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Daniel Puiboube
 $15.00
The Art of Making
Miniature
Models
Almost anything can now be made in
miniature. Cars, aircraft and
tanks, even models to make complete
villages can be found in
model-maker’s stores. Today, the
majority of models are made in
plastic and they are mass-produced in
their thousands. However, there is a
world of difference between a
standard model thrown together by
the average amateur and that
assembled by the expert using tricks
and techniques to make his model
unique. In this comprehensive
guide, master model-maker Daniel
Puiboube shows how to create
exceptional models from basic
kits. He explains how to choose the
best models from the many
available,how to improve and modify
them. In simple terms he gives
guidance on assembly, finishing and
display. His guide will serve as a
useful reference to which the
model-maker will refer repeatedly.
 Daniel Puiboube

The Art of Making

MINIATURE
MODELS
Photographs by
Edouard Dejay

Translated by Michael Woosnam-Mills

in collaboration with Gabrielle Merchez

ARCO PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.

New York
Published 1979 by Arco Publishing Company, Inc.
219 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10003
Originally published under the title L’Art de construire des
modeles reduits by Librairie Hachette, Paris 1977
This English translation © John Bartholomew & Son Limited 1979
All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Puiboube,Daniel
The art of making miniature models .

1. Miniature craft. 2. Models and modelmaking.

I. Title
TT178.P84 745.59'28 77-27999
ISBN 0-668-04564-7
Contents
The World of Modelling 9

Raw Materials and Know-how 11

Tools, Equipment and Workshop 11
The Model-Maker’s Materials 17
Wood and Metal 23
Polystyrene, Paper and Cardboard 29

Plastic Models 35
Choosing One’s Models 35
Building the Models 39
For Further Information 45
Your Models: The Finishing Touches 47
Odds and Ends 55

Models of all kinds 57

Making and Displaying Figures 57
Making and Displaying Cars 65
Displaying Scale-Models of Cars 75
Assembling and Displaying Motorcycles 83
Constructing and Displaying Tanks 87
Constructing and Displaying other Military Vehicles 95
Constructing and Displaying Aeroplanes 96
Constructing and Displaying Trains 99
Constructing and Displaying Ships 100
Scenery, Decoration and Enhancement of Models 104
Background Scenery 104
Town Scenes 106
Winter Scenes 107
Lighting to Scale 107
Various Ways to Represent Water 109
The Countryside: The Vegetable Kingdom 109
Scenery for Railway and Road Systems 113
The Construction of Buildings 114
Interior Decoration 118
The Display and Protection of Models 118

Technical Glossary of Products and Raw Materials 121

Wood 121
Paper and Cardboard 123
Plastic Products 124
Metals 125
Special Materials 125
The World of Modelling

To the uninitiated, scale-model making is Today, whether it’s aeroplanes, locomo¬

a pastime that almost belongs with tives, cars, or Napoleon’s army, plastic
children’s games—making a few toys sets the tone. About 80 per cent of all
which sometimes even work. But in less models made are in plastic. Plastic has
than twenty years, scale-model making has replaced wood, which is now used only in
become something else completely. Of boats and aeroplanes—and even there,
course aeroplanes and boats still have their plastics have come in strongly. It is no
aficionados. These two groups of model¬ longer metals such as brass or bronze that
lers are rather special, being the oldest- give a model authenticity in appearance
established. The fascination of steering and weight—although of course one can
and operating machines that one has made still find superbly crafted models made to
with one’s own hands is combined with the scale and using all available materials.
pleasure of making collector’s items, a
world in miniature. In this respect, model¬ Modelling for Everyone
ling is like collecting lead soldiers. But,
with the introduction of injected metals This book is intended for everyone.
and plastics, the products and processes of Although we have consulted the most
modern industry have enhanced more tra¬ expert craftsmen and model-builders, we
ditional methods and materials. In a have examined the easiest methods, and
quarter of a century, the world of the the models that are easiest to find. We
modelling enthusiast has been transformed hope to convince even the most sceptical
from the backroom workshop into mass that modelling is an intelligent leisure-time
production. activity, and that it is both educational and
But what can one make as a scale- more rewarding than many other pas¬
model? Answer, just about everything: times.
villages, towns, ports, cars, aeroplanes, Modelling is an intelligent occupation
tanks. The only limitations are how much because it automatically involves
money and how much time one can give to research—historical, technological, geogra
the hobby. Mention electric trains, and phical. This may not seem very important
everyone knows what you mean and, of to start with, but then one becomes
course, an electric train is an example of a increasingly self-disciplined and
scale-model. Actually though, the world of demanding.
the electric train is so vast that it deserves a Modelling is educational because it
separate book to itself. Even so, model¬ requires the concentration in one small
railway buffs find they have problems in area of all the skills necessary for making
common with other modellers when it something—moulding, masonry, painting
comes to the background and the scenery. and decorating, engineering, woodwork—

9
all on a tiny scale. Contrary to what you models. This is the most widespread form
might think, for example, of drawing, you of modelling, and it allows the modeller to
do not need to be particularly talented to climb the ladder of achievement, in the
be a successful modeller. Patience is truest sense of the word, to the very top.
required, and there are a number of tricks Expert modellers will forgive us if we do
and knacks that must gradually be learned. not provide them with the absolute ulti¬
You can never make a model right first mate in techniques of perfection to
time; it takes practice. But, as you pro¬ enhance their already marvellous
gress, pleasure becomes mixed with pride. collections. We have tried to keep it
Model making is not particularly expen¬ simple, but without confining ourselves to
sive. A low-cost model might be put mere generalities.
together in one weekend, but by the same Finally, a word on collections. Every
token, an expensive model can keep the modeller is inevitably a collector. That is
modeller occupied for several months. why we have thought it worthwhile to
And the result? Almost invariably, a cover this subject in a special chapter,
collector’s item, 100 per cent personalised! dealing especially with the transformation
Most of this book deals with plastic or renovation of the toys of yester-year.

The Scale of Scale-models

When one speaks of a model on this or that Realism and Scale

scale, one is referring to the relationship
between the dimensions of the real object The larger the scale of a model, the more
and those of the model. It is always a faithfully must the details reflect the real
question of linear relationships. In other thing. The smaller the scale, the less
words, a statue that is really 1m 70cm tall distinct relief and other features become.
will, on a scale of 1/10, be 1.7m/10 or There is often a tendency to cheat and give
0.17m tall, which is 17cm. On a scale of prominence to certain details while allow¬
1/100, the same statue would be only ing others to disappear. From a distance of
1.7cm tall. The closer a model is to the real one metre, on a 1/10 model, an observer
thing, the larger we say the scale is. Thus sees the details of roof tiles, or the buttons
1/8 is a larger scale than 1/10. When we are on a military tunic. It is as if he were 10m
making models of things that are them¬ away from the real thing. On the other
selves very large (liners, large aeroplanes, hand if he is looking at a 1/87 model, he
towns), we use small scales: 1/700, 1/500, cannot see those same details, because it is
1/100. This means that the objects them¬ as though he were 87m away.
selves are 700, 500, or 100 times bigger. Besides variations in size, as the scale
Over the decades, certain scales have alters there are also changes in colour. A
been accepted as standard. Thus the nor¬ bright red at 1/10 becomes a faded red on
mal scale for electric trains is 1/87. The the same model at 1/100. Material that
tracks are 16.5mm wide. This scale is looks grainy at 1/10 is uniform at 1/100.
known as HO. The N scale, which is However, this can lead to a certain mono¬
another standard, has tracks that are 9mm tony in small-scale models, so we cheat by
wide. being slightly over-realistic with some
There are some particular scales that aspects, without changing the colours.
have come to be used for certain kinds of Stones, plants and metal take on qualities
models. Thus 1/72 and 1/43 are standard that set the observer’s imagination
for medium-sized modelling. The scales working. That is why the scale-model
1/32 and 1/25 are generally used for maker’s finished model will always seem
medium or large objects (statues, cars, more alive than one made by an architect,
planes). even if the latter is more delicate or more
Very large scales (1/12, 1/10, 1/8) are exact.
the special preserve of statues, furniture,
cars and interior decor.
Raw Materials and Know-how

Tools, Equipment and Workshop

The Minimum Requirements Tools to do everything: Holding and
Fixing in Place
Perhaps it is a bit pretentious to talk of a The beginner buying his first box of plastic
workshop, but frequently the model- models never thinks to equip himself
maker’s chief problem, even more than correctly. The result, assembly and
the necessary skills and handicraft ability, sticking problems. Whether it’s aeroplanes
is that of finding space. To begin with, you or boats, electric trains or dioramas, cer¬
need a working surface. If it is a household tain tools immediately seem indispen¬
table, it should be easily washable. The sable—those that help to handle things.
next essential is two drawers—one for The model-maker has only got two hands,
tools, and the other for modelling acces¬ but he often needs three or four. When he
sories. Finally, you need a safe corner out is assembling parts, his fingers always
of everyone else’s reach for keeping your seem too big or too clumsy. With the right
models in progress. This is the minimum equipment, most of his work will be easier.
area needed. Ideally, you want a quiet
room, well lit, with a desk. We will come Tweezers
back to this point. To assemble models properly, two types of
tweezers are needed: simple tweezers,
which allow you to hold and fix in place a
delicate object; and reverse tweezers (if
you squeeze them they let go, if you relax
your grip they close). These tweezers
allow a piece to be held in place, leaving
the two hands free for other work on the
same components.

‘Extra Hands’
Certain tools, known as X-tra hands, hold
components in place while you work on
them. There are two models in the shops,
one with one arm and one with two arms.
The minimum tool-kit:. files
Alligator clips mounted on swivel-joints
and chisels, flat-saw, cutter,
are supported on a heavy steel base. This pliers, rivetting hammer and, of
arrangement enables you, for instance, to course, tweezers.

11
 Tools to do everything: Cutting and
Finishing
Whether you are working in wood, in
plastic, or in metal, it is essential to have at
least a number of basic tools. First of all,
there is the model-maker’s knife, or
cutter. This does the fine work of cutting,
scraping and finishing wood or plastic
parts. When first equipping yourself, it is a
good idea to choose one that consists of a
grip with interchangeable blades. You can
fit various blades onto this one tool,
including a small saw-blade, which comes
in handy for wood. For working with uncut
wood, a new tool appeared on the market
in 1976. This is the rasp-file. This rough¬
trimming tool saves a lot of time in the
early stages.

solder wires, to glue pieces in mid-air as it Abrasives

were, and to make delicate joints. Alliga¬ Rather than wearing out the ends of your
tor clips, such as those used in electrical fingers trying to get a piece of sandpaper
and radio assembly work, also come in or emery paper into corners, try using an
very handy, if only to press together two abrasive-holder. You can get sets of three
Above: Screw clamps used to small parts to be glued. or four differently-shaped holders, flat,
be an essential part of the wood- V-shaped, and round. This accessory is
modeller’s tool-kit. Even for especially useful for finishing wood, plastic
Small Vices
plastic modelling, they still have
Even the smallest engineering vice is far or metal. The simple wooden spindle
their uses.
Below: Small vice with too large for the model-maker. You should round which a piece of sandpaper is folded
suction-cap; a simple device for get either a special vice or, failing that, a does equally well for papering large sur¬
rapid fixing of objects, usable vice with a suction-cup: this will remain in faces. It is important to have sandpaper
on any flat surface.
place if pressed onto any smooth table-top. always available, and always extra-fine
It holds pieces in place while you work. grain.
Those who assemble boats and aero¬
planes in plastic should add a pair of
plastic screw-clamps. These can open to
5.5 or 6cm, which is enough for most
occasions.
Here one must do better than just having
the right tools—they must be perfect,
because whatever the model-maker’s
speciality—boats, tanks, electric trains—
he will have to do a lot of paintwork jobs.
Besides the skills and knacks described
below, it is essential to be properly
equipped.

Paintbrushes
By far the best quality is achieved with
English brushes, which can be obtained at
modelling shops or graphic-arts stores.
They range from 100 calibre to 12 calibre,
in 14 sizes. Choose red marten-hair
brushes, fine quality, with nickel-plated
collars.

12
 There is an exact use for each brush:

00, 0, 1 for precise detailing, e.g.

faces, uniforms, engine
parts.

2, 3 precise painting of details

such as harness and small
objects on clear surfaces up
to several square centi¬
metres.

4, 5, 6 continuous painting on less

important areas needing
precision to within not
more than 0.5 to 1mm.

7 to 12 for major surface-area

painting (i.e. many square
centimetres); up to size 7,
the features painted may
be considered delicate. Spray pamt can be used on plastic (rigid The X-Acto cutting-tool kit. If
polystyrene), white metals, and wood. In the uses of some cutters are not
the case of power models using fuels or immediately obvious, they are
, . . still worth having. With them
h.gh-power solvents, a protective spray you can do deUcale work on
Mixing Bowls and Accessories fuel-proofer must be applied. This can be cardboard, plastic and wood,
The paint to be used on plastic is left in the applied only onto matt paints. Metallized and even on leather.
small pots it comes in, but paints intended paint cannot be protected against the
for the larger surfaces, applied to wood or effects of fuel.
paper, are prepared in glass mixing bowls
or basins. Thinuers and Sundry Constituents
When working with hydrocarbon There are one or two more items to be
solvent paints, it is a good idea to have a added to the list of basic paintwork equip¬
brush-rinser—the kind where the metal ment, especially for the power-model
collar is gripped in a spring so that only the builder.
bristles are dipped in the solvent. I

Clear seals: These are painted on in the

The Drawing Brush normal way. They help in the contracting
This accessory, also known as a ‘Speed- and sealing processes in the nylon-skinned
balk, is a spatula and comes in l/4in and balsa-wood of model aeroplanes. You can
3/8in sizes (American-made). The uniform get reinforced or ‘double-clear’ paint, but
width allows the painting of uniform bands it takes much longer to dry; it should be
and lines on boats, planes and cars. It can used only on large models.
also be used in a diorame, for picking out
roads and pavement lines. Special nitrate seals (colour): These are
for painting a second undercoat over a
Spray-can Paints clear base. Obtainable in blue, grey, red,
These allow rapid and easy covering of yellow, orange, silver and black.
large surfaces, but we suggest you stock
only a small range—about ten different Sanding-sealing: Treatment of aeroplane
hues, some matt, others gloss. Spray or boat balsa-wood before application of
paints are good for undercoats on tanks, enamel paint or varnish.
cars, planes and trains. The paint is usually
sprayed on before the plastic components Thinners: Any number of these are avail¬
are detached from the manufacturer’s able in the shops. They are used to dilute
grid-support. all cellulose-base paints.

13
 The Model-maker’s Paint-spray Gun few moments, and the pen and nib must be
This is really a precision instrument, and thoroughly rinsed at once afterwards.
here is how it works. The gun itself screws Ideal for all drawing of fine lines. (On
onto a small paint pot. A liquid-gas bottle 1/87, or HO locomotives, for example, or
provides the propellant. The gun has a on cars and planes at 1/72). The 0.2 and
double control, governing air and paint 0.4 nibs are suitable for the finer details,
flow. Since the grain and density of the and must be used only with black ink. The
paint can be varied, a great many types of drawing pen allows the beginner to draw
finish are possible. fine, regular lines, which is difficult to do
with a brush.
Air Brushes
These permit very subtle variations in your Paints
painting, such as camouflage effects, mist, There is a huge variety of paints available
dirt and mud. The ones you can buy have to the model-maker. These often differ
0.2 or 0.3mm tips. You can use them with according to the material they are
water-colours or with cellulose-alcohol intended for, but the same paint or varnish
varnishes. For correct use of the air brush, can be used on different materials, so we
the paint must be well thinned and com¬ list them here by type of paint, with
pletely smooth. The air brush is connected recommendations as to their various uses.
to a small compressor. (Some can run off a Poster paints: These are water-based
gas bottle). An air brush is really like a paints, obtainable from artists’ supply
precision paint-spray gun. shops. Most brands come in about thirty
colours, all of which can be mixed with
Drawing Pens each other in any combination. These oily
Nib thicknesses range from 0.2 to 1.2mm. looking paints are suitable for use on ply¬
They are sold in sets (7 different nibs) and wood, cardboard, expanded polystyrene,
used with special black ink. You can use drawing paper, wood veneers and all kinds
very diluted paint instead, but only for a of decorative mouldings. Poster paints can

Paint reservoir

14
 The air-brush; universally
useful. Propulsion is provided
by a pressurized liquid-gas
container.

be applied with a miniature roller or any armoured vehicles (1945-70), uniforms

brush between sizes 2 and 12. (1939 — 45), historical British uniforms,
It should be noted that modellers’ and French Air Force (1939—40 and present-
artists’ suppliers also carry professional day). There are also special ranges for
acrylic poster paints. These can be used on model railway enthusiasts.
plastic without contracting or cracking.
They can also be used on cellulose acetate Precision Tools for Metal¬
(the transparent parts of plastic models). working
They come in a range of about fifty
colours. The model-maker uses, in miniature, the
Model-maker’s paints: These are the same tools that are found in a regular
model-maker’s basic ingredient. They workshop. Some are genuinely useful,
come in small 15ml pots. They come in while others are mere gadgets.
various ranges—standard colours, matt
and gloss—used for all non-military Electric drill: Various battery-operated
models, of individual or standard design. models are available from modellers’
General all-purpose paints, including suppliers. The most interesting feature of
‘metal’ shades (gold, silver, red, green, these is the chuck, which permits the
brown, etc.). drilling of very small holes. Carbon bits
High-fidelity paints: Specially developed range in size from 1/80 to l/45in. Precision
for the painting of specialized models. The bits ranging from V2mm to 2mm are also
range includes the colours used by the available. The electric drill can also take
Royal Air Force, the U.S. Army and the brushes and cutters, on a stand or hand¬
Wehrmacht. They are labelled ‘Authentic held. Always remember that to work
Colour’, and have interesting technical metal correctly you must choose the
properties: without any loss of opacity, the correct rotation speed. Thus a drill turned
extreme thinness of the dried paint means by hand is quite unsuitable. Versatility is
there is no blurring of fine detail on the the keynote: a metal-working drill per¬
model. This paint dries without brush forms equally well on wood and on plastic.
marks. It comes in the following high- There are some brands of drill that can be
fidelity colours: R.A.F., Italian Army used as a wood or metal lathe, in which
(1939-45), Russian Army (1939-45), case they can be plugged into the mains.

15
 Soldering iron: Obtainable Irom any
electrical shop. Indispensable for lighting
connections, assembling of electric
motors—or for tin-soldering and brazing.
We suggest that a soldering gun is rather
more practical. They come nowadays in
220-volt models, running at 90 to 100
watts. They reach the desired temperature
immediately. The fine soldering iron,
available from modellers’ suppliers, can be
used not only for soldering, but also for
cutting: aluminium or plastic, for example,
can be melted, and the narrow-pointed tip
can be used like a pencil.
Certain equipment and materials that
have more specialized uses, or are of
interest only to a particular group of
model-makers, are explained later on in
this book.

The mini-drill is not just a

gadget. It can run on mains or
batteries. With its stand and
multiple attachments, it can if
necessary be used as a slotting
or milling machine.

Other drilling tools: the hand-

brace and hand-drill. The
former is suitable for wood,
while the latter permits
engraving and finishing with the
appropriate attachments.

16
The Model-Maker’s Materials
We have just been examining the various easy to work. It can be cut either with an
basic tools and equipment that the model- electric cutter or with a very fine-toothed
maker will need. Here now is a group of saw. Polystyrene is ideal for any scale
materials, sundry products and tools that, greater than 1/43. It enables you to con¬
while not specifically designed for the struct walls and facades of buildings. Light
model-maker, are nevertheless worth get¬ even when bulky, it is always easy to work.
ting to know because they can be The first piece of advice for a model-
extremely useful. maker should be: always save polystyrene
packing. For those who do not have a fine¬
toothed jigsaw, polystyrene can be worked
Model-Making Products
with a saw-blade, a jeweller’s file, or a
cross-cut wire-saw, or polystyrene can be
It is worth learning the possibilities of shaped with a small-bladed knife.
these, used as they are by professionals Expanded polystyrene can also be pur¬
and experts. Some are expensive, others chased as draught-excluding strips, 0.5,
economical. 0.8, 1 and 2cm wide.
Polystyrene’s chief rival is cork, which is
Expanded Polystyrene more elegant for constructing walls and
This material, used nowadays for all kinds buildings. Cork is more elastic, less rigid
of packaging, is worth saving whenever when upright, and can be used as it is,
possible. It is unfortunately not imper¬ unprocessed. Polystyrene, on the other
vious to glues and solvents. It is light and hand, can be painted.

Solder also comes miniaturized.

Pictured here, the miniaturized
oxidizing burner for delicate
work in metal. Its thermal
capacities are in no way inferior
to those of the full-size burner.
Particularly useful for the model
railway enthusiast, and also for
constructing aeroplanes and
boats built of metal.

17
The Use of Plaster and Plastics There are various modelling clays avail¬
Plaster was the first material that model- able in 500 gram packets that can be used
makers used with wood, and for a long just like plaster. They are easy to work,
time has been the typical medium. By and can also be used to make impressions,
‘plastics’ we mean those materials besides as one might do with wax. Modelling clays
kaolinite and gypsum that are cellulose- usually come in the basic colours required
based or contain vinyl additives. for buildings and countryside: grey, white,
Modelling plaster (or Plaster of Paris) is yellow and ochre.
easily obtained. It is prepared by
sprinkling the dry plaster into a bowl or Liquid Form-paint
other receptacle containing water. The This is the name of a widely available pro¬
resulting paste will look slightly oily as the duct, that consists of either transparent or
plaster thoroughly absorbs the water, but coloured cellulose. It is simple to use, and
it will remain white in colour. There are is good for such things as windscreens,
two basic types of plaster to use: rapid¬ glass roofs, windows, domes, military
setting and slow-setting. The choice is uniforms, tents, tarpaulins etc. It is used as
determined by the model-maker’s particu¬ follows: a transparent mould is made from
lar needs. While plaster permits the con¬ suitably shaped metal or copper wire
struction, for example, of detailed netting. (Liquid form-paint comes in the
countryside, its drawback is that it is very following colours: red, emerald green,
heavy. So it is best used in thin layers blue, brown, neutral, purple, white and
supported by something else (see the orange). The wire is dipped into a bowl
chapter on the making of scenery etc.). containing liquid form-paint, then taken
Used flat, plaster can be used to make out and shaken to remove the surplus. To
paving, walls and anything that is dry (which takes 5 minutes), the mould
supposed to look like masonry of any kind. should be placed on a piece of expanded
It is one of the model-maker’s most eco¬ polystyrene. Liquid form-paint has two
nomical materials, but has the disadvan¬ major disadvantages: it is not very long-
tage of setting too rapidly. lasting, and it is very expensive.

Tools for Working Plaster Moulding Equipment

The model-maker who wants to build a lot You have a model of a lamp, or a building,
of scenery around his models will need or some other scale-model that you would
some sculpting chisels. These tools are to like to make several copies of. How can
plaster what the X-Acto tools are to wood. you do it? You can make a mould yourself,
They come pointed, chamfered, or curved, out of elastomer-silicone.
for etching and contouring work. This is actually various viscous liquids
Jointers are for use on both plaster and which, when combined with the appropri¬
modelling clays. They are small wires of ate catalyst at room temperature, turn into
various shapes, attached to handles. They solids with the texture of rubber and the
can do, on plaster, what scrapers, rasps general properties of silicone products,
and planes can do on wood. which means there is no ‘unmoulding’
Besides plaster, there are a number of procedure. Known in the trade as R.T.V.,
brand-name products that can be used as elastomer-silicone permits the making of
basic material, Faserit, for example. supple moulds, resistant to chemical
Faserit is a white powder that comes in agents, able to withstand temperatures up
flake form, consisting in fact of cellulose to 250 °C. The moulds can be used for
fibres. Mixed with water, it hardens in plaster, for polyester, or for polyurethane
twenty-four hours. Faserit permits the foam, and will give faithful reproduction.
moulding of elegant relief-work in large- For example, starting from a model in
scale models. But beware: Faserit can be mere plastic, you can make a building out
used only if it is well supported. Faserit of concrete or plaster using an R.T.V.
mouldings can, when dry, be painted in mould. R.T.V. is also good for making
water colours, or with acrylic and vinyl moulds of such things as wood, gravel,
paints. wire netting, etc., which would be hard to
reproduce accurately by hand.
Different uses for different materials

2 — The use of plastic wood

Assembly before treatment After sealing with plastic wood, the component is ready for polishing

vegetation, before covering with material (hessian-type)

4 — The use of plast-temper (blotting-paper mould)

Three ready-to-paint copies made from one original (number 1)

19
 The Use of Plastic Mould-mountings Plastic Metal
This is a rather special procedure. Epoxy This is a resin to which is added a metallic
resins, with the addition of a plastifying pigment, which is absorbed. The end result
agent, can be used to encase certain looks like metal. Thus an image of the real
objects in a matrix. Toy soldiers, cars or appearance of pewter, bronze, copper,
other small models could be thus brass or iron is reproduced in the material
immersed in a plastic block. Epoxy resins itself. Ethyl acetate can be used on the
are available as a viscous liquid of 1.3 surface to create a patina of age. Depend¬
density. They can last for a year at 20 °C. ing how much solvent is used, you get
The liquid is spread over the object to be either a viscous fluid or a paste. Pn the first
mould-mounted. Epoxys are odourless case, the plastic metal should be applied in
and have a low exothermic reaction, which thin layers with a spatula or a brush. A
means they flow efficiently. The manufac¬ spray gun can also be used, for thinner
turers give very precise details—but application. There are various brand
beware: epoxys do not keep for long, so names of plastic metal. It is particularly
you should use only the amount required useful for making alterations to large
for each operation. components—engines, aeroplanes, vehicle
chassis etc., and it is cheaper than buying
the new parts.
Polyester Compounds
These multi-purpose materials have all the Polyurethane Foam in Aerosol Cans
usual qualities of such compounds—malle¬ A relatively new product, this is usually
ability and suppleness. Polyester sold as a gasket or washer sealant. It
compounds can, with the help of an addi¬ comes in 1-kilo cans, giving about 25 to 30
tive, be made to stick to metal, stone, litres of foam. The can must be shaken
wood, and even polyester if the surface has first, just like shaving-cream. The cooler
been roughened. They harden without and more humid it is, the more readily the
shrinking and can be worked with any foam will flow. Ideal working temperature
ordinary tool. The advantages are is 20-25 °C. The foam is very light and will
obvious. A plastic model can be partially stick to anything—cloth, wood, hard
altered by the addition of polyester-com¬ plastic. It enables you to construct head¬
pound parts (for example lengthening the ings and copings which are essential for
nose of an aeroplane or altering a ship’s background scenery in relief. You can use
funnel). Polyester compounds are better it on kraft paper or on hessian. The foam
known under their brand names. never totally solidifies, which means you
can stick things into it, such as trees, posts,
fencing—while any cracks can be
Plastic Wood smoothed over with cellulose paste.
Used by cabinet-makers for a quarter of a The can must be shaken vigorously
century, ‘plastic wood’ is also used by pro¬ before the nozzle is depressed. The foam
fessional model-makers. There are various will then flow regularly. Do not apply it
brand names. It comes either as a ready- too thickly. It is best to use up all the foam
to-use paste, like a cement, or in a block on the same day. Apart from its use in
from which you break off the required background scenery, the foam’s lightness
amount and dissolve in solvent. Synthetic means it can also be used as a filler, or
wood also comes as an oily paste, which even as an isolating substance in some
can be worked with a spatula or a knife. models. It is important to remove foam
Drying and hardening are rapid. Plastic from the hands after use before it solidifies
wood can be used to correct small errors or and sticks—this should always be done
minor damage. For scenery, it is useful in within five minutes.
balsa-wood construction where relief
moulding is not suitable—building- The Use of Sealants and Other Protective
facades, porches, monumental arches, etc. Coatings
By dipping a brush into the solvent and We have just been talking about the use of
applying it to the plastic wood already in plaster and other more recently developed
place, satisfying results can be achieved. materials, such as sealants etc. It is worth

20
noting that do-it-yourself shops stock plug¬ blade. You can get patterns in any matt
ging and filling seals and fillers, and that colour as well, and on certain surfaces they
they are extremely useful. The ones that will do instead of painting. They cut and
come as powder for you to prepare your¬ adhere just like the other kind. You should
self are much cheaper than those sold in follow the same procedures as for wall
tubes; the fact that tubes are ready for papering. Brush from top to bottom and
instant use is hardly a decisive factor for from right to left to avoid wrinkles.
the model-maker. At no great expense The transfer guide pattern, which comes
these seals and fillers can be used to sur¬ on a wax paper backing, adheres by simply
Things seem easier for the
face roads, buildings, hills, walls etc., on being pressed. Beware! the results don’t
beginner when he is equipped
small-scale and larger-scale models. The always live up to your expectations! But with the correct basic tools, and
powder is mixed with water and spread they can be quite useful for lettering, and when he has an idea of the
with a wooden or metal spatula. Because it for information and road signs. variety of materials available.
is so malleable, you can apply it in very
thin layers. There is one particular model
making product which gives excellent
Application of guide- patterns
results when used with a spatula, and that and transfers: letters
is Corenan. Corenan is a fibrous com¬
pound, rather like the one sometimes used
to make fibre pegs or posts. When cut with
a tool, Corenan breaks cleanly without
flaking. Thus it can be used to alter
scenery or countryside, both during and
after construction.
Corasphalt is particularly useful for
Remove the upper
making masonry or paving on a large-
protective backing
scale model, say anything bigger than 1/72
or 1/43. Corasphalt can be made to look
exactly like masonry. It can be worked
with a spatula or with an X-Acto tool.
Corasphalt has one big advantage over
plaster, in that it sticks to wood.

Using ‘Tape’ and ‘Letraset’ Patterns and

Screens
Like most adhesive tapes, Normatape
comes on spools 0.4 to 4.76mm. The tape
is laid from left to right or from right to
left, as convenient. With the thinner tape,
unroll easily-held lengths of 4 to 5cm
before applying it to the model. With the
thicker tape, lengths of 10cm are suitable.
Before sticking the tape in place, trace its
exact positioning. Once the tape is
unrolled it must be applied in a single
stroke, gently but firmly, to avoid the
appearance of creases.
Guide patterns that represent, in black,
the shape of things like wood, stone or
tiles, can be applied to drawing paper or to
a coloured surface. The pattern may be
self-sticking, or of the transfer type. The
self-sticking kind can be cut to the
dimensions desired with a knife or with
scissors; the sticking is best done with a
wooden spatula or the back of a penknife

21
 Reproduction Without Using Moulds has its own particular use.
With certain models, and especially with
dioramas, you may want to reproduce the Rapid setting vinyl glues: Sold in applica¬
same thing a number of times (building- tor tubes. May be used on cardboard,
facades, pavements, balconies, walls) or material, paper or wood. Light pressure
for a considerable distance, starting off ensures setting.
with one small section or model. Rather
than making a mould and pouring, you can Special plastic glues: Almost exclusively
use a material called Plasttemper. It is a bit for use on plastic models, although they
like thick blotting paper and comes in rolls can stick other substances too. The best
90cm to lm wide. It is soaked in special brands are non-drip, they do not harden in
solvent (Plastsolvant), and then wrapped the tube and are not too runny. (Some that
around the object you want to reproduce. are not at all runny have a tendency to
Leave it to set for about half an hour. It shrivel up into a stalactite at the end of the
will be hard in thirty minutes. Once tube).
hardened, it can be glued, sawn or planed.
It can be painted in water-colours, in vinyl- Expanded polystyrene glues: Fluid or vis¬
based or in glycerophtalic paints. It is cous, these permit the glueing of expanded
especially useful for scenery—if, for polystyrene to itself, or to wood,
example, you wanted to show two scenes cardboard or metal.
happening in the same place but at differ¬
ent times in history. Balsa glues: Particularly useful for glue¬
ing balsa-wood where other wood glues
will not do, due to particularly good con¬
The Correct Use of Adhesives tact and absorptive qualities. Primarily for
There is no one tube of glue that will do for use in glueing wood and fibreboards; can
all modelling jobs. Each technical category also be used with earthenware.

Positioning guide-patterns on a base

1 — Adhesive pattern

Surface to be painted etc.

2 — Cut out the pattern

along the lines already drawn

3 — Smoothing down
and cutting out 4 — After cutting out, pattern is finally positioned firmly

22
Two-component glues: These create a and should be used with care. Used for
pliable film, permitting glueing of wood, perspex, altuglass and plexiglass. Handy
glass (ideal for making windows), and for the modeller who makes his own
nearly all plastics. Resistant to boiling windows. (These glues are dichlorethane-
water. Drying time: overnight. based). Altufix, which acts as a binding
agent on methylmetacrylate, does the
Cyanolite: This new glue is ideal for same job.
assembling all plastic models as it takes
only a few seconds to harden. PVC glues: Rather like the old-fashioned
‘solutions’. Good for glueing plastics, or
Special glue for use with altuglass and for fixing PVC to bakelite, polystyrene
plexiglass: These glues are dangerous and cellulose acetate.

Wood and Metal

To the model-maker, wood and metal are uses wood in much the same way as a car¬
the materials that he will use to penter. But the volumes and areas
complement and to individualize the basic involved, and the precision of the work,
models which he can purchase. It is true demand a care and a skill that are often
that, generally speaking, the model-maker unknown to the average handyman.

Using it with an edge guide Using it for an angled cut

23
 Working in Wood

Most of the preparatory work is done with

the standard drill and jigsaw. With its
regular bits and heads, the drill is used
basically just for the largest pieces of
scenery or model railway components.
The jigsaw, however, is more versatile in
preparation. Choice of blade depends on
the material to be worked. Manufacturers
advise as follows:

On white wood and hard: Fine-toothed

blades or wider-toothed, depending on the
thickness to be cut.

On very soft metal (aluminium): Use

very sharp-toothed blades.

On wood fibre board: Choose a fine¬

toothed saw, which may also be used on
6mm cardboard.

On non-ferrous metals: Use a fine¬

toothed saw, set closer together than for
aluminium.

Note how saws are fitted together. Not all

jigsaws have a standard attachment
system.

Know How to Cut Correctly

Cutting wood, and especially plywood, is
the one model-making activity that com¬
pares most nearly with do-it-yourself
work. All the saws have at least two
speeds. So on any one wood you can cut
roughly and quickly, or slowly and more
finely. With soft wood, the quickest cut
should usually be selected. If the blade
used is not the right one, it will break or
cause vibrations. A wrongly-chosen speed
will make the saw jump or stop altogether,
‘skidding’ in its tracks. The saw must
always be held at a constant angle to the
wood, which must itself be quite stable and
unable to slip, so no unwanted vibrations
will occur. For steeled metals, select a
speed of 1,500 cuts per minute. For wood,
work at 3,000.

Working with the Standard Drill

By the standard drill, we mean the tradi¬

tional handyman’s tool. It is a good tool
because of its various changeable heads.

24
Particularly valuable are:

The flat grooving cutter: This gives long

narrow or rectangular grooves in support¬
ing struts (ideal for scenery or windows,
for example).

Grinding cutters: A number of small

cone-shaped, cylindrical, or spherical
grinders facilitating work on wood or other
substances. They attach like bits and corundum abrasive should be used, 40 to Above: The jeweller’s saw,
60 grain and then 100 grain. To buff extra-fine, handily mounted,
permit incision work.
comes with many different
models made out of plaster, concrete or
blades suitable for cutting metal
Drum rasps: Rough-trimming tools hydrozell, a 100 grain carborundum abra¬ and polystyrene.
which enable rapid cutting along the edge sive should be used. In all cases, there are
of a piece of wood held securely in a vice. three basic steps to follow: rough-polish¬
ing, grinding, and final polishing. The
How to Drill Metal model-maker must choose between the
Very small pieces which may be difficult to various sanding cloths and papers:
hold properly in a vice can be held in pliers
in the left-hand; then the pliers are them¬ Aluminium oxide: For plaster, plastic,
selves put into a corner of a vice which is wood, and all other materials.
tightened to prevent any chance of slip¬
ping. The position of the hole should be Glass paper (sandpaper): Only for
marked with a small pointed object. A plaster, fibreboards and plastics.
piece of wood should be placed behind the
metal to help prevent any bending of the Working with ‘Mini-tools’
metal as the bit emerges. The mini-drill, battery or mains operated,
allows very minute work in metal, wood or
Buffing plastic. For best effect, it must be used
This is most often done by hand, but where very carefully and at high speed. When
necessary, a vibrating buffer can be used, working with a mini-drill, we recommend
usually known as a rotating polisher. a magnifying glass, a drill mount, and a
Rough-polishing is done with No.l paper special vice. Preparation of components
(50 grain), and then you change down to 0 before drilling, grinding or polishing is
or 2/0 paper (80 to 100 grain). Finishing is even more important than the operations
done with 6/0 paper (220 grain). For tin- themselves. Not a single false move—
foil and metal-foils that may be used, a otherwise a tool will break.

Opposite: Brushes and

polishers, bits and braces extend
the use of the electric drill, and
make for clean work on metal
or plastic alike.

25
 This kind of micro-tool can be used on plastic, wood, or low-melting metal that it
plastic or wooden models and especially touches. As with most things in model¬
on metal. Some brands of ordinary drill making, a few experiments should be
come with special model-making adaptors made with different substances before
that allow the drill to be mounted on a attempting the job-in-hand. The
stand. A flexible lead allows the work to pyrograph is a useful tool for the model-
proceed without fear of tool-slip. Finally, maker, for making grooves or drilling, and
we should point out that there are avail¬ for hollowing out. The tips are inter¬
able special heads and bits for brass and changeable, allowing holes of varying
plastic in standard sizes. For working in depths to be made. Among all the special¬
very small dimensions (1/2 to l/8mm), the ized tools you can buy, we recommend this
bits to use are those normally used in the one especially for the model-maker inter¬
making of watches and jewellery. ested in making model figures or working
in wood. The pyrograph is particularly
Use of the Pyrograph good for micro-engraving on wood.
This is a tool with a tip that heats up. It
permits close work on substances whose Working with Hand Tools
melting point is, in general, not very high. The tools for working on sheets of ply¬
It can be used on wood or plastic. It works wood, or on blocks and pieces of wood,
like a miniature soldering-iron. The are the same as for regular carpentry. The
extremely delicate heated tip oxydizes the most important are wood chisels, a plane,
a keyhole saw, and a regular saw. It is usu¬
ally best to do the basic work with portable
Upright position electric tools and to finish off with micro¬
tools.

Section of hole after drilling

Sawing: A small hand-saw does all
i=0 c= cutting of small and large pieces. The very
fine-bladed keyhole saw makes openings
and small cuts. It can be used for inserting
into holes already drilled. It can be
replaced by a jigsaw.

Planing: Plane blades must always be

well sharpened. The blade should never
project more than 1mm below the foot.
Sharpening is necessarily frequent, and
must always be done on a whetstone, not a
grindstone.

Chiselling: You should have only sculp¬

tor’s chisels, fine enough to allow precision
work. The finest carpentry chisel measures
4mm.

Precise drilling Chamfering: A chamfer is much the

same as a spokeshave. It is used for round¬
ing off and bevelling.

Guide

Piece to be drilled
Assembly
We will not go into the traditional carpen¬
ter’s methods of joining and fixing,
because they do not apply to model¬
making. However, the glueing procedure
is exactly the same. There are basically

26
two kinds of glue that can be used: synthe¬
tic resins especially for wood, and vinyl
glues which have the advantage is being
able to stick together pieces of wood, card¬
board, paper and material. Glueing is
often helped by the use of screws and
clamps.

Working in Metal

Scale-model Soldering
Soldering is only used for little ancillary
jobs in background scenery, but do not
hesitate. There is a distinction, in precision
work soldering, between soft or tin solder,
and hard solder or brazing. In both kinds
of soldering, the ‘adhesive’ used is a metal
with a relatively low melting point (250
°C).

Soft soldering (tinning): This is very

popular for model railways, but can also
be used to join pieces of metal in a number
of stationary or mobile constructions—
bridges, boats, cars, etc. Soft soldering can
join together pieces of copper, steel, lead,
zinc and alloys. For precise soldering, you
need a small vice, or pairs of alligator clips
which will hold the parts or the wires to be
joined (or, better, an X-tra hand vice).
This leaves both hands free. The best tool
is a soldering iron or a soldering gun.

—If you are soldering ferrous metal (steel)

you will also need ‘killed spirits’ (zinc
chloride).
—When soldering copper, you will need
some soldering flux.
—And for soldering lead, stearin is
required.

Each of these three substances acts as a

preliminary stripping agent. The proce¬
dure is the same in all cases: scrape the
pieces to be soldered with a knife, then
with emery paper. All greasy substance
should be removed with petrol or tri¬
chloroethylene. (NB: take the normal pre¬
cautions against fire hazard).
You can tell when the iron is hot by the
characteristic smell of ozone that it gives
off. Apply it to one of the pieces to be
soldered: this will become heated. Now
introduce the solder, held in the left-hand.

27
 immediately used to remove excess solder
and to flatten any irregularities. The actual
joining of the components is brought about
by simultaneously heating them, making
the solder melt.

Brazing: In brazing, the joining agent is

silver. Brazing is both difficult and expen¬
sive. However, there are those who never¬
theless swear by it. The components to be
joined are cleaned and placed on a non-
inflammable surface, such as bricks, tiles,
or asbestos. They are held in place with
metal blocks or fireproof bricks. They are
then sprinkled with borax powder or a
similar ‘flux’, and heated with a
blow-lamp. When the components are
red-hot, the lamp is removed and the braz¬
ing alloy applied immediately. This melts
It will melt at once, making a shiny round and makes the join.
globule. Remove the iron immediately. If
the solder is uneven, it can be smoothed Making Miniature Electrical Connections
out by brushing the iron gently along the etc.
lines of the pieces being soldered. For a In principle there is nothing difficult about
solder to hold properly, the pieces must be making electrical connections on models.
held exactly in position throughout the If you can solder a joint, all will be well.
operation. Connecting blocks cannot usually be used
The preliminary stripping and degreas¬ because they are too big for models. Wires
ing mentioned above is essential for the must generally be twisted (or better,
correct soldering of all model components spliced) together.
made of tin, aluminium, zinc, or lead.
Afterwards, they should be wiped with Joining Two Wires
hydrochloric acid applied with a cloth held Splicing two wires together means strip¬
in pliers. Try to avoid heating the compo¬ ping a few millimetres at the end of each.
nents themselves too much, so as not to The exposed wires are then twisted round
alter their shape. each other, one going to the right and the
other to the left. Once the wires are wound
Tinning: This is a particular tin-soldering together, place a drop of solder on the
process, useful for those who want to make join. A drop of wax or a drop of gutta¬
their own components, such as locomotive percha will act as an insulator to avoid
boilers and car bodywork. The object is to current-leakage. With scale-models there
ensure a firm solder with only a thin layer. is no other risk, as they run at 3, 6 or 9
After cleaning, the two components are volts.
heated with a portable welding torch or For all other connections to do with
blow-lamp. A drop of solder is applied, lighting, motors, and other electrical
which melts at once and makes the surface accessories, manufacturers give precise
shiny. A piece of cotton waste is then directions.

28
Polystyrene, Paper and Cardboard

We have seen above how to assemble Cutting Out

models, from rough putting-together to Using a piece of polystyrene, you cannot
finishing-off. There are some more cut out any very complicated shapes. On
advanced techniques that will make them the other hand, an L-shaped fold can be
even better. Let us now find out how they made quite easily. Score the line of the
can be transformed with the help of fold with your cutter and then hold it over
modem materials like polystyrene. (See a spirit lamp (preferably with a non¬
the technical glossary at the end of the carbon flame). Move the flame around and
book for the various forms in which this the polystyrene will soften. Bend it into
material is available). the shape desired. Next place it between
brackets and ensure it is in the correct
Working Polystyrene right-angle position. The polystyrene will
Whether you are making a model of a be hard again in two or three minutes.
boat, a plane, or some other vehicle, poly¬ When L- or U-shapes or bends are
styrene is a basic material. With it you can made, weak points may appear in the poly¬
make all kinds of modifications and trans¬ styrene. These ‘stretch-marks’ can be
formations to standard models. It is the hidden with Body Putty spread by hand.
number one substance for repairs to cars, Once it is dry, simply polish up the area it
tanks, rolling-stock. Working it is some¬ covers. In subsequent chapters we shall
what different from working wood. Poly¬ examine the many possibilities of polysty¬
styrene is the essential material used in any rene, techniques varying with the type of
major model adaptation. construction.

Cutting What can be made with Polystyrene?

A soft-leaded pencil and a ruler are used Used in model-making, polystyrene
to draw lines on polystyrene. Before (which is shockproof) can represent solid
cutting, score the pencil lines with an metal (gun-turrets, tank bodies),
X-Acto knife. Two or three scorings will stonework (walls, bridge supports), build¬
make guidelines for cutting. With a thick ings and roofs, or support-structures to
piece of polystyrene, do the same thing on take other more fragile components.
the other side. A clean break can then be
Working Paper and Cardboard
made with the help of double clamps.
After cutting, polishing is frequently Thin cardboard and drawing paper are
necessary. If it is a curved cut, you should extremely important to the model-maker.
use a cardboard template. The first scoring Because they are so thin (from a few
should be done with a triangular-headed tenths of a millimetre to 1mm), they are a
stylus—this will be less likely to slip than a good size for most flat surfaces, such as
normal blade. partitions, planking, tiles and small
sections. The one drawback is obviously
Punching Out Shapes lack of rigidity. 223g/m2 weight paper can
Rather than actually slicing, or boring only be used in pieces up to 5 by 10cm
holes, with regular tools, it is quite simple without backing to reinforce it.
to use a heated copper wire of the desired
dimension. For example, holes for Tracing
handles, or supports, or steps, can be heat- The advantage of drawing paper is that it
bored. Any unwanted rim which appears allows all kinds of complicated tracing with
on the edge of a hole after boring can be drawing pen and compass. It can be
eliminated with a cutter or a file. coloured, and serves as a base for relief-
A miniature drill gives the same result, work. A flat tracing can either be left as it
and it can also be used to make slits for air- is, or folded over for extra thickness to
vents, hatches, etc. give a small additional relief effect.

29
Making up of panels in cardboard and drawing paper

Indelible ink drawing

2 — Upper part cut out and stuck to base

1 — Base grooved
with X-Acto tool
3 — Soaking
in warm water

4 — Placing on mould (wood, bottle, an

anything spherical or tube-shaped etc.), rapid drying

5 — When the piece is dry it can be painted

6 — Complicated shapes (for example the engine cowling
shown) can now receive additional coating, then be gently buffed and painted

1 j_z J

1
- 1 — f .——
\-
Map background Frame Model rests on supporting brackets Furniture surface

Antique engravings

30
Painting on Drawing Paper
Make the basic tracing with a hard-leaded
(H) pencil and ruler. Then dilute the paint
until you get a very light tint that will
simply wash the paper. This can be applied
either with a brush or with a foam rubber
roller. Ensure that it does not curl the
paper. Use only a little colour and the
right amount of water, mixed in a bowl.
Once the paper is dry, go over the pencil
tracing again (it is still visible) with your
drawing-pen and compass. The lines
should be kept as narrow as possible.
Relief and shading effects can be achieved
by additional application of water-colour,
two or three times stronger than the origi¬
nal tint, using brushes 0 or 1. You can also
prepare various water-colours for drawing
in details with your pen. If you do this you
will have to open the tip a bit wider. The
paint must also be carefully mixed: not too
runny, and not too thick. The mixture is
right if you touch the pen to the end of
your finger and it leaves a drop no wider
than the nib itself.
Certain special effects are obtained by
‘strengthening’ the colour. Pencil lead
rubbed on with your finger brings out the
grain of the paper, which can be made to
look like awning, a wall, or material. A
similar effect can be achieved by using
chalk of exactly the same shade as the
paint. Sawdust or sand can be added to the
paint to give it a granulated texture (like a
wall, for example).

Assembling Drawing Paper and

Cardboard
Any model made of drawing paper must
be painted first, flat, before the paper is
cut. Cutting is easily done, but with a
cutter rather than scissors, which never cut
perfectly. Drawing paper adheres
extremely well to other materials. Because
it is so thin it looks real, enhancing the
model itself. Shutters, metal surfaces,
planking, steps—all can be attached to
plastic models by means of liquid glue.
As soon as you use pieces larger than
5cm by 10cm, you must have a backing
support. This is often a balsa-wood frame¬
work with struts. The best-known backing
for a flat surface follows the sketches on
page 34 using rectangular or square struts
as shown.
Vinyl or other liquid glue may be used
 \

for sticking wood and paper. A framework Assembling Different Materials (Polysty¬
can be reinforced with small modelling rene, Wood and Paper)
pins, which do the same job as the glue. See the table for the uses of each of these
materials in tableaux, models, and diora¬
MODELS MADE OUT OF DRAWING mas. This is only a rough guide. In follow¬
PAPER MUST ALWAYS BE ing chapters we shall discuss the ideal uses
REINFORCED! for each of them.

Use and Choice of Materials Depending on Scale

See glossary for technical characteristics of substances not given as basic

modelling materials

MATERIAL USED USED FOR SCALES PAINT FINISH ASSEMBLY/CONSTRUCTION

heavy (223g/m2 ) metal, tiles, 1/100-1/25 water-colours, can be joined to

drawing paper planking chalk, pencil, polystyrene
china ink

thin card metal, tiles, 1/100-1/25 satin-finish, can be joined to

planking lacquer may be polystyrene
used

plastic beams, 1/100-1/25 lacquer or compatible with paper,

sections rafters, acrylic matt polystyrene and balsa;
metal paint assembly by glueing
structures

polystyrene metal, cast- 1/72-1/8 lacquer or may be stuck edgewise if

sheets iron, walls, lacquer-finish reinforced; compatible
roofs, paint, intaglio with wood, cardboard,
facades, possible and all modelling
coachwork materials

thin wood flying models, 1/100-1/8 varnish, stain, vinyl or liquid glue;
sheeting boats, ships’ matt paint wood reinforcement;
(poplar, decks, (vinyl, compatible for assembly
mahogany, etc.) painted or acrylic water with paper, cardboard,
varnished wood colours) card
facades

corrugated corrugated 1/43-1/8 matt paint, glueing;

cardboard iron roofs, water-colours assembly compatible with
(small size, corrugated wood, cardboard, paper
used for tiling
packaging)

cartridge wood-like all water-colours glueing

paper appearance,
may be painted \

to resemble
material

Rhodoid windowpanes, all none glueing; fixing in

cockpits, water grooves

32
coloured glass roofs, all none glueing; fixing in
Rhodoid modern glass grooves
buildings

sheets of stonework, from 1/35 plain, water¬ glueing with special

expanded rocks, snow, colours or adhesive; sensitive to
polystyrene basic scenery acrylics solvents; compatible for
assembly with wood,
cardboard, cloth

sawdust grainy effect all all matt in flocking or vinyl glue;

for walls and paints mixes in with the paint
ground

granulated ballast, 1/100-1/25 plain, water¬ sprinkled or glued directly

cork gravel, rock, colours or onto vinyl glue
iron ore acrylics

cork walls, roads, 1/72-1/12 plain glueing; compatible for

sheeting other assembly with paper,
constructions cardboard, wood

metal tubes, all high- 1/100-1/8 plain or can be soldered, brazed

rods and fidelity varnished (do or clamped; compatible
sections machine not paint, to for assembly with wood,
components, preserve the polystyrene and plaster
structures metal look)

cellulose stonework, 1/100-1/8 paint and spread with spatula

paste countryside flocking onto fibrous backing

plastic woodwork, 1/100-1/8 paint or spread with spatula, or

wood filling to stain plugged
look like
wood

plastic agglomerate 1/8 and up plain spread with spatula;

metal that looks shaped with modelling
like metal tools

windowpanes all none glued onto polystyrene,

tracing paper
television or wood, or paper
cinema
screens

light (125g/m2 ) metal, tiles, 1/100-1/43 water-colours, glue

drawing paper planking chalk, pencil, flat-mounting
china ink

33
 A -— Using drawing paper to represent volume

1 — How to make it rigid

Paper
Wooden sticks
or plastic strips

An M cut

‘Mechanical’ reinforcement with cross-beams

(bridge, footplate, chassis, etc.)
Weak points on a piece of drawing paper

2 — ‘Carpentry’ reinforcement
(boat, house, flat truck bed etc.)
Panel pin
Wooden struts Angle mounting

Assembling two surfaces at right angles

Paper
Angle bracket

B — Cutting a polystyrene sheet

Plastic Models

In just a few years, these have carved out other materials. However, let us make one
the lion’s share of the market. People, thing clear: like other materials, plastic is
houses, trains, aeroplanes—plastic is not an end in itself. Making a model
everywhere. From 1/100 to 1/8, most always involves a careful choice of
models are made out of hard polystyrene different materials. Even if it is 90 per cent
plastic. Even ‘lead’ soldiers are usually plastic, the other 10 per cent of plaster,
plastic today! Now that plastic has become metal, wood or cardboard must be treated
respectable, we must give it pride of place. with just as much respect. When it comes
For the field of plastic models involves all to modelling in wood or metal, we will
questions of scenery, decoration and confine ourselves to specific instances of
finishing touches of all kinds—because if it their use.
can be done in plastic, it can be done in

Choosing One’s Models

Once you are bitten by the collecting bug, often mounted as trophies on walls, or
you won’t stop at just one particular kind framed. Of course they should not be
of model. There is always the initial attrac¬ handled too much, and certainly not by
tion of the kind of thing you like—say inexpert hands. Building up a model gun
motorbikes, or cars, but then you become collection presents no problems, even in a
interested in details, or the historical relatively small flat or apartment.
aspect. But we have no intention of draw¬
ing up a catalogue of all the thousands of Boats
models available in the shops. Plastic ships are not common. Scales range
from 1/700 to 1/72 (for landing craft).
Weapons Historical ships figure largely in all sizes.
Reproduction of weapons on a scale of 1/1 There are some manufacturers (Heller,
or smaller is comparatively rare. Not many Monogram, Tamyia, Revell) who make
shopkeepers stock such models, and by far fleets. A ship collection quickly becomes
the most common among those that do cumbersome. They are always longer than
exist are pistols, especially of the Wild they are wider and need long shelves for
West. Once assembled, they are generally display (or, better, glass cases to avoid
used for decorative purposes. They are dust). Ships with complicated rigging can
Naval models have always been
very popular. This is a World
War Two German vessel of the be a problem for the beginner. A classic Vintage Cars
same class as the ‘Gneisenau like the Royal Sun needs hours of patience The current wave of what is called nostal¬
and the ‘Scharnhorst'. This is a gia has resulted in an upswing of interest in
and could never be part of a collection: it
11400 Heller model, and is only
must stand alone, with a protective glass vintage cars. The first imported models
58cm long.
case. Using only your spare time, it would were of 1955-6 American cars. Then
take a year to make it! came Monogram and Johan models of
1925—39 cars. Unfortunately imports were
Utility Machines not sufficiently regular, or were badly
These include trucks, tractors and plant followed up. Model cars in general
machinery. There are not many available suffered an eclipse between 1970 and 1975.
and they are usually in scales ranging from Now, new products and the better continu¬
1/43 to 1/20. The most handsome are ation of lines means that it is once again
American (ERTL, AMT), but there are possible to collect and build models of
not enough different models to justify vintage cars. The scales are fairly uniform,
making a collection, but a number of them so you can make genuine collections of
would be suitable for using in large-scale famous cars. Numbers can be a problem,
tableaux and dioramas. With only small but cars can always be displayed on shelves
modifications, foreign models can be made or in a case and, of course, cars can be dis¬
to look like the homegrown variety. played side-by-side, as in a car park.

One of those odd motor-

tricycles which flourished in
Britain just before the war.

36
Motorbikes and Sports Cars
Here again, the choice is expanding. Not
only are there the medium-scale racing
bikes put out by Protar: there are also
wide ranges on larger-scales marketed by
Tamyia and Heller. Modern machines are
particularly well represented. Sports cars
require a certain competence in assembling
the mechanical parts, because these
remain visible. This also holds good for
motorbikes, because the whole point lies
in the accurate assembly of parts that will
always be seen—chains, engine
components, mudguards etc.

Aeroplanes
Model aeroplanes in plastic are numerous.
Vintage or contemporary, the widest
choice is in the 1939-45 period. Modern
planes are well represented too. Planes of
the 1960s are also available in large quan¬
tities (made by Monogram, Revell, Airfix
and Tamyia). Models like these are good
for collections, or for use in tableaux that
include people, vehicles, equipment and
aeroplanes.

