March project questions and comments here please.

This is the place for your comments and questions for Perry's scratchbuilding project.

Perry,
Re the first lesson on scratchbuilding - basics they maybe, but they are the right basics ! Am now off to purchase a small try square !
Stu

Couldn't agree more Stu. Basics they are indeed but the kind of basics that don't come naturally to most people, only from experience, and Perry has plenty of that.

Don't worry about how much you are writing on what appears to be a simple subject Perry. The time you are spending on this could well save other members hours of wasted work and frustration.

Cheers, Bob!

:doublethumb:cheers

Perry

A question regarding the fitting of the side walls. You mention they fit inside the front & rear walls. As cut, the will exactly match the height of both these walls, but this does not take account of the thickness of the plasticard. So, the roof line along the top edge of the side wall will not touch the front face of the front wall, and if the roof sits on the outside face of the rear wall, it will leave a gap where the side wall meets the inside face of the rear wall.
I accept that the plasticard is not very thick, but this discrepancy will be apparent.
Stu

Thanks, Stu.

I made an error in the write-up. :oops:

The end walls fit OUTSIDE the front and rear walls. The photo of the dry-assembly is correct, but my description was in error. Sorry.

Thanks for picking it up. I was just testing to see if you were paying attention really. :roll:

 I have amended the original thread.

Perry

Ah, now that makes more sense.

Perry said :

"Depending on the sort of plastikard you are using, one face might be much shinier than the other. If that is the case, the shiny side goes inwards. In other words, the less shiny side of the material is what you’ll be painting on later so that needs to be to the outside. "

Oops !  One of the two side walls will have to be 'inside-out' as they have been cut as a matched pair and need to be an opposing pair.

(The smart-a**e at the back).

Perhaps I needed to mention that earlier on in the thread. It's tricky trying to thinking of everything. :shock:

It's not really a problem though, Stu. You can always lightly sand the shiny face with very fine grade sandpaper just to take the gloss off. You can paint it as it is, but the paint doesn't always stick to it very well. Sanding it will give the paint a 'key'.

Perry

I have to admit I'd never noticed that paint didn't stick because of the surface, I'd always assumed it was was my crap mixing / application of the paint.

However, my point has raised yet another reason why you definitely know what you're talking about !

You can paint it, Stu, but paint adhesion is unlikely to be as good as it would be on a surface that has a 'tooth'; a slight roughness that the paint can stick to. That's why a lot of painted things need to be primed first. The primer provides the 'grip' for the paint.

By the way, this isn't going to be a painting tutorial…. You can slap what you like on it when we're done. :pedal

Perry

They don't call him a master for nothing Stu.

[user=2]Robert[/user] wrote:

They don't call him a master for nothing Stu.

An old master?!!!! :shock:

Oh, I see……I thought they were calling me a miserable old bars****! In which case they're probably right. mutley

From a lot of the stuff on here these days, e.g Wayne's fabulous scratchbuild, I feel I'm in danger of falling behind. :shock: :thud

I do feel that writing this Monthly Project has brought it home to me how much many of the people on here really know about modelling, and how little of that knowledge we actually impart to others on a day-to-day basis. It's unintentional, of course, but it's very easy to say, "I just did so-and-so the usual way", assuming that everyone else knows what 'the usual way' is. I have surprised myself at the number of little things I do as a matter of course, without even thinking about them, taking it for granted that, for example, everyone knows how to measure and mark out properly.

For that reason alone, I think that detailed Monthly Projects are going to become a very valuable resource for everyone.

Perry

Perry just caught this thread and very helpfull it is as well, i mean even the tip on putting the ruler in front of you and then you can se the point, i never really thought of that :thud. I shall follow this when i build one for my module in the next week.

Now one question i have is how do you work out what the best materils to scratchbuild with, bit like when we decide the cork tiles we need , sorry could not resist. Ok i am off :pedal

Phill

[user=9]phill[/user] wrote:

Perry just caught this thread and very helpfull it is as well, i mean even the tip on putting the ruler in front of you and then you can se the point, i never really thought of that :thud. I shall follow this when i build one for my module in the next week.

Now one question i have is how do you work out what the best materils to scratchbuild with, bit like when we decide the cork tiles we need , sorry could not resist. Ok i am off :pedal

Phill

IF that's a serious question, Phill, (and I have my doubts, ), I tend to make 0.040" (1mm) plain plastikard by 'base-line' material. When you think about it, that means it's a scale 3" thick. By the time a layer of, perhaps 0.020" brick embossed plastikard is added, or perhaps a few bits and pieces of microstrip, you're getting up to something like the scale thickness of an 'average' wall - if there is such thing as an average wall!

The reason I start with 0.040" material is that it is rigid enough to form base layers or main structures, but thin enough to be easy to work with.

I think you would find 0.020" (0.5mm) too thin to be able to support itself without a lot of bracing., whereas 0.080" (2mm) would be very hard to work with if it came to cutting out windows, etc.

One other thing I like about 1mm plastikard is that when it is cut by scoring with a knife and then snapping off, you actually don't lose any material. If you were to cut 2mm thick stuff, you would probably need a saw and would then have to allow for the thickness of the kerf (saw cut) in your marking out. Not easy in small scales.

Perry

Yes the material question was serious. Thanks for that and i have wrote it down.

I have never really looked for plaster card, where is the best place to get it, will the model shop have it. Only asking as i have never seen at the one i go too, The Engine Shed its called.

Phill

It's Plasticard Phil,maybe thats why you can't see it

Phill,

The material I prefer (and it is only my personal preference) is marketed by Evergreen Scale Models as 'Sheet Styrene'. Your local model shop should have that or something very similar.

It comes in packets of various thicknesses. Microstrip - sheet pre-cut into thin strips, is also available in many sizes, as is rod, tube and various embossed finishes.

You will also need a bottle of solvent to glue it together with. This is usually applied with a small brush. It's also handy to have a tube of polystyrene cement (kit glue) to hand. I find that very useful, depending on the job in hand.

Perry

thanks for the helpfull advice on this project