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Modelling tricks.


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Is there a place which brings together modelling tricks? I'm thinking especially for scratch builders. The sort of thing I mean is spraying plasterboard scrim tape with silver spray paint makes an excellent representation of chicken wire. Scrim tape is £3 from Screwfix and silver paint can often be found in Poundland, if not Wilko sell it for £2

 

The wooden stirrers found in Costa et al make excellent Scaffold boards one the ends are squared. 

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If only there was.  Perhaps we could call it something like, oh, I don't know, Modelling Questions, Help, and Tips and have it as a section on the RMWeb site.  Coffee stirrers appear on my layout as footboards (cut in half lengthways) and plank wagon loads; there is no scaffolding so no need for scaff boards.  They also feature as the nameboard for the Ogmore Forest Non-Political Sports and Social Club, though I haven't put the lettering on yet!  if they are good for scaff boards they will be good for roof crawling boards as well.

 

Good tip with the scrim tape!

 

Another tip is pound shop tools.  They are usually useless for their intended purpose, but are great for opening paint tins, levering, and the like.  I have a set of brightly coloured pound shop children's paint brushes, though I don't have (or want) the brightly coloured pound shop.  children to go with them, which are hopeless for painting with, as they have very stiff thick nylon 'hairs'.  They are absolutely perfect fro sweeping out debris from check rail flangeways though!  While we're at it, when you are dismantling RTR locos, keep a lump of Blutac or similar handy to put tiny screws and other small pieces in; it will help to stop them making a break for the border or sacrificing themselves to the carpet monster (my layout lives in the bedroom, so I can't get away with not having a carpet monster) while you're not looking...

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As a kit/scratchbuilder, my main boon at the moment is IPA. You need the 99% purity minimum stuff but it has numerous applications from cleaning to mixing up in homemade flux and acrylic thinners etc.. You can by a couple of litres online quite cheaply and it lasts an age. 

My other favourite aid is patience. 

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My 3 Top Tips -

 

Dettol as a paint stripper, really glad I discovered that one - if you buy a model that someone else has built and perhaps not made the best effort of painting, it's very satisfying to strip it back to bare plastic with this method.  (Also undoing your own Faux Pas!)

 

I recently discovered that Blu-tak (other brands are available) can be very useful when fitting Third Rail (in N gauge at any rate.) I position the rail and use largish blobs of Blu-tak at intervals to stop it moving - as it has a tendency to - and then apply superglue at points along the rail (just be careful not to glue the Blu-tak as it makes a nasty gummy mess!)  The Blu-tak can stay in situ until the glue is nice and dry.  I've also been known to use Blu-tak to hold building-kit walls in place while glueing, either inside the building where the walls meet at a right-angle or on the workbench with the building corners squished into it.  Better than sitting there, trapped with a wall in each hand trying not to move while the glue sets!

 

Aerosol Primer- grey for darker topcoats white for lighter ones - the latter is especially true of Reds and Yellows, you can get through a lot of model paint trying to cover grey primer with a light colour.

 

For more details just type a keyword into the search box.  But I do like the idea of a "Top Tips" section. 

 

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8 hours ago, woodyfox said:

As a kit/scratchbuilder, my main boon at the moment is IPA. You need the 99% purity minimum stuff but it has numerous applications from cleaning to mixing up in homemade flux and acrylic thinners etc.. You can by a couple of litres online quite cheaply and it lasts an age. 

My other favourite aid is patience. 

 

I wish you could buy that cheaply in litre bottles...

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23 hours ago, The Johnster said:

If only there was.  Perhaps we could call it something like, oh, I don't know, Modelling Questions, Help, and Tips and have it as a section on the RMWeb site.  ....... snipped.......  While we're at it, when you are dismantling RTR locos, keep a lump of Blutac or similar handy to put tiny screws and other small pieces in; it will help to stop them making a break for the border or sacrificing themselves to the carpet monster (my layout lives in the bedroom, so I can't get away with not having a carpet monster) while you're not looking...


