How Plastic Kits are made

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hey y’all,

Wouldn’t it be cool to have FSM do an article on how kits are made? from design to finished product? I’ve often wondered how the manufacturers decide on a kit, what features they want (folded wings, etc), how the molds are made, instruction sheets, decals, cover art just the whole process. I’ve googled but never found anything really informative. Any of y’all know of an on-line article/resource?

2

You can watch how its done first hand. Here in our area we have several companies that specialize in injection molding. It may not be models but the processes are the same. I’ve watched them make key chain fobs, salad bowls as well as a whole slue of other consumer items. Hot, noisy and mostly boring process.

The making of the masters is interesting, again there are several very good industrial pattern shops in my area and I have even worked with several in a previous life…it is amazing to watch these guys take a drawing and turn it into a three dimensional object. I had the opportunity at overseeing an industrial compressor created from start to finish. Concepted idea, drawings, models, master patterns, molds, castings and on through the machining, assembly and painting to yield the final product. Even installed the first one at a landfill to pump methane gas into a cogeneration plant to make electricity.

3

Now that’s a cool Idea.

I use to work for a Co. that made Plastic parts from hot melted Plastic into a mold to make the part and I think it would be cool to see how they do it.

Bud

4

Learned how to do it in Shop class in 1974…

5

i worked/designed molds for a company here in michigan. may sound cool to you guys but it really isnt anything impressive. its actually pretty boring. but i guess it depends on your point of view! [%-)]

6

Several years ago I had the opportunity to tour the AMT plant in Dyersville, Iowa. It was interesting to watch how a kit is molded and packaged for shipping. That was the only part of the plant open for tours. I don’t know if they still host the tours.

7

FineScale did an article on that a whole bunch of years ago. Think they visited the then just Monogram (Revell was its own entity) facility in Illinois.