Brass etched parts are now very much part and parcel of scale model construction,but what happens if the part/s that you want are not made by the add on industry ? well I have discovered a way to make facsimilie parts of equal quality from scrap,the basic material is the thin metal bases that things like pizzas come in,there is enough stock to last you a few models and above all it is so easy to work with,lets take a few typical applications that make excellent use of this workable material-
Firstly take bucket type aircraft seats,first make a card template folding up the sides to make sure that everything is to size,now flatten it out and scribe around the emplate straight onto the metal foil,use a pair of pointed nail scissors to carefully cut out the shape,fold the edges over against a small engineers steel rule and tack the edges with some cyno,if you need to crimp any edges this can be easily done with a pair of good quality pointed pliers carefully folding over the parts that you want,work slowly and neatly.
Should you require things like rivets etc,just place the foil against your self healing cutting mat and press with a wax carvers tool or something similar ( Proops do sets of these at silly prices something like ยฃ1.99 for a pack) you can also burnish the foil by rubbing with one of the spoon shaped miniature tools,the ability to manipulate this material will quickly become obvious as you work with it.
Another application could be cockpit frames or internal roll bars,for this lay the foil onto the mat and use a scalpel to score it into strips,cut carefully but do not tear into it,use a keen blade for best results,once again you can also fold the foil into strips for thicker build up,to curve it roll under a pencil after the foil is placed onto a piece of carpet underlay which will allow for some give in the material.
For replacement undercarriage doors it is the tops,once again make a card template and draw out the shape,next cut oversize and fold in the edges as before,you can super detail inside the doors with scrap material cynoed into place,new brass rod undercarriage legs can replace the original plastic ones if needed,wrap tissue or one winding of Bond paper around to represent the top of the leg ie the lower brass becomes the oleo strut itself.
With a bit of ingenuity you can make scores of different bits and pieces,the beauty for small models is the ease with which you can work with it,and above all it only costs you the price of your pizza ! :tongue1:
Firstly take bucket type aircraft seats,first make a card template folding up the sides to make sure that everything is to size,now flatten it out and scribe around the emplate straight onto the metal foil,use a pair of pointed nail scissors to carefully cut out the shape,fold the edges over against a small engineers steel rule and tack the edges with some cyno,if you need to crimp any edges this can be easily done with a pair of good quality pointed pliers carefully folding over the parts that you want,work slowly and neatly.
Should you require things like rivets etc,just place the foil against your self healing cutting mat and press with a wax carvers tool or something similar ( Proops do sets of these at silly prices something like ยฃ1.99 for a pack) you can also burnish the foil by rubbing with one of the spoon shaped miniature tools,the ability to manipulate this material will quickly become obvious as you work with it.
Another application could be cockpit frames or internal roll bars,for this lay the foil onto the mat and use a scalpel to score it into strips,cut carefully but do not tear into it,use a keen blade for best results,once again you can also fold the foil into strips for thicker build up,to curve it roll under a pencil after the foil is placed onto a piece of carpet underlay which will allow for some give in the material.
For replacement undercarriage doors it is the tops,once again make a card template and draw out the shape,next cut oversize and fold in the edges as before,you can super detail inside the doors with scrap material cynoed into place,new brass rod undercarriage legs can replace the original plastic ones if needed,wrap tissue or one winding of Bond paper around to represent the top of the leg ie the lower brass becomes the oleo strut itself.
With a bit of ingenuity you can make scores of different bits and pieces,the beauty for small models is the ease with which you can work with it,and above all it only costs you the price of your pizza ! :tongue1: