Styrene Scratchbuilding Techniques and Tips

[jbvb]

I first presented a Scratchbuilding in Styrene clinic at a HUB Division (Boston MA area) convention in 2001.  I've done it several more times, most recently for the Northeastern Region NERx on-line event in March, 2023. They saved it on YouTube, but the indexing of that event on the NERx site is bollixed. I hope this link gets you about 50 minutes of show & tell, including a couple of models that have threads on Modelers Forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLw7Z4c4cx0&t=7965s

If it doesn't, I was about 2:47 to 3:32 on March 22.  Search around through archived NERx presentations here:

https://nerx.org/past-events/nerx-march-2023.html

I've volunteered to fix the indexing, but to accept the help they have to give me access.

[Deem]

I first presented a Scratchbuilding in Styrene clinic at a HUB Division (Boston MA area) convention in 2001.  I've done it several more times, most recently for the Northeastern Region NERx on-line event in March, 2023. They saved it on YouTube, but the indexing of that event on the NERx site is bollixed. I hope this link gets you about 50 minutes of show & tell, including a couple of models that have threads on Modelers Forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLw7Z4c4cx0&t=7965s

If it doesn't, I was about 2:47 to 3:32 on March 22.  Search around through archived NERx presentations here:

https://nerx.org/past-events/nerx-march-2023.html

I've volunteered to fix the indexing, but to accept the help they have to give me access.

Thanks for the links, James.

[deemery]

I watched the video (had to skip forward to find where your presentation started, that's a problem I have with the NERX stuff...)  One thing I don't understand is how you use a block plane on styrene.  Could you talk about that a bit?

dave

[jbvb]

You're welcome, Deem.

I watched the video (had to skip forward to find where your presentation started, that's a problem I have with the NERX stuff...)  One thing I don't understand is how you use a block plane on styrene.  Could you talk about that a bit?

Scribing/snapping styrene leaves little lumps on either side of the knife's cut. They don't usually don't affect the fit. When one does, it's easy to fix with a flat file. But scribing/snapping gets more complicated when starting with a 4 foot square (or larger) sheet without a big cutting rig like you see at plastic suppliers, window glaziers and some hardware stores.

When I do that I'm usually kneeling on the floor holding one end of a 4 foot ruler with my knee. Then I don't want to throw out pieces when the line wanders or the break isn't perfectly clean.  I first started cutting through big sheets with multiple passes of a utility knife. Look at my attic's linoleum to see where I went through in one place first.

Then I found the carbide scriber shown in the video. That makes it easier to protect the floor.  I break with a board & clamps, or the hand-seamer I show.  When breaking along a 4 foot length, sometimes the snap doesn't follow the straightest line. Also, there's always a bevel from the scriber. So I put the strip in a bench vise, edge to be glued up, and plane edges that need it straight and square.

[deemery]

You're welcome, Deem.

I watched the video (had to skip forward to find where your presentation started, that's a problem I have with the NERX stuff...)  One thing I don't understand is how you use a block plane on styrene.  Could you talk about that a bit?

Scribing/snapping styrene leaves little lumps on either side of the knife's cut. They don't usually don't affect the fit. When one does, it's easy to fix with a flat file. But scribing/snapping gets more complicated when starting with a 4 foot square (or larger) sheet without a big cutting rig like you see at plastic suppliers, window glaziers and some hardware stores.

When I do that I'm usually kneeling on the floor holding one end of a 4 foot ruler with my knee. Then I don't want to throw out pieces when the line wanders or the break isn't perfectly clean.  I first started cutting through big sheets with multiple passes of a utility knife. Look at my attic's linoleum to see where I went through in one place first.

Then I found the carbide scriber shown in the video. That makes it easier to protect the floor.  I break with a board & clamps, or the hand-seamer I show.  When breaking along a 4 foot length, sometimes the snap doesn't follow the straightest line. Also, there's always a bevel from the scriber. So I put the strip in a bench vise, edge to be glued up, and plane edges that need it straight and square.

OK.  I guess you're better with a plain than I am    When I've needed to do that, I've smoothed out edges with my paint paddle sanding sticks.

dave