Akkon Sek
01-19-2010, 03:08 AM
Just dropped a mini-tutorial over at my RD&C blog, and I thought perhaps some of you guys here might find it informative. I don't generally do tutorials, but this 'rivet' method has been a huge time saver for me that I felt it's worth sharing. Hope you find it of use.
Cut-and-paste below. Couple more pix and a finished example @ http://ceramite.blogspot.com/2010/01/neurotic-annihilator-wip-dryw-style.html
The additional plating on the fore (where the Rhino windows would be) has some rivet detail. That's significant as I don't generally do rivets, for a number of reasons. It's easy to overdo, it can be difficult to stay true to scale and not have rivets the size of a (scale) human's fist, and it's crazy time-consuming. However there are some instances where I believe rivet detail is necessary, and this is one as the plate would just appear to bare without them. Helps it mesh with the rest of the model. Some modelers carefully glue punched plasticard, some utilize the bead method, my method is straightforward and relatively simple ...
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6041/dscn5923.jpg
The materials consist of plasticard, pin vice, and generic plastic model contour putty (Testor's, in this instance). Mark out the desired locations for the 'rivets' beforehand, and then score the 'dots' with a X-acto knife to give the pin vice a guide hole. A couple of twists with the tip of the blade is more than sufficient. Place the plasticard face down on a folded paper towel and go to work with the pin vice until you've punched through. A couple extra twists to clean the hole, some minor knife work to remove the 'flash' created around the hole edges, and some fine grit sanding around the hole to smooth the whole thing out.
Now you have a choice. You can leave as-is, and it makes perfectly acceptable "recessed" rivets (check out the additional plates on the Predator pic below, just behind the headlights above for reference). Or you can take it one step further to acquire the "bulge". This part is ridiculously simple.
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/8941/dscn5924f.jpg
Smear a small amount of the contour putty on the backside of the plate, over the hole. Tiny amount of pressure and the putty squeezes though, leaving a "bubble" on the visible side. When creating multiple rivets, be cautious not to fat finger and smear your previous work, as the putty takes several hours to solidify. And that's all she wrote. Let dry, carefully sand off the backside and touch up the visible side as you feel appropriate. Paint to taste. The center front plate in the pic is a completed example.
http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/4828/dscn5921g.jpg
This has been one of my rare tutorials, hope all three of you who read this blog find it of use. Admittedly it's not an incredibly complicated subject, but it does save me a huge amount of time with good results.
And time is something we all wish we had in abundance, but never do.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
-A
Cut-and-paste below. Couple more pix and a finished example @ http://ceramite.blogspot.com/2010/01/neurotic-annihilator-wip-dryw-style.html
The additional plating on the fore (where the Rhino windows would be) has some rivet detail. That's significant as I don't generally do rivets, for a number of reasons. It's easy to overdo, it can be difficult to stay true to scale and not have rivets the size of a (scale) human's fist, and it's crazy time-consuming. However there are some instances where I believe rivet detail is necessary, and this is one as the plate would just appear to bare without them. Helps it mesh with the rest of the model. Some modelers carefully glue punched plasticard, some utilize the bead method, my method is straightforward and relatively simple ...
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6041/dscn5923.jpg
The materials consist of plasticard, pin vice, and generic plastic model contour putty (Testor's, in this instance). Mark out the desired locations for the 'rivets' beforehand, and then score the 'dots' with a X-acto knife to give the pin vice a guide hole. A couple of twists with the tip of the blade is more than sufficient. Place the plasticard face down on a folded paper towel and go to work with the pin vice until you've punched through. A couple extra twists to clean the hole, some minor knife work to remove the 'flash' created around the hole edges, and some fine grit sanding around the hole to smooth the whole thing out.
Now you have a choice. You can leave as-is, and it makes perfectly acceptable "recessed" rivets (check out the additional plates on the Predator pic below, just behind the headlights above for reference). Or you can take it one step further to acquire the "bulge". This part is ridiculously simple.
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/8941/dscn5924f.jpg
Smear a small amount of the contour putty on the backside of the plate, over the hole. Tiny amount of pressure and the putty squeezes though, leaving a "bubble" on the visible side. When creating multiple rivets, be cautious not to fat finger and smear your previous work, as the putty takes several hours to solidify. And that's all she wrote. Let dry, carefully sand off the backside and touch up the visible side as you feel appropriate. Paint to taste. The center front plate in the pic is a completed example.
http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/4828/dscn5921g.jpg
This has been one of my rare tutorials, hope all three of you who read this blog find it of use. Admittedly it's not an incredibly complicated subject, but it does save me a huge amount of time with good results.
And time is something we all wish we had in abundance, but never do.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
-A