Etched Parts Do's & Dont's

Submitted by BigDuke6 on Thu, 04/03/2008 - 00:17

I'd like to put it out there for any of the multimedia kit builders and more advanced plastic kit builders to share their experience with etched parts. Since the tips section is new I thought this would be a good place to start.  

Here are my thoughts to get the ball rolling: 

  1. What is the best set of tools to remove from the tree and bend the etched parts into shape? 
  2. How are they attached to the plastic kit components? Some of the join sections look to be a thin piece of metal at 90 degreed to a plastic part! 
  3. What sort of priming is required prior to painting? 
  4. What type of glue is best? Obviously your standard plastic glue aint going to cut it 

 

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fangio's picture

Here's my thoughts:

Submitted by fangio on Thu, 04/03/2008 - 00:19.

Here's my thoughts:

  1. I use an old pair of sprue cutters (no longer used for cutting parts off sprues). If the parts need folding I either use a pair of Tamiya PE folding pliers (long needle nosed pliers with absolutely dead smooth jaws and a nice straight edge for folding against) or a 'hold and fold' - This is like a vise that you clamp the pe part into, then fold along a straight edge. If the parts need to be curved (like a barge board) , I roll them back and forth over different sized cylindrical objects (paint pots, cans, felt tip pens) until I get the desired shape. Never 'just bend' them if you want smooth flowing curves as they'll crease.
  2. A smear of superglue or 5 min epoxy (or both - tack the part in place with Super Glue, while the epoxy sets up) , or for small parts I use Micro Liquid Tape, or Micro Crystal Clear (aircraft canopy glue).
  3. I prime with Tamiya Metal primer (has a mild etching effect to aid paint adhesion) , then normal sandable primer.

 

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