Printing paper parts onto plastic

That sounds great Tankerbuilder!  I believe that should work equally well with brass sheets.  There was an article in either an old FSM, or Scale Ship Modeler, about an all brass model of the USS Alaska.  All joints soldered.  But I believe he used plans from Taubman's or somewhere else.  I think the scale was 1:192.  Using paper plans should be much simpler.  Now I just need to work out when I can try it!

 Hi tucchase,  Well, the tablecloth is very thin. I got the Idea from my friend in whose home I have my digs. She does Stained glass. I watched her transfer a pattern one time using the tablecloth stretched drum tight over everything. I tried it. No smudges of any kind! As far as the curves are concerned , I cheat.I am a retired engineer/captain and was a licensed marine designer at one time. I used my ships curves. French curves can be used. Check the edges of the curves. If they are rough Round the very edge slightly and always lay them down gently and flat when you put them on the surface. You don,t have to use the tablecloth thing but for the larger things ,I recommend it. Take your plastic and fasten it to a piece of glass. Then the carbon(watch those wrinkles!) stretch it as tight and smooth as you can and tape it down(all four corners and a piece in the middle of each ,top,bottom and both sides. Now center the papermodel page on top. Tape it the same way. Then , use the finest tip pencil,or, ball point pen(fine) be gentle go over each line once firmly until you are finished with the whole page. Remove everything and start on the next. Sounds like a lot, but, you will have ships others don,t have.Most folks think it,s to much trouble. I feel that,s up to the prospective builder.     tankerbuilder

Hi Tankerbuilder!  This looks like a pretty good procedure.  For the straight lines I presume you use some kind of straight-edge.  On the curved lines do you use a french curve, or free-hand?  I ask because my free-hand sucks and I was wondering about pressure on the straight-edge and french curve adding unwanted marks thru the carbon paper.  Could make a lot of confusing lines!  Also, what did you mean about "binding" in regards to the clear tablecloth?

 HI -tucchase-- I was hoping I would be able to share this with someone. It,s given me some very unusual ships. The method I use is to tape my plastic to the drafting table.Then I tape the carbon to that. Then I put the sheets with the ship parts on. Make sure you line the sheet up with the finished edge of the plastic and the printed sheet.Now, my secret. I use a fine ball tip burnishing tool. This gives a nice clean line. DO NOT LIFT THE PAGE. You only want to do that when you,re done. The plastic is EVERGREEN 12" x 24" sheets. You can order them direct from them. The decks are the easiest part. measure the planks as drawn on the pages of the papermodel.Then order scribed sheet in that size from EVERGREEN too. If your ship is 1/200 or larger, you will need 12' x 24' deck sheets too. All gun barrels and such(if military) are brass or plastic tube.I use skewers and lollypop sticks for masts on sailing ship models and plastic tube for masting on modern ships. When you are done you can take a break and build the paper model you copied. This form of modeling certainly makes you a better craftsman. Paper models require that you cut and SHAPE, EVERYTHING! Good luck    tankerbuilder P.S. if you want you can put a sheet of clear tablecloth over everything,it prevents binding.

Jeff Herne had stated in 2003 that he printed his sheets on Plastic, so we were wondering what printer he might be using if that was actually how he was doing it.  Since he is, apparently, no longer associated with FSM or this forum, it is an academic question.  I had hoped to find out if there is a printer out there that had a straight enough path to be able to use plastic or metal sheets.  I think a laser printer could work since it works by fusing the toner to the page with heat.  I don't know if that heat would be too hot for a plastic sheet however.  A sheet of .010 might just get a bit wrinkly!  Or worse, get stuck in the printer!  That probably would not be a problem with a metal sheet though.  Now whether the fused toner would actually stick to brass or not, that's another question.  Has anyone out there ever tried anything like this?

I had thought of using carbon paper, but I hadn't thought far enough to think of the clear flat. Thanks!  I had also thought of gluing the paper to the plastic, but then you have to get it back off eventually.  If you glue it firm enough to keep it from moving while you are cutting the plastic, then the paper will be harder to remove later.  So overall, if I can't use a printer, then my best bet is probably the carbon paper.  What do you use to scribe with?  Just a fine point pen?

Hi -- I always use good old carbon paper. I do NOT cut any pieces out of the pages until they are transffered to plastic. When I get them done , I then coat them with clear flat so, no smudges. The keel and frame parts are always thicker than any of the others. I have used plastic as thick as .060 and as thin as .020. Keeping in mind, the media they come from, I always use either .010 or .020 for any other parts UNLESS they are larger than 1/350. Then I use .020 and ,or .040 for everything else. I hope this helps you out. Any questions ? ask away.  tankerbuilder

I use a glue stick to paste the drawing to either plastic or wood stock, then carefully cut out the piece.  I have also used graphite paper to transfer images. It can smear on plastic but works well on Bass or Balsa wood.

Matt 

And could this also work with thin Brass sheets?