Military and Armoured Vehicles

These started to become popular about ten
years ago. They are usually in 1/25 or 1/35
and, occasionally, in 1/16. Just about any¬
thing that was ever built between 1938 and
1950 is now available in scale-model. You
can collect them either ‘factory-fresh’, or handsome collection in a small flat.
as they are after use and action. Tableaux and dioramas are often too
Whichever you choose, you can make a cumbersome.

Most model-makers have some¬

thing of the historian in them.
Behind the pleasure of construc¬
tion there lies the joy of research
into military and civilian
machines that were only short¬
lived. The Potez 540, a French
bomber first made in 1930, was
out of date by 1939.

37
Plastic scale-models can help Figures with them have a good deal in common,
one to become better acquainted You can buy soldiers, horses and guns in we will restrict ourselves to studying in
with the innumerable tanks detail only the larger categories. Thus
kits. So not only can you collect people,
made during the 1939—45 war.
you can also create scenes where these scale-models of antique weapons have
This Soviet Army Howitzer is
one of the many sold by various people are doing things. In general it is points in common with any other kind of
manufacturers. These models very fine work needing great care, especi¬ model, even with motorbikes and sports
are variations on the K. V. 1 gun ally with regard to colouring. Various cars. Technically speaking, models can be
platforms designed by the Soviet
companies make troops from 1939 to the categorized in this way:
engineer Voroshilov. Regret¬
present-day—notably Heller, ERTL and —figures of historical people;
tably, since 1970, there has been
massive duplication in models Tamyia. —vehicles, historical and contemporary;
of tanks from all over the —military vehicles;
world. Everyone has his own Speciality —civilian and military aeroplanes;
We have seen the various articles that —ships, historical and contemporary.
there are for sale, and it seems that each When it comes to tableaux, we shall see
category has its devotees, but since the further on how each of these categories
products available and what can be done can fit in with each of the others.

38
Building the Models
General Principles

Plastic models are sold in assembly kits. A tweezers or fine pliers. (Drying-time, any¬
kit contains between 70 and 1,000 or 1,500 thing from a few minutes to several hours,
moulded components attached to a must elapse between application of under¬
support called a grid. Each part detaches coat and detachment from the grid). Once
from the grid and has a reference number. it is detached, each part will have a little
Most manufacturers give each grid a letter bump at the point where it was attached.
(A, B, C, D etc.). So each component has This must be removed with a fine-grained
two references: the grid, and its own file (a nail file, for example). Make sure
number (e.g. Al, D29). There are also that all parts are correctly smoothed in this
step-by-step diagrams. The plastic used for manner before glueing. Any excess paint
remaining from the previous stage may This is how the separate parts
the grids is not always the same colour.
also have to be removed by scraping. look once they have been made.
Each grid will be suitably coloured so that
These are the various compo¬
the model-maker who does not wish to nents of a French Empire field-
paint his model can still assemble it with¬ gun, (made by Historex).
out difficulty, but we do not recommend
this procedure: the result is simply a toy,
not a real model!

Painting on the Undercoat

Even if the instructions are given in a
foreign language (as they sometimes are),
the pictures alone usually suffice to show
you how to construct the model. It is
important to consult the instructions
thoroughly, to see where each component
goes. Then you can start to paint them.
On being taken out of their bag, parts
should be wiped clean. One grid at a time rnmmmm

should be placed in a painting container (a

milk or fruit juice carton will do very well).
Undercoat is applied to the plastic with an
aerosol spray, if possible the same colour
as the final coat. This is not always easy
with military vehicles. Sometimes aerosols
are impractical and you must use a brush.
Select the largest one practicable for the
parts, so that the paint will be as even as
possible. The undercoat will diminish the
semi-shiny look of the natural plastic,
making it either matt or glossy, depending
on the model being made.
Always apply paint with successive light
strokes, as when using a paint-gun. Do not
hold the can too close.

Cutting off and Preparing the Parts

The parts should not be detached or pre¬
pared before they are needed for
assembly. It is also a good idea not to
handle them directly, but only with

39
 (zz£

Filing and rubbing parts after detaching them from the support-grid

2 — Place a few drops of glue in a small

Brush

3 — Preliminary painting
V may be done while the parts
are still on the support-grid, but one or
two further coats will still be necessary
Points to retouch after masking

Longitudinal section line

Caution! Never smoke while doing these jobs!

4 — Special aeroplane fuselage glue; a clamp should be used

Protective paper
5 — Apply Maskol or masking
film to areas not to be painted

ill

Masked area
6 — Painting with an air-brush or a spray paint

40
Glueing it rolling up. Apply it as accurately as you
Never apply glue directly from the tube or can to the wet spot on the model. Holding
container to components to be assembled. it in place with one pair of tweezers in the
Use only special glue for scale-models. left hand, you then remove excess water
Never use so-called plastic glues. Squeeze with a piece of absorbent cotton in the
a small amount of glue onto a saucer. Take right hand. Finally, press the transfer into
a fine brush, already dipped into the place with a piece of blotting paper.
appropriate solvent or thinner, and apply a
tiny drop of glue to one of the pieces to be Assembly
glued. Then take a pair of fine pliers and Major components of models are usually
join the two pieces together. For especially held together with glue. We do not recom¬
long or cumbersome pieces, a modeller’s mend the use of elastic bands to hold
clamp will ensure that they do not come pieces together while the glue is drying. It
apart. Remove any excess drops of glue at is better always to use special model
once with the point of an X-Acto tool.
Some people remove excess glue with a
thinner, but this does not work for all
models. To secure very small pieces, hold
one in an X-tra hand tool or an alligator Practical problems when glueing
clip and the other in a pair of tweezers.
All these stages, which seem obvious, For better flow control, the glue
tube should be pierced in a V-shape
are often forgotten by modellers and, as a
result, their first efforts are often ruined by
carelessness in glueing.

Finishing off one Component Part of a

Model
Once you have assembled all the pieces of
one component part of the model, you
must finish it off: remove all traces of glue, Use a toothpick, a pin, or a fine brush for delicate glueing jobs
make sure assembly is correct, retouch
paintwork. A model generally has three or
four major component parts. It’s up to you
to decide whether certain details should be
finished off now or at the end. Your pro¬
cedure may vary from one model to
another. Ageing of parts, for example (to
make a machine or a tank or a house look
used or dirty), can be done very quickly.
(See the section on painting for how to do Using a clamp or a press to hold two
concave parts together while glue dries and sets
it).
Two semi-cylindrical pieces can be
Sticking on Transfers held together with adhesive tape
Nearly every model, of no matter what,
comes with transfers. They can be applied
now, or at the end. It is not difficult to do.
The transfer is on a cellulose backing that
comes off when you place it in water, so
cut out the transfer and put it in a saucer or
glass of water. Smear a light coating of
water (just a few drops) with your finger
on the exact place on the model where the
transfer will be applied. Then, when the
transfer has come away from its backing, If the join shows, apply first thinner, then Body Putty
lift it out with two pairs of tweezers to stop

41
 clamps. To ensure that larger components, various kinds of masking papers or tapes
such as aeroplane fuselages, decks of ships which can be applied to those parts that
or bases of buildings stick efficiently, it is will not be painted. A product like Maskol
sometimes necessary to give them a light will do this job very well. It should be
roughening with a file or other abrasive. applied with a brush, and allowed to dry
Too much glue never improves anything! for fifteen minutes. You may then proceed
Once assembly is complete, there are with the finishing stages.

Use special tweezers for

glueing very small pieces

Put the piece in position

Tips for painting 2 — Making moulds

1 — Stir until mixing is complete

Insert a wire brush-drainer Make sample cuts in a piece of
transparent plastic—or practice on adhesive tape

4 — Hang things in mid-air

Use little bits of adhesive tape to hold components in place during painting

42
Finishing
We will deal in a later chapter with the
overall setting of a model, lighting and
scenery etc. For the moment we are con¬
cerned with the finishing details. A coat of
air-brush paint, well thinned and therefore
all the more matt, can be made to look like
dust, rust or soot. A few details applied
with a ‘O’ or a ‘00’ brush will supply the
perfect finish. A road-map, or a suitcase
ready beside a car, gives the appearance of
a journey about to start; soldiers round an
armoured vehicle make the scene a brief¬
ing; barrels beside a boat are another
touch of reality. You must use your imagi¬
nation. Remember: before you put a
model in place in a tableau, you must
submit it to ‘weathering’, so that it
matches the environment and the
supposed climatic conditions, but for dis¬
addition of minute details: wiring and Above: Detail of a German
play in a glass case, weathering is not
Leopard A2 tank gun-turret
always desirable. pipes on vehicles, medals and epaulettes
after ‘weathering’. 1/35 model
We make no mention here of certain on soldiers, and so on. We will look at par¬
made from a Heller kit.
details which the experts never omit in ticular examples when we come to tech¬
their models. This usually involves the nique.

Positioning transfers

1 — Cut out the transfer as close as possible

2 — Then soak it for a few minutes

Apply the transfer. Keep it wet,

using a dropper if necessary

— Dry with blotting-paper

5 — Once positioned, work over the edges of the transfer with a short-bristled brush

43
44
For Further Information
There are clubs and associations where shops, we have to admit that there are
people interested in every kind of model gaps in plastic model ranges, with the
making can meet each other. Also, for result that by no means will every
information, there are a number of British customer be satisfied. There are almost no
and American publications, e.g. 'Scale quality models at all on the Middle Ages
Modeller’, ‘Military Modelling’, and or the Roman era. The saga of the Far
‘Scale-Models’. In every country there is West does equally badly, with only a few
an information and contact office of the railroad models available. In the 1/72, the
IPMS (International Plastic Model 1/35, and the 1/25 ranges, there are also
Society). various accessories missing: street furnish¬
Taking a look at what is available in the ings in particular, and others.

List of International Plastic Model correspondents (Europe, Canada)

IPMS — Great Britain:

J.W. Salmon, ‘Oakbank’, 35 Clares Green Road, Spencers Wood, Reading, RG7 1DY.
Publication: IPMS Magazine (every two months)

IPMS — Belgium:
Guy Gudenkauf, Ancien Dieweg 9, 1180 Brussels
Publication: Kit (quarterly)

IPMS — Canada:
E.A. Johnson, IPMS Canada, P.O. Box 626, Ottawa (Stn B), Ontario.
Publication: R.T. (monthly)

IPMS — Denmark:
Willy Larsen, Buskager 20, II, DK-2720 Vanlose.
Publication: Halehjulet

IPMS — France:
Saint-Ouen l’Aumone 95310.
Publication: La Vitrine du Maquettiste

IPMS — Germany:
Gunther Lindow, Bauingenieur, 1000 Berlin 37, Oertzenweg 12b.
Publication: Mitteljungen (monthly)

IPMS — Holland:
H.C. Beentjes, Naarden, 1352 Van Houtenlaan 10.
Publication: Modelbouw in Plastic (quarterly)

IPMS — Italy:
A.M. Bellei, Via U. Balzani 8, 00162 Rome, I.
Publication: II Notiziario (quarterly)

IPMS — Norway:
Tom Arheim, Asperudeien II, Oslo 12.
Publication: Limtuben

IPMS — Sweden:
Hans Percy, Onskevadersgaten 47, S-417 35 Goteborg
 How to do the finishing touches

Glass of water

Transfer is held in position with the back of

a tool while backing is removed with tweezers

Then press with a sponge

Surface must be made to look rough, grainy

2 Heating flexible pieces (e.g. cables)

over spirit lamp makes them
easier to put into place

Granular effect of cast-iron can be obtained by talcum powder,

ground pencil-lead, or even fine sand, mixed with paint
3 When using spray for final coat, paint should
be applied through some kind of sieve or filter

