|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This page is dedicated to sharing some "tricks of the trade" that I have either developed or learned from others in my 35 years or so of modeling.
If you have a tip that you would like to share click here and leave a detailed e-mail. Don't forget to leave your name so you can get credit for it!
Click on the bookmarks below to go to the corresponding tips
| "Non-Skid" surfaces | Concrete tarmac and runways |
| Ways to spruce up cockpits | Touching up and polishing canopies |
| Wingtip navigation lights | Home-made decals |
| Remove before flight flags | Optics |
| Model Bases | Essential hobby bench items |
| Navigation, Form, ID and Taxi lights | Making scale aircraft panels |
| Detailing Radial engines | Modeling tips from Dick Hirdes |
Many aircraft and flight decks have "non-skid" applied to certain areas to prevent slipping. Most common on older aircraft are the black areas at wing roots. Most of the time we are content to paint these areas flat black or glue on some fine sandpaper strips. There is a much better way! I mask the area to be covered with scotch tape and paper. If the area is to be painted black, wait until the final finish is applied. If it is going to be the same as the fuselage color (modern aircraft) do this after priming but before final painting. I use 3M adhesive spray, available in any hobby or craft store and spray a VERY LIGHT coat on the area to be covered. While it is still wet or tacky, sprinkle the area with talcum powder. Blow off the excess. Apply a second VERY LIGHT coat of adhesive and talcum powder. IMMEDIATELY remove the tape. If you wait to long the adhesive will tear leaving a rough edge. It is best to go over the margin with a sharp #11 blade to make sure you have a clean edge. When it is dry (24 hours) paint it the intended color.
This is a topic that could cover volumes but I will hit a few high points. The first step as always is to have good reference material. Books, magazines, archive photos and the web are great places to find resources.
A great place to start is the instrument panel. If you are modeling in 1/48 and larger, Waldron and Reheat make excellent after market instruments. I prefer the Waldron ones as they are matched to their punch set. You can also get matched drill bits to drill SHALLOW holes into which you will seat the instruments.
Switches, landing gear and bomb drop levers, fuel and flap selectors are also easy to add using wire and punched discs.
All aircraft from the 30's on had seatbelts and, depending on the aircraft, shoulder straps. There are numerous makers of seat and shoulder harness buckle PE. Waldron, Reheat, Eduard and others produce very good products. I prefer not to use PE belts as they are hard to bend and do not look realistic. For the belts themselves I use thermal fax paper. Thermal receipt paper is great, only about 0.003" thick but tough. Cut it with a fresh #11 blade and a steel straight edge.
Side consoles, especially in more modern aircraft, are great places to add detail. Throttle, prop and mixture levers, radio and other console buttons, switches, O2 hoses and masks, book and chart boxes are but a few examples.
Gusights and HUDs are also a great source of extra detailing. They are very visible on most aircraft and a little attention here goes a long way. Discard kit gunsight glass. It is way to thick in most cases. I use Evergreen 0.005" cleat sheet cut with a small pair of very sharp scissors. Glue in place with white glue or watch crystal glue. Optics are also a great way to add detail. Go to the section on optics for more detail.
Modern day ejection seats are a great place to do some detail work. Connecting rods, O2 and "g-suit" hoses, life raft and seat pan release handles, ejection handles can all be made from wire, styrene or solder (my personal favorite). One nearly universally overlooked area is Remove Before Flight flags. On the ground ALL ejection seats are disarmed and pinned. Attached to the pins are RBF flags. These flags are a great way to add realism to any cockpit. Canopy and stores jettison and other "keepa you hands stinkin' off" areas are also pinned and flagged. Go to the section on Remove Before Flight flags to see how I do them.
For the longest time I used to take the easy way out with red and green wingtip nav lights and paint them silver followed with Gunze clear red and blue. The problem is that they never look like the real thing, especially in cases where the light is faired to match the contour of the wing tip. Again, there is a better way! First and foremost, NEVER EVER throw away you clear sprue. I must have about 50' of it by now.
