Help wanted with supplies

[kobuzz]

New to the forum and looking for some help. Recently back to building models and want to attempt some scratch building and extra detail. I have no clue what type of tools or materials that would be "must have". I would like to attempt building and modifying frames, wheel tubs, floorpans, ect but have no clue what type of material to use. I would also like to try some body modifications but not sure what type of tools are needed to cut stuff apart and then put back together and what type of filler is needed to smooth problem areas out with. Also looking for detail parts like distributors, wheels, hoses, etc. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[GOTH KUSTOMS]

Wow man, this list could be endless, there are so many different things out there to build with, and so many places to go about getting the things you asked about,

Razor saw's there are a few sizes you might want to get,

#11 Exacto blades, and a few others I cant think of right now,

Bottles, or what not, of super glue, or CA glue,

Sheet plastic, comes in 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40, 0.60 inch thickness,

Tweezers, files, sand paper...

I would also checkout the tips, and tutorial's, and the links pages of the forum, you might get some answers there too.

I mean the list could go on, and on, but there is a small start, but I'm sure other members will fill the list out a Lil farther for you, so check back often.....

Edited July 13, 2010 by unforgiven

[Steve Keck]

Scott, Welcome!

A good place to start is Mark Taylor's tutorial "Back to Basics" in the Tips, Tricks and Tutorial Forum. He writes about many basic tools as well as techniques.

If you don't have a local hobby shop then this place stocks most tools: http://www.micromark.com/

I would add to unforgiven's reply that an Xacto handle is a necessity. And

Super glue in small quantities as it goes bad(don't throw away the bottles that thicken up. You'll find uses for it)

Super glue accelerator.

If you have never used super glue then I would recommend some acetone based debonder as well.

A six inch mill bastard file in addition to those Mark mentions.

The sand paper is best obtained at an automotive paint distributor in the following grits: 320, 600, 1000, 1500 and 2000

I would add a two-speed rechargeable Dremel tool. Mine is a 4.8V from the blue big box store. I like it much better than my variable speed Dremel. It is a little bulkier in the hand but it melts less styrene. Bits, mandrels and sanding discs/drums are available from the same link above.

Steve

Edited July 13, 2010 by skeck

[LDO]

Evergreen, Evergreen, Evergreen. Check out the Evergreen styrene display at a well-stocked hobby shop.

This supercharger was machined from laminated Evergreen sheet styrene. What you see is several machined pieces of plastic glued together. It was NOT machined in this form. {Later thrown away when I made a cut without getting the mill indicated in in all three axes)

Along with this 1/35 scale Rolls-Royce armored car. Between the body and frame is a leaf spring made by laminating small strips of styrene over a piece of plumbing pipe (to get the bow in it).

The engine block for this Chrysler straight-8 is mostly scratchbuilt. The MPC/AMT kit piece was used as a guide, and the chrome pieces are from the kit. All the white parts of the block are Evergreen styrene, both sheet and various profiles of strip. The grey part of the engine is part of a torpedo out of a Revell 1/48 Heinkel He-111.

This Duesenberg Town Car has a divider between driver and passengers made of sheet styrene. The B-pillars are strip, along with the reveals (trim moldings at the belt line)

this box for a box truck has walls made of thick sheet styrene, plus various profiles of strip for details. Notice the "C" channel along the top side. The "frame" for the back door is a strip of rectangular-section styrene with a strip of half-round on each side.

Edited July 13, 2010 by LDO

[MikeMc]

All of the above.....and the best trick is to READ.....here ,there and everywhere models are spoken. Plains, trains, cars...if its styrene all tips will work....

Enjoy Scott and have fun....then the learning is easy.

[kobuzz]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Looks like I have enough info to start a shopping list:

Dremel

razor saw

xacto blades

C/A glue

files

Evergreen(?) Is this a brand name? Styrene sheets and rods?

sandpaper

Any ideas of what type of body filler to use?

Any good hobby shops in the Dallas/Ft Worth Tx area?

Thanks again!

