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Model Forum / General / Railroads / February 2010Information on kit bashing: cutting tools
I am thinking about kit bashing and making a unique structure from them. My question has to do with cutting prepressed parts for resizing purposes. What tools and procedures work the best. TIA > I am thinking about kit bashing and making a unique structure from them. My > question has to do with cutting prepressed parts for resizing purposes. What > tools and procedures work the best. > TIA Well it depends on what you are working on. Metal, wood, Styrene? What are you "kit bashing" ? Mike M plastic >> I am thinking about kit bashing and making a unique structure from them. >> My [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > What are you "kit bashing" ? > Mike M > plastic X-acto knife , razor saw and some small files comes to my mind. Greetz Jan >> plastic > X-acto knife , razor saw and some small files comes to my mind. > > Greetz Jan Use a straight edge and several light cuts. Test fit and dress with a file to make a snug joint. Use liquid plastic cement applied with a small brush. Consider where and how you will apply interior bracing to strengthen joints. And oh yes: measure, and measure again (and again) before cutting. A good trick is to photocopy the parts, and cut apart the photocopies to test different combinations. cheers, wolf k. Plastic is cast in high pressure molds to the shape and size desired. Moderately high temps are also used in the molding process. Table top describes "engineeriing type" mold making machine and these weigh hundreds of pounds to begin with. Work with plastics with typical woodworking tools and things will be fine. -- Bob May rmay at nethere.com http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net On 2/7/2010 7:40 AM serveyerself spake thus: > I am thinking about kit bashing and making a unique structure from > them. My question has to do with cutting prepressed parts for > resizing purposes. What tools and procedures work the best. Others have given some good answers. I'll just give you my general take on what tools you need. You can do most (or all) of what you want to do with ordinary tools, some of which you probably already have: o small saws ("razor" saws, like Xacto or equivalent) o hobby knife (Xacto or equiv.) o small drills (might want to get a set of small number drills, #61 to 80, available at many hardware stores) For heavier cuts, I find an ordinary utility knife is better than a little #11 Xacto. And you'll need a good straightedge, preferably metal, not plastic so you don't slice into it. Styrene (which 99% of the plastic you'll be dealing with is) can be scored and then cut by snapping or bending; you don't always have to cut all the way through. A model railroad scale ruler (available at many places: General makes a good one) is nice for measuring in "pretend" (i.e., HO) feet. A good cutting board helps. I make my own from sheets of Masonite (hardboard or equivalent), to which I glue thick-ish sheets of posterboard or illustration board. When the surface gets too sliced up, I glue a new sheet of paper to it. A roll of masking tape or similar will help hold things together temporarily. When you get to painting, a set of small paint brushes is needed. You can start with a cheap set you can get at the dollar store. Good brushes (more expen$ive) are available at any good art store. Lots of other goodies at the art store too.  SignatureYou were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. - a Usenet "apology" [...] > A good cutting board helps. I make my own from sheets of Masonite > (hardboard or equivalent), to which I glue thick-ish sheets of > posterboard or illustration board. When the surface gets too sliced up, > I glue a new sheet of paper to it. I use one of those self-healing cutting pads used by quilters. Excellent value IMO. [...] cheers, wolf > I use one of those self-healing cutting pads used by quilters. Excellent > value IMO. I also use those self-healing cutting pads: I call them "my hands". >> I use one of those self-healing cutting pads used by quilters. Excellent >> value IMO. > > I also use those self-healing cutting pads: I call them "my hands". LOL wolf k. > [...] >> A good cutting board helps. I make my own from sheets of Masonite [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I use one of those self-healing cutting pads used by quilters. Excellent > value IMO. Yep use those too, I especially like the ease of squaring up things along the grid lines on these pads. I got a whole box of these ( 20 ) at a local euro store when they were only 1,50 each for the somewhat larger then A4 size. Greetz Jan my model train site www.janbouli.com > Greetz Jan > my model train site www.janbouli.com Why Newton, Kansas? The Fox Theater front looks very good. Did you have to scratch build the doors? >>> Greetz Jan >>> my model train site www.janbouli.com >> >>Why Newton, Kansas? Newton was 'the' railroad hub for the Santa Fe and maybe other RR in the 40's, 50's & 60's. It was centrally located. SignatureThe seabat Filtering GoogleGroups & Goobers with extreme prejudice! Usenet Improvement Project: R.I.P. Lee aka Blinky the Shark >> Greetz Jan >> my model train site www.janbouli.com > > Why Newton, Kansas? A few reasons actually, first of all i wanted a town where the Santa Fe SuperChief ran through, then a region where at least 2 other Railroads were running and interchanging ( Mopac and Rock Island ), I also didn't want to do the usual suspects ( Tecohapi, Cajon Pass etc. ) , I do want to scratchbuild the beautiful station of Newton, I'm not into rocky mountain scenes, I love smalltowns with the typical mainstreet buildings ( plenty of those in Kansas ). All these things made