For faired wing tip nav lights I start by using the Dremel and a cutting wheel to carefully cut away the area. I cut and fit a piece of the clear sprue into the opening, making sure to leave plenty of excess. With the Dremel and cutting wheel I roughly shape the clear piece to the surrounding contours. I next take a file and file the clear part to its final shape. Using Testor's hobby sanding films I sand the piece until it matches the final contours perfectly and is as smooth as I can get it. I then polish it back to it's original smoothness with the Dremel, polishing wheel and polishing compound.
Cover the clear piece with something like Ambroid EZ mask until after final finishing is complete. Now use the clear colors. You will be amazed at the difference it makes over just painting the area silver and covering with clear colors.
RBF flags are one of the most overlooked items that I see in competitions. On the ground, modern day aircraft will have pins inserted into landing gear, bomb racks, guns, various armament, tail hooks and ejection seats. Each of these pins will have a flag on the end of them to prevent them from being missed and not removed before flight.
Verlinden makes a sheet of flags for 1/48 and 1/32 scale. They are very good but like all Verlinden products, are expensive. I scanned the sheet using 1200 dpi to ensure high quality and printed it on coated HP paper using a photo quality HP printer. For special types of flags (ejection seats) and larger scales I had to make them myself using MS PowerPoint. I made a text box with a red background and added white lettering in an Arial font. A little trial and error is necessary to get the size just right. Use normal or economy settings otherwise the red will bleed into the white and make the letters unreadable.
The old saying that "nothing beats the real thing" is very applicable here. I tried to years to duplicate realistic concrete but plaster and other media never gave a realistic look.
Finally I tried the real thing and have never looked back. The first step is to use a fine orange juice strainer or mesh screen to screen out all but the finest particles. If the particles are too large, the scale effect will be lost. Also, if you are using a wood base, screw it into a piece of 3/4" plywood (from behind of course) with dry wall screws to prevent warpage. Your base is going to get a little wet! You will leave it attached to this piece of plywood until the wood and concrete are completely dry and cured.
If you plan to stain and polyurethane your base, mask off the area to be covered with concrete. It will not adhere to a smooth surface. I roughen up the wood with coarse sandpaper (60 grit) and coat it with a liberal amount of carpenters glue. Using the OJ strainer again I lightly sprinkle the sifted concrete onto the base using just enough to completely cover. Don't worry if all the concrete does not get wetted by the glue.
I then spray fresh water onto the concrete in a fine mist using a household cleaner spray bottle. Wet the concrete thoroughly, there should be a little standing water! Sprinkle another coat of concrete on top until it is thoroughly covered. Immediately remove the masking tape so you have a clean line.
Set the base aside in a low humidity environment for 48 hours. I apply black acrylic paint through a syringe and hypodermic needle to simulate the tar strips. I do not use a straight edge like some recommend, preferring to free hand it along a penciled line. It is too easy to smear it if you use a ruler.
For 1/48 and larger I use a had drill and drill bits to drill out the pad eye holes. I use solder to make the tie down rings, gluing them in place (after the yellow is painted) with CA.
Touching up and polishing canopies
All of us at one time or another have scratched or crazed clear parts, especially canopies. Do not panic! Although it may be a little time consuming to fix, it is not difficult. I use a battery powered Dremel 7.2V and one of their cloth polishing wheels. I would strongly discourage using the 120VAC version as it turns too fast and can burn (or worse) the plastic.
If the scratch is deep, you will need to use sandpaper to smooth it out. It is scary the first time you use it because you will swear you have ruined the piece. I use Testor's hobby films and start with medium (NOT coarse) and work my way down to ultra fine. I finish it off with 0000 steel wool.
There are several canopy polishing compounds available but I prefer to use Turtle Wax's clear coat polish for cars. It is less abrasive and a single container will last about 100 years. I get the polishing wheel very wet, turn on the Dremel and cover the wheel with polish. Work the polish into the plastic in a circular pattern with VERY LIGHT pressure. Keep the wheel wet, it provides lubrication that will prevent you from burning the plastic. Use a soft cloth or Q-tip to gently remove the polish powder after it dries.
