“Hi Al,
Having built several model aircrafts of different shapes and sizes, I made the wings out of p.s. foam.
I use to cut it with a home made cutting device using a very thin guitar string connected to a 12Volt car battery.
You must make some mechanical arrangement that keeps the string tight at all times.
If you are electrically inclined and know how to connect an ampere meter in circuit,you can use any length of wire as long as you don’t draw more than 3 amps.
You can use this arrangement to cut tunnels,door and window holes in the foam blocks.
Please be careful not to use ALTERNATING CURRENT, You might find it a shocking experience. ONLY USE 12 VOLT D.C.
Hope the tip will help.
Regards,
Jan”
“Extrude beads of silicone from a caulking gun onto a sheet of plastic so that they are in contact side by side but leave slits between the beads.
Once cured peel them off the plastic and dry brush with white paint. Makes for a realist water fall
Bumpy chinille makes great evergreen trees spray with hair spray and dip in green ground foam
Tall Verbena, Ornamental Oregano, sage brush, when dried all make realistic shrubs and trees
Fred”
“I make my wife save the dryer softener sheets for me after she uses them.
They make excellent lightweight hard-shell scenery for use on portable modules.
The sheets are made of a very tough fiber that will hold a very thin layer of plaster.
This makes it possible to dip the sheets in the wet plaster, pull them through a pinched thumb and fore-finger to remove the majority of the plaster and leave a very thin, even coat over the sheet.
Since the sheets are much stronger than a wet paper towel more force may be used so the resulting plaster layer is about half as thick and therefore a lot lighter in weight, yet still strong enough to make a sturdy support for scenery work.
ED”
“Yes wonderful. Heres a tip for those of us who keep fish (in tanks) as well a Model Trains.
Use the waste activated carbon as ballast, its the correct size, black but can be air brushed and its free!
It can also make great coal fill for wagons
John”
“Hi Al —
Try this for better appearing plastic structures.
Before assembly, take some pumice (you can find this in pet stores for a reasonable price – chinchillas like to bath in it – or on line), spread a bit of toothpaste in a dish and sprinkle on some pumice.
Use a tooth brush to scrub the plastic parts in an appropriate direction. It not only removes the sheen, it also imparts a scale-sized wood grain to siding or texture to bricks, etc.
Using toothpaste as a vehicle allows the parts to easily be cleaned up with warm water.
On brick siding often all that is needed is some white or grey paint to fill in the mortar joints and then wipe the surface clean.
Whether you choose to use the parts as is or paint them, this scrubbing imparts a much more realistic appearance.
Jon”
Some super pictures of Alan’s layout next time – I wanted to put them on this mail, but I’m battling against the clock as always!
Don’t forget to have a look-see at the latest ‘ebay cheat sheet‘ before you head off there. You’ll save a dollar or two at least.
Best
Al
