Anybody who has made a model truck from a kit, knows just how bad the exhaust pipe looks when the two piece muffler and exhaust pipe are glued together. Here is one way of getting rid of that ugly two piece pipe with the horrible joins up the exhaust pipe. This is not the one and only way of doing it, just another idea for anybody who wants there truck model to look a lot better.
Here’s an exhaust pipe made from aluminium and polished, just to show what it looks like when done. Click onto the picture and then go for the expanded view. [;)][;)]
Most K&S brass tubing is hardened, and needs to be annealed to bend. However, they do make 1/8 tubing unhardened. It is used to make fuel lines for RC planes. You may need to go to a hobby shop that specializes in RC planes to find it.
Haven’t ever seen a BRASS exhaust pipe on a truck, has anybody else ever seen a brass one ?
No Graham, but I’ve never seen an ALUMINUM one either, as your post suggested. I’d suspect that the post refers to a brass pipe that then gets finished silver.
I’d probably use styrene, but I know the word is offensive to you.
If you do as stated in the original post, that is use ALUMINIUM and POLISH it ---- ( the Alumium tubing ), it will then look like a Chromed Steel exhaust pipe, easy as, eh.
As in all forms of modelling, all your trying to do is “trick the eye”, Trompe-l’œil, so if you can do that, you have achieved your goal.
Thanks for clearing that up.
BTW I have made pipes out of pasta, rolled up putty, brass, aluminum, styrene and old wire.
Oh, forgot. Solder, copper wire, even glass.
And for brass, after priming, give it a nice gloss black undercoat and finish with Chrome or Polished Aluminum Alclad.
You’re going to soon hear that it isn’t the correct way, Don.
I recently had fun scratchbuilding, (sorry I meant kit bashing), a Nemo diving suit. I made the air hoses the old way wrapping thin solder around a wire core.
I’ve also brush plated brass tubing for a chrome finish, but that is a lot of work too. I think I still have the outfit but don’t even know where it is, but my Alclad bottles are right in my paint drawer
If you look at any of Mustang 1989’s recent auto projects here over the past few years, he uses the aluminum tubng to replace the kit exhaust pipes. After he thins down the walls and polishes them up, they look superb.
Graham;
I usually use Children sized drinking straws and Foil Chrome them .