If you are just looking for a way to shine up a canopy use a wetted Q-tip covered with the polish and do it manually. I shy away from ever using Future™ on canopies (unless I tint them with the Detailer). Notice how floor wax yellows with age? So will your canopies and stripping a floor is a lot easier than a canopy!!!
I have included this because I am tired of hearing people say that you can't make home made decals using an ink-jet type printer. I do it all the time, both in black and white and in color.
There are several brands of both clear and white decal film available. I have used several and have found them all to be excellent.
In order to use an ink jet printer to print decals, you must first prep the surface so it will take the ink without beading. I use Model Master clear flat lacquer and an airbrush. Use high pressure and keep the tip far enough away from the film so that the lacquer is drying as it is hitting the surface, the goal is to have a rough surface for the ink to grab.
I use a variety of programs to make decals but use PowerPoint the most. I scan graphics and import them in as well. For stenciling, I use an Arial font and a font size of 2 to 8 depending on the scale and application. For best results is best to have a printer capable of producing photo quality. Other printers will do but the quality will not be as good. I always print on "best" quality. be careful handling the sheet until the ink dries or it will smudge. If you mess up, go over it quickly with a damp rag.
The inks are water soluble and will come off as soon as they hit water so you must now make them permanent. I spray Model Master Glosscote or clear gloss lacquer over them, two coats is usually sufficient. I let them dry overnight and apply them the next day as I would any other commercially made decal.
All aircraft from WWII onward had some type of optical gunsight. Others carried cameras. Modern day aircraft have sophisticated HUD's (Head Up Displays). All modern aircraft have landing and taxi lights as well as clear or colored anti- collision lights. All of these are easy to make and look much better than the "paint it silver" technique.
As I had mentioned in the wing tip nav lights NEVER throw away clear sprue!!! To make gunsight or camera optics, I place a small piece of sprue into the adjustable chuck on my AC Dremel and turn it into a lathe. I use a file to reduce the sprue to the right diameter and then use the file to round off the end. I then use the sanding films to get it smooth and ready for polishing. I usually cut off the "lens" prior to polishing. I use an X-acto saw blade in a #11 handle. This part is tedious, take your time so you do not have to repeat the above process! Been there, done that.
Be careful, research has shown they can travel for miles if you pop them! I take the cut end and rub it against the films to smooth out the saw blade marks and get it ready for polishing. I stick the piece of plastic on a piece of masking tape and polish with the battery powered Dremel and clear coat polish. Turn it over and polish the flat end. Depending on the effect you want, you may or may not want to paint the flat part silver, I usually don't
Modern day optics have optical coatings to reduce reflection and glare. To simulate this I use dilute green or purple (you have to mix red and blue) "The Detailer" and paint in on with a brush. This is best accomplished while it is still stuck on the masking tape. Let it dry for a good hour at least. I glue it in place with Testor's clear plastic cement.
I am not much one to do dioramas but I do like to make bases to display my aircraft. I do it because (1) it provides a "natural habitat" in which to display your aircraft and (2) it has been my experience that models on some sort of base related to the subject tend to do much better at competitions. When it comes to competitions it can be a double edged sword though. A great model on a poor or mediocre base will do poorly against a model of equal quality without a base. If you choose to display or compete your models on a base, make sure it is of the same high quality as the model itself!
To avoid any possibility of your model being lumped into the diorama or vignette category, a potentially disastrous situation, one word is key - simplicity. If your aircraft is land based, a grassy or concrete base is best. If shipborne, a steel or wooden flight deck is best. GSE (ground support equipment) can be included, as I often do but again a word of caution; make sure it removable without telltale marks on the base. Some contests will say that any GSE makes it a diorama (something I vehemently disagree with but that's another story). There appear to be no clear-cut guidelines for what does or does not constitute a diorama and what one IPMS club dictates is not necessarily the same as another. Also, stay away from figures, this will almost assuredly put you in the dio category.
