Hey everyone,
I just found a 1/48 Revell Texan that I never built years ago. I see that the panel lines are raised. Naturally, this is not like on the real plane, and the bigger issue for me is that, when using filler and sanding at e.g. fuselage joints, the panel lines will be sanded away. Are there any soltutions to this problem?
Thanks,
Vivian
(I’m a guy, despite the name)
YES! The absolutely annoying, painful, tedious, and utterly hellish process of re-scribing. (Do you get the sense that I hate it?) IT requires markign the locations, sanding the current lines away, and re-doing the new ones. It is totally annoying, but some may like it.
Boba, what do you mean re-scribing. I am having the issue with raised panel lines, not the (much better and more realistic) grooved/recessed panel lines. For the latter, re-scribing is the solution like you’ve said.
In the past, I have just sliced the blade into the plastic across the spine(or where ever) just to continue a line. Sure, you go from a raised line to a recessed line, but at least there is a line.
Or, you can go about a total rescribe, as was mentioned. It is long, slow and tedious, but the results are great. I recently did my first two rescribes.
Revell P-61
/forums/t/126039.aspx?PageIndex=1
Revell TBD-1
/forums/p/128955/1303530.aspx#1303530
Might find some useful stuff in there!
Yes
My club just completed a Monogram raised panel group build. The builds were beyond awesome. The methods of replacing the raised lines that get sanded off there were used the most were stretched sprue and scribing with a knife blade.
I have not tried the stretched sprue method but when done right it looks great.
I have used the blade scribing method and it also looks real good. To do this a line is scribed with the tip of a new #11 blade at an angle, connecting to 2 end of the original line. Dymo tape slightly offset make a great guide for the blade. The angle of the blade raises a burr. When the model is painted, the slight groove at the back of the burr is filled in and you are left with a raised panel line.
While I would never presume to speak for manny… I think that what his “Yes” meant[whstl][:P]
Raised panel lines are no more un realistic in scale than scribed panel lines. After all, on a real aircraft, the lines between skin panels butted up against each other are smaller than those on the scale models that represent them. Some aircraft have overlapping panels. And flush rivets are just that- flush with the surrounding surface…those would be best represented in scale by a tiny circle rather than a divet…[^o)] Anyways… another route for replacing list raised panel lines is laying a piece of fine stretched sprue that matches the size of the other raised lines.
An old technique I’m currently using on a 1:48 Revell/Monogram F-4J:
Spray on a light primer coat. Then lightly wet sand, just enough to sand away the raised lines. You should be left with bare plastic guide lines that make it easy to rescribe.
Mark
oops! my bad. But total re-scribing IS a solution…
What Stik said. I find scribed lines no more realistic than raised. The biggest problem I consider with raised iines is putting them back after sanding a seam.
If I have a model with raised lines and it is painted a flat color, I run a sharp hard pencil along the line. Makes them pop.
[dto:]…and…[dto:]
This model is the Monogram 1/48 F-105F with raised panel lines. They were highlighted by lightly burnishing with a soft #2 pencil.
Darwin, O.F. [aln]
I’m surprised Hammer hasn’t posted to this one yet.
I’d leave them. As stikpusher and others have pointed out, raised panel lines are not invalid in and of themselves, any more than recessed lines are always valid. You really need to look at your subject, and then decide.
Having said that, I will say that I’ve rescribed panels on other kits, where the raised lines were really too large for scale as to be too much, and also on older kits where raised lines included decal locators, “idiot marks”, as we used to say.
On Monogram’s kits, they’re not too bad, including on the Texan. But then, I’m a Monogram fan from way back, so that enters into my choice, too.
Best regards.
Brad
Just so I’ll not let the Baron down, I’ll go ahead and chime in… Check the real aircraft before getting rid of those “inaccurate” raised lines… Many metal-skinned aircraft, expecially those designed and built prior to 1940, didn’t have flush-mounted panels, but rather overlapping skin-joints. While not exactly accurate, the raised lines portray this much better than the often out of scale recessed lines… A lot of kits I’ve seen with the “accurate” recessed lines, well… They’re not… Moreover, some of them have lines that, if you could, you’d be able to stick your fingers into…
Here’s a great shot of the skin of a T-6/SNJ. Note you can not see any recessed panel lines.
But some raised detail is quite apparent.
I actually prefer raised panel lines over recessed ones. As has been pointed out, even the finest engraving equates to hideous gaps when scaled up, and there is just no good way to fill them. With the raised lines, they can be sanded off. I prefer to draw them on the finish coats with drafting pencils.
Ashley
(I’m a guy, too, despite the name!)
Thanks to everyone who have chimed in!
I am still not sure what to do with models with raised panel lines when one sands away the raised panel lines at seams/filler etc.
It’s great that the raised panel lines as such are not a problem realism-wise but once they’re lost around seams, what then? Is re-scribing the only real solution?
Vivian
Hi, Viv, your choices are replace the lost detail or ignore it.
I think most guys would tend to scribe in the missing detail, and if you have a kit with raised lines, and you sand away detail, you might decide at that point to replace all of the raised detail with scribed detail, in the interest of consistency.
You could also replaced raised detail, with finely stretched sprue, again, in the interest of consistency. Personally, I go by what looks good to my eye.
Hope that helps, best regards,
Brad
When I need to replace lines that have been sanded away, I usually just scribe them in lightly with a curved blade. Rather than dragging the blade along though, I “rock” the curved portion of the blade on the line’s location… I then “enhance” it with a wash, or with pastels (for raised lines)…
Stretch some sprue so it matches the required line. Extend past the repair area and secure with tape. Lightly touch the sprue in the repair area with thin cement like Tenax, it will partially melt the sprue for a great bond. When dry, remove the tape, trim the ends and lightly sand to blend in the repair. Sounds complicated but its really not hard at all,