Need Info Source

[BMC Tackle]

Hi,

I have been reading a lot of articles lately, and some make references to photo etched parts, flocking, and foiling. I want to find out more about these detailing options and how they are done. I don't even know where to begin, because quite frankly I have no idea what they are talking about.

[Daniel Peterson]

Well, for starters, the three things you mention are pretty much staples of higher-detail modeling.

Photo-etched (often referred to just as "p-e") parts are very thin metal (not quite as thin as aluminum foil for example) reproductions of small details like car keys, hood pins, scripts, or intricate parts like meshes and screens as you would find in grillwork, or wire wheel centers. The appeal is that using the photo-etching process allows very fine detail you could not likely achieve in resin or plastic. Because of how they are made, a realistic scale thickness is able to be achieved. Often the photo etched parts are sent to customers affixed to a "tree" just like styrene parts are, or on a black adhesive backing. Attachment is often done using an epoxy (CA, or "super" glue will have a tendency to fog the part), clear enamel paint or a very small amount of white glue. Oh, and if you have two of the same part, and need both for a project, one will always go on with no trouble, while the other will spring across the room and seek cover in your deep pile carpet.

Flocking is used to replicate the look of scale carpet. It is a very fine, colored powdery stuff that can be a little sloppy to apply but looks great afterward. To apply it, most people I know will paint the surface that needs to be "carpeted" with a brush-on flat enamel of a comparable color. Before it has a chance to dry, you shake the flocking onto the freshly painted area. Turn the part upside down over a piece of paper to recover the excess flocking and what remains on the painted area is, well...carpet. Flocking is available from several sources in several different colors. It is also best to use some type of tight mesh to sift the flocking so you don't get any clumping of the flocking when you are applying it.

Foil, or most often Bare Metal Foil by name, is used to replicate chrome or stainless trim on scale vehicles. WARNING! This is sometimes the most infuriating stuff to work with, but the results are simply amazing. You will probably never, ever paint chrome trim again once you've used foil. It is sold in sheets and it is literally a metal foil with an adhesive backing. You cut off a piece approximately the size of the part you need to foil, peel the foil from the backing, lay it over the part, press it down a little with your finger, go back over it with a round toothpick or cotton swap and press it into place around the form of the part you are foiling and then trim off the excess. You finish by going back and "burnishing" the foil with a cotton swab. The tricks to successful application are to use a ridiculously sharp hobby blade, and to only burnish the foil where you want to to stay permanently. I've over simplified, but you should get the idea.

Any of these three things are usually accompanied by directions in their packaging, but this forum is a great place to pick up the "I've used it, and this worked for me" kinds of tips.

Hope I helped.

[MrObsessive]

Dan's pretty much got it covered as far as what you wanted.

One tip I found to be helpful in attaching PE is if you need to pick up something really tiny, (door locks come to mind) take a toothpick and dip the tip into some melted wax from a candle.

The "stickiness" of the wax will pick up the tiny PE piece and then you can attach it to the door or whatever.

Edit: If you want to see a quick tutorial on flocking, tune into this old thread of mine here and scroll down a bit to look at how I do flocking.

Hope this helps!

[ismaelg]

Hello,

While not exactly Pulitzer contenders, I wrote a few "How to" articles many years ago for ScaleCorvettes.com. These were done over 6 or 7 years ago, but I hope they help a bit.

http://www.scalecorvettes.com/hints.htm

Thanks,

[BIGTRUCK]

These are parts Ive gathered for a 32 coupe build, the door handles, grille and steering wheel center are just a few of the photo-etch parts I will use to achieve a 3-D verses a flat look. Floor pedals will rise above the floor on small round evergreen pcs. rather than just lay there, so all molded parts get removed and replaced with P-E..my choice on flocking is to paint the area in sections with a paint match close to to flocking color[thats what works for me]...

These are PE wipers 3 pcs make 1 wiper, and can be polished or painted for the look you need....

flocking makes a build look way better , but is sometimes barely visible when the build is done

Try all the ways suggested , and find whats works the best for you , prices vary on etch from 3 to 15 to 20 dollars per pack, so you want to have a system in place so your parts go on the kit and not on the floor , some pcs are very tiny....and good luck on seat belts and harnesses , these give me the most problems...