I prefer to make my bases from oak but whatever you choose is fine. I stain them light walnut and cover with 3 coats of spray polyurethane, carefully dulling with 0000 steel wool in between. I prefer a satin to glossy appearance. It is important that you mask off the central area to prevent stain and polyurethane from interfering with the adhesion of the glue. Plywood covered with the wood tape on the edges looks fine too and is cheaper. Also, plywood is not as prone to warping as solid (or joined-the more common) hardwood, especially if you are going to wet the base with glue. If you do plan to wet the wood I would strongly recommend cutting a piece of 3/4" plywood about 1" bigger around than your base and attach it to the back of your base with several drywall screws, at the corners and 1 in the middle. Ba careful not to come through the front (been there, done that)! This will prevent it from warping while wet. I leave it on for at least 3 days after the base is complete to ensure it will not warp. Probably overkill but I have had a few bad experiences in the past.
All that aside, for grassy bases I use a combination of static grass and "dirts" made by various manufacturers. I think Hudson makes the best but that is a personal choice. The bottom line is whatever works best for you is the best. To conserve on grass and dirt, I mask the outer edge and airbrush the central area greens and browns. This serves two purposes. One it helps conserve on material as you do not need as much to cover the base and, two, it lets you "map" out your base before you commit yourself. It is always easier to re-airbrush than to remove the stuff! I work in areas no greater than 4 - 6" square at a time. I dilute Elmer's Carpenter's glue (much better than standard white glue) about 2:1 glue to water. I spread it heavily with a foam paint brush and sprinkle the grass and dirt onto the base. Tilt the base and gently bang it on the floor (make sure to cover with newspaper) to remove the excess. You can collect the excess and reuse; it makes a little go a long way. I drill small holes and insert bunches of Hudson field grass to simulate the odd weed or wild grass.
For flight decks there are two choices, plastic or paper, just kidding. Steel or wood, depending on the era. For wood I prefer to go to a local hobby shop here in town that caters to ship builders. Spruce or birch planking is ideal for doing a wood flight deck. Is comes in wide strips, is already "planked" and is easy to attach to your base with carpenter's glue. A combination of gray and black washes will give the impression of weathered "teak". For steel ones, I do my 'patented' non-skid thing. See the separate tip for details. It is then painted black and weathered with gray washes.
Concrete tarmac and runway surfaces are also discussed in a separate area so I will not repeat them.
Finally, a brass plaque describing aircraft type and era makes a great finishing touch. If you make "generic" bases, leave enough room in front of the base to temporarily attach them. I have done this more and more for contests as I am rapidly running out of room. As it stands now all my bases are stored vertically in a holder I made. If you choose to attach the plaque, a little CA works (don't use the adhesive foam strips, they make the plaque stand up from the base) and small brass screws at the corners look great. Make sure to drill pilot holes first to avoid denting the plaque. Tap the nails in very gently with a small hammer. They should be primarily decorative, the CA will hold it in place. Squadron insignia or miniature wings are also a nice touch.
As with your model, good reference material is a must. If you match the base to the aircraft you will have something to really "showcase" your model and it may also let you take home a gold instead of a silver or bronze.
Everyone has things on their work bench or hobby desk that they use to help them build their models. I will list what I use in the hope that it might help others with their particular needs. For serious modelers there are a couple of things I consider essential. First is a Dremel. I have both the AC powered Multi-Pro and a battery powered one when I need something that turns slower. X-acto makes a great assortment of drill bits from 0.0135 to 0.039. I use them constantly. Micro-mark offers a three tooth adjustable drill chuck that is worth many times the meager $7 investment. As assortment of different Dremel bits, wheels and brushes will have a multitude of uses.
Another essential item for the workbench are a wide assortment of good paint brushes. I use sable brushes because they last longer. i have brushes from 1/4" down to 20/0. I have taken an old 20/0 and removed all but about 1 hairs on it. It is indispensable for painting the tiniest details.
Lastly on the essential list is an assortment of X-Acto (or their equivalent ) blades and handles. I have 3 small handles with a #11 blade, an X-Acto micro saw blade and a third with a very sharp needle in it. I have a medium handle that I use for an assortment of chisel blades. Along with this assortment of knives I would recommend a couple of small spatulas for spreading putty, a scribing tool and an assortment of tweezers and forceps. A great source of these are flea markets, gun shows and Army surplus stores. A pair of locking clamps comes in very handy for holding parts for painting.