s^ il
\
c*.
i

5 — When using air-brush or spray-gun, apply paint

Tit
from distance of 15 to 20cm following direction
of arrows shown

'Ht§
46
U1K> 11^1^ u.v ^.uvicoat angle. Lei u;> nuw llld^ upjjnwv., J

see how, with a little dexterity, we can do coats are usually needed, and then either
an even better job. We have discussed the one or two final coats. With small areas, it
various possibilities of paintwork. To start is often necessary to apply sticky paper or
with, the beginner will use basically the masking tape to the surfaces that should
brush and the spray-can. Then, raising his not be painted. This will sharply delineate
standards, and seeing the models of his the painted area.
friends and relations, he wants the paint¬
work on his own to be rather better, so he Preparation of Surfaces
finds out about the air-brush. Care in preparing surfaces is just as impor¬
tant as knowing how to use the air-brush.
How do you use an Air-Brush? Metal surfaces must be cleaned with tri¬
It is used to vaporize cellulose paints, matt chloroethylene. Plastics must be
paints, thinner, water-colours etc. You thoroughly dust-free, and should often be
hold it like a pencil, the index finger rest¬ washed in warm soapy water.
ing on the air flow control. The paint is
carried in a glass container underneath. After Use
The amount of air released is controlled by A badly cleaned air-brush may be
means of a knurled wheel. Propulsion is unusable, so any paint remaining after use
provided by a liquid-gas container. With must be removed. The container must be
the air-brush in position ‘A’, the flow is washed two or three times in thinner.
powerful, concentrated and fine. In When all visible traces of paint have gone,
position ‘B’ it is wider and more gentle. fill it about one-third full with thinner and
One of the major advantages of the operate the air-flow control for a few
air-brush is that successive coats of paint seconds—until the thinner is coming
can be applied without underlying details through colourless. Cotton-wool and
becoming blurred. It is the ideal tool for cotton-waste should not be used for clean¬
doing skies, dust, camouflage, and for such ing, as these leave fibres that will obstruct
things as a horse’s dappled coat. The air¬ the holes. To protect the air-brush from
brush highlights irregularities in any dust, place an empty paint container
surface, which often enhances the effect of upside-down over it.
volume. With lined or grooved
balsa-wood, the air-brush immediately The Technical Possibilities of the
gives a relief effect, but it also highlights Air-Brush
mistakes! .As we shall see below, with aeroplanes
As with painting by brush, the prepara¬ and military vehicles, the air-brush permits
tion of the paint itself is of prime impor¬ all kinds of colouring, particularly the
tance. Thinner and paint should be mixed merging of colours with each other. In
until a fluid, creamy texture is obtained. If general, experience shows that the
 application of matt paint is easier than headlamps, cockpit canopies and windows,
gloss, which tends to run. Drying time can cover the whole model with either a satin-
often be six hours or more. Drying must be effect (non-glossy) or a gloss varnish. This
done in a dust-free environment and at should be done at a temperature of around
normal room temperature. Do not use a 20 °C; the air should not be humid, as this
hair-dryer as this may result in wrinkles in might cause the varnish to wrinkle. Ensure
the paint. With larger surfaces, such as a too that your varnish will not harm any
ship’s hull, coachwork, an aeroplane fuse¬ transfers used. Protective varnish of this
lage, the air-brush ensures even applica¬ kind will tend to hide imperfections in
tion of paint. With a large surface of this painting without reducing the details. Note
kind, make sure while working that the that this procedure should not be followed
paint mixture remains consistent and that with figures of people, which need a
the glass container stays horizontal. special finish of their own (see chapter on
figures).
What about Special Effects or Marks in the
Paintwork? The Special Case of Military Models
Grease, mud, dust and oil-leaks are all We will deal with the particular problems
details that one might wish to reproduce of armoured vehicles later on. Whether
on realistic scale-models. For this, the your model is of a tank, a half-track, an
model-maker should have among his army truck or a plane, it is better to apply
equipment a medium brush with the only one undercoat to individual pieces
bristles cut off to one-third their length. and larger component parts. The rest of
Using paint with almost no thinner, and the painting should be done when the
allowing it partially to dry in the air, dip whole model is assembled. This will give a
the brush into the paint and dab it onto the rough look, which the real thing would
piece to be painted. In this way you can have. Placing transfers on just before the
achieve a very satisfying dirty or ageing final coat will give them a used look. This
effect. If the dab-marks look too pronoun¬ final coat, often called a wash, is a mixture
ced, you can reduce them somewhat by re¬ of much-thinned paint and solvent. To give
Facing page: These pictures applying the undercoat colour in the same a dusty appearance (a vehicle that has
are so lifelike that they would manner. been on a long expedition, or for desert
scare readers if they appeared in
battle scenes), special dust (in the Floquil
a magazine.
What about the Finishing Touches on weathering kit) may be applied. This final
Top left: A Red Army T34.
Below: A Chevrolet-Canada Glass-Case Display Models? coat will give a dusty white effect on
used by British troops in Africa. Starting with ‘glass’ components, such as drying, while remaining quite transparent.

48
The art of adding the finishing
touches. On both these 1/35
1939—45 tanks, the
model-maker has done every¬
thing possible to make them
look authentic: dull grainy
paintwork, marks of use, and
browning of the metal make
these look like photographs of
the real thing.

49
 (e.g*
O' 1 i

COiOc wS, plough-

steei. W i< o procedure is
follows: paint part is painted black
black. When dr then given a coating of
light grey wash and u. fluted with turpentine. Then with
off. The lighter colour will an, me finger apply some picture framer’s
projections—rivets, screws, pins etc. Next, ‘silver’ powder. This will give a polished-
scrape a little soft pencil-lead into a jar. metal effect similar to the effects of
Dip a dry brush into the powder that friction. (The powder is available as Rub
results, and cover the entire body or ‘n’ Buff).
framework of the weapon with it. This will
give it a very realistic metal look. This Making PSastic look like Wood
technique can also be used for stairways Pieces of balsa-wood will never look like
and ships’ rails, as well as various bits of real wood. The impressions of both weight
machinery. For copper components, and colour must be created. Ships’ decks,
simply substitute gold-dust (a painting truck sides and shop fronts are all made to
colour!) for the pencil-lead, and a very look like wood in the same way. An appro¬
light-green wash for the grey wash. If a priate undercoat is applied:
metal part needs to look used but not —grey-green for wood susceptible to
rusty, prepare the following mixture: two- mould or mildew;
parts of cigarette ash to one-part of soft —silvery-grey for wood that has aged and
pencil-lead (2B), applied to the part after remained dry;
painting. Or, for the oxidized look of —light brown for painted wood.
exhaust pipes and springs that are exposed After the undercoat is dry, with a pencil
to the elements, make a powder from trace the grain and knots in the wood, then
yellow and ochre drawing chalks. Vary the make some stand out with fine paintbrush
proportions to obtain the desired hue, then work in the same colour. After drying,
f

A modern heavy-duty vehicle

from the United States. These
spectacular and colourful
models have a number of
chromed parts for extra effect.
The principal American
manufacturers of such models
;fc.
are Mack, HI (International),
and White.

apply a matt ageing wash. Finish by The professional and expert model-makers
rubbing with chalk or pencil-lead powder consulted on this subject have differing
(brown, black or grey). A burnt-wood opinions. Some have abandoned tubes of
effect is easily obtained by rubbing the glue in favour of bottles of powerful
component with genuine charcoal. solvent which they apply to pieces to be
assembled. A brush dipped in solvent is
Final Glueing applied to the surfaces to be glued, and
Earlier on we gave you the simplest then simple pressure serves to ‘solder’
methods of glueing, but rubbing down and them together. There is invariably an
sticking together do not always suffice. To interaction between solvent and plastic. A
begin with, moulded parts are seldom smooth, satiny surface can be roughened
joined along the same lines as their real- by brushing with a solvent. Take care that
life counterparts—hulls of ships, for before using thinner or any of the standard
example, or the join between shoulder and commercial solvents, transparent plastic
arm on a figure. parts are thoroughly protected. Solvent
So after glueing (forty-five minutes to will make them irreversibly opaque.
one hour), in accordance with the previous Sometimes this effect can be actively
chapter, apply a reasonably fluid sought—for instance, to give the effect of
substance called Body Putty over the rain and mud on windscreens.
entire joint, with a spatula or the end of Solvents generally make paints
the finger. Allow to dry for an hour, then runnier—but sometimes they make them
rub with a soft abrasive dipped in water. lumpy, or produce a wrinkled or crackled
Rub until the line of the join is no longer effect. Here again, it is useful to experi¬
visible and can no longer be felt. Take this ment first.
opportunity also to remove finally all Finally, a use people often do not think
excess glue. The tip of an X-Acto tool is of: cleaning the fingers! But beware—
good for this. most solvents are harmful to the skin and
they are all inflammable!
Use Solvents Correctly

Different solvents—nail polish remover Useful Tricks for m even Better

(amyl acetate), acetone and trichloroethy¬ Finish
lene—have different effects on different
kinds of plastic. They can be used to clean Scale, and Detail of Paintwork
paint brushes, to thin paint, or to etch All the component parts of your model are
plastic. We strongly advise the beginner to now painted. They need only a few addi¬
experiment with each kind of plastic and tional details. Engines of ships, planes etc.
paint. need particular attention, to show off oxi-

51
When the model becomes the
real thing! This wagon, made by
Historex, is not much bigger
than a box of matches. Despite
this, note the delicacy of the
moulding and the quality of the
paintwork—even more extra¬
ordinary when you realise that
the model is smaller than the
photograph.

52
pieces looks transparent, the latter should
be protected with adhesive tape. The tape
should be cut accurately and the paint
applied evenly.
Just as it is amusing to see the eyes and
lips of a scale-model human figure, so
there are certain details on particular
aircraft that are worth bringing out in
relief. On the other hand, with a diorama
these details should be hidden so as not to
detract from the general effect. At 1/35 or
1/72, one would not bother with an aero¬
plane rivet the size of a coin, or with the
iris and pupil in the eye of a human figure!
This would be excessive technique, not tyre quickly along the file. Since it is hot, it Lights are merciless on scale-
will leave its own impression on the models. These (Heller) French
commensurate with the scale. It should be
infantrymen of 1939—45 are
remembered too that a soldier in battle has plastic.
delicately and realistically
a contorted, puckered face, the skin grey This is how to model the effects of painted: nothing is over-shiny,
rather than pink. smoke, or exhaust fumes. Set light to a and their uniforms look realisti¬
piece of polystyrene (open the window cally coarse.

Moving Parts: Finishing Touches to first) over a candle. You can use the thick
Machinery smoke that it gives off to dirty up a model
A few moments’ thought are needed when or a component, just like an engine that
it comes to the making of the wheels of a has been running long hours (a tank, a
vehicle, a field-gun being towed along, a boat, a car etc.).
sail being hoisted, or a smoking chimney.
Tyres, for example, should be slightly flat¬ Wires and Cables: Basic Technique
tened once fitted, to give the impression of Of course there are various methods for
A model is well finished and
weight bearing down on them. It is best in various models, depending on scale, but truly complete if the parts you
most cases to paint the tyres a neutral matt here is a simple way of making radio cannot see are as well worked
shade, even if the real thing is black, to antennae or ropes, when stringing nylon on and assembled as those you
threads from point to point will not do. can. All the details of the
escape the rather unrealistic plastic look.
8-cylinder overhead camshaft
Here is the way to put a tread on your Take the model’s support-grid, and select
engine have been reproduced on
tyres. Take a fine-grained file (choose one one of the little connecting stubs (not too this 1930s Alfa Romeo
that will match the scale of the model), and big). Hold this over a flame and pull. two-seater. Plug leads and
heat it up in near-boiling water. Roll the When it gets soft and strung out, quickly speedometer cables are all there.

53
 bend it into the required shape. The plastic assembly. Some mistakes only worry the
will cool almost immediately and will keep purist, while others are more glaring.
its shape. Using a pair of electric pliers, cut Furthermore, relief work is often
it to the desired length. enhanced by ‘forcing’ details a little,
especially on 1/72 and 1/83 models, rivets,
Problems with Models which the Enthusi¬ handles and plugs are often made absolu¬
ast must know about tely huge.
Cheaper models in particular tend to
We have kept this section until now, so as have the worst faults at present. There are
not to put you off—and to enable you to certain aspects of assembly which seem
correct imperfections in the light of what easy enough to the manufacturer, but
you have already learned. The publishers which only work one time in three for the
of some magazines spend quite a lot of purchaser. Examples of these are tracks on
time compiling lists of mistakes and tanks, working steering wheels on lorries
inaccuracies in the models you can buy for and cars, and the electric motors of self-

Everything we have just said

about vintage models (previous
page) is true of modern
vehicles. Tip the cab on this
semi-articulated lorry, and the
machinery is all there, just like
the real thing. Note especially
the corrugated non-slip
foot-plates. The beginner must
be particularly careful with any
moving parts like doors and
bonnets, which may not always
work perfectly.

54
powered electric models. Doors, hatches beginners—apart from anything else, the
and lockers should all open properly—but parts are not marked for identification.
you must check the quality of the hinges if Inaccuracy in a model can be partly
you want them to work. Of course, the rectified by research in specialist books
manufacturer does not tell you this! There and magazines. Sometimes it is a good
are a number of quality models that are idea to make sketches on paper to see how
meant for model-makers well versed in the model could be improved if, for
assembly; they are not recommended for example, it were lengthened or shortened.

Odds and Ends

Where to keep them? model, a china ink bottle can be an acety¬
Before going on to deal with each kind of lene cylinder; a blown-out fuse can be
scale-model, let us suggest that you obtain either a lamp standard or a wall bracket,
a large box or a set of containers for keep¬ depending on the scale. Disposable paper
ing various odds and ends for future use: handkerchiefs present a host of possibili¬
.22 cartridge casings, paper-clips, pins, ties, from making sails and tent-cloth, to
thread, pebbles, broken toys etc. Model¬ clothes for human figures. With simple
ling calls for things of all shapes, cylindri¬ sawdust, painted various colours, you can
cal, cubic and flat. Certain everyday things make a realistic green lawn, or a gravel
like facial tissues, ends of material and surface (grey, brown). Metal or plastic
matches should be kept carefully. Their insect netting has many unsuspected
uses will be unlimited. uses—indeed it is almost indispensable to
the model-maker. It can be used for
gratings, barred windows, landing strips
What can be done with them? and ships’ hatchways. Before being posi¬
Your best adviser is always your own tioned, the metal should be given a coat of
imagination. We shall return in a later matt paint in the desired colour, to dull it.
chapter to the uses of odds and ends in Unwanted veining etc. can be filled over
large tableaux, for things like buildings, the Body Putty.
fields and scenery. For the moment, let us Cyanoacrylate glue should be used for
see how they can improve a model by such assembly—or, on wood for example,
making it more realistic. With a large-scale an ordinary plastic glue.
 the choice is smaller, even sometimes non¬
existent: posters, hoardings, directions,
road signs. Of course, the transfer you
need may not go perfectly with the scale of
the model, so here is a way of making your
own transfers to stick onto your own
models. You should use the plain
(unmarked) part of the ordinary transfers
you can buy. Choose the shapes, letters,
designs etc. that you need in Letraset, and
make up your own sign with them, but you
will say, why not just apply them directly
onto the model? Quite simply, because
they easily may not stick properly to ply¬
wood, or to plastic, or to a curved surface,
but if they are mounted on a regular trans¬
fer sheet, the sheet itself will stick to any¬
A personal touch always adds a Making your own Transfers thing.
great deal to a model. Here, two In the same way you can paint with a
linen threads and a piece of Transfers are part of just about every ‘00’ brush (using a magnifying glass).
hessian add a realistic note to
scale-model. There are a huge number Home-made transfers should be applied
the rear of this 1940— 44 motor¬
cycle and sidecar combination. available for use on such military items as slightly moist. Cutting should be done with
aeroplanes or tanks. For ‘civilian’ items, scissors and in situ.

