Any suggestions for where to buy aftermarket aircraft seat belts online? Just any non specific harness would be fine with me.
Thanks
www.Squadron.com has them, but I’d recommend using Tamiya tape or regular masking tape. To me, PE belts look only slightly better than decals…I HATE them…but the buckles and whatnot come in handy though.The tape is much easier to pose with twists and bends, rather than just laying flat on the seat. Just a tiny dab of CA where it meets the seat will keep it in place. Don’t rely on the adhesive, over time, it will give.
On page 6 here: /forums/t/128955.aspx?PageIndex=1 I show, how I done it.
I’m with Fermis, although I like using aluminum foil duct tape (rather than masking tape) It sticks where you want it, the glue on the stuff is forever, and it’s completely flexible… Here’s what it looks like on a 1/48 Monogram Ju 87D…
!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/Monogram Mafia/ju87001.jpg?t=1304105182)
The hardware for this particular build is from the ProModeler B-24D kit, but you can buy PE buckles by themselves as well… At least, you could once upon a time (I haven’t purchased any AM parts like these for so long, they may not be easy to find). I also built a jig that allows me to bend solder or wire (depending on the scale) into shape for hardware… Once done, ya just give it a good whack with a hammer to flatten it…
Here’s a quick & dirty sketch of what the buckle-jig looks like…
The other buckles are jigged-up in a similar manner…
You can get the aluminum tape at any hardware store… Costs about 6-8 bucks a roll, but has enough tape make thousands of belts, buckles, and whatever else you can think of making with it…
Hmmm, I’m thinking the aluminum tape would be easier to cut & otherwise deal with in 1/72 scale. I’ve picked up rolls of aluminum muffler tape before, should be pretty much the same stuff.
I think the muffler tape is just a heavier gauge than the duct tape, ya… The glue is probably a higher heat-type as well… But I think it might work, sure… The stuff cuts beautifully…
Ah hah the picture of the jig makes perfect sense now. I remember asking about it during my P-39 build and I forgot to follow up. Will be much eaiser to use than my styrene “T” that I made. Thanks for sharing.
Hans, how well does the stuff take paint? I’m assuming a primer is necessary.
I paint it with enamels, and it works pretty well, just like on any other metal surface… However, I don’t bother to prime it, since its surface area is so small… The trick to it is not to move the belts after the paint dries… If you do, it’ll crack and/or flake off, and no amount of primer will prevent that. However, if you use it as a covering like Bare Metal Foil, you might want to prime it, since it is aluminum… Squrting it with a little Dullcoat will make it take flat paint better though, since the flat finish will provide some “tooth”…
Nothing works or looks better than lead foil for harnesses. It is a breeze to cut, glue, and paint, and it holds even the most minute folds and curves with ease. I add texture by pressing on it with a flat, fine metal file.
What you use depends, to an extent, on what scale you’re dealing with, and what the materials were that you’re trying to duplicate. My chosen scales are 1/72 and 1/144. In 1/72 I have gotten good results using painted masking tape for the harnesses/belts, and bits of 1/700 PE ship’s railing for the buckles and hardware:
In 1/144, the only thing that I have been able to get work with my fumble fingers is cigarette paper, which you can paint any color you want with enamel paints and then cut into very thin strips. I’m also experimenting with using it in a 1/72 cockpit as we speak, but what I like about cigarette paper is if you leave it in its natural color, a little water gets it to “conform” naturally:
Man… Nice work, but you “Jewelers” ( as opposed to me working in 1/48 and 1/32 and as such, being a “Blacksmith”) puzzle the hell outta me… With those itty-bitty birds, and the work y’all do in such a small scale, I often wonder if y’all would be able to read the gauge-faces you painted if you went to 1/48…
Here’s another set that I did, just last night. I used Tamiya tape for the straps, I cut the hardware off the PE belts.
It’s real simple. Hans - I live in a smallllllllll apartment! My “workbench” is a corner of the kitchen table and part of the shelf the microwave sits on is where supplies are stashed. A single 1/48 airplane would take up the same amount of space as about 4 completed 1/700 ships.
But, I have to admit … the older I get, the more the “giant” scales appeal to me. I haven’t bought anything else in 1/144, the two in line will probably be the last.
You can also use foil from wine bottles and thin wire for the buckles. Paints as usual and is really easy to bend and manipulate.
Nice touch on the stitching… Lotta folks fergit that part…
I just tried folded masking tape, then painted and bent and rolled, for the first time and the results are pretty good( for me)
For the lap belts, I generally set a good-fitting figure in the seat, then run a single piece of tape from the bottom of the seat, up and across the figure’s lap, and down around the other side to the bottom, then snip it in the center of the figure’s lap to ensure that it’s long enough… Using the tape’s adhesive is a plus that way…
Then for the shoulder harness, I do the same thing, running the belt from the seat bottom, and then up the seat-back… Except for those that get attached to the rear bulkhead, that is (like on Fermis’s 'pit…)… They get measured a bit better, lol…