Other vary handy items include:
An assortment of spools of wire and soldier
Rolls of Dymo Tape to serve as a straight edge when scribing lines
Green Stuff™ putty (white and green variety)
Masking and Scotch tape
A good pair of dividers
A small thin steel ruler
A good set of calipers
A wide assortment of Evergreen styrene bar, rod and sheet stock
Plastic syringes (1 and 10ml) and an assortment needles
A lighted magnifier (preferably the kind on an articulating stand)
Plastic polishing compound (I use Turtle Wax Clear coat polish)
Bottles of "the Detailer" for panel lines and washes
Clothes pins (lots of them) - million and a half uses
A few other odds an ends that I use:
Cut the outside out of spray can lids ( the big cans, not the hobby ones) leaving the bottom and inside collar. The inside collar is perfect for holding Model Master bottles. This will make it very difficult to knock over the bottles.
A piece of wood with holes drilled in it to accommodate all your paint brushes, knife handles and Dremel bits. I have attached this to a large piece of 1/8" Plexiglas that I cover my work area with.
This list is not meant to be all inclusive and I have not included everything on my hobby desk. Paint, thinner, brush cleaner, adhesives, sandpaper and decal setting solution and solvent are something that everyone should have regardless of their skill level.
I have never been satisfied with just using clear colors to make nav lights. I talked about a way to shape sprue to form lights that are part if the wings cross section. But what about nav lights that are out on a wingtip and a piece of stretched sprue won't do? A lot easier than you think. The same can be used for the little blue formation lights.
First, get some modeling clay (the kind that can be hardened in the oven) at any hobby store. I cut a small cube about 1cm square and push it down hard over the kit's raised light. Ensure it makes a good impression without bubbles. Place it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 25 minutes, or what ever the directions stipulate.
Once hardened and cooled, it is time to get out the clear sprue again. I cut a piece about 1" long and heat the end using a candle. While the plastic is still molten, jam it hard down into the mold you made of clay and hold it there for about 5 - 10 seconds until the sprue has hardened.
You now have something akin to a mushroom atop a toothpick. I take the Dremel and a cutting wheel and grind away any excess along the outer edge. Sand and polish the entire light until it is shiny again.
Now the tricky part. Using an X-Acto saw blade, carefully cut the light from the piece of sprue. Sand the cut area smooth by rubbing it on a pieces of hobby sandpaper film and polish. The next step will be dependant on your tastes or the airplane. Glue it to a piece of aluminum foil (shiny side) with CA. Cut out the foil/light combination and, after grinding off the kit light, glue it in place. NOW use the clear colors. The result looks many times better than just painting it silver followed by clear colors.
Often aircraft used a combination of red, green and yellow ID lights to identify friend or foe. They are usually arranged in a line on a wingtip of under the fuselage somewhere. You can do the old silver and clear color thing or you can make them look real. I use my computer to make splotches of blue, red and yellow on clear overhead transparency film. I punch out one of each with the Waldron punch set (0.039 or 0.059 depending on scale). I use the corresponding drill bit and drill three holes in the particular location. The holes do not have to be deep, 0.025 is plenty. I put a drop of silver paint or a disc punched from aluminum foil (the preferred method) into the hole and follow it with the piece of colored film. Presto, realistic looking ID lights. You can use this to make a landing and taxi light too, just use a bigger punch and clear acetate (0.005" Evergreen sheet is better than transparency film for this).
Making Scale Aircraft (or anything else) Panels
As the saying goes...."necessity is the mother on invention". My current project required the total removal of an engine from the airframe. Along with it came all the cowling panels (7 to be exact). When I had cut out the kit pieces I was faced with two problems. One, the thickness of the plastic was going to make a lot of grinding and sanding necessary; and two, some plastic was lost in the process, making them a little too small. What is a modeler to do?
The answer was right in my trash can...a soda can! Soda can aluminum is about 0.003" in thickness, a lot more scale than a piece of plastic 0.06" and required no grinding or beveling (a mediocre way of achieving scale thickness anyway) and is very easy to work with. The only exception to this would be a panel with a lot of complex curves. For that use the kit part and grind away or vacuform one.
