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Modeling Tips for
miniaturists
| contents:
(scroll down or click on bookmark arrows) |
| "scratch building" with styrene |
| the right scale |
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modeling with plastic components
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| painting
our parts
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window glazing
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roofing with Grandt Line paper shingles
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| on working with Grandt Line kits
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"scratch
building" with styrene |
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Most of our parts are injection molded in medium impact gray poly-styrene.
They can be used in structures made of wood, mat-board, paper or styrene
sheet--adding the finishing touches to your models.
Styrene is great fun to work with because it is so adaptable. You can
cut the pieces of a window apart and re-configure them to create an entirely
different look using simple tools and some liquid plastic cement. Try
taking the top off of a door frame and adding it to the top of a window
frame. If a piece of roof trim is too long or the wrong shape, just
trim it off with your X-Acto knife. If you have single windows which
you wish were doubles, simply cut off the frame on one side of each window,
file the edges smooth, fit them together and cement the seam from the back
side. If you want to construct a complicated roof line, do your
planning on paper, trace the shapes onto some styrene sheet, cut and cement
together. The cement works very quickly and you can proceed at a good
pace. The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination.
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| the right
scale |
Modeling scales can sometimes be confusing. The info below refers to
scales in which we produce our parts:
1/2" Scale (sometimes referred to as "half scale"
or "G scale"--the proportion is 1:24 (24" actual = 1")
1/4" Scale (sometimes referred to as "quarter scale" or "O Scale")
--the proportion is 1:24 (48" actual = 1")
S Scale (this is a model railroad scale) --the proportion is 1:64
(64" actual = 1")
HO Scale (another model railroad scale) --the proportion is 1:87 (87"
actual = 1")
N Scale (still another model railroad scale, but close to a dollhouse
for a dollhouse size!) --the proportion is 1:160 (160" actual = 1")
Use your imagination when browsing through our website or
catalogs. The smallest scale windows and doors are not absolutely perfect for a
1:144 dollhouse in a dollhouse in 1" scale, but they will serve the purpose
nicely. Some of our wheels are great for making toy wagons or baby
doll buggies in 1" or 1/2" scale. A model railroad freight car latch
in "O" scale may be just the right size as a furniture latch in 1/2" scale.
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modeling with
plastic components |
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Materials:
Styrene sheets and strips are available at most hobby shops and are great
for building houses in the smaller scales. The most readily available
sheets and strips are produced by Evergreen Scale Models. You
can find their products in hobby and art supply stores. If you
have trouble finding this product, you can go to their website,
www.evergreenscalemodels.com . The sheets are 12" x
24" and either .020" or .040" thick. Sheets which we find useful
are the clapboard (available with a board spacing of .030" to 0.10") and the
V-grooved (with a board spacing of .020" to .250"). The strips come in
a variety of sizes--from scale 1 x 1's to 6 x 12's. You will need a
good assortment of these for most projects.
Planning: Design your structure
on paper and then figure out the best layout on the plastic sheet. If
you can share cutting lines from piece to piece, you can get by with fewer
cuts. Draw your pieces directly on the back side of your styrene
sheet. Remember to reverse your pattern and to check the direction of
the "clapboard" or "v groove" on the front, so that everything is cut in the
proper direction. A little planning goes a long way.
Tools:
The successful modeler finds that using good tools
makes a big difference when doing detail work. Tools which we
recommend are:
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Jeweler's
files--available at your hardware store or some hobby shops |
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Emery
boards or nail files |
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An 8" or
10" mill smooth file--get a new one at your hardware store and use it only
for this purpose. |
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X-Acto
hobby knife and blades |
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A pair of
small needle-nose pliers |
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Tweezers--one large and one small, if possible |
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A brush
for applying cement--use a #5-0 or smaller for best results |
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Testor's®
Liquid Plastic Cement or Plastruct®
Bondene Styrene Solvent--available at hobby shops |
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Metal
edge ruler--for measuring, scoring plastic with your hobby knife or single
edge razor |
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Right-angle triangle and 30-60 degree triangle--useful for laying out
patterns on your styrene sheet |
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Small
hand held hobby saw--Zona® is a brand
available in your hobby shop |
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Flush cut
diagonal cutters--available at your hardware store |
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A good
flat surface for alignment of parts. |
Cutting:
Depending on the thickness of the material, there are
different methods of cutting.
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Cutting sheet styrene: Thin sheets can be cut using a
template and a pair of scissors. For more exact cutting, use your
X-Acto knife and metal straight edge to score the sheet on the back side.
Do not try to cut all the way through the plastic, but just score it about
1/3 of the way through. Then, gently bend the sheet back and forth
along the score mark until the plastic breaks along your line. With
practice, you can cut holes in the middle of your wall for windows
using this technique. The key is to gently flex the styrene sheet
along the scoring marks repeatedly--until the plastic breaks through. |
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Cutting strip styrene: Simply score the plastic with your knife
or saw, then flex until the plastic breaks through. |
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Cutting thick parts (such as window moldings): This is where the
hobby saw really comes in handy. Just saw through the part at the
appropriate angle from the top side of the piece, and file the edges
smooth. |
General Preparation:
Preparation of parts consists of cutting
parts off of their sprues and filing parting lines and gate marks.
This can be done with a razor knife or small saw, followed up by filing
with an emery board or fine file. Whenever possible, leave sprues on
small parts to act as handles when cleaning those parts. Trim off the
sprue just before assembly. (It may be helpful with the smallest
parts to paint them while still on their casting sprue, as well.)
