Compared to many of you who post here, I am a farily inexperienced modeler. I have heard a lot about rescribing the raised panel lines on the models and was wondering how you do it?
I have a kit I was interested in trying many new techniques I have read about here on, but it has raised panel lines. So I figured that since I was doing a bunch of experimentation on it anyway, I should try to rescribe the panel lines.
But I dont really know what I should do. What tools should i use? After you sand off the raised detail, how do you figure out where the correct panel lines should go? Do you need to build the plane first before doing the rescribing, or can you rescribe it while it is still unassembled? What techniques do you use?
If anyone could answer, that would be a big help! Thanks in advance.
Only done it a couple of times, mild success. However, make small indentations with a pin where panel lines start, finish, intersect, etc. Draw them in. (after sanding them off) Scribe with a scribing tool or sewing needle, using a ruler or thick masking tape or label tape as a guide. Many people do different things. Experiment! Find out what works best for you!
Some people scribe over the raised lines before sanding them off, because the raised lines essentially act as built-in guides. Another popular choice for a stiff but flexible scribing guide is Dymo labeling tape. For tools, a needle in a pin vise works well. There are a number of commercially-made scribing tools available…some are pen-like, others a little more unusual (but very effective), such as
When scribing it’s important to start out very lightly scribing the line, and apply increasingly harder pressure once the line is initially scribed. This cuts down on errant scribes where the point of your tool goes off in an unintended direction, leaving a scratch you’ll have to fix.
I have never scribed a panel line, but I do have several aircraft in my stash that have raised panel lines. So, from non-experienc, I wonder why you would want to sand off the raised lines and then scribe rather than using the raised lines as a guide while scribing beside them?
I’m currently working on my first rescribe. Monogram P-61, molded in black, I don’t know if it is because it’s black, but even after sanding it down, baby butt smooth, I can still see where the line was. I’m using a #11 blade with just the very tip cut off and first dragging the blade to score the plastic, then pushing the tip through the score, the blunt tip peels out a touch of plastic. The lines look good so far, a bit crooked here and there(area that I can’t get a straight edge to.)
I use the raised panel lines as guides and send them off afterwards. But others are right, most of the time after intiial sanding, you can still see the lines unless you sanded really deep.
I use the raised lines as guides and then sand them off. You can use a sharpened needle in a pin vise or a scribing tool like the UMM tool which is great. I also use scribing templates that are handy when scribing odd shaped panels.
Your are getting a lot of good advice here. I have not done much re-scribing myself but what I have done I learned from a tutorial on Swanny’s Models website. It is a very good tutorial with a description of the tools you will need and a step by step approach to mastering the technique. My only advice is not to overdue it. On my first project I some panel lines that look like the grand Canyon. Here is a link to tutorial and happy modeling!
thanks for all the advice! I think I have a pretty good idea of what to do now, i guess I just have to try my hand scribing now and see how it goes. =)
Needle in a pinvice is the way to go. I went back and CA’ed in my first attempt. Tried a needle, using a piece of 2 inch long PE as a straight edge. Bends real nice around curves.
I’ve never scribed a panel and never had the urge to. I think ‘Hans von Hammer’ had the best take on this when he pointed out that if you were to scale up a scribed model to 1:1 size, there would be panel gaps of 1/4"-3/4".
When was the last time you saw an aeroplane that had any sort of gaps in its body panels?
Haha! That would be an odd sight. True, planes do not have gaps between the panels. I have heard about people scribing that panel lines on their models, and some like it, others don’t. I just want to attempt this technique at least once, so I know that I have tried it out.
Thanks again for the great advice. Would a sewing needle in a wooden Dowel work? I have such a tool that I used in high school Art class when we worked with clay. I would like to use a tool I already have in my inventory if that is at all possible.
I agree about the scribing like HvH said but some kits need to be scribed. I’ve only just done my first scribing job. I found it easiest for me to use the raised lines as guides for the scriber (I use dental pics). After I scribed all the lines I took a curved x-acto blade and carefully shaved off the the raised lines so that each one came off in one curly fry piece.
