unconventional modelling materials list

[Mini Me]

Wine bottle foil comes in handy for all sorts of small items such as rifle slings, helmet straps etc. it can also be used in the smallest of scales for the swadged collars on tow cables. some of the foil is laminated and one can carefully separate the layers if you require even thinner material to work with....makes great flags and pennants also.
Rick H.

[Dwayne]

Shoe laces make great tails for animals I used them to make horse tails. leave the aglet? on and chop as much as you need then use a small stiff brush to unravel the fibres.

[Ancientmariner]

Wow some amazing ideas on here, I shall add some it's I do, apologies if these are already up.

Swan & M scalpel handles (the metal type). To make these easier to grip and a little thicker I hear one or two layers of heat shrink tube onto them.

Masking some areas I use wet kitchen towel. Apply to model wet, wait to dry, cut to shape. Then spray, very easy to remove.

For nose weights I use fishing weights or any lead or meatal I have, put in nose cone and then melt candle wax in. Leave to dry. All done.

[outrunner]

Masking some areas I use wet kitchen towel. Apply to model wet, wait to dry, cut to shape. Then spray, very easy to remove.

Now that's an idea I will try.

Andy.

[Ancientmariner]

Now that's an idea I will try.

Andy.

A couple of examples I tried. This idea I did see on youtube so I can't take credit I'm afraid.

[Bugatti Fan]

Scale cable or rope from wire. A dead easy method as follows!
Obtain one of those miniature plastic hand drills and place it horizontally in a vice with the turning handle uppermost. Get a paperclip and straighten it out but leaving one end in a hook shape. Put the straight part ( you may have to cut the paperclip to leave an unkinked straight length to go into the Chuck of the drill ) and tighten it well. Now get one of two lengths of copper, brass or heading wire and double them back over. Locate them over the hook in the drill chuck and grab the loose ends with a pair of pliers. Hold the wires under tension and turn the handle of the drill. As you turn the wires with the drill they will naturally start to form into a resemblance of rope or cable. Keep turning until the desired effect is achieved. As some well known meerkats would say. Simples!

[Bugatti Fan]

Oops! In my last post, heading wire should read beading wire.

[Mike Mortimore]

Hi,
Just spent the best part of an hour going over this, I have a bobs worth to throw into the circle:
1. I had a collection, (quite a few) of bonsai trees, and a few years ago were all killed off by an unexpected cold snap...
After the foliage had died off, I left the trunks to dry out , bingo, miniature trees for miniature vehicles .
2. The seeds from a Silver Birch Tree, on the tree they are a long course looking stick on the end of a thin spindly branch.
Take them off whole and carefully nip the end off and all the seeds fall off a centre spine, use the seeds as ivy leaves, also thin fuse wire for the stems.
3. Straws cut length way to use as guttering and down pipes.

Been AWOL for a while, good to be able to have input, some brilliant ideas here.

Mike

[GerryW]

A bit like Mike - I've just gone through this thread - some of the 'tricks' date back to when I first started & probably 'got lost' over time, but one that I didn't notice listed (not original to me):-
Instant coffee for staining wood - I usually use it very strong (a teaspoon in a milk bottle top of warm water) two applications turn pine into teak (colour-wise), also brings out any grain that's there.

[Peej]

I use an old toothbrush for getting all the dust and debris out of sanding blocks and files.

[Lee Drennen]

I save Water bottle caps to put a little paint in and also I use them to put glue in and use with a Cocktail stick to apply. I also like using Baking Soda and Super Glue mixture for filler.

[Guest]

I save Water bottle caps to put a little paint in and also I use them to put glue in

I use milk bottle tops for the same reasons. We get through so much milk in our household that I've seriously considered investing in our own cow, so I'm never short of tops.

For even smaller amounts I use these things that are surplus from work. Stoppers for the disposable paint cups we use, but they are very similar to tattoo ink cups, and made out of HDPE so solvent safe and glue/paint just doesn't stick to them. I'd estimate we throw up to 100 a week, even with me helping myself, so an endless supply really.

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[wasdale32]

Self-adhesive aluminium plumber's tape - a roll about 5cm wide is about £7 has many uses

Straps: cut to width and emboss with the handle of a knife or pick



Non-Skid: emboss with coarse sandpaper



Even Zimmerit:




And obviously natural metal finish on aircraft

[PaulTRose]

. I also like using Baking Soda and Super Glue mixture for filler.

i use talcum powder when i need a super hard filler

[GerryW]

......... I also like using Baking Soda and Super Glue mixture for filler.

i use talcum powder when i need a super hard filler

Thinking that I might have to try these ones for casting, as the Revell Plasto is just too soft to work with (having a 50% shatter rate) and it's so annoying to have filed to the point of 'almost there' to have the bit fall apart (top one is now in 3 bits!)