Hi Ya'll:
Nuther simple method that is a heckuva lot safer. I stumbled on to a video from a "Blogger"?? On Pinterest. It was under the Building Models thread. he claimed to want to bend a strip, cut from styrene sheet into a curve. This strip(Cut from the sheet, I Presume) Was to be shaped for a inside curve.
He started about talking about Ramikins, Tongs and Boiling Water! That's when I escaped to here. I am sorry if any of you disagree with this, but there is a safer way! You take your strip that needs curving. You do what so many gift wrappers do year round on our planet. His piece looked to be .030.
This works for anything up to .080.Then you use heat from a Hair Dryer or a tool especially made for the task called a "Heat Gun".The Latter being developed to shrink the Plastic sheet(Shrink Wrap") used to cover even Real boats and cars for transport! It takes a wee bit longer, But, you can, if you are careful, do this totally cold as well(Cold, Means Room Temp!)
For the NON-Heat version you do this. Take the strip Before You cut it to fit! And using a piece of Hardwood or a piece of Lexan(Min1/4") i.e. (any hard edged surface that allows the maneuver) Now, Ready? Pull gently from one end to the other,Keeping pressure on the very edge location at a slight offset from the edge. Draw the strip back and forth numerous times, Til it relaxes into the new shape. Cut off what you need and save the rest for another project. It will NEVER relax back to flat.( unless you leave it lying on a flat surface in the sun)
It's just like drawing a ribbon across the edge of a pair of scissors to get a curve or curlique! If I hadn't been doing this way for over sixty years I would've kept my mouth shut. No way my grown-ups would've let me use the stove much less Boiling Water, even when I was growed up like, and with Children sized little ones of me own. So, I watched the Ladies wrap christmas packages and that's where I got this technique!
I learned how to fold paper so neatly around most anything, they would let me help. "Exceptin mine of course". See, old ways of doing things haven't gone away. We do them sometimes without realizing how far back the technique goes. Bakers do this too.