Hints and Tips...

[StephenLawson]

Greetings all; Recently I have had some queries concerning modern Photoetch and its general applications. Generally thought by "fraidy cats" the world over as "The Dark side of the Force" in Modeling. These are very general thoughts but work for me in almost every instance.

It is usually very easy to handle if you follow a couple of guidelines. With pre-painted parts you will want to separate them first or be prepared to repaint them.

1. Use candle or lighter heat to pass the PE metal fret over until you see the temper of the metal change colours. Nickel silver (which is neither nickel or silver) photoetch may take a bit longer to heat compared to plain brass. Just keep a close eye on the colour. Some blueing ok. You want it bendable but avoid making the parts brittle. 15-20 seconds under a heat source is ok but 2 minutes is too much. Also the smaller the part the quicker it will loose temper.

2. Bend as much as you can reasonably do. and paint each part while still on the tree.

3. The clear bag that the PE metal comes in...Is a great tool. While the parts are still on the tree put the fret back in the bag. It is the best time to cut them loose. (Parts will stay in the bag and not fly off into the modeler's black hole. ) Cut the bottom corner out of the bag to allow only the parts you cut from the tree to exit the bag.

4. Use tweezers and an opitvisor. finish forming the part for exact fit by tacking it in place at one end and with the tip of a finger (away from the glue) form the piece to the surface and then finish any glueing needed. Viola!

[Ross_Moorhouse]

I moved Stephen's thread here as it is a very good one for the hints and tips.

Anyone have some tips for ataching the landing gear?

[Barker]

Originally Posted by StephenLawson

3. The clear bag that the PE metal comes in...Is a great tool. While the parts are still on the tree put the fret back in the bag. It is the best time to cut them loose. (Parts will stay in the bag and not fly off into the modeler's black hole. ) Cut the bottom corner out of the bag to allow only the parts you cut from the tree to exit the bag.

this may be the tip O the week or even year.

Recently while bashing a Curtiss Jenny from the venerable Airfix DH4 in 1/72 I discovered a great way to scratch louvers. Simply use the "crimped" (accordion-like) end from any foil bag of snacks (here in the U.S. I used the end of a Combos bag). Cut the piece to the size you want and attach with CA glue. I found it holds well and takes acrylic model paints with no problem.

HTH,
Brian da Budget Basher

[Ross_Moorhouse]

The Look of Varnished Wood....

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazin...wood_grain.htm

[Barker]

am scared witless of woodgrain..

good'un, Ross.

[Familyman]

Originally Posted by Trench Raider

Anyone have some tips for ataching the landing gear?

That is a good question! I hope that some of the veteran builders here will give their tips on this. I think the landing gear is sometimes trickier than the upper wing!

Mikko

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never had any trouble with landing gear. It's usually the last part I attach during a build (prior to rigging), after getting the upper wing in place. If I'm working on a monoplane, I'll set the model on top of some paint bottles so I don't crush any of the cockpit or fuselage. I place the model upside down and attach the main landing gear struts, usually with Testor's tube glue. This gives me a little time to fiddle the axle in place. Wheels always go on last. Since I hang all my models from the ceiling, I just glue them on the ends of the axle.

I hope this helps,
Brian da Basher
(currently bashing a Curtiss H-16 in 1/144)

[John Masters]

Barker---wood grain is actually pretty easy. It just takes practice. Like the tutorial said, practice on a piece of strip styrene first and get hang of it. I also remember what Dan San said about scale. For the most part 72nd scale is not going to show a whole lot of grain due to size.

From the Factory on the hill,
John Masters