Post by cmmf on May 5, 2022 17:52:52 GMT -5
Before showing some more 1/43 models, I thought that could be interesting to share some info about the materials and techniques used in the recreations / upgrades i've been doing.
In this image, nº 1 is the gel used to remove paint from the diecasts, quite effective and agressive. Nº 2 is the Microscale liquid decal film used over the decals. It can be slightly agresive in some decal sheets.
Nº 3 is the modelling clay, cheap and effective. Nº 4 is the Evergreen polystyrene sheet, with a thickness of 1,5 mm. It's an excellent material, I already made dashboards, bumpers and a periscope for an '67Alfa Romeo 33/2 with this polystyrene.
Plastizap is a very strong glue that slightly metlts the plastic (mind you fingers). Old UHU multi-purpose glue isn't very strong, but has the advantage of remaining flexible for long. That's an advantage if some accident occurs...
As for the rest, I use a dozen files with different shapes and sandpaper with four different grains. Final polish and cleaning is done with a small cloth, one of those we get in an optician when we buy spectacles.
Paints I use are mostly Humbrol (1). This non-ecological paint has the great advantage of taking some time to dry, which allows us to make any necessary correction, remove any tiny bubble or grain.
Tamiya (3) and Hobby Colour (2) have an interesting range of colours, but these acrylic products usually dry quickly. I dont have air conditioning, and here in Portugal climate is hot during half of the year, and that might be a problem when comes to use acrylics.
Molotow chrome is quite good. Requires some care not to let dry the liquid in the pen. Usually this chrome paint is fragile, requires one final layer of transparent varnish.
For bigger surfaces (body, doors, bonnets) I use a vulgar, soft and cheap scholar brush (4). With a little twist, by the way. I cut the tip of the brush, so it gets an sort of sraight recruit hairstyle, This makes the paint spread better on the surfaces. Better, thinner and harder brushes are used for details.
Decals are drawn with CAD software. First I analyse the images of the real cars, and next I measure the numbers, circles, badges, etc. in the diecast. This image shows how future decals look like in the CAD software, with black or white background. Seems weird on this image, but printing configurations will make it ok.
Next step is making a print test with vulgar white paper. If it's ok, I put the white or tranparent decal sheet in the printer, and I use A5 size. Not too big, allows decals for four or five cars in each sheet. Let it dry for a couple of days before applying the Microscale liquid decal to fix.
Finally the spares.
Tires (always try to use rubber, even if old), plastic scrap, metal pieces, etc.
In the center of the photo, an old semi-transparent Lego piece. Inside these lego pieces we can find small plastic cylinders, that I use to recreate lights. Those tiny cylinders are cut in slices, then polished. One of the faces is painted with chrome, and over the chrome two or three layers of thick black paint to absorb the glue when it is fixed to the car.
In this image, nº 1 is the gel used to remove paint from the diecasts, quite effective and agressive. Nº 2 is the Microscale liquid decal film used over the decals. It can be slightly agresive in some decal sheets.
Nº 3 is the modelling clay, cheap and effective. Nº 4 is the Evergreen polystyrene sheet, with a thickness of 1,5 mm. It's an excellent material, I already made dashboards, bumpers and a periscope for an '67Alfa Romeo 33/2 with this polystyrene.
Plastizap is a very strong glue that slightly metlts the plastic (mind you fingers). Old UHU multi-purpose glue isn't very strong, but has the advantage of remaining flexible for long. That's an advantage if some accident occurs...
As for the rest, I use a dozen files with different shapes and sandpaper with four different grains. Final polish and cleaning is done with a small cloth, one of those we get in an optician when we buy spectacles.
Paints I use are mostly Humbrol (1). This non-ecological paint has the great advantage of taking some time to dry, which allows us to make any necessary correction, remove any tiny bubble or grain.
Tamiya (3) and Hobby Colour (2) have an interesting range of colours, but these acrylic products usually dry quickly. I dont have air conditioning, and here in Portugal climate is hot during half of the year, and that might be a problem when comes to use acrylics.
Molotow chrome is quite good. Requires some care not to let dry the liquid in the pen. Usually this chrome paint is fragile, requires one final layer of transparent varnish.
For bigger surfaces (body, doors, bonnets) I use a vulgar, soft and cheap scholar brush (4). With a little twist, by the way. I cut the tip of the brush, so it gets an sort of sraight recruit hairstyle, This makes the paint spread better on the surfaces. Better, thinner and harder brushes are used for details.
Decals are drawn with CAD software. First I analyse the images of the real cars, and next I measure the numbers, circles, badges, etc. in the diecast. This image shows how future decals look like in the CAD software, with black or white background. Seems weird on this image, but printing configurations will make it ok.
Next step is making a print test with vulgar white paper. If it's ok, I put the white or tranparent decal sheet in the printer, and I use A5 size. Not too big, allows decals for four or five cars in each sheet. Let it dry for a couple of days before applying the Microscale liquid decal to fix.
Finally the spares.
Tires (always try to use rubber, even if old), plastic scrap, metal pieces, etc.
In the center of the photo, an old semi-transparent Lego piece. Inside these lego pieces we can find small plastic cylinders, that I use to recreate lights. Those tiny cylinders are cut in slices, then polished. One of the faces is painted with chrome, and over the chrome two or three layers of thick black paint to absorb the glue when it is fixed to the car.