Cementing: Use the appropriate
cement to attach you details to your project.
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For
cementing styrene to styrene: Use liquid plastic cement, and
apply with a small (#5-0) brush. The brushes supplied with the
cements are much to large to apply a controlled amount of cement to your
joint. Too much cement will result in a sloppy joint, which will
take too long to set. To attach two pieces, align them and hold in
place. Dip your brush into the plastic cement and brush on the
cement to the back side of your pieces--using the cement sparingly.
If you apply it too heavily, it does not improve the joint, but causes the
cement to flow onto the surface of your work. The cement will then
look like a blush on your front surface. If this happens, it is not
a tragedy, as it can be painted over. The cement works by dissolving
the edges of the plastic and "welding" the two pieces together. Too
much cement can make the joint too difficult to control. Allow the
joint to set for 5-10 minutes. |
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Styrene to other materials: Use an instant set adhesive (like
Crazy Glue®), contact cement or Aleene's®
Tacky Glue to join styrene with wood or other materials.
Tacky glue works well with styrene and paper or other porous surfaces. |
Note:
If a part should break during assembly, cement it at the break ( holding
slight pressure) and allow it to dry for about 10 minutes.
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painting our parts |
| Proper
painting technique is not only important to the overall appearance of your
model, but can also help to bring out and enhance the fine, crisp detail
that styrene injection modeling makes possible. Styrene parts should
be lightly spray painted for best results. Brush painting is possible
if you prepare your surface with a light coat of sprayed on matte finish or
a very light coat of paint in a pale color. Use any of the
commercially available hobby paints. Successive light coats of spray
are best--heavy coats of paint will cover the fine details on the part and
can cause dissolving or "orange-peel" effects. By layering light
sprays of two colors, you can get a very realistic look for you project.
Spray an undercoat of a neutral color and then, when dry, spray an overcoat
with your final color choice, letting the first color bleed through a bit.
When constructing a building, we recommend spray-painting the
structure without its window and door frames first. Paint the
frames separately and then install. If this is not possible, give the
entire building a spray coat of color. Brush on the detail colors
last. The brush painting will work as long as there has been a
"primer" coat sprayed on first. This primer will give the brushed-on paint
something to "grab" onto.
Where styrene is used to represent wood, it may be
"distressed" prior to the beginning of assembly. Very light
distressing with the tip of a jeweler's file may also be done after each
overspray of paint in order to help bring out the "grain" of the wood and
give contrast between individual "boards". |
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window glazing |
.010" acetate may be used as window material. This
should be available at your local hobby shop. Another product is
clear styrene sheet. For the styrene, you can use liquid plastic
cement (we use Testor's) to cement the window material to the inside of your
window frames. For other plastics you can use a
small bit of Tacky Glue. OR....carefully use a quick-set adhesive such as Crazy
Glue*. (*
This is tricky....too much Crazy Glue and you will get a "foggy" look on
your window glass.)
Another technique is to use Micro Glaze for small panes.
This product is available from Micro Mark, a mail-order company for
hobbyists. You can also find them on the internet
http://micromark.com
We suggest painting your window frames before cementing
the glass in place. Your results will also be best if you wait to
install the frames until the rest of your model is painted.
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roofing with Grandt Line
paper shingles |
As a base for applying our paper shingles for roofing, we
suggest a product called Mountboard, which is available at art supply
stores. This is an acid free card stock used in framing artwork.
It comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses and in packages of 8 sheets,
11"x14". Try using the thinnest one you can get. Cut to the
shape you need and use Tacky Glue to attach the shingle strips. We
have found that pre-staining the shingles before attaching them to the roof
looks best. To do this, use a thinned color wash and let dry.
Then proceed with the shingling process. If you prefer to
stain the entire roof after application of the shingles, that is ok, too.
The pre-staining just gives the shingle layers more variation in
color.
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|
working with
Grandt Line kits |
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We have designed our
kits to be assembled by modelers of average skill. However, many of our
kits contain a number of parts and assembly should be done in the sequences
suggested. Each kit comes with detailed, illustrated instructions. Please
read the instructions thoroughly before starting assembly. This will help
you to understand what must be completed in the sequences given in the
instructions. Plans are usually separate from the text describing assembly
steps to aid in referral to them while you read the descriptions of each
step.
If, for some reason, there are damaged
or missing parts in your kit, please let us know and we will be happy to
replace them at no charge.
As you go through the assembly steps,
remember to check off stages completed in order to avoid missing a step. We
suggest a high-liter pen for this purpose.
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| may we
suggest for your research |
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Designing Your Houses: Look around you in
your own home-town or as you travel. Take a camera along and snap
photos of houses that interest you. Dover Book Publishers offers
quite a few inexpensive books with architectural drawings of American style
houses (or European, for that matter). Many of these have elevation
drawings as well as floor plans. You can find them on the web at
www.doverpublications.com . Click on the Architecture
section of the home page.
Working with Plastics: Evergreen Scale Models
(who is a producer of styrene sheet materials) has a basic modeling book
which is geared toward ship/airplane/model railroad models. It has
lots of good info, however, on how to work with plastics. You may get
some ideas on how to do super-detailing on your dollhouses from the many
photos in the book.
Basic and Advanced Tips and Techniques for Styrene
Modeling: How to
Build, Paint and Finish Realistic Styrene Models
by Bob Hayden, published by Evergreen Scale Models
copyright 2000. You can find this book on their website
www.evergreenscalemodels.com.
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GRANDT LINE PRODUCTS
