Realignment of metal parts

[Foxy]

I have obtained a James Bond Toyota model. Unfortunately the lever that operates the boot lid is bent.
I'm not sure if it's possible to bend this back straight. I am worried that as it's cast it may break. Would some heat help? Hopefully I have attached a photo
Any help would be appreciated

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hello Foxy, welcome to the forum.

I have resized your image for easier viewing and added some brightness to the area you are asking about.

These items are usually made of a mazac (zamac), based material and it is possable some heat would enable this part to be bent up slightly to a better position. The drawback to this is that too much heat as if applied by direct flame onto the part for too long will just boil the metal into a useless blob!

If you are intending to do a light restoration on this model, my prefered method of making the lever more presentable is to use small modelling files and simply file it into a better looking shape doing away with heat completely.

Keep us updated with your work on this by posting in our restoration thread... viewforum.php?f=18

Ghosthunter.

[johnboy]

Hello Foxy, welcome to the forum. That's a nice model. I don't know the answer to this, heat could damage the paint/plastics very easily. You could buy a very cheap beater and use it for practice.

[SupraBob]

Wow! I would love to find a 2000GT model. I have a Matchbox Dunlop van that had been stepped on. The front of the roof had been flattened down and pushed to one side. The center windshield post was "S" shaped. I was able to put it in a vise and gently tap it back into position. The A pillars went back into exactly the proper position, but the thinner center windshield post broke out. I was able to straighten it and super glue it back into position. So I believe that the Zinc alloy used in these models is soft enough that you probably could coax the lever back into the original position by carefully bending it. If it breaks, drill holes in each piece the size of a small mild steel rod such as a small nail. Super glue the parts back together with a piece of the nail inside to give it support. Good luck!

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Shown below is a similar job descibed by ''SupraBob'' on a very thin so delicate headlamp bracket.

The drill held in a piece of blue wire insulation is resting in the hole.


The new pin (a piece of wire similar to fuse wire) is placed in a matching drilled hole in the headlamp's upright support.


Test fitting of lamp back onto it's original support. When ready this will simply require gluing.

Ghosthunter.

[Tinman]

Heat will indeed allow you to straighten a bent piece without breaking it. I've heated many parts and put them right without any damage. However, all of those models parts were dismantled and stripped of paint. I too ruined one base when I wasn't careful enough and pushed the heat up over the limit and melted part of the base.