held in place by a couple of tabs on the front of the (plastic) chassis that fit into the firewall on the (metal) body. Pretty clever. Perhaps your diecast is put together in somewhat the same way. 

[Gramps46]

Welcome back to modeling.  Like you I had a health retirement last year and am now into diecasts.  I have not come across GT Spirit Models yet but suspect like Snake says there may be tabs holding the body in addition to the single screw.
 

[Don Sikora II]

I’m pretty sure models by GT Spirit are cast resin. So be careful because it might be easy to break the castings. And parts might be assembled at the factory with superglue. 

If you are on Facebook I’d see if there are groups for GT Spirit collectors or people who modify them. If you’re lucky, might be a great place to find tips. Good luck!

[BluesHead]

Thanks to all for the replies - I also believe that GT Spirit are resin models so you can understand me wishing to tread lightly, also very wary of the dreaded superglue!

Will proceed with caution but am guessing tabs front and rear - wish me luck!! ?

[ksm]

On 12/20/2019 at 1:57 PM, BluesHead said:

Thanks to all for the replies - I also believe that GT Spirit are resin models so you can understand me wishing to tread lightly, also very wary of the dreaded superglue!

Will proceed with caution but am guessing tabs front and rear - wish me luck!! ?

@BluesHead: New to the forum.  I'm in a similar scenario in that I'm looking to disassemble a GT Spirit BMW.  Curious... how did it go?  Care to offer any insight into the disassembly process?  Indeed, it's a fantastic model (it's just the wrong color!).  Thanks!

Edited February 8, 2020 by ksm

[swede70]

Greetings,

Although not a GT Spirit model, seen below is a Replicarz sealed resin 1:18th scale AMC Javelin Trans-Am car that would be very close in spirit to what you'd have in hand. Sealed resin models tend to have very thick material throughout which lends a sense of heft to them while also permitting the use of oftentimes ungainly and oversized screws (or perhaps just a screw) to hold the basic floor to the body shell.  I suspect what you have in hand may just have the one screw, with the rest of the floor/chassis being held fast by unseen locating tabs further in.  

In my photo(s) notice that I took care not to damage the photo etch parts glued to the surface of the body and isolated the 'glass' the best I could.  I wrapped a towel to support the hood and decklid ends and tried to maintain a small recess or dip in the material to drop the model into lest it shift when a screwdriver was used to remove those intimidating screws.  Further, a very thin trash bag was overlaid onto the towel lest the towel tear away at the photo etch; i.e. this worked nicely, although a more modern topic taken up by GT Spirit many not strictly warrant this extra step.

Back to construction philosophies and servicing something like this, other experiences can be shared.  Know that within the space of an area automobilia store where I sometimes work, it's a fairly regular thing for use to be forced to disassemble almost the entire sweep of scales of modern sealed resin models to effect repairs given this or that has broken off or fallen away; i.e. the seat that rattles in the interior, the dashboard that has (literally) come unglued, etc. The impression is further gleaned that irrespective of box badging that would suggest otherwise, we feel we're looking at the work of the same company (or one of maybe three) again and again.  In short, few surprises are discovered across this tool and that company with regards to how things are set up or attached beneath.  

And finally, just a brief note about windows on sealed resin models.  A real weakness of many of the sealed resin topics are the windows; i.e. the wavy sheet acetate approximations of such that often look something less than convincing.  They are easily marred, people will cover such with fingerprints, and polishing them up to disguise such mars proves difficult if not impossible.  I suggest steering clear of ambitions to mask that which you see unless you've secured a damaged model for a very low price and are accepting of mistakes in exchange for developing a reliable technique.  It's possible too that experimentation may be done on sealed resin topics in 1:43rd given the hurdles would largely be the same.  Good luck!

Mike K./Swede70

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by swede70