Lead foil for seatbelts

jb4406

. They are made from aluminum so I assume are safer to use than "lead" foil.

Are you worried about lead poisoning from "lead" foil?  

I use the foil seal from individual serving apple sauce cups, can make a lot of belts from just one. They are made from aluminum so I assume are safer to use than "lead" foil. Thick enough to be durable but thin enough to pose realistically. Takes enamel paint well. Have used it for 1/72, 1/48, & 1/32 with great results.

As an added bonus I repurpose the plastic cups.  Lots of uses for them on the bench,  to include mixing resin or RTV, or even to make small molds in them. Use your imagination & improvise, lots of "non modeling" stuff out there that can be used in the hobby & you could just save yourself some $$$$$ to put toward that next kit.

Really nothing better out there than foil (I use a combo of the Verlinden lead stuff and the wine bottle brand). I would put masking tape a distant second as a medium for making them. The foil holds its shape a lot better, is easier to glue with CA, and it ain't difficult to add texture to it either.  The color should not be a factor - heck, you're going to paint and weather it anyway.

Forgot to mention on my previous post that years ago when I lived in Miami we had a craft store called Diamonds, very similar to the current Michael's. I think they went under a while back. I picked up two  5X5 square packages with 12  36 Ga. sheets each of aluminum tooling foil made by Maid-O'-Metal for $2 a package. That was back in the mid 1990's and still have about 9 sheets left. They are great for straps, belts, etc. Recently I discovered the wine foil and have been using those too.

A quick search of the manufacturer shows they have kept the price about the same:

www.misterart.com/.../st-louis-crafts-metal-tooling-foils.html

An economical way to get thin copper sheet is as roof edge flashing from a hardware or home improvement store. It comes in a very long coil, about six or eight inches wide.  It is a lifetime supply it is so many feet long!  Aluminum also comes in same size, again at bargain price.  I have seen two forms of the aluminum- bare metal and with a white coating.  It is usually bare as far as adhesive, but you can also get adhesive backed stuff in some places.

I use that stuff from wine bottles (the "capsule"). I don't think its lead, more like soft aluminum or most commonly, tin.

It also comes in rolls from stained glass sites:

www.glassmart.com/foil_menu.htm

Not lead foil, but you should be able to find some copper foil sheets at a good arts and crafts store.  It's just about the right thickness, and flexible, like lead foil.  

Masking tape looks very realistic for sure. As for the BMF, just double or triple it up to give it some thickness.

I find BMF too thin to use as belts.  I assume lead foil may get harder to find as folks are getting very concerned about health hazards of lead.  But I wuuld think heavy gauge aluminum foil would work as well. Just get a premium brand to get the thicker stuff. It is much thicker than BMF.

I personally use masking tape for the belt webbing. It has a natural texture, and the color is close to what many WW2 era belts were.

I save the foil around the neck of wine bottles we use. They are free and work great.

Any Local Hobby shop or any online hobby store. Look for Testor's Model Master adhesive foil sheets or Bare Metal Foil sheets.

Well, I've used the tear-away foil wrapper around the stopper of a bourbon bottle (kids, don't try this at home! ). Some wine bottles will also feature the same...

Gary