Removing raised panel lines

Not sure this will address you questing, But if one is referring to the seam or mold lines after press or injection molding, then I would used a knife edge to scrape down the side and this may take a few swipes to complete. I'm merely referring to just removing the uneven edge that's left after the molding process. But if you're referring to the seam lines which indicate openings, construction points etc, this would have to be done with sanding. But I'm unsure why one would want to remove these accent lines which are common to model like this. These lines are used to indicate separations within the wings and fuselage etc. Not sure if this aircraft was seamless sort of speak.

Ah, panel lines. On a 1/72 aircraft model, there's a very good argument to made that they don't exist in a realistic scale.

The point might be to get the effect you see when looking at the real thing. Which depends more on the condition of the aircraft, repairs and the lighting.

I would leave them. They've been an acceptable and predictable part of older plastic models for a long time.

The issue really becomes how to replace ones you've removed in the vicinity of joints because of filling and sanding. My own approach is to leave as much as you can. Consistency and a clean assembly means as much to me as anything.

Rescribing is hard and takes practice. If you go about removing the raised panel lines, use reference material to locate the ones you add back on. Don't just copy what the kit did. You'll want to get some templates for things like oval access doors. Folks seem to like using Dymo label tape as a guide. Anything softer and the blade will drift right into it.

Other options are to modulate your colors a little from one side of the line to the other.

My own favorite is to take a hard sharp pencil, and after the color coats, carefully draw along one side of the ridge. Then Clear coat. I think it's an attractive look.

 

Bill

Skyraider,

I have had to deal with this problem as well.   It is time consuming but can be owrth it in the end

The first thing is to remove the raised lines from the model.  Sandpaper and an Xacto knife are the best tools for this.  

second you will need a good panel line scriber (Tamiya, Trumpeter and a few others make good ones) I have included a video showing how to do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH7kGetSOgg

Third, Get some Dymo Tape to make sure the panel lines are straight.  https://www.walmart.com/ip/DYMO-Self-Adhesive-Embossing-Labels-3-8-Inch-x-9-8-Foot-Roll-Assorted-Colors-3-Pack/15421347

Go to Youtube and type in Scribing panel lines and there are literally tons of videos on the subject. Good luck!

I agree with GM, removing molded lines can have more issues than leaving them does. His way with the pencil line is very effective, makes for a good look.

I have removed them before, it's a chore that can have some difficult side effects. If you don't have the right tool, you likely will leave gouges alongside the cast line you removed. That can lead to lots of filling and sanding to correct.

After trying several tools designed for that, (all disappointing,) I bought one from Micro Mark. It's large and beefy, good hand control via milled grip. Chisel end is about 1/4 inch wide, I did have to modify it by slightly rounding the chisel horizontal surface and edges, so that it didn't gouge the plastic.

It worked well then, but I just leave the raised lines alone now, it doesn't hurt the appearance all that much and isn't worth the hassle to remove. A large kit like a 1/48 airplane can have about forty eleven hundred dozen lines and rivets, bring some lunch if you take that job on.

Patrick

Thanks for the advice from you guys. I think the best option is to just leave well enough alone at this point. I want to enjoy assembling the kit and not make myself nuts with a task that I would probably screw up anyway. I'll put it together and see what I get in the end. I'll try and post pics once I get to it. Moving in 10 days, so I need to survive that first, but the modeling table will be up and running again.

Hi there. There are two ways to keep and use the lines:

 

1. Black basecoat it, then spray a hard clearcoat for protection, then spray the final color. Afterwards, lightly sand through the final to pick up the raised and dark panel lines. Voila!

2. Use a pencil to graze the tops of the raised lines after the final color.

Good luck.

 

Use the UMM scriber and scribe along the existing raised panel lines.Then remove the old raised lines.Also, you can avoid old raise panel lined kits.