Raised panel line issues...

Hey, yeah! I remember those things! Dial in the letter *SQUEEZE* next letter *SQUEEZE* next letter *SQUEEZE*.

Never occurred to me that the tape those things use may have modeling uses. I'll definitely have to go out and buy some of that stuff when I get home on Sunday!!

more ...from over here.......
the tape from dyno markers is wound up in its dispensing thingy.......
i've experimented with sanding off raised lines and using that tape as a guide......lightly rescribe the panel lines as recessed.......
the tape is thick enough and sticky enough and already is curved to conform to compound curves.......
worked great and lasts a long time

oh yeah.......and i found this tip in an FSM published "How to......." book

Excellent suggestions! Thanks everyone!

One method that I found not only by accident, but also extremely effective.

Hair!

This happened after a spray job, in which I beleive my dogs hair got onto the model.

I didnt recall a panel line being there, and all others were recessed, so I scratched it for a bit, and it came off.

It really did look like a raised panel line.
To make them, get some hair that suits, wife, yours, kids, family pet (only if you own small dogs, large ones get cranky!!)

Apply hair to model, and fix in place with a fast flowing CA glue.
Voila!

You can even use the hair from paint brushes, nylon ones preferrably, the cheap and nasty type kids use at kindy.

Hope it helps!

Another method from the old days is to use a brand new, very sharp #11 X-Acto blade & a metal guide. Using the guide, make a cut with the knife and it will raise a ridge of plastic that will pretty closely match the raised panel line. Although you also get a recess, subsequent priming & painting will mask it, but the raised ridge will appear to be a continuation of the panel lines. Just be sure to practice on a scrap piece or scrap model before you try this on your build.

i don't like them because they can be sanded off too easly

Evergreen makes varying diameters of styrene rod, some very small. This could work by carefully gluing them down.

I know of two methods and have done one myself that I thought was successfull.

One method is to used stretched sprue to replace the line. You would use a brush glue on the surface to attach the sprue to and let it cure fully before handling it for further finishing.

The other method that I used is with modeling putty. I took two thick pieces of masking tape and aligned them down the place where the panel line was to be replaced. I left gap between the two pieces of tape the width of the panel line (maybe a bit larger due to shrinkage of the putty). I then used a putty knife to smear putty in the gap. After the putty dried, I sanded away the putty that was on the tape. I was carefull to make sure as I sanded over the panel line gap that I kept the sand paper from edging in the gap. When I pulled off the tape I had a perfect raised panel line. Most masking tape thickness is as high as a model kits raised panel line. Just be carefull when handling the model because the new line could crumble. sealing it with flat/gloss coats and paint make it a bit stronger.

The stretched sprue is more durable but can be harder to blend in. The putty blends better but is more fragile. I suggest you try the putty first since it would be easier to remove if you do not like it.

I don't recall having seen anything along those lines. I think most people sand them off completely and rescribe them as recessed panel lines.

I guess if I had to fix something like that I'd get some thick masking tape (or maybe just use two layers), lay it right against the existing panel line, and stuff some putty down in the groove. Let it dry, sand it down, and it shouldn't be noticeable.