I promised to update the reasons for my problems with this build and to show pictures.
In a fit of pique I'd stuffed the whole lot in a box and walked away from it.
After due consideration I removed it and pulled the worst side off the vehicle to see if I could split it in to it's component parts and start again. That didn't work - it just started to break up. This pic shows most effectively the way the side is breaking up and also the problem which caused me to take a break from this one - the side is badly bubbled.
And here's the other end of the same side - not so broken but still showing bubbles in the top lamination.
It's not just the sides though. The floor is bubbling and even the overlay on the ends.
However...... on looking at what's left it is quite clear that the opposite side is OK and usable - see below.
So, the question is why?
Well, as I mentioned at the start of this thread (I think!) this was commenced rather in the nature of an experiment. One side - strangely the one which has bubbled up - was laminated using a contact adhesive. The opposite side was laminated using MEK. Inspecting it now it appears to be OK, regardless of whether or not the solvent has fully evaporated. I was extremely careful when building up this side to ensure that the solvent was applied evenly. However, following my apparent initial success with the sides I was rather more cavalier with the application of the cement on the coach base and also the overlays.
Where does that put me now?
The overlays at the ends can be corrected quite easily. I'll split the overlays and apply a bit more cement or use cement to lift them where they are bubbled and apply a more controlled dose of solvent as an adhesive. A similar procedure on the coach base should also deal with the problem.
Fundamentally the underframe is OK - there is a bit of a curve in one of the plastic angle components but that can be fixed either by cutting this piece out and replacing it or substituting a piece of brass angle.
I'll also have to make a new side. That presents me with a bit of a problem as I've never done this before, but I have the original side as a pattern.
All in all this is perhaps not the write off I thought it would be. In fact only one side needs replacing. I now have rather too much on the bench to start recovering this vehicle just now, but once I've created some room I'll give it another go.
Brian