Need help deconstructing

[vincegamer]

Anyone have any experience un-assembling models?

I just bought one of those Warhammer 40K space marine transport vehicles (forget what they are called - warthog, elephant, capibarra, something like that) cheap off ebay.

Anywho, the prior owner did a pretty sad job of painting and in a couple cases of assembling. The biggest thing to me though is that they left the interor completely unpainted! The back door opens and I look inside and see this plain gray interior.

Can anyone tell me the best way to take the model apart, or apart just enough to easily access the inside? Looks like he used polystyrene cement (the glue that melts the joins of plastic together).
Or am I just going to have to do my best holding the brush at the far end and sticking it in through the back door?

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Sometimes an exacto knife slipped/shoved in to where the joint is and pried. Even if you have to break the part off, as long as the break is fairly clean, you can just glue it back and sand it smooth.

 

[vincegamer]

I tried prying with the knife. Problem was the plastic tended to bend rather that snap cleanly so I gave up before mangling it too badly.
Thanks though, keep it coming.
Maybe I\'ll just use a dremel saw blade and cut it in half then glue it back together. . . .

 

[MathewBaich]

What i would say is just start putting the blade in the join and start cutting.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I was trying to pry a piece loose the other day, snapped a leg off the mini, glued it back, sanded it and you wouldnt know the difference. Sometimes it\'s easier to simply break it off and rapair later.

 

[RedSevenBlue]

what does a little battle damage matter?

Just cut at the joint as best you can. If its painted so sadly, why not strip the thing of the paint and then dissassemble it?

 

[airhead]

if it is glued with solvent glue, it is going to be tough to do...

One of the exacto #15 saw blades may be the ticket?

 

[Ogrebane]

Go buy a heap of plasticard and start to build your own. Take off only the bits that are too hard to make yourself.

Good luck tho I dont envy what your about to do.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally by VinceGamer

I just bought one of those Warhammer 40K space marine transport vehicles (forget what they are called - warthog, elephant, capibarra, something like that) cheap off ebay.

Would that be the black one or the green one?
Now I wish I\'d taken a close up picture for you and we could have worked out if you needed them stripping first. (Ah well hindsight is 20/20)
As to cutting them open and trying to re-glue, Good luck I\'ve only once in XX years managed to separate a piece of plastic and re-glue successfully.
I might be able to source some bit\'s from the Black one\'s era should you need them, just let me know.

 

[vincegamer]

Mike,
The green one. The black one actually comes apart quite easily. I took the turret and barrel off because the positioning was so bad.

You said from that era. I take it the tank IS GW, but is rather old? I\'m not sure what I can call it in game terms, but I\'ll worry about that later. I think I\'m just going to leave it black and add some details. Those big canister things on the side looked awful so I just pulled them off and smoothed the sides.

Stripping: I\'m more of the \"paint over the old paint\" school for gaming pieces. Even though the paint is thick and sloppy, I may just sand it and reprime black.