I’m trying to get into my Revell Shackleton, which I’m converting to an AEW.2 using the Aeroclub conversion
the kit is covered in absurdly big raised rivets, and the conversion parts aren’t, so it will be obvious which bits are the original kit and which are conversion parts. the rivets have to go!
question is, what to replace them with? etched panel lines is the obvious answer - but it would look wrong on a Shack. If you take a look at any Shackleton (there’s a great example in a museum here in Manchester) the first thing you see is a mass of rivets, and not just near the panel borders.
I’m planning to etch the main panel lines using a p-cutter, but it will need rivet detail as well if it’s going to look right. Any suggestions for putting rivet detail on a 1/72 kit?
tiny blobs of dimensional fabric paint work well for my 1/72-76 AFVs. Look out in your local craft shop or embroidery kind of shop. Get a colour that will stand out from the plastic! Use a sharp cocktail stick to place the blobs onto the surface of your model. It takes a bit of practice to get a line of regularly-sized ‘rivets’, but it’s the easier way I have ever found to replicate them. Once you are happy with your work, seal the rivets with a light coat of Jonhson’s Klear (from your local Tesco).
thanks
it’s going to need some practice before I start on the Shack. the thought of all those rivets (must be thousands to do) is giving me a headache
As for panel lines I always toyed with the idea of covering the model in bare metal foil (aluminum color) and overlapping the sheets just like the actual aluminum panel lap joints. This should provide a nice scale panel line. And you can even chip the paint off exposing the metal underneath!
in 1/72nd scale I think you can safely lose most of the rivets, or at least rub them down until you can only just see them on the bare plastic. Go & look at the Shack from around 50 feet away, where did those rivets go to? all you’ll see is paint & shadows. This subject has been discussed before on the forum, mostly it came down to personal taste & how you want your model to look.
If you want to put rivets on the replacement parts, find a good jeweller & ask about a ponce wheel. Imagine a cog from your watch on a stick, the cog can rotate as you wheel it across a surface. As it does so it makes ‘dimples’. That’s a ponce wheel.
I’ve never used one but I’ve seen the results from one & it looks good.
Remember that the Shack kit is very old and the surface is overdetailed as were most kits of that era. Having said that, a common RAF name for the Shack was;
3 million rivets flying in formation!
I think you can also get ponce wheels anywhere they sell sewing supplies.