unconventional modelling materials list

[yak face]

decal sheet borders and numbers

hi all ,just a quick one. Ever noticed on large decal sheets especially airfix,the thin black line round the edge and the numbers at the side of each decal? On the larger airfix sheets these have a carrier film too meaning you can use them for wing walkway lines or small numerals,etc. I used the lines round the edge to define the different colours on the wings of the super connie and the numbers on the front and rear of the fouga magister,the rear ones being particularly tiny items off a revell sheet. So dont throw away those bits of decal sheet! cheers tony

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[stona]

Don't want to divert the thread Tony but what do you use for your natural metal? Looks good on the Connie. I'm an Alclad man at the moment but am always up a new product!

Steve

[yak face]

Don't want to divert the thread Tony but what do you use for your natural metal? Looks good on the Connie. I'm an Alclad man at the moment but am always up a new product!Steve

hi steve ,i use a car aerosol, hycote aluminium,its about £3 99 a tin but goes a long way.Its an acrylic and gives a nice smooth finish and i always overcoat it with klear .I tried halfords nissan silver ,which a lot of people use but i found it gave a grainy texture. The only drawback is you cant mask off and do different shades of silver,i think it would mark the unprotected finish and i think if i did it after the coating of klear maybe it would pull the klear off,so if you look ,all my nat metal finishes are all one shade!I understand thats the beauty of alclad,that its tough enough to mask off without marking or pulling off,one day ill pluck up enough courage to get some and try it(and enough money!!its expensive!)If you look on my gallery theres a few more done with the hycote(meteor,su15 ,la 176, yak 23 ,aero delfin ,trumpeter sabre.)In fact the only one done with halfords nissan silver is the d h heron,see if you can see the difference .The hycote does give a lovely smooth finish and it covers really well,one coat usually being enough. hope this is of some use , cheers tony

[wonwinglo]

Micropore plaster

Micropore plaster is ideal for strong quick field repairs,wrap the offending item with the plaster,touch with some thin cyno and zap ! the strongest field repair you will know,the cyno locks everything that the micropore touches including your fingers so keep well away !

[stona]

The only drawback is you cant mask off and do different shades of silver,i think it would mark the unprotected finish and i think if i did it after the coating of klear maybe it would pull the klear off,so if you look ,all my nat metal finishes are all one shade!

Lots of panels in different shades is something that I think is way overdone anyway. I only use two shades as subtely as I can.

You could pre-shade a few panels before you sprayed for a subtle variation. I've done this with Alclad by masking and spraying selected panels in a darker grey than my primer,(not too dark).

Thanks for the info.

Steve

[yak face]

picture wire

hi all, just in the middle of doing my halftrack and i came to the cable wrapped round the towing hooks.The kit part doesnt look very convincing so i wondered what i could replace it with . PICTURE HANGING WIRE, got it in a cheap set full of picture hooks, brass pins etc.think it was from a pound shop.Its braided brass wire ,which when twisted a bit tighter(between two sets of pliers or in a vice with pliers) looks perfect for scale towing cable.Looped the ends over, wrapped thin strips of tape around and put a spot of thin superglue to fix and bobs yer uncle! I think its an improvement over the two dimensional kit part ,and theres about a yard left in the picture hook set,plenty left for the next one!

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[spanner570]

I used this on my Tiger 1 diorama 'Snow Tiger' because this tank usually had the towing hawsers clamped flat on the hull deck. Whereas in combat, particularly in muddy conditions, they were fastened to one shackle and run in a straight line along the deck to the other one.This allowed for rapid use should the need arise.

Due to the rapid approach of old age I forgot to list it in 'Unconventional'

Thanks Tony for reminding me about it and telling the forumers.

Ron

[spanner570]

Just a quick add-on. If anyone uses Tony's wire idea, a good tip, which I did on my Tiger, is to take the original plastic hawser ( you only need to mod. one, I left the other alone) and cut the loop, complete with crimp, off the cable and super glue this to your new bit of wire.

Ron

[Guest]

Hi all heres somthing you might like, to make realistic grass try using deer hair.... yes thats right hair from a deer however i don't suggest you go out and buy a whole deer you can get the material from any shop that sells fly tying equipment.

scott

[Guest]

I don't know if this has been mentioned already (I'm too lazy to go through the whole thread!) but I was in a coffee-shop last night & I grabbed a handful of those wooden stirrers. If you slice them in two then split them lengthways, you have perfect wooden planks that can be cut to the length you want. Great for airfield dios or fences etc.

Patrick

[yak face]

afv aerials/rod for scratchbuilding

hello all ,this threads been a bit cold lately so heres one for you. Ever seen those cheap battery powered fibre optic ufo's. I bought one today (reduced,half price of course £1.49!) and the fibre optic strands are perfect for aerials on your afvs/cars etc. Theyre about 0.5mm dia and really flexible so theyre quite resistant to dusting/accidental handling ,plus they could also be used in scratchbuilding anywhere a rod shape is needed,and you get hundreds-theyll last you forever! keep on thinking chaps , cheers tony:idea:

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[Guest]

nice one tony had never thought of that, i may borrow this idea in the near future.

scott

[stona]

Not sure if this really counts,more of a tip really. Large freezer bags are perfect for keeping your extra decals in. Seal them up and put them in a cupboard!

Like this.

Steve

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[Guest]

Started work on an Aircraft Control Tower but needed a thin cotton to go around the safety pillars, they reccomended wire but it didn't quite look the part, I was trying to go for a rope look all the way around, so what could I use that was thin enough to go around the pillars & make look like it belonged to the building? I work at a building merchants & I saw a bricky line that I could peel a strand from & use that......after 3 hours of hard work.....result!!!! looks pretty good if I do say so myself :biggrin:

[Guest]

Home made sanding sticks.

Buy yourself a multipack of finishing paper the Tamiya pack is around 3 or 4 quid.

get some of those wooden stirring sticks from the works canteen or those posh coffee shops the longer ones are better as these can be cut in half.

Next lay the stick on the paper either flat or on the narrow edge mark it up cut it and glue it on the stick anything like evo stick of boss stick will do.

use some clothes pegs or small clamps to hold the paper in place and leave for 24hrs.

You can also shape the stick to a fine end to get into those hard to get places.

Mini paint/filler/putty dishes.

use your old beer bottle tops.

Take one bottle top, one wooden stirring stick cut the stick to about 2" long glue the stick to the bottle top use a clamp to hold it in place while the glue sets

once set you can put near a enough anything into the bottle top, slide the stick between your fingers holding the peace of work and away you go, everything close at hand.

Wine bottle tops

These make good straps for kit bags, weapons

That's my pennies worth i hope it helps some one.

Regards

David