One useful tool I bought recently from Halfords is a metal dish with super strong magnet built in as a metal screw catcher. Like the blue tack a way of stopping errant screws disappearing.

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Ferrero Rocher. The usual size make great drawers for sorting out your store of components and spares. The large flat presentation boxes are ideal for dismantling a loco in order to avoid losing tiny springs, screws and washers. This also helps if you need to clear the work bench quickly for another task, like feeding the child.

Expensive? Look in the £shop just after Christmas!

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10 minutes ago, doilum said:

Ferrero Rocher. The usual size make great drawers for sorting out your store of components and spares. The large flat presentation boxes are ideal for dismantling a loco in order to avoid losing tiny springs, screws and washers. This also helps if you need to clear the work bench quickly for another task, like feeding the child.

Expensive? Look in the £shop just after Christmas!

 

Those boxes are also exactly the right size for Humbrol tinned paint.

download (2).png

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Double sided tape is great for initial track laying, it allows for repositioning until your absolutely sure that you're sure...

It's also great for precision spray painting of small model components - just apply a strip to a piece of scrap cardboard, then gently press your model parts (window frames, lamp posts etc) onto the tape - it doesn't even have to all be in contact, in fact applying it off-centre can aid removal - and then you can spray freely without things blowing away!  Also, with it being on a piece of card, you can manoeuvre and paint quite freely from almost all sides (if you don't mind getting a painted thumb!) 

Edited by Ray Von
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IPA just under £7 per 1ltre.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IPA-Isopropyl-99-JERRY-CONTAINER-1-LITRE-Isopropanol-1L/232521119280?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Never been brave enough to buy/use any as I dont really know what I should be doing with chemicals, always happy to be educated.

 

Foil wrap of fizzy wine can be flattened out to form weigh bridge plates or something similar. 

 

I often use double sided when spraying great 'helping hand'.

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1 hour ago, Dagworth said:

If you don't get paint on your hands at some point it's not real modelling :)

 

Andi

That's a whole new topic. I'll add 'getting a trackpin (or other sharp object) stuck behind your thumbnail.'

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On 16/10/2020 at 18:47, The Johnster said:

I have a set of brightly coloured pound shop children's paint brushes, though I don't have (or want) the brightly coloured pound shop.  children to go with them, which are hopeless for painting with, as they have very stiff thick nylon 'hairs'.

 

If you're talking the small ones, there just might be a painting use for them - simulating woodgrain.

 

You might wish to experiment first on a scrap of plastic - start with a suitable base colour (either self coloured plastic or 1 smooth coat / 2 thin rough ones - you don't need the best brushes for this) - then use a small, cheap brush to drag one rough coat of a suitable "contrast" / "grain" colour in one direction.

 

This is one of the few painting jobs for which the stiffness / lack of finesse of the plastic bristles can be a distinct plus point.

 

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It's been mentioned on RMWeb before, and isn't my idea, but I think it bears repeating. Lego bricks (other brick construction systems are available) can be used to construct all sorts of accurately right-angled jigs and fixtures. 

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16 hours ago, AY Mod said:

On the workbench I use an A2-sized non-slip washable silicone mat with an edging lip when dealing with small parts.

 

It's a dog feeding mat.

I take it the dogs food manners have now  improved so it is eating of a tray watching the tv like the rest of us

 

T

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I know one bit of kit that I could never get on with, the "Helping Hands" with magnifying glass! 

1518474189_Screenshot_20201018-1136502.png.a7e8388a7113853a0f81c947bb286858.png                   AVOID!!!

 

Couldn't get the hang of it, the crocodile clips were too vicious and would crush anything placed in them (even with silicone tube slipped over their nasty little nippers!) And whenever I tried to paint any detail on something that was on the other side of the magnifying lens, I lost all depth perception and coordination!! It was like a Generation Game challenge to me, so I think I Charity Shopped it...

Cheaper option, clothes peg - clip your chosen bit of model kit in, apply paint detail by eye and then leave the peg and bit of model somewhere warm to dry.

Edited by Ray Von
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