Making rolled up tarps with tissue paper?

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Hello guys,

I having trouble getting my tissue paper tarps into rolled up form. They come out either lobsided or the ends dont really look rolled, and sometimes they come out flat. How can I make it so that they are rolled up tarps? Any special techniques?

Also, what should I use for straps and when do I apply them to the tarp?

thanks guys![:)]

2

Lay out flat, fold in half, then spray with water and white glue mixture. I use one of my wife’s old pump-sprayers for this. When it is good and damp, fold the sides in toward the middle. Do it again if you want it narrower. Tie with black thread in the area you are going to have it lashed down. Dry. Paint. Weather.

You can also after the initial fold, cut it in half lengthwise if you want smaller rolls such as bed rolls.

MAKE SURE YOU USE FACIAL TISSUE NOT TOILET PAPER! ! ! [:D] Just kidding. I am sure you know that one already!

3

I do it pretty much the same as Scorn has described. I use tissue from clothing gifts that I’ve recieved rather than Kleenex. It’s a little smoother and a lot tougher for handling. The real key is to start big and fold to the middle so your edges end up being several layers thick rather than a single one. I use carpet thread I got from some place a while back, probably a fabric store. It’s about the right size for simulating rope in 1/35. You can also use dental floss for a flatter looking strap.

4

I find tissue tarps tend to look like…tissue tarps… I prefer to use milliput

roll it extremely thin (with lots of flour) and then roll it up into a tarp shape. You can add convincing creases and tie depressions just by pressing into it with different blunt tools.

5

thanks guys!

6

I do not wet the tissue until it has been rolled, as it will have a tendancy to stick to you fingers and go stringy when you roll it if you do.

I use good quality facial tissue, as it tends to get the nice wrinkled look where the roll is tied.

  • Fold the edges toward the middle as all the loose edges look odd if left on the end of the roll.
    -Fold the top and bottom toward the middle, but overlap them by about 5mm. This will stop the tissue from wearing through in the centre spot.
  • Fold the sides again, but 1/3 on one side and 2/3 on the other to offset the join again.
  • Fold the top and bottom, again fold the top onlt 1/3 of the way, and the bottom 2/3 of the way.
    -Now fold in half , one edge to the other edge
    -Fold the top down 1/3, and then roll the tissued from where you just created the bent edge but before you roll the last bit put a drop of cyano on the tissue to HELP hold the end in place - don’t let it unroll.

Place a piece of ship makers rigging string, or whatever thread you use, at the end of the tarp and roll the tarp onto it so that it is in the centre of the thread. Then loop the thread around twice and tie it. Leave the ends reasonably long so that you can hold the roll by the loose ends and dip it in a mixture of PVA and white glue. I use an old Aerosol cap (the type off spray cans) to hold the glue mix. Then I loosely tie the roll threads into a loop, so I can slide a piece of sprue through it. That way I can put the sprue across the top of the cap, so the roll can dangle in the mix for a while. When completeley soaked just lift up the sprue and put it over an empty aerosol cap so the excess glue can drip off. If you want to, you can snip off the loose threads and press the almost dry roll onto the model for shaping and drying , and it will stick to the kit with the PVA. If you plan to leave it reasonably loose, just leave it to dry before painting. In that case leave the loose threads on the roll until after painting, as you can use these to hold the roll for painting and drying.

If you want a reasonably flat folded tarp, again shape it by folding, and then dribble PVA and water mix on it after it is shaped. It will soak up the PVA and when whet you can use an old paintbrush or needle to shape the wrinkles in the tarp.

Here’s a couple of pics to show hat I mean:

7

Good tips from everyone, thanks!

8

I also got good results using wet-wipes (for babies). It is much stronger than ordinay tissue paper.

9

Petbat, great tips thanks! I’ll be trying that this weekend.
Dwight, very nice idea, I’ll have to give that a try too. Do I still use the same methods as the above?

10

Basically the same procedure as outlined by Peter. Just let the wet-wipes dry first before applying the water-glue mixture.