dmaastr
Care to share any techniques, i.e. tools used, straight edge guides, etc.?
Hi dmaastr,
First, thanks for your kind words. In regards to techniques, I try to keep things simple. Some people like to track down line drawings of their subjects to get everything just right. Me? I go for close enough. To that end, I use the kit's existing raised panel lines as my guides.
My tools include several scribing templates that help when scribing shapes (e.g. circles, small squares and rectangles, panel hinges, etc). The Dymo tape is great for straight lines, and it's what I use to guide most of my scribing. The tape's not very flexible, so to get it to lay down around curves, I cut a very thin strip to use as my guide. The compass helps for measuring spacing and drawing parallel lines. Scribing is done using a sharp needle point held in a pin vise, a sharpened dental tool, or a dedicated scribing tool (the little yellow handled thing) that came with one of the sets of templates). The Tenax is used as the final step to smooth things out.
I use Dymo tape laid down along the line I want to replace, then using a scribing tool, I engrave the new line. I tend to use a lot of Dymo. It seems it looses its tackiness fairly quickly (from handling and sanding dust), so a fresh piece ensures that the line stays where its supposed to. That helps eliminate moving guides and wayward lines. Once the line is replaced, I use some sandpaper to remove the original raised line and any plastic that was pushed out along the edges of the scribed line. After the sanding's done, I use a toothbrush to remove the sanding dust from the new engraved line. If the toothbrush doesn't work, the scribing tool or a sharpened toothpick run through the line removes any stubborn dust. The last step is to run a very small amount of liquid cement through the line to smooth things out.
Anyway, I hope my rambling helps. If you have any other questions, let me know. I'd be happy to help if I can.
Cheers!
-O
(NOTE: Go to YouTube and type in "scribing panel lines" into the search bar. A few helpful tutorials will pop up for ya. Good luck!)