"Rev. William R. Beatty" wrote:
I went to my local hobby shop the other day to purchase some supplies for a kitbash that I'm working on. One of the things I bought was Evergreen sheet styrene (.040) -- 2 sheets each 6"x12". Then I
went to Wal-Mart and while cruising the hardware section I came across these big (15"x18") plastic signs ("For Sale" "Garage Sale" etc) that seems to be about the same thickness (.040) but I haven't
actually measured it.
Now I'm wondering?
I was going to use the Evergreen sheet for a roof on a building, but the roof area was bigger than 6"x12" at one point (it'll be about 8" wide on one end -- irregular shape).
Could I use the sign? Has anyone used this material and if so, do I have to be careful about anything? I thought it might be a little thin and that maybe I should laminate a double thickness but
didn't know about warping or if I could even glue the two painted sides together (or what type of glue to use for such a large area, for that matter). Okay, that's a bunch of questions. Any help?
"John A Dalton" wrote:
Bill, boy, oh, boy, did your question hit home! I have just finished my 203rd building, kitbashed from the yellow signs from Wally-mart. For one thing, it is "softer" than Evergreen styrene, as well
as being thicker (I get the THICK signs, the 87-cent ones, not the "thin, floppy" ones that are bigger). You CAN scribe a line on it with your exacto, and just "snap" it in two. However, I prefer to
use a pair of very sharp Fiskar (or clone) scissors, after scribing a black felt-pen line. Being disabled, I find that the "scissor trick" is a good way to exercise my right hand (the one I used to
do surgery with).
The yellow styrene takes to Testor's ACC (in the BLUE-label black triangular container, or the PURPLE-label clear triangular container) like a duck on a junebug...wipe up any excess with Q-Tips (use
them ONCE and toss them...a second use leaves cotton fibers on the glue joint).
I also use the DPM "store fronts" for some of my buildings, and the yellow styrene for the other three walls, as well as the roof...this way I get 4 buildings out of one kit...and they look NICE.
On the roofs, I use the Evergreen rod (1/8" or whatever they have in stock), cut it into small pieces about 1/2" long (scribe one side with your exacto, the "snap" the rod into pieces). Put 3 of
these pieces about 1/8" down the inside walls each side, to support the roof piece. If you cut the roof piece a little off, just use the Evergreen strips around the perimeter to finish it off...use
lots of ACC on everything. The result is a VERY STURDY building.
After you're through, let everything dry for a day or so. Then paint the walls with 44-cent acrylic water-based paint from the craft section of Wally-mart (there's 126 colors to choose from). I like
to "blend" my own, too, to make each building a little different. For the roof color, I mix all the nearly empty bottles of whatever-color, and it makes a satisfying "roof gray-brown-green-tan
whatever". I call it my "roof of the day", err "roof du jour". :))
Folks laugh when they look underneath what looks like a nice kit-building, and find a "No Trespassing" sign. It reminds me of one of those North Carolina barns made from old billboard plywood.
Big john... :))
ps. When you're almost out of yellow styrene, you can make little "roof-toppers" for your buildings. Then when it quits raining and your beloved wakes up, you can "Wally-mart" for more supplies...too
bad they don't carry Evergreen or Plastruct, too... :))
Buy the thicker stuff from the plastics supply house but for bases for large buildings (read "steel mills") I prefer 1/4" clear polycarbonate (Acrylic) sheet. It is more rigid and can be glued to
styrene or ABS using the Plastruct glue in the orange bottle.
At times I have used plastic trays and other items as sources of raw material. You might also want to check and see if you have a local plastic supplier.