56
Models of all kinds
Making and Displaying Figures
With very few exceptions, the age of lead Working the Material
soldiers is dead. More and more fre¬ As with other plastic models, the basic tool
quently, the figures in model making are is the cutter. You will also need a few
made out of plastic. There are some medi¬ chisels, files and jeweller’s saws. (See the
ocre models to be had in the small scales section on basic tools).
(1/43, 1/48 and 1/100) which could do with The effects of the solvent trichloroethy¬
improvement. The larger scales (1/35, lene are sometimes hard to predict.
1/25, 1/12 and 1/8) yield more detailed However, it can be used to dissolve small
products, which indeed in some cases are pieces of plastic. The viscous liquid that
real masterpieces. The Historex company results can itself be used to retouch clothes
of France, which specializes in making or even the faces of figures. It can also
figures of Napoleonic times, offers soldiers serve as a cement or a filler. Similar results
to assemble and paint that are extraordina¬ are obtained by mixing liquid glue with
rily accurate. There are various companies plastic shavings. Body Putty can also be
(Heller, Tamyia, Historex and Esci) used.
producing satisfactory models of present-
day soldiers as well as those of 1939—45. Altering and improving Models
The modeller who would like to set up The wooden tailor’s dummy is sometimes
scenes that include figures finds himself up recommended for studying positions of the
against the problem of models made with human body, but these days it is a very
classic gestures and attitudes—the soldier expensive item. A good substitute is the
mounted, famous person seated, the figure ‘Action Man’ type articulated model. The
making some standard gesture. These are limbs of this figure all move in the same
not too difficult to alter and, indeed, it is way as real joints. A small notch is cut with
nearly always necessary. either a slitting file or a three-square file.
To change the position of an arm or a leg, not all intensity of colour disappears, but
hold the notched part over a cold flame about half does.
(spirit lamp). Obviously this must be done Faces and hands are first painted in flesh
before any painting is attempted. If a notch tone. Then slightly darker shading (1/3
is too wide it can be packed with filler more paint, or a touch of brown) is applied
prepared in advance; any lumps caused by to the sides of the nose, the cheekbones
stretching can be removed with an X-Acto and the eyebrows. All work should be
tool. done with a ‘0’ or a ‘00’ brush. Using a
Certain parts of a figure, for example plastic scrap for testing, obtain the shade
the hands, or the feet when there are no for beard stubble on men’s faces by mixing
boots, benefit from being separated from a much diluted grey with the flesh tone.
the rest and re-attached in the final desired For finishing arms, faces and hands, the
position. A pyrograph (see chapter on best ingredients to work with are flesh
know-how) is used to obtain positions tone, white, yellow and brown. They
different from the original. People are should be diluted in a container with water
generally tempted to add extra details and and applied in a series of little touches to
personal touches to the model they have give relief to each detail. For extra-fine
just bought. There are all kinds of things shading detail, dip the brush in plain
you can buy to make life-like improve¬ water. Eyes should be drawn with a single
ments. Painted crepe will serve as an indi¬ brown line shading off towards the
vidual’s camouflage-net, while a eyelids—or painted realistically; but this is
back-pack can be made out of small pieces necessary only for larger-scale models.
of felt. Gas-masks are made of .22 car¬ First the eyeball is painted in white, and
tridge cases. Toilet paper or paper towel¬ then the iris with a touch of brown, blue or
ling soaked in paint and plasticizer can be green, using a ‘00’ brush. Some modellers
used for cloaks, capes, or other articles of go so far as to put in the pupil with a point
clothing. Horsehair gathered on a drop of of black. To bring out the details of various
glue, then cut with scissors, can make a parts, such as hands, lips and nose, a brick-
horse’s mane or the plume on a military red wash can be applied lightly; it is then
hat. A furry appearance can be produced diluted. Details of clothing, folds etc. are
with coloured absorbent cotton. obtained by shading all tones into grey—
Boxes of accessories (Heller, Tamyia, greenish-grey, pure grey, brown, sandy
Historex) allow you to create a suitable etc. This technique also gives fullness to
environment for your figures—road-signs, curtains, awnings and flags. Parts in relief
tools and hand guns are available at 1/35, are made somewhat lighter by the addition
1/43 and 1/48, for you to add your own of a little solvent, while folds and hollows
personal touch. are coloured slightly darker.

Fainting a Figure Properly

This is really quite an art, and everyone
has his own tricks. For figures, you have a
choice between water-colours and acrylic
paints. We suggest you do not use oils, as
these take too long to dry. Water-colours
should be mixed with ox-gall: if not, they
will be difficult to apply and will ‘bead’ on
the plastic. Their matt quality gives excel¬
lent visual results. As a general rule, and
whatever paint you choose, use colours
lighter than they are in real life. So black
hair should become a mouse-grey shade,
bright red epaulettes should be brick-red,
and the bright white of a shirt-front or a
flag should be off-white. When you reduce
something from life-size to a scale of 1/35,
 1 — Fine triangular file
Positions of horses to open elbow joint

3 — Make good
with Body
2 — Gentle heat Putty
to soften

Changing the positions of the limbs

One set of parts

gives many
possible positions
for limbs, helmet,
head

Movement of the legs

Soldier marching normally

The forced march

59
 Choosing your Paints and knowing how to
use them
Painting faces. Scales 1/35 to 1/12 The experts argue endlessly about the
qualities of different paints. There are
1 — Base coat (brown + beige and white) those who will not hear of acrylics, others
swear by them. In practice, acrylics used
on figures give the best results when you
take into consideration how easy they are
to use. In fact people who do a lot of
modelling find that water-colours and
acrylics can be used together; indeed, they
can be mixed. Water-colour gives a
completely non-shiny look, lifeless even;
while acrylic has a slight sheen to it. Using
Hair: undercoat them together you can get every gradation
followed by ‘00’ brush coat of shine or flatness. On its own, acrylic is
suitable for leather, fur and hair. Mixed
with water-colour, it can be used for skin,
wood and metal. Water-colour alone is
suitable for cloth.
Everything we are saying here for
figures applies equally well to vehicles,
scenery, aeroplanes. We must make
3 — Light shading in darker brown reservations with respect to oil paints.
These are not easy to use and the beginner
should certainly not even try. Acrylic, on
the other hand, spreads efficiently and
dries rapidly, and where accuracy of
colour is not all-important, ranges of easy-
4 — A touch of blacky to-use vinyl-acrylic paints are available.

5 — White for
They mix with water and are particularly
the eyeball ^ suitable for figures.

Use your finger to rub down relief details with

a lighter tint (the basic paint with a ‘bloom’ of
white and thinner)

Lighter shading for the bridge of the nose

A touch of
brown for
the iris

Light pink shading for the mouth

Light coat
of grey fot
‘5 o’clock
shadow’ -

Red
shading

Eyelid grey
Outer iris blue or green
Pupil black "--v 7 — (Fine details for large-scale figures)

60
How to paint figures
2 — When dry, paint all the
black parts (‘O’ or ‘1 ’ brush)

1 — Secure the figure between

two alligator clips

Undercoat of uniform or
clothing (‘O’ or ‘V brush)

Take care not to touch

areas not to be painted

5 — Add touches of white, 6 — Finally, go over

not forgetting the eyeballs each colour again with
a 30 per cent dilute wash
for shadows, creases,
* chin-stubble etc. Last,
do the pupils (‘00’ brush)
4 — Basic painting done, ♦
now add touches of colour
—red, gilt etc.—according^
to the model (VO’ brushi ‘

A dash of glossy paint for the shiny leather parts

61
 Painting Horses
A tableau or a diorama with people in it
also needs accessories. The horse counts as
an accessory, in that he is almost always
present in scenes of events that happened
before the year 1900, but horses, along
with other animals, are almost as difficult
to paint well as they are to draw. A horse
is not the same colour all over. The under¬
side and hindquarters have lighter fur than
the back. When you are painting horses, to
avoid mistakes you must refer to books
and postcards. A grey horse, for instance,
is usually dappled. The direction of the
hair plays an important part in what a
horse looks like. Model-makers who want
to create scenes with numbers of horses
should refer to the work of Monsieur
Leliepvre of the Historex company. He
Assembly of horses has made an exhaustive study of ways to
Right half of head paint horses.

Forelock

Right half of body

Present-day Scenes with Figures
While there is an enormous choice of
figures for making historical tableaux,
Mane
modem figures are mostly soldiers from
Left half of head 1939-45. Civilians and famous people of
our time are occasionally available in
metal alloy. All the techniques of assemb¬
Left half of body
ling and painting the figures are the same
as for the historical kind. Tamyia, Heller,
Esci, and Preiser make figures on the
following scales: 1/9, 1/25, 1/35 and 1/72.
For correct assembly, select the appropriate halves from those available
On the smaller scales, a human figure

Examples of harness assemblies

2 — Hungarian style
English style
docked tail

The so-called
‘undocked’ tail

62
really only acts as a realistic touch for the For scenes that happen indoors, the
model that he is in. Details cannot really ground is left flat; while for exterior scenes
be achieved at 1/90 or 1/35. Modern (see part 4 of this book) it is slightly
figures, no matter what the scale, have one inclined. With an interior scene, the
great advantage: they can be part of a ceiling slopes. As in a drawing, all planes
scene that is simply full of things— above the theoretical horizon line should
vehicles, aeroplanes, military and civilian be angled so that they would converge. It
accessories, outdoor scenery. is easy to do. Just make a sketch on a piece
of drawing paper, the same size as the
The Surrounding Scenery tableau. Extend the lines on the sketch to
In the fourth part of this book, we shall the vanishing point, and apply them to the
deal with scenery in general. In the three-dimensional model. A few pencil
narrower field of settings for figures, we strokes will provide guide-lines. Following
shall confine ourselves to general atmos¬ the sketch, the entire scene will be built on
phere since the scenery will always be the principle of ‘trompe l’oeil’, or false
large-scale—a street comer, a room, an perspective. Only the vertical lines will
inn, a forest clearing. remain unchanged.
A small tableau with figures can be 20 to You must decide where in the scene to
25cm and 45 to 60cm long. At 1/25 and place each figure. Having decided, take a
1/35 the number of figures can vary from sharp point or a pin, heat it, and stick it
10 to 15. You can buy various accessories into the base or the foot of the figure. The
as ‘props’—crockery, furniture, lamps— plastic will melt and re-harden. This will
as well as basic scenery blocks which you ensure a perfect join between the figure
can paint. The rest is left up to the artist’s and the ground of your tableau. You
imagination. should also make a tiny hole in the ground

Brush strokes should follow direction of hair

Light area, or ‘blaze’ on front part of face

63
Facing page: for the pin. This procedure eliminates the do not forget that a tableau in a glass case
Above: The model-maker’s need for pedestals and gives your figures will only be seen from one side, so place
talent can really blossom in the stability. The ground can be made of card¬ your figures accordingly.
assembly of small tableaux. The
board or anything else. Avoid trying to
one illustrated here uses
make tile floors because the perspective Special Paints for Figures
Historex figures.
Below: The irresistible attrac¬ problems will drive you mad! The use of Besides the matt and gloss paints available
tion of what used to be called pressed cardboard for bricks, walls and for different kinds of models, there are
‘lead soldiers’. Today they are tiles makes the work easier but, if possible, paints specially developed for use on lead
usually made of moulded
its natural shininess should be dulled by a or plastic figures. They enable colours on
plastic. They have become
coat of paint. models to come very close to looking like
extremely popular in Great
Britain, France and Belgium. For small exterior scenes, relief features the real thing. Their exact hues were
Putting them together and can be made with paper mixed with cellu¬ selected after consultation with braid-
painting them is excellent makers, the textile industry, dyers and
lose or glue, well mashed-up to make a
training: if you can do a diffi¬
malleable putty. Finishing can be done military tailors. There are some fifty
cult job, you can certainly do an
with a vinyl or cellulose coating, which is shades for figures, as well as a certain
easy one!
far more practical than traditional plaster. number of standard contemporary military
When positioning your accessories, your colours (Afrika Korps, fieldgrey, khaki).
vehicles (see below) and your figures, do There is also a range of special colours for
not squash them together and do not horses.
scatter them too widely—both of these
...and other items
things are equally to be avoided. Finally,
You can finish off your figures successfully
GOOD if you have everything you need. Apart
from paints, there are special cloths for the
flocking of figures (see the chapter on
Scenery for Flocking). They come in
black, blue, white, red, green, brown and
yellow. There is also fine leather for
making shoulder belts, saddlebags and
saddles. Although we mention these
materials here because they are essential
for painting figures, they are useful for
other models too.

Deciding whether to ‘Age’ your Figures

In the course of this book we shall come
Area of secondary Area of principal attraction Uniform area of
attraction secondary importance across various ways of ‘ageing’ models.
With figures, it may be a question of
making them look as though they belong
to a particular era, rather than actually
POOR making them look old. In the same way, a
photograph or a postcard can look
weighed down by the years. Soldiers at
Waterloo or Monte Cassino shouldn’t look
spick and span! If you have used oil paint
on your figures, let it dry completely and
then apply a further (diluted) coat. You
might use, for example, a drop of tri¬
chloroethylene, or acetone and a little
brown paint. Try it out on a piece of paper.
If it’s transparent, but quite visible, the
mixture is right. Paint it on the figures.
This will give him a ‘patina’. Then wipe the
relief features. With water-colours, the
same effect can be achieved simply by
No area of principal attraction: the eye wanders going over him with a brush dipped in
water.

