To P.E. or NOT to P.E.
Okay, this is my take on this.
Have you ever worked with lots of very small P.E.? or any at all? You have a tutorial out there that will even surprise those of you that think installing P.E. is as easy as falling off a log!
I am speaking about the line of "Metal Earth" kits that are heads and shoulders above the others in the thin Pack. they are the Train,The Peacock and the Oil Tanker/Offshore Oil Rig. If you are thinking about them. be warned, If you think simple P.E. on the 1/350 Buckley Class D.E. ( U.S.S.Butler) was hard, You'll be over your head in minutes!
These will do one of two things for you. They will teach you to be unafraid handling and shaping and bending P.E. OR! They'll have you running from the workbench Pulling your hair( If you have any) and screaming 'Glutton for Punishment,That's me! It doesn't have to be.
Get one of the " Flatpack" kits and give it a try. They can be frustrating at times. Don't give up and don't try to build it in one sitting. Sometimes they have two parts fitting so closely one part's tabs go inside and the other part's tabs come up through the base just outside the other. These you bend out. Use a X-Acto knife here.
Study the parts carefully. There are tab slots in some weird places! Work carefully, and also remember if the tab slots are far enough away from another part, you can twist the tab for a tighter fit than the fold will give you!
If you do this, These kits will help your application of P.E. Immensely! The fact is by the end of one you'll have done Circles, Tubes and Lots of Boxes and Triangles. as well as slightly other shapes. You will also begin to learn how to Curve a flat surface into a Facing for an orb or ball of some sort to try and remove those pesky sharp edges.
I recommend these for everyone, Before you spend many Dollars on an exotic P.E. set, when You NEVER have used the stuff before. You definitely need to have some ideas ahead of time. Not all P.E. is created equal either. This includes thickness and type of material. Eduard's Stainless set fot the 1/350 U.S.S. North carolina. Stymied me at times. I had to order a new kit to finish the ship!
In brass it would've been easier, but the Stainless put up another level of stiffnessI wasn't expecting til it up and bit me in the butt! Now after some Metal Earth kits I don't have that problem! Believe it or not. It's great practice for that very expensive set of P.E. you just plunked down your hard earned bucks for. This applies to All forms of modeling where P.E. can be used to bring up that Detail level!