[GOTH KUSTOMS]

Well I myself use 2 part automotive bondo, in the red can, from walmart, then I use 3m bondo glazing putty for the small stuff, there are some other stuff out there, all of it good and not so good. depends on how you wanna build....

[bigmikevee]

Hi Scott,

Bluesman Mark hit the nail on the head, he gave you very good advice, from what I have learned, all products he's mentioned will work extremely well. My one-cent...don't use Squadron Putty, which you will see at some hobby shops, it will shrink and crack on you, sometimes way later on after you think you are done with your model, risky to use when so many other options available.

As far as local hobby shops, go to Wild Bill's Hobby Shop, 535 E. Shady Grove Irving, Tx. 972-438-9224. One of the BEST shops I have ever seen for models, etc. tons of cars, packed from ceiling to floor, good staff, and you could spend a lot of time in there. Enjoy that place, worth the trip (about 35 min. from downtown Ft. Worth).

Enjoy and have fun.

Mike

[my80malibu]

You might want to get you some good quality drill bits and a pin vise

[Danno]

You might want to get you some good quality drill bits and a pin vise

Amen, Gabe! I couldn't live without mine!

And, while assembling all those high-tech tools, don't overlook the real basics: toothpicks, bamboo kebob skewers, clothespins, small clamps, masking tape, sanding sticks, some 5-minute epoxy, Super Clean or Purple Power, and Westley's BlecheWhite.

[Railfreak78]

Amen to Tooth picks and clothes pins! I know there are fancy tools out there but I use these and that Bondo putty Mark showed, a little Evergreen and let the scratch building begin! Think simple to start, You do not need to spend a ton of money on a tool that clothes pins will handle. Best part who cares if you get paint on it?

[Darin Bastedo]

Since you are obviously new to scratch building let me give you some advice that is not nessesarily tool related. One of the biggest mistakes people make is in the design phaze of a scratch building project. They try to build the model the way the real one is built rather than how a model kit goes together.

Let's say for instace you wanted to replace the promo style chassis in the Johan AMC marlin with a more realistic chassis. Since there is not a better amc chassis in kit form to replace it with your best option would be to build one from scratch. the first thing you have to do is decide on a design for it. you have to decide what needs to be separate pices and what components can be combined into a single assembly. the best thing to do is to look at how model companies tackle a similar type of chassis. this being a unibody design I would look at cars like the 1969 dodge charger from revell, or AMT's 1962 T-bird, and try to mimic the manner in which they go togeter. essentially work it like you are designing a Model kit rather than the real thing. you will find that much of the detail you are tempted to add will be hidden once assembled.

while we are talking design, I have to say nothing beat a good set of measurements, and transfering them to a set of plans. These plans can be full drawings of each part, or simply the "hard points" (hard points are the dimensions and component locations that are required for everything to fit together and be square.) don't use only the measurements from the real car when designing you component. In the case of the Marlin chassis, you should compare the measurements taken from the full size car and adjust them to the actual scale of the model. All models are off a little due to material thickness, and tolerance stacking. be prepared to adjust your components accordingly.

I was judging a contest a while ago where a guy had a beautiful scratch built engine in his Nascar stocker that he painstakingly built from measurements of the real thing. Unfortunately the hood would no longer close on the model because the plastic hood was about ten times as thick as the real thing.

This wheel was one I made for my 427 Cobra project. instead of making it exactly like the real one I built it to fit the best tires avalable for my kit.

It is made out of 23 seperate pieces of plastic, the first being a flat sheet of evergreen sheet stock, that I had drawn the spoke pattern on and carved the basic detail into. then I added the rim and the surface detail.

Next I had it cast in resin so I only had to build one wheel.

You may want to use different materials depending on why you are scratch-building the part. In the case of My cobra project I make use of a lot of .016 aluminium sheet. It's thin yet strong, and for the inner panels it replicated the aluminium used in the real car with out me having to paint it.

to sum up, scratch-building can be easy, with the right tools and design work, but it is a skill you never stop learning.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Darin Bastedo