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Basic BrassContinuing our occasional series on techniques we take a
look at working with etched metal detail sets. Love them or
loathe them, these detail sets have revolutionised thehobby and are guaranteed to drive even the most
proficient user insane.
The first rules of working with etchings are
dont expect to use every part on the fret -
som e parts are just imp ossible to bend to
the required shapes and always check that
the part you are about to m ake could not
be m ade m ore quickly and easi ly from
plastic - it is easy to begin trying to fold
everything from f lat sheet when i t isn t
always necessary.
ToolsBasic requirements for wo rking w ith
etched sets are standard m odel l ing tools.
A scalpel, tweezers, dr i l l bi ts and wet and
dry sandpap er and goo d qual i ty fine nosed
pl iers. I was able to f ind a long nosed pair
which are good for bending longer parts.
For a m ore advanced approach you m ay
consider a ho lding too l to help w ith folding
parts and a soldering iron for a m ore
robust assem bly.
To o l c l a s p sThese little clasps consist of just 3 parts
but they encapsulate al l the frustrat ions of
working with etched sets and they can
have you pul l ing your hair out - just when
you think you have them assem bled they
explode into their com ponent parts - oneof which wi l l becom e lost. This step by
step sequenc e should help eliminate these
problem s.
1 Cut the p arts from the fret on a f i rm
surface, scrap plast ic card is good for this
as i t prevents the parts from distort ing. Cut
the sprues as t ight as po ssible and clean
any excess with wet and dry.
2 - 3 Hold the base p late with the pl iers andbend with your f ingers.
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1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
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4 Fold the handle into a U shape and
locate the p ins on the strap into the
handle. Once they have located , cr im p the
handles together using the p l iers so as to
hold the strap firmly.
5 Flip the strap ba ck so i t rests on the
handle and hook one of the arm s of the
handle onto the pin on the b ase plate.
6 Hook the other arm onto the b ase plate.
7 Crimp the handles together between the
two p ins to secure the hand le f irmly.
8 Flip over the strap and close the clasp.
W o rk i n g t e c h n i q u e s
We assemb led a mudf lap f rom the
awesom e Aber 1:16th Tiger 1 set to
dem onstrate a variety of techniques.
9 The part is tr im m ed a cleaned up with
wet and dry.
1 0 To rol l the hinge along the top ed ge,
dri ll bi ts make a convenient former, com ing
in consecutive sizes. The steppe d edg e of
the folding tool provides a handy supp ort
to push aga inst.
1 1 Once the rol l is roughly form ed the
correct sized hinge pin is inserted and the
rol l is cr im ped around the p in for a snug f it .
1 2 - 1 3 to fold longer edges c an be dif ficul t
with short pliers so a folding tool is used. A
cocktai l st ick is rolled under the part to
push the m etal to the desired angle.
Alternatively a punch and die set can be
used to ho ld a part w hi lst folding.
1 4 The basic part after rol ling and folding.
1 5 - 1 7 90 b ends in long thin parts are
best hand led by a folding too l. The
Etchma te used here com es with a folding
blade which locates into a V shap ed slot
9 1 0
1 1 1 2
1 3 1 4
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1 5 1 6
1 7 1 8
1 9 2 0
as you bend the part up.
1 8 You can glue parts togethe r with
superglue but soldering provides a m uch
stronger join. Flux is brushed onto the joint
area
1 9 Low m elt solder spreads easi ly along
the joint with the aid of the flux.
2 0 Any excess is cleaned away using a
f ile, wet and d ry or by scraping with a
scalpel.
2 1 The r ibs are f i t ted in the sam e way
2 2 Assem bling hinges is a f iddly process, I
begin by c utt ing an oversized pin and this
is laid o n top of the inter leaved hinges.
2 3 Bend up the f ingers of the hinge so as
to hold the pin making sure that the two
parts of the hinge dont m ove apart.
2 4 Bend the f ingers f lat and c heck the
al ignm ent.
2 5 Use tweezers to tuck the f ingers under
the hinge pin and cr imp them t ight around
the pin using pliers.
2 6 To avoid the risk of solde r running into
the hinge a sm all spot of solder is adde d
to the und erside of the hinge and this is
put in posit ion before being heated by the
Iron. When the solder m elts the hinge
drops dow n to be f lush with the surface of
the m udguard and the heat is removed.
Ro l l i ng2 7 This tr icky procedure is ma de m uch
easier if the pa rt is annealed by hea ting i t
in a gas f lam e and al lowing i t to cool
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2 1 2 2 2 3
2 62 52 4
2 7 2 8
2 9 3 0before repeating several t im es.
2 8 Once i t has cooled, rol l the part round a tub e and repe at this
with tubes of de creasing size, making sure that you rol l the part
sm aller than the f inished diam eter to ensure a good join.
2 9 Open out the tube so that the edg es can be joined - this part
which w i ll be an S m ine launcher, has a stepp ed l ip to help the
jo in ti ng p ro cedur e
3 0 With the joint soldered tog ether you f ind that the tube is st i l l
far from circular so Roll the tube around a simi lar sized form er - I
f ind a paintbrush handle w ith i ts gentle tap er is ideal for this task,
unti l a perfect shap e is obtained.
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