There are several ways to cut the aluminum; a #11 blade (that will dull pretty quickly) and straight edge, sharp surgical scissors (good for curves or small panels) or a good paper cutter (great for making square or rectangular panels). I used the kit pieces as a cutting guide and then discarded them.
I used the Dremel and a 0.016" bit to drill fastener holes all the way around and then curved them around dowels of varying thicknesses until the curvature was correct. Prior to painting I used the Dremel and a wire wheel to remove all paint. They were painted interior green on the inside and the appropriate external color on the other. Another nice thing about aluminum, a little scotch tape and viola! realistic looking "paint chips". And no need to paint the part aluminum metalizer before hand.
The resulting panels are very convincing and require much less time work that modifying kit pieces. If you are going to glue them to the aircraft (or tank or ship for that matter) CA and a little accelerator works fine. If not they stack well on a base, giving a very good scale effect, something you cannot do with beveled panels.
Radial engines offer a great opportunity for detailing. Unlike in-line water cooled engines, at least the front of a radial engine will be visible in the finished model. A few basic improvements can add a lot to the front of any aircraft.
|
|
 |
The amount of detailing will be dependant on the amount of engine showing. If no panels are to be opened, just the front of the engine need be improved. If maintenance panels are to be opened. The side and rear of the engine (and maybe the firewall) need to be detailed.
Before starting, good reference material is a must. The engine should already be painted and weathered before doing any of these modifications.
The most notable feature on the front of radial engines are the magnetos, ignition harness and wires, push rods and various accessories attached to the "bullet nose" or crank case front. Most are molded into the engine or left off entirely. If they are molded in (push rods for example) grind them off carefully with the Dremel, taking care not to damage the cooling fins. I use small pieces of solder or styrene rod for the push rods. Drill small holes at the base of the cylinder. Insert a small piece of solder or styrene and cut to length with a sharp #11 blade. Push rods are usually only on the front or rear (back row) of cylinders but check your references.
Magnetos can be made using pieces of styrene rod or discs punched out of sheet. Check your references and be creative!
The most visible and most enhancing feature to add is the ignition harness and wires going to the spark plugs. Start with drilling holes into each front and back of the cylinders. I start with a piece of solder, 0.050" for 1/48 scale and cut a piece to go all the way around the crankcase. I take a sharpened needle and make a pilot hole in front of each push rod. Using a 0.025' bit (#72) I drill a hole into the ring. I use relatively stiff 0.010" wire to make the ignition wires. I cut a piece about 1 1/2 inches long, fold it in half and crimp the end tightly with a pair of needle nose pliers, leaving a 1mm crimp at the bottom. I glue it into the ring with CA and accelarator. Depending on the engine, the wires on the left push rod feed the front of both rows of cylinders and the right ones the rear. It is best to check your references though. Take the wire, bend it around the cylinder, snip it to size with sharp scissors and insert it into the hole. No glue is needed. Colors of the wires range from black to brick red to silver or yellow. Check your references. There should also be a large gauge wire going from the ring to the rear of the engine.
If you are going to open panels or remove the engine (like I did in the pictures above) then the rear of the engine must also be detailed. The amount and type of detail varies widely with the engine. Suffice it to say, a creative use of wire, solder and styrene stock will greatly improve the appearance or your engine. Your references will show you how involved your detailing should be.
Even resin aftermarket engines can benefit from the same treatment as a kit engine. When I built my Revell 1/32 F4U-1a Corsair I opted to replace the rather inadequate kit engine with the superb Teknics resin one. I still used a lot of the techniques described above to detail it as well:
Modeling Tips from Dick Hirdes
Masking cockpits, engines and undercarriage bays.....
Use foam rubber. Cut slightly oversize and stuff in gently with tweezers. As it is oversized, it will expand to fill the area.
Wingtip navigation lights..........
Cut out the area where the light has to go. No need to be exact. Heat clear sprue and while still hot push it into the cut out. It will fuse with into the wing cutout. Leave to cool and polish. Mask, paint the wing and then the light.
.gif)