me do research on Newton and Kansas in general. I've obtained quite a few books on the subject and reading these books, getting a copy of Kansas ( the magazine ) every few months, in short getting to know Kansas has made me even more confident of my choice to model this region. Of course from Europe its hard to tell but I get the feeling that this is a part of the US that is still the US as most europeans think of it, it's certainly a place where I could imagine myself living if I had a decent job. So those are my reasons, imho nice , good reasons to base my dream layout on, don't you think. Oh and confirming that my choice was good, was the fact that I've already had lots of help from Kansas people, Elisabeth Hurley telling me where I could get a copy of her fathers book, or Mrs Rachel Goossen who personally sent me a copy of her manuscript "Brick an Mortar a History of Newton Kansas", or the half dozen Kansan people that went out and took pictures of the depot and other buildings in Newton and mailed them to me, etc. etc. I've never been there ( I will though ) but I love Kansas ;-) > The Fox Theater front looks very good. Did you have to scratch build the > doors? The doors are a piece of clear styreen with strips of silver painted styreen to resemble the doors, it was my first try at scratchbuilding and I'm still a far way from scratchbuilding the Newton Depot, my next project in Newton will be the Railroad Savings Bank the hard part about this are the ornaments because in N-scale they don't make things like that so I'll have to make them from clay or something myself. In the last year I've also decided not to stay prototypical for the whole layout( the meatpacking plant I'm building right now doesnt exist in Harvey county but it could have ), but instead get some significant buildings in the right places so that people that look at my layout will say "hey thats Newton or at least Harvey county Kansas" Greetz Jan >>> Greetz Jan >>> my model train site www.janbouli.com [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > Greetz Jan Sounds like a lot of fun and if you do get to Kansas you will have a pre-existing fan club! snip > When you get to painting, a set of small paint brushes is needed. You can > start with a cheap set you can get at the dollar store. Good brushes (more > expen$ive) are available at any good art store. Lots of other goodies at > the art store too. While at the art store or the 'craft' store (Michaels), stock up on acrylic paints at better than hobby paint prices. Way better! > snip > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > While at the art store or the 'craft' store (Michaels), stock up on > acrylic paints at better than hobby paint prices. Way better! Aren't those craft store paints rather thick compared to our typical MRR paints like Floquil? Don't want to cover up the tiny details. SignatureRick Jones Remove the Extra Dot to e-mail me Democracy + Private Ownership = Capitalism Democracy + Public Ownership = Socialism Dictatorship + Private Ownership = Fascism Dictatorship + Public Ownership = Communism -Leonard Roy Frank, 20th Century American epigrammist [...] >> While at the art store or the 'craft' store (Michaels), stock up on >> acrylic paints at better than hobby paint prices. Way better! > > Aren't those craft store paints rather thick compared to our typical > MRR paints like Floquil? Don't want to cover up the tiny details. Whyncha try 'em and see? ;-) They are more than good enough for most painting jobs around the layout, esp. scenery and structures. They are excellent when thinned to be used as washes for weathering, tinting rock, toning down over-bright enamels, etc. Bonus: the flat ones are dead flat. Since most of them are water based acrylics, you do have to thoroughly wash plastic first, and prime everything (which you do anyway, right?) cheers, wolf k. > [...] >>> While at the art store or the 'craft' store (Michaels), stock up on [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > cheers, > wolf k. What Wolf said ... On 2/8/2010 9:06 AM Rick Jones spake thus: >> snip >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Aren't those craft store paints rather thick compared to our typical > MRR paints like Floquil? Don't want to cover up the tiny details. Nope. As I've said before, nothing magical about the paints you buy at the hobby store as opposed to the much cheaper ones you find at "craft" stores. It's not as if the pigments in the model railroad paints are ground for 1:87 rendition. Plus they come in a *lot* more colors. (Only problem is that you can't buy them in standard railroad colors like Pullman green or whatever, but for buildings, etc., they're great.) SignatureYou were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. - a Usenet "apology" Rick Jones <r.t.jones@extra.sbcglobal.net> wrote in news:hkpg5v$qdv$2 @news.eternal-september.org: > Aren't those craft store paints rather thick compared to our typical > MRR paints like Floquil? Don't want to cover up the tiny details. In my experience, they thin really well. I usually thin 1:1 with water for craft store paints destined for the air brush. If you're worried about details or whatnot, thin a bit and apply a thinner coat. As always, test on a representative sample before you do your whole project. Puckdropper On 2/8/2010 2:35 PM Puckdropper spake thus: > Rick Jones <r.t.jones@extra.sbcglobal.net> wrote in news:hkpg5v$qdv$2 > @news.eternal-september.org: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > craft store paints destined for the air brush. If you're worried about > details or whatnot, thin a bit and apply a thinner coat. Yes, I can attest that these paints (Delta Ceramcoat, etc.) work very well in an airbrush if thinned. They go on smoothly, don't obscure