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Turn your Dremel tool into a small caliber plastic
lathe
You can turn your Dremel tool into a small caliber plastic lathe. This
is a great way to make homemade coils, pulleys, fuel filter, well...anything
that is round! Take a piece of scrap sprue and chuck it into your Dremel tool.
Now, make your self a set of cutting tools. You can make a good cutting tool
from a needle filed flat (make it look like a chisel). Old x-acto blades that
have the tip broke off work well also.
Great looking exhaust headers
You can make your own exhaust headers from solder. Cut the solder to
size and bend them to any desired shape.
Make your chrome plated parts look gold plated
You can make your chrome plated parts look gold plated. Simply mix 80-85%
transparent acrylic yellow with 20-15% transparent acrylic orange paint. Airbrush
even layers of the mixture of the chrome pieces to make them look gold plated.
Tamiya paint work excellent for this.
Remove glue spots from windshields and
other clear parts
Have you ever wanted to know how to get rid of those stubborn glue spots
that seem to magically always appear on your windshields? What you need to do,
is get your self a polishing kit from your local hobby or crafts store. Sand
the area with a 4000 grit cloth and then move up to the 6000, 8000, & 12000
grits, alternating sanding directions each time you move to the next. Then rub
the area out with a rubbing compound. I recommend using LMG enterprises' polishing
kits. They include all of your sanding clothes, rubbing compounds, sanding block,
and flannel cloth.
A great way to achieve a smooth finish that
is fully cured in hours
Have you ever wanted to be able to paint a model and be able to polish
it out the very same day? After painting my models I place them in a food dehydrator.
The dehydrator can fully cure your paint within a few hours. Enamels and Acrylics:
about 6-10 hours & Lacquers: about 3-5 hours. ATTENTION:
Make sure you use a food dehydrator that has a small fan at the bottom. The
fan helps to circulate the air, thus avoiding warped bodies.
Paint stands'
•You can make a good paint stand out of an old wire hanger. See
the diagram. The hook on
the hanger allows you to hang up your model to dry. Make sure you tape the body
onto the hanger. You don't want it to fall off.
•Use an empty spray can (the 11oz. size), remove the nozzle and slide
your car over the can. When used on 1/24 and 1/25 cars you can pick then up
and rotate in any direction and your model will not fall off...even upside down!
Submitted by: Roger Helton --- Iuka, Mississippi
Spray Booth
Here are some plans for
a good metal spray booth that you can build yourself.
Paint & Chrome Strippers
Stripping paint from old models is easily done by soaking the model
in Castrol Super Clean. This will remove old paint within 2 to 6 hours in most
cases. It will also do a great job of removing chrome in minutes. This will
also clean windows and is perfectly safe for them. Plastic can be left in the
Super Clean for weeks without any damage! When in use you MUST use rubber gloves!!!
Otherwise mild chemical burns could result!
Submitted by: James Bush ---
Florida
•You can strip paint and chrome easily with Simple Green. Simple Green is nontoxic and will not attack the plastic. Since it is nontoxic you do not need to wear any gloves when scrubbing your model.
•I've heard you can soak your models in brake fluid to strip the paint. I have never tried this method before. I've heard that the brake fluid sometimes attacks the plastic. Try this at your own risk.
•The most wide know method for stripping paint is oven cleaner. I have tried Easy Off and Mr. Muscle. Both seem to work equally well. You must wear gloves when using oven cleaner, this stuff is pretty crude and it will tear up your hands.
•I've had good luck stripping chrome parts with non-acetone fingernail
polish remover. It's cheap and a lot less harmful than other products.
Submitted by: Howard Ponder
»Know of some other methods to strip paint and chrome? E-mail them to me!
Tint windows
I got a roll of film back from Wal-Mart and it was not developed. The
negatives were blank and tinted brown. After cutting them to fit I used them
for tinted windows in a 34 Ford five window coupe. They could also be used for
headlight covers. Sometimes you'll find blank negatives at the end of a set
of negatives,that did get developed.
Submitted by: Fred Sudlow
Blackwash grills to make them look more realistic
To make your chromed grills and finned valve covers look more realistic. Apply
a blackwash to them. Thin down some flat black paint to the point were that
it spreads throughout the grill as soon as you touch the brush to it. Try it!
Open doors and trunks
A good way to open doors and trunks is to use sewing thread. First,
drill a small hole in the crack of the door/trunk near the corner. Then, feed
one end of the sewing thread through the hole. Now, just work the tread back
and forth. This creates friction that slowly but surely cuts through the plastic.
A realistic way of coloring those aluminum
A/N fittings by Detail Master
I have found that you can use Sharpie permanent (they come in red, blue,
and black) markers to color those tiny aluminum A/N fittings. I slide the fitting
onto a toothpick, then color it. The marker is sort of transparent, giving the
fitting that realistic anodized look.
Cast your own parts from silver solder
Have you ever thought of casting your own parts out of metal? You can! Get out
to your local crafts store and pick up some Sculpey (it should be in the same
area as the clay). Knead the sculpey until it is soft and then press your manifold,
oil pan, etc. into it, making an impression. You can then take your impression
and place it in the oven at 275° F. for 15 minutes for every 1/4" of
thickness (the directions are printed on the label). This will make it hard.
Then, you just need to melt some silver solder into the mold. Presto!, you know
have a cast metal part. Hit the cast part with a wire brush and you should end
up with a pretty good result.
Remove that unrealistic shine from your tires
To remove that unrealistic shine from you model tires, just pour some baking
soda or coarse salt into the palm of your hand, and rub it on the tires. The
abrasivness of the salt will dull the finish and make them look more realistic.
Some helpful tips when working with phot-etched
details
• Try laying your sheet of photo-etched details onto a strip of masking
tape. This way, when you attempt to cut them of the tree, the piece wont go
flying through the air.
•When attaching scripts to the sides of body's, use clear coat enamel. It gives you time to play with the script and allow you to position just right, unlike super glue which sets up too quickly.
•Save your eyes, get a desktop magnifying glass!!!
•If you invest in a good set of tweezers, you will be surprised at how much easier things get.
»Got some helpful hints when working with phot-etch? E-mail them to me!
A good flame mask
Get out to your local hobby shop and head towards the R.C. car section. You
should be able to find large sheets of masking tape (they are used to mask the
windows of those clear R.C. car bodies). Draw your flames onto the sheet and
then cut along the line with an x-acto knife. You should know have a continuous
flame mask.
ScaleBot™ scale calculator
The ScaleBot™ scale calculator can convert your real measurements to the
most popular scales: 1/8, 1/24, 1/25, 1/43. Click
here to try ScaleBot™
Color catalog
Fallow the link to explore a wonderfully done color catalog. It covers all the
stock factory colors from old to new. [ Color
catalog ]
When mixing epoxy and two part
glazing putties.......
I like to mix my epoxies and two part glazing putties on a post-it-note. After
I've used the epoxy/putty I let it dry on the post-it-note and then just tear
off the top sheet and throw it away. Clean, simple, and cheap.
More modeling tips to come!!!
Submit your tips today and have them posted on my website.
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