wheel wells

Yup, my last X-rays were done digitally a couple months ago... Love that idea of getting the lead foil from them though...  

stikpusher

I have a bunch of old disposable contact lens containers that I saved for mixing up colors, washes, etc. And I saved the foil lids from them as well. As well as the heavy foil off of wine bottles that are consumed here on occasion...

Empty Altoids tins make great holders for various scrap and spare parts...

I save the foil from wine bottles, though I think we're seeing the last of it now, as more and more wineries switch to threaded caps from corks.  I also hit up my dentist for the foil packets that x-ray blanks came in.  They gave me a kitty-litter-bucketful of lead foil and were glad to do it, because otherwise, they'd have had to dispose of it in an environmentally-friendly (read:  expensive) method.  Of course, that technology is going away, too, as digital x-ray cameras replace the old ones.

I use the empty breath mint tins, too, for storage inside my tool box--pre-cut pieces of sandpaper, spare X-Acto knife blades.  In my household toolbox, I keep screw gun bits in them, a small supply of fasteners--nails, screws, etc.

Yep, we're gettin' Dutchy nahw vunce in this thread/

plasticjunkie

Baron

I also save the plastic caps from bottled water bottles and even the metal beer tops to use as disposable pallets for mixing washes and paint. No need to clean anything when ur done. And yes, I too have been getting the paper cards instead of good old plastic.

Roger that, PJ!  I have a ceramic palette, but recently, I've gotten tired of cleaning it, so I've started doing something similar to what you do with bottle caps, except that I've been saving the lids from dairy containers, like quart containers of yogurt or ricotta, or margarine.

This is turning into a good ol' discussion on scratchbuilding and being Dutchy! 

Thanks... I just love searching their archives... simply gorgeous work in there...

Stik, don't forget that you are the LIFE magazine photomeister.  I salute you for your knack to find the best photos in the LIFE archives.

Prime Portal has lots of aircraft and armor reference. Aircraft Resource Center, Cybermodeler and Modeling Madness also have good aircraft photo reference sections. When all else fails, time spend on image searches using various word combinations will turn up all sorts of juicy tidbits.

I've used sheet styrene many times on old ship and plane kits. For ships there is a good reference at www.navsource.org. I'm not sure about one for airplanes. As a teenager I scratch built landing gear wells for a 1/48 A-7 I built. It was just acceptable, but it was better than what I started with.

I like the wire from that... the other gizmos in electronics have not really caught my imagination for any uses yet. But then again I am something of a slow learner in that area. I am still quite content with various types of strip, sheet and rod plastic and some of the other oddball shapes you can buy.

Great save Stik. With just a little imagination and ingenuity, we can use tons of discarded stuff in our models. I also like to strip electronics for tiny parts and wiring that supplement my scratch building supplies.

And boxing in wheel wells is pretty easy. here are a few photos of my first attempt on the old Revell 1/32 Spitfire Mk.I.

The hardest part was the rounded portion, and even that was quite simple to do.

I have a bunch of old disposable contact lens containers that I saved for mixing up colors, washes, etc. And I saved the foil lids from them as well. As well as the heavy foil off of wine bottles that are consumed here on occasion...

Empty Altoids tins make great holders for various scrap and spare parts...

Baron

I also save the plastic caps from bottled water bottles and even the metal beer tops to use as disposable pallets for mixing washes and paint. No need to clean anything when ur done. And yes, I too have been getting the paper cards instead of good old plastic.

the Baron

plasticjunkie

I save those plastic cards that come in the junk mail to supplement my sheet stock. As others said, sheet plastic to fabricate the walls and gizmology  from stretched sprue, thin wire and left over electronic parts to busy up the well.  

Phil, another cheap source of styrene sheet is suggested to us by Hans Von Hammer:  Use "For Sale", "No Trespassing", and other signs, that you can buy at your local hardware store.  They're printed on styrene sheet, too.

Yet another source are those license plate-sized placards that car dealers stick on new cars.  I sometimes rattle-can spray those a neutral color and "practice" airbrushing on 'em before committing to the actual model.

Gary

plasticjunkie

I save those plastic cards that come in the junk mail to supplement my sheet stock. As others said, sheet plastic to fabricate the walls and gizmology  from stretched sprue, thin wire and left over electronic parts to busy up the well.  

Roger that, plasticjunkie, I save them, too, though over the past couple of years, the credit card solicitations that I receive have switched from plastic to pressed paper card.  I still save those, as palettes for mixing 2-part epoxy glues.

Phil, another cheap source of styrene sheet is suggested to us by Hans Von Hammer:  Use "For Sale", "No Trespassing", and other signs, that you can buy at your local hardware store.  They're printed on styrene sheet, too.

Where is Hans these days, anyway?

I save those plastic cards that come in the junk mail to supplement my sheet stock. As others said, sheet plastic to fabricate the walls and gizmology  from stretched sprue, thin wire and left over electronic parts to busy up the well.  

Less than $20 of Evergreen strip, rod, and sheet styrene in various sizes from your LHS or favorite online supplier will set you up to do years worth of work in this area. Salvage copper wire in various guages from any sources you can find it- old appliances, electronics, etc. It is not had to do at all one you jump in.

I think you would probably need to cut sheet styrene to size and fit it in.

Give the Aircrft section a try,lots of good modelers over there