Landships II

PDA · Legend

Qu for Modelmakers

compound eye · Colonel

Hmmm, some details on larger kits can *sometimes* be shaved off acceptibly with an Xacto saw but, I suspect, in these sort of scales you are stuck with scratching replacement details out of 20 thou & 10 thou. styrene sheet... and only then [if you are happy with your scratching] drill out the moulded hatches slightly inside the line of the original part to create a realistic aperture. You don't want to rip into a tank, unless you can re-build what you've removed. You would likely have to shave the inside of the aperture to thin the armour realistically too.

For shaving and paring of small unwanted details, single rivets even, I have a cheap set [£3!] of craft knife handles [thin/med/large Xacto style] which has dozen or so assorted blades held on a magnetic bar in a blue plastic box. Most of the time I used the blades in my hand, like a cabinet makers scraping tool and gently chisel or scrape very small areas... you stand a lot less risk of walloping off detail by accident, as finger pressure is a lot less than with a handle, plus you have finer control.

I know Philthy Dirty Animal has some experience of Archers decal rivers on his rhomboids, which come in loads of rail-scale sizes & styles. Never underestimate the benefit of fine fuse wire and foil from wine bottles either... more or less anything that comes to hand can be used for scratching.

Why not try the technique on some scrap first? As I say, replicate acceptably first, then destroy & replace... that way, you'll always be able to get back to square one if you have to.

There'll be no stopping you once you've done a couple. ;)

I did a full scratch build with complex curves and self-mastered & cast resin parts last year. Never thought I'd see the day...

MK1 Nut · Hero

Could you use the old plasticine trick?

Use a cool (so it's not to sticky) bit of plasticine to make mould/impression.

I haven't tried this yet, but I was thinking of taking a mould off a part with plasticine, cooling it right down so it goes hard, then pushing fine Milliput into it. Rather than just making a hatch, use a big lump of Milliput to make a Stamp with which you can keep and use over and over again. Build up a collection.

If it works, 'then' you can happily go cutting out hatches, safe in the knowledge you can at least fill them back in, if opening them up proves to tricky. :)

Actually, it opens up the option of moving correct details around different kits.

Just a thought

Helen x

compound eye · Colonel

Good thinking.

An RTV mould would be more stable though and hold better detail, plus resin casting would give better detail and zero distortion.

I might cast myself some drivers cab flaps when I get my Takom kits, as the kit parts don't have separate slit covers like the Tamiya ones do. I'd rather cast a few resin copies and make a mess of them trying to get the alterations right.

PDA · Legend

MK1 Nut wrote:
Could you use the old plasticine trick?
...
Helen x

Good idea, Helen. Thanks.

I will use Oyumaru instead of plasticine. All the plasticine in my house is either covered in cat hairs or in my 1-year old's mouth, or sometimes both.

Red truck · Corporal

For small simple parts I have used green stuff, wetting the part and pulling of the green stuff to cure and then packing the mould with apoxi sculpt. RTV would be better but I seldom have it available.

Paul Bonnett · Hero

How do you rate Oyumaru PDA. Ive seen it advertised but never heard of it being used !
Paul

PDA · Legend

Paul Bonnett wrote:
How do you rate Oyumaru PDA. Ive seen it advertised but never heard of it being used !
Paul

It works great as a press mould. The problems I have with it are not with capturing detail but with what I use to fill the mould. So far I've only used Green Stuff and sometimes have trouble forcing it into all the corners. I keep meaning to try it with Araldite, which is very cheap and very easy to get because the Dollar Store has it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U51nGovK5_s

Try to ignore the song.

Paul Bonnett · Hero

Many Thanks, will see about ordering some. Clear casting resin ( used for paper weights etc ) is quite thin and will reach all the corners. half a litre will last a long time

Paul

PDA · Legend

Paul Bonnett wrote:
Many Thanks, will see about ordering some. Clear casting resin ( used for paper weights etc ) is quite thin and will reach all the corners. half a litre will last a long time
Paul

Thanks for the tip, Paul, but Araldite is really cheap ($1.25) and easily available and I'm 70% sure it will work. If it doesn't, I will get some more Oyumaru, which is also cheap and easily available, and carry on using Green Stuff.

CrashandBern · Field Marshal

Araldite will definitely work I used it way back when to make make some wheels for a 1/43 scale car conversion. Just make sure it's properly mixed otherwise your mouldings will come out sticky, the first few may do anyway, and as it's quite viscous you'll need to use a cocktail stick or similar to push it into all the corners and details.
I also used silicon bathroom sealant to make the moulds... it's pretty cheap and available at any DIY shop again you'll need to work it into the details as it's quite gloopy but I remember it worked really well.

TeeELL · General

If you warm up the araldite when it has been mixed it will run like water and fill the mould more readily. In addition this will help to accelerate the cure.