Aaron and Matt's PE articles

Please don't take this as an attack, this is just my observation on the articles as mentioned by doog, and some newer modeler questions. Both displayed beautiful models and provided some excellent ideas. I just have to ask why use a PE set? Aaron Skinner points out that . . ."metal looks like metal", but the kit is plastic and is made to look like the real thing made of metal, so why not just use what comes in the box?  I would be more prone to buy a thin piece of styrene and give it a go for my own skirts, or perhaps cut up an aluminum can for the "metal" look and save the cost of a PE set and the required tools to make it work. (I could find no cost for the Griffon set, even on their site, I  assume it is at least equal to the cost of the kit, ?) So why spend the money on such a set in the first place?

 

Will

Agreed, both of those articles were great and timely!  I picked up a couple of good tips.  Thanks guys!!! 

The reason why many people like to go with PE Shurzen is due mostly to the better scale thickness.  Plastic ones tend to be too thick.

Karl: A sharpening stone? I hadn't thought of that before but it's a great tip. Thanks, mate!

Will: There's no reason you can't scratchbuild schurzen with plastic. Some kits (Tristar, I believe) include plastic versions. The major reason to use photoetched-metal sets is that thin metal is much stronger than thin plastic, so you can get closer to scale thickness not only for the metal plates but for the mounting brackets, etc. Another advantage, and one Matt touched on when he talked about annealing, is that metal bends and tears like metal, making damage to fenders, etc., that much easier to replicate realistically.

Cheers all!

Aaron

Thanks Aaron,

But now I'm going to have to go and try plastic and aluminum. . .

 

Will

I liked the article. But nowhere unless I missed it did you mention using a PE brake, which I consider indispensible. The two pliers method really is for the experts- I think beginners are better served with a folding tool. I'm about to break new ground and try making a part in PE of my own design.

Bill

I agree that these were a nice set of articles that nicely complemented one another.  The only thing I was disappointed in was the lack of discussion/demonstration of different folding tools that are out there.

On a general point, I also find that sometimes the techniques you demonstrate are GREAT but that you do them with some pretty pricey tools and equipment.  Maybe in the future you could suggest alternatives to the tools you use for the guys on a limited budget who can't go out and plunk down $$$$ on a "Photo-router-ethcer-scanner-do-hicky-thingy" ...

A quick example would be how, in a recent response to a question I asked about folding tools, Panzerguy suggested using door hinges of various sizes.

Still, all in all a really nice set of articles.

bondoman wrote:

I liked the article. But nowhere unless I missed it did you mention using a PE brake, which I consider indispensible. The two pliers method really is for the experts- I think beginners are better served with a folding tool. I'm about to break new ground and try making a part in PE of my own design. Bill

Bill: The 3Detail elbow bender shown on page 21 of the Panzer story is a small brake designed for photoetched metal. It gives a nice bend every time as long as the pieces aren't too long.

Boyd: The door hinge idea is intriging; I may have to investigate.

Cheers,

Everyone already got that issue of FSM mag? When did it start mailing out? Because I must be the only one who still didn't get that issue.

If you have not received your copy by now, you should call the customer service line. They will get one out to you toot sweet! Very friendly, and while they cannot get the Postal Service to deliver their mag faster, they do understand that sometimes they drop the magazine. . .or read it

I have also gone to the local Post Master and have gotten every issue pretty much on time since we had our chat.

 

Will

Will, alot of the PE users will attest that you can not get the detail or quality in plastic and, for alot of us, scratchbuilding these parts is not posible. I, for one, can not make a set of aircraft gear linkage. I have tried, but it just simply can not be done by my hands. I have only met one modeler that can make working hinges in 1/35 from scratch. Seen a lot of folks build them from etch sets.  There are lot of other reasons too. With the advent of Color etch, instant super detail is achieved by just gluing on a few parts of etch. A simple $6 set yields more detail and realism in 10 minutes than I could have made scratchbuilding and painting an entire aircraft cockpit (and I have!). It's all in the eyes of the individual modeler. You don't wish to buy aftermarket parts. No problem - it's your model, build it the way you wish.

Thanks for the response Drew.

I have found some very thin plastic as well as thin aluminum, which I am going to use for some skirts, eventually. I have nothing against PE sets, other than the cost. I was just wondering why Aaron made the comment about metal. I found it, amusing (?odd?) that the entire model is plastic and yet "Nothing looks like metal".  I guess it is just me and a warped sense of. . .humor? My fingers are not what they used to be so some of the PE is just not gonna get done by me, I just cannot do it physically. But I'll mess around with "metal" parts too just to see what I come up with. . .

 

Will