I know I’m going to hate myself for asking this, but has anybody got any good methods for making rivits in 1/72 scale? I’m going “braile” with the WWI tanks and I could use some help in the scratchbuilding department.
Mars, the best thing would probably be some stretched sprue then slice off your “rivits”. That’s going to be fun in 1/72. Or you could try using a very thin piece of wire and some super glue and dab the tank to make a riveit head out of the drop of glue. That would take some practice too in the scale. Good luck with it.
Eric
I agree with erush, but what has worked for me it the past is to drill holes corresponding to the rivet size, insert over length stretched sprue and set in place them from the back side with Tenax or CA, then use a flat piece of plastic sheet as a depth gauge on the facing side to trim the excess off with sprue cutters; The result will be smooth and uniform looking rivets, especially after a coat of OD paint…
Much easier than that, is to get some Dimensional Fabric Paint from your local Walmart or carft shop. Comes in a multitude of colors so that you can work with something that stands out from the color of the plastic. Just use a cocktail stick to add little blobs of paint… It takes a bit of practice to get a regular set of rivet heads, but nothing impossible. If you’re not happy with what you do, just scrape the ‘rivet heads’ with the cocktail stick and start again…
It’s also rather resistant, but a coat of clear will make the stuff permanent.
A paint bottle lats years too…!
This pic shows a scratch 1/76 M41 that sports a number of those little rivet heads made with DFP…
[:D]
I bought two punch and die sets several years ago and have never regretted it.
I’ve used then for many things and making bunches of rivets is just one of the things they are good at!
Nice picture Domi. I want to buy a punch and die set by Waldron, but will have to wait until after the holidays. Waldrons set is quite pricey.
mark956
The thick superglue works good using the fine wire method.
Thin CA also works well and if you do it a couple of times and allow it to build up it works pretty well.
Shermanfreak told me about using white glue and it worked very well.
I used to stretch out sprue or use evergreen stock and slice the pieces I needed and then used varnish or CA to attach. Works well but very tedious if you’re doing alot.
DJ’s idea sounds pretty good and I’m in the middle of a project where I’ll get to try it out.
Mike
Dimensional Fabric Paint is similar to wood/white/PVA glue but it stays raised better than the wood glue. Also working with wood glue can be tiresome for the eyes. Working with a red, or blue, or black, or green liquid depending on te colour of the plastic makes things easier.
Thanks for the tips. I’ve been making rivits for years from white glue in 1/35, but I never thought of the dimensional paint.