detail and adhere well, as long as you don't try to spray them over bare nekkid plastic (you'll need some kind of primer for that). > As always, test on a representative sample before you do your whole > project. Yep. SignatureYou were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. - a Usenet "apology" > They go on smoothly, don't obscure > detail and adhere well, as long as you don't try to spray them over bare > nekkid plastic (you'll need some kind of primer for that). So what do you use for a plastic primer? And for metal? SignatureSteve On 2/8/2010 4:36 PM Steve Caple spake thus: >> They go on smoothly, don't obscure >> detail and adhere well, as long as you don't try to spray them over bare >> nekkid plastic (you'll need some kind of primer for that). > > So what do you use for a plastic primer? And for metal? Solvent-based primer in a spray can. Works on pretty much any surface. I'd like to find something in a can or bottle I could airbrush, but the commercial primer works fine. SignatureYou were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. - a Usenet "apology" > I'd like to find something in a can or bottle I could airbrush, but the > commercial primer works fine. Yeah, that's what I was hoping to hear about. SignatureSteve > On 2/8/2010 4:36 PM Steve Caple spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > like to find something in a can or bottle I could airbrush, but the > commercial primer works fine. Yes , I use cheap automobile primer in a spray can, 5 euro's to do so much plastic, another advantage it comes in matt grey, matt black, matt sand and best of all in matt brick color, half of my buildings all I do is prime them and then give them a wash and some pastel weathering , if you do the weathering different on 5 buildings you prime with the same color you get 5 different wallcolors. Works great. Greetz Jan On 2/9/2010 12:34 PM Jan ( Bouli ) Van Gerwen spake thus: >> On 2/8/2010 4:36 PM Steve Caple spake thus: >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > weathering different on 5 buildings you prime with the same color you get 5 > different wallcolors. Works great. Spray-can primer is fine; the problem with it isn't the paint itself, which works as well for finely-detailed model railroad models as it does for a metal cabinet. The problem is the high nozzle pressure and lack of control of the spray. You can develop your technique on models so that you're only depositing a thin layer of paint, by moving the stream quickly and not spraying too close, but it isn't easy. At least not as easy as using a good airbrush, which you can adjust to spray the finest mist. Which is why, if I had my druthers, I'd like to find solvent-based primer in a bottle and use it with my airbrush. SignatureYou were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. - a Usenet "apology" > On 2/9/2010 12:34 PM Jan ( Bouli ) Van Gerwen spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > mist. Which is why, if I had my druthers, I'd like to find solvent-based > primer in a bottle and use it with my airbrush. A good supplier of solvent based primer is an Auto Paint Store. Its already designed for spraying and thins perfectly. Plus you can get a quart mixed of any color of the pantone spectrum you would like. Mike M On 2/9/2010 7:19 PM mike mueller spake thus: >> Spray-can primer is fine; the problem with it isn't the paint itself, >> which works as well for finely-detailed model railroad models as it does [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > already designed for spraying and thins perfectly. Plus you can get a > quart mixed of any color of the pantone spectrum you would like. D'oh! Of course. [slaps forehead] Why didn't I think of that? (I'm going to guess that automotive paint is probably actually lacquer, which means one needs to be very careful applying it over raw styrene, as it can easily craze or dissolve the plastic. But very much worth trying.) SignatureYou were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. - a Usenet "apology" > (I'm going to guess that automotive paint is probably actually lacquer, > which means one needs to be very careful applying it over raw styrene, > as it can easily craze or dissolve the plastic. But very much worth > trying.) I think the secret is spraying from a distance so that the primer is nearly, but not quite, dry by the time it hits the plastic. Avoid close spraying that creates runs and pools of wet primer or paint (for solvent-based types). SignatureRick Jones Remove the Extra Dot to e-mail me "I do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." -former Education Secretary William Bennett On 2/10/2010 12:06 PM Rick Jones spake thus: >> (I'm going to guess that automotive paint is probably actually lacquer, >> which means one needs to be very careful applying it over raw styrene, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > spraying that creates runs and pools of wet primer or paint (for > solvent-based types). Yes. I can confirm that this is a good approach (and, as always, experiment on a hidden part of the model first). SignatureYou were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. - a Usenet "apology" > On 2/8/2010 2:35 PM Puckdropper spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > adhere well, as long as you don't try to spray them over bare nekkid > plastic (you'll need some kind of primer for that). Ceramcoat has a terrific variety. For browns, black, and white I like the most inexpensive acrylic available in our local art supply shop. Couple bucks will go a long long way. Or, 16 ounces for $7.50! Also a good place for inks. On the web at http://www.artmediaonline.com/ no relation, no stock, don't work there, etc. |
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