So far as i have experienced, the lowly seatbelt has always been the most obvious interior detail often overlooked by model kit firms. I know resin and and photo etch details are already available but I want to know how to make them on my own. I tried using masking tape with painted on buckles. Although I really liked the textture and effect the masking tape gives, I don’t quite appreciate paint buckles. What are your suggestions for scratching your own seatbelts/buckles? Are there any article out there that my help me? Thanks!
My fave technique for scratchbuilding buckles is to take some thin soft wire, usually 0.10 solder, bend it into the shape of whatever buckle I’m trying to replicate, then gently flatten it out.
This is a rather poor photo as I can’t get really good close-ups with my digicam and, yeah, the buckles may not be entirely accurate, but this is an example of some scratched belts & buckles. The belts are foil from a wine bottle, by the way.
I agree this is a overlooked detail and an important one when you have an open cockpit. In 1/48 scale your cockpit looks pretty naked without them or weak when they are just painted buckes (in my opinion).
Assembling belts and buckles together can be a real pain! I’ve really enjoyed some of the aftermarket photoetched brass belts wtih buckes. I recently got an edwards 1/48 German Luftwaffe bombers set. It includes enough betls (belt and buckles together) for about 10 or so seats. This is a nice way to go.
i just close the windows and hope no one notices… if i have to, i would take decal seat belts and put them on aluminum foil or bare metal foil and superglue them on. another way is to emboss brass. theres an article on hyperscale. its on seats but u can use it for seat belts.
I make my belt buckles out of card stock with a razor blade. I just make a kind of “Y” shape for one end, and a strait piece for the other. I would like to try the wire buckle idea though.
Another method of making seat straps is using “non porous” surgical tape(found at the local hospital supply store).
You just cut the tape to size and width you need using a a new #11 blade and a lil superglue to attach.
If I get board I’ll take the buckels from a photo etch set and apply them to the tape straps(a lil longer to apply and time)
Once everyrhing is done you can either leave it the color(off white) or repaint it(paint sticks well).
The over all appearence has a nice look to it. I have also tried Blackwolfs method and his to is a great way to represent the straps and buckels.
Flaps up,MIke
I like using maskng tape, with photo etched buckles. I have a couple of sets of Reheat buckles, but I’m not sure if they are still in production. They came with a little piece of textured material, but it was a kind of nylon, and nothing will glue it, but using masking tape instead worked really well.
I have a friend who’s a (highly paid) professional modeller, and he uses painted paper for belts, usually with etched buckles. As the Black Wolf noted, lead foil works well, here.
This might stray a little from the topic of scratching them, but have any of you seen the new Eduard pre-painted belts up-close and in-person? Yes, I was plenty sceptical upon hearing about them - but they are beautiful! You have to see them to believe them…
I found thin staples, twisted around the tweezers work great. Just make a loop and and a long thin loop and go to town. For the belts, painted duck tape looks great.
I have a set of those Eduard belts/buckles, and they are awesome! However, I would also like to try the lead foil technique. Does anybody know where to find lead foil? I have asked numerous people about it, but nobody seems to know where to get it from. {
There’s a great article about this on Aircraft Resource Center. Go to Tools 'N Tips, then on to Cockpit Detailing. You’ll see it right in front of you there. An excellent reference page for seats and seat belts is linked there as well.
