unconventional modelling materials list

[stona]

Hi, I used Halfords grey primer on a kit, but I seemed to get a very coarse finish, have you noticed this, or what could be the cause?

That can happen. I always rub down the model with some 2500 grit wet 'n' dry anyway. It doesn't happen all the time and I don't know what caused it.


Cheers


Steve

[Guest]

That can happen. I always rub down the model with some 2500 grit wet 'n' dry anyway. It doesn't happen all the time and I don't know what caused it.
Cheers


Steve

Thanks for that

[Guest]

Something like this might have been posted in the past, but whilst in Poundland today I espied these clothes pegs with rubber grips...
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They seem ideal for clamping small parts & grip better than the wooden ones.

[Steve O]

The bristles of paint brushes, clump them together and cut them down and you have winter grass if you paint them brown.

scott

Great advice, but also the use of bristles from more heavy duty brushes, the good old bass yard brush bristles can be used many ways in dioramas, also the nylon bristles from sweeping brushes, the list goes on.
Steve.

[Andy Belsey]

Great thread with lots of clever ideas. Thanks!
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There are several unconventional materials used here. Pie tin foil for the tent. Old fibrous carpet underlay for the grass, cigarette paper for the dandelions. The figures are painted by Mike (the Kiwi) Butler - I made the base for them.

[Guest]

Coffee grounds (done several years ago and no mold)
Dried out, added paint and PVA, then pressed over former or used as scatter, the hedge at the back is a scourer covered in various herbs, the climber is coffee grounds added to string.
Berries are poppy seeds painted.
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[Si Benson]

That’s awesome Jay :thumb2:

[Guest]

Cheers Si, I did this as a test piece for a thread on somewhere.
In this pic you can see a dandelion, leaves made from cigarette papers, the seed head done from balling up Q-tip fibres. The purple flowers where actual flowers of some plant I found growing in-between flagstones, dried out, then painted, I believe that moss flowers would do the same. The grasses are paint bristles as mention by others.
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[Guest]

That hedge made me remember that I once made bushes on a base for some Vietnam figures from pieces of Iceland moss (my mother was a florist, and had the stuff in abundance) with dried tea leaves glued on somehow — I suppose by first spraying the moss with glue from a can, then sprinkling the leaves on. Afterwards I sprayed the whole thing green, followed by drybrushing etc. to create pretty good-looking bushes.

[Peter Gillson]

hopefully other modellers will find it worth joining in with this thread.

i am sure I an not the only person who uses all sorts of odd tools and things for modelling which were not designed for modelling, so I though it might be fun to share some. I'll start off with some of mine.

some obvious ones which I am sure others use are: bluetac for cammo masking when airbrushing, the metal from tomato paste tubes for making straps etc, less obvious ones:

Jewellers screwdrivers - the flat head versions make great little chisels, they are easy to sharpen if you need to.


for sculpting creasess and folds in clothing, the different curves and shapes in set of darning needles are useful.



i bought a set lock-picking tools because I have always wanted to learn how to How to pick locks (it is worryingly straightforward). When they arrived I realised some are ideal for sculpting;

For a fiver on ebay I bought this battery powered nail polishing tool. It is a tight fit to get a Demel tool into its jaws but it is a lot quieter than the 'proper' ones.



anybody else what to share their non-modelling modelling tools?

Peter

[KarlW]

The usual run of Cotton buds, hair grips, clothes pegs.

Another use for needles is by snipping the top of the eye away you get a CA applicator.

Do the tools used for making wooden bases count?

[Guest]

Very interesting Peter and thanks for giving away your sculpting secrets!

The lock picking tools remind me of the scientist Richard Feynman, who when working at Los Alamos on the atom bomb project in the 1940s, taught himself lock-picking, and was subsequently able to pick any lock on the base. He wanted to demonstrate that sensitive material could never truly be stored safely, and the whole thing became a game between himself and the administrators. He always won. As detailed in his book 'Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman.'

[Gern]

Like Karl says, plastic clothes pegs with rubbery tips make excellent clamps. I tried the wooden ones but they're too slippery and wont grip the plastic.

I recently bought a pack of plastic shot glasses. I find with a blob of blue tack on the base, they make excellent handles for holding figures for painting.

Stainless steel chutney dishes are great for mixing washes, paints and diluting PVA.

The spatulas used for shaping and smoothing icing on cakes can do the same with thinner modelling clays and plaster.

A nail varnish shaker saves a lot of wear and tear on the arms when shaking paint prior to use - although sometimes the paint is too thick to mix with one.

Brake fluid and thick bleach make great paint and chrome removers respectively.

[KarlW]

I also use plastic shot glasses, but for mixing paint before putting it in the airbrush. (I once lifted the wrong thinners and ended up with a cottage cheese like substance in my paint cup....)

[Neil Merryweather]

I needed something bigger than my spray booth for spraying the occasional large piece.
This goes perfectly on the freezer in the garage

it's a kids' beach shelter and a snip at £15.99

there's no extraction , though...........