64
Shown on these two pages is
one of the most remarkable
models to appear in recent
years: the 1932 Alfa-Romeo
(scale 1/8). A dash-board switch
lights the headlamps. All
moving parts actually work, but
don't go for this one unless you
are very patient. Of Italian
origin and made by Pocher, this
kit fascinates model-makers the
world over. The lower photo¬
graph shows engine details (8
cylinders, 2.3 litres on the
original). Note the fine details,
including real piano hinges.
Details of the Art Collection
Auto Bugatti 51. A handsome
piece, much sought after by
collectors since only a few were
made, a reproduction of the
famous blue record breaking car
of 1927-31.
Making and Displaying Cars
We really ought to have said ‘vintage cars’ for very long.
because, apart from modem racing and ‘Drag’ and ‘street’ machines must be
sports cars, vintage cars are the main dealt with separately—as must ‘hot rods’,
interest. There are plastic and metal which have their own slightly crazy comer.
models available in all kinds of scale. We A company like Monogram offers about
shall deal with the miniature ones later twenty different models, but for the
on—from 1/43 to about 1/72, which are the serious model-maker, these rather far-out
same sizes as normal toys. models can be used as a basis for building a
The most widely available models are highly personalized car. It is rather like
obtainable in the following scales: 1/18 someone who restores antiques searching
(Hubley), 1/24 (Monogram), 1/25 (i IT) the markets for the one piece missing.
and 1/32 (Revell, Hobby Kit). There are a Choosing from what is available, one
few rare makes available in large scales, can find the exact parts for, or come very
such as the Triumph and Alfa-Romeo (by close to, the following models:
Fulgurex, Pocher, and Heller), and some 1955 Chevrolet, Simca 5 (using a
more recent models like the Tamyia Hobby-Fiat kit), 1957 Chevrolet Cor¬
Datsuns at 1/12. vette, Volkswagen Cub, various Ford
pick-ups (1932, 1934, 1936 and 1940),
1930 and 1932 Ford cabriolets, and 1936
The Models Available and 1938 Ford coupes and cabriolets.
About fifteen years ago, about all you We would point out to those who are really
could find were construction kits for bitten that it ought to be possible to make
1900-10 cars (the model-T Ford, Mercer a 1938 Renault Celtaquatre with the parts
etc.). Many of these models are no longer of a 1936 Ford. There’s a certain family
available today. Some of them reappear resemblance....
occasionally, at the whim of a manufac¬
turer or an importer. In their 1975 cata¬ And what about Metal Car Construction
logue, Hobby Kit announced a beautiful Kits?
1912 Hispano Suiza, a 1910 Buick, a 1908 These are dealt with here, because the
Lanchester, a 1911 steam-powered selection of models is not very great—
Stanley, a 1915 Ford, the 1913 Rolls Royce various 1930—2 Fords and Chevrolets, a
and a Packard—all at 1/32. Packard and a Duisenberg, all at 1/20.
Cars of the 1928-40 vintage are less They are generally less well made than
rare than the older models. All, or nearly cars made entirely out of plastic. This
all, are based on American cars—1930-4 remark does not, however, apply to large-
Ford and Chevrolets (Hobby Kit), or scale models made out of both materials.
classics which we list here: The parts are moulded, so they have to be
various different Duisenbergs, the filed and then smoothed. Be that as it may,
Bugatti Royale, the Packard landau and assembly is extremely easy since it is done
saloon, Rolls Royce, the Lincoln Conti¬ with screws of three different sizes. The
nental, Cadillac, Mercedes, all 1930-40 number of parts is also limited, there being
vintage (made by Monogram, Hobby no more than thirty or forty. Painting is
Kit and Johan). done just as for any metal, after removal
These are high-quality models, and they of grease with trichloroethylene. The
lend a certain uniformity to a collection. notes that follow below, dealing with
Having put together a good number of improvements to model cars, apply
them ourselves, we are able to say that equally to 1/20 models. One overall diffe¬
they have no major defects in moulding, rence is that detailed work is easier on the
and that assembly poses no insurmount¬ latter. We would not really advise model-
able problems—except perhaps with makers to use acrylic paint on matt sur¬
respect to working steering wheels, on the faces, or matt paints on the underside of a
Duisenberg in particular, which never last chassis, a soft-top, or material etc.
 Cars of the 1950s France. In the United States, all colours
Certain manufacturers have brought back were used from 1936, with a predominance
easy-to-assemble models of 1949—53 cars, of white and metallic hues—bright metallic
including Fords, Chevrolets, Mercurys, green and metallic blue. Some enthusiasts
Lincolns and various English and Italian had blood-coloured or garnet-red cars.
cars. They are easy to assemble, and suffi¬ The predominant colours of English cars
ciently accurate that you will not be dis¬ were dark green or midnight blue. In
appointed. Another advantage is that Germany they were frequently metallic
there are enough of them to start a grey-green or grey, and sometimes dark
collection, but what a pity they are not all green.
on the same scale! Among the best large- After the war and until 1950, black
scale models of the 1950s are the ’49 Ford, remained the predominant colour in
the Mercury of the same year, and the France. Blue-greys, light greens and
1950 Chevrolet coupe. beiges then began to appear. 1956-60 saw
the two-tone fashion for cars in western
countries, although they first appeared in
Choosing the Colonr for your
the States in 1951. In the States from
Model Cars 1955-60 the colours ran riot—violet, lilac,
Sometimes manufacturers sell car models sulphur yellow, apple green—and Europe
roughly the same colour as the real thing, followed suit almost at once. It is worth
but usually this is only the colour of the noting that model cars can be sprayed with
moulded plastic and, of course, you should genuine car paint (black in particular),
not just use any old colour on any old car. provided a suitable undercoat is used first
to help it adhere properly.
The Period 1920—60
Before the appearance of the first black Interior Upholstery etc.
closed car when Ford went into mass From 1920 to about 1940, sports cars had
production, cars were gaily coloured— leather interiors—black, brown, beige, red
green, red, blue—black being a supple¬ or blue, depending on the car. 1920—30
mentary colour only. From 1925 to 1940, limousines were almost always done in
cars mass-produced in Europe had rather grey or beige material. Dark tan velvet
gloomy colours: basically black, navy blue, first appeared around 1932 and made car
‘gosling green’, Prussian blue, sea-green, interiors look rather gloomy. Colours got
bordeaux, and chocolate. Only sports cars brighter just before the war and interiors
came in lighter colours—almond green, became light brown, rich red (material or
light green, sandy-grey and dove-grey in leather), or light beige.

Bonnet opens and closes by

A touch of paint means of strips of adhesive
for the headlight bulbs

Score here for folding

Subjecting tyres to
‘wear and tear’

66
Giving a ‘vintage’ look to a vintage model

Lighter shading on the folds of the hood A drop of oil on the inner surface of the windscreen

Engine compartment should be dusty-looking

67
 2
1930-50—the Golden Age of
the Automobile. Cars of this
period yield the most exciting
models. (1) The underside of an
Alfa. (2) A Bugatti, the most
amazing car of all time. Most
scale-model companies are
interested in it. The 1932-3
Bugatti could reach llOmph
(175kph). (3) An 812 Cord,
little known in Europe. The first
American front-wheel-drive car.
A real collector's item.
(4), (5) and (6) The vintage car
model-maker adds the finishing
touches with the help of photo¬
graphs, taken in museums and
exhibitions, to which he can
refer. (7) Interior finishing can
be difficult, involving
considerable dexterity—micro
stitching, for example! Take
your choice. 3

68
Making Improvements to
1930—50 Models
We have chosen this particular period
because the cars of that time have a
number of points in common: bodywork is
always done in glossy monochrome, occa¬
sionally in two-tone from about 1950, and
the tyres are often white-walled. From
1946 onwards, separate wings with run¬
ning-boards disappeared, making way for
the streamlined look. The wings were
absorbed into the body proper. Convert¬
ibles are particularly attractive as interior
details can be worked on more easily.

69
 Windows, doors and openings: The out of black drawing paper and glue them
accessories that come with kits are often into the space left empty between door and
too large and difficult to position. They bodywork. There should be between 1/4
can be replaced by thin pieces of rhodoid, and l/2cm play. This technique can also be
as we shall see in the case of small cars. used for convertible hoods and rear boot-
Sun visors are frequently omitted from lids. With four-door models, we do not
lists of necessary accessories. Carpeting of recommend making them all operational,
the interior of a car can be done either with as this will tend to weaken the body
material or with blotting-paper that has generally.
been dipped into acrylic paint of the right Finally, the real ‘nut’ who wants roll-
colour. Between 1930 and 1950, car down windows can do it as follows: if the
interiors were almost always either beige car has window-handles, make a hole in
or brown. the inside of the door. Cut an eccentric
Some experts change fixed doors into circle out of cardboard. Slide this down
doors that open. This is a long and ticklish between the two halves of the door. With a
job. All the moulding in the hinge end of pin fix the handle in line with the hole in
the door has to be worked on with the the door, and catch the cardboard too. It
pointed X-Acto tool. When you have may not work for ever, but turning the
almost cut through it, hold the inside of the handle ought to raise and lower the piece
door over an alcohol lamp (about 15cm of rhodoid cut in the shape of a window.
above it) to soften it, and continue cutting.
Once there is an opening, you can Interior: The major defect of most
continue with a jeweller’s saw. You must instructions is that they tell you to use the
then either replace the carpeting or alter same colour throughout. In fact, when you
it, and then make hinges and joints with look inside a car, metal, wood and
Pocher used one of the rare
extra bits of plastic. An easier but less material have very different reflections
Mercedes 500s still in existence
to make this dash-board (scale robust answer is to use double-sided and textures. Usually the plastic pieces
1/8). Note the ignition keys. adhesive tape. Cut rubber sealing strips representing chrome are too big (mirror,

70
 Engine and mechanical parts: Apart from Next page: Models of two cele¬
window-handles, door-handles, buttons,
brated 1939 - 45 wartime
air-vents etc.). Rather than cutting them a few details like the radiator motif, the
vehicles, the Opel Blitz half¬
down to their correct size, proceed as distributor head, the battery and the track, and the Russian Gaz
follows. Take hold of each piece in an alli¬ heating system, everything should be rocket-launcher. The Gaz was a
gator clip—or, before cutting it off from its painted in matt colours. Here too we want modification of the American
to see variations in greys and beiges, 1942 GMC, and the Opel
‘tree’, redraw it with a thin black paint
(affiliated to General Motors)
line. This applies especially to wind-screen according to dustiness, age, or simple
was based on the 1936—7
wipers: paint the blades black with a 00’ reflection of light. Varieties of electrical Chevrolet—a strange
brush (the rubber part), and the arms wiring can be done in sewing-thread reconciliation!
silver-grey. (black), impregnated with liquid trans¬
Between 1930 and 1938, American cars parent glue to give it substance. Thin
had dash-boards made of painted metal, electric wire, of the kind used for electric
shiny or matt, so few or no changes are trains or for large-scale electric models, is
necessary. From 1939 to 1942, and from suitable for the various water-pipes and
1946 to 1950, imitation wood was used. To hoses. Plastic housings and sheeting that
get this effect, paint the whole dash-board seem over-sized (underneath the car, for
brown (‘O’ brush) and then, with a ‘00’, example) can be replaced by 223g/m2
give a few tiny touches of beige and shiny drawing paper (stout). Finally, screws and
bright chestnut-colour. Follow this with a bolts can be represented by a little touch of
gloss coat (cream paint mixed equally with silver paint mixed equally with acetone to
thinner), and finally a light varnish to give it a matt appearance.
make the whole thing shine. Still on dash¬
boards, remember that switches and Modifications to Cars or Lorries
buttons were made of an almost yellow-
coloured ivory plastic. Carpeting is We are entering now the realms of art and
painted as follows: a thick undercoat, high technique. We are talking, for exam¬
then deeper overpainting in the folds and ple, of making a one-off model from a
lighter touches on the prominent parts. All standard kit, a convertible from a saloon
the techniques of painting clothing men¬ car, or vice-versa, or a vehicle that was
tioned earlier apply equally to the interior adapted and used in the 1939—45 war. In At bottom of page: A modern
those days, model-makers started with American long-distance truck.
decor of cars.
many vintage models that can be much
modified. However, certain military tran¬
sport vehicles can be successfully altered
to look like post-war vehicles; for
example, the Opel Blitz (Italerei, scale
1/35) from the Horch KF215 (1/35).
Incidentally this model may be used as a
foundation for the famous Russian all-
terrain GAZ. Another example: the
Krauss-Maffei 8-ton artillery transporter,
which can be made into a truck (Italerei
and Tamyia). The Monogram 2.5 GMC,
the 1/72 Esci 4X4 Dodge, the 4 X 4
Horch, the Chevrolet 30-cwt and the Esci
1/72 Opel Blitz—these are all considered
useful foundations, or as sources of
replacement parts for civilian models.

Materials to Use
Modifications involving only plastic
present no real problems if it is only a
question of cutting, opening, shaping,
shortening or narrowing. On the other
hand, adding material is rather more
tricky. If a model is to be transformed,
first set aside the pieces. Make a prelimi¬
nary assembly of the body and the chassis
with little bits of adhesive tape. Then on
drawing paper or, even better, on graph
paper, project vertically and horizontally
the overall dimensions of the pieces to be
joined. Using this drawing, now make a
tracing from which you can make either
the
in

>r
plastic. They help for example in recon¬
structing a chassis. Strips of wood (poplar,
mahogany, balsa) will do for planks, l — Cut to
boards or tool boxes. To make tonneau- desired length
covers and tarpaulins, first fashion a little plus V'4 mm
supporting frame in thin metal wire (pre¬
ferably brass as it is the most supple),
straightening it out with pliers and solder¬
ing on one or two cross-pieces as neces¬
sary. Now cover this frame with gauze,
moist blotting-paper, or silk—already
painted the desired colours.
If you use blotting-paper, be sure to
stretch it well so that it hugs the frame
while drying. We recommend indelible
paint beforehand, so that the whole thing
can then be soaked to ensure close fitting.
Using the real thing—material, leather,
metal, wood, which all have a certain
thickness—is only a good idea with large-
scale models (at least 1/16). Apart from
Bend into shape
anything else, these materials cause
ungainly imbalances of volume. That is
why we commend paper, thin strips of
wood, and fine substances such as gauze. 4 — Hold in position
with tweezers, apply
Ballast — A Useful Trick glue and press tightly
All plastic models without exception have
one fault which is at the same time an
advantage: they are too light. A model
may be beautifully painted and finished,
but it is a disappointment when you pick it
up. So the addition of ballast, to create an
illusion of weight, seems a good idea.
Ballasting must be planned at the same
time as assembly. The instructions tell you
how to join all the components, one by
one—and of course there will be empty
spaces. Two very common substances can
be used as ballast: household filler or
modelling clay. For example, to a model
weighing lOOgm (experiment done on a
1/35 1936 Ford made by Monogram), we
added 80 to lOOgm of ballast. By doubling
the weight of the vehicle, we gave it a real
‘metallic’ feel. This is useful for tractors,
tanks, guns, cars or motorcycles. It is
superfluous for aeroplanes, because you
never expect them to feel heavy anyway!
Take care that the ballast is well hidden
and evenly distributed. Soldering wire, or
fuse wire inserted into long components,
with clay wrapped round it, will add
weight to a chassis or a cross-piece. Of
course, ballasting is only worthwhile for Using metal wire to make tank antennae

models which may one day be picked up.

73
 Conversions using cartridge paper

Pen and ink tracing of the modified component

220g/m1 2 paper

Cutting out the converted model with an X-Acto tool

The paper cut-out is reinforced with struts

and cross-pieces to make it stiffer
Example of tank turret-base Showing glueing strips

In this case, cartridge paper is used in conjunction with plastic

1 — Fixing of exterior items: louvres, mirrors etc.

2 — Interior alterations and modifications

Cellulose for the tarpaulin

3 — Bumpers

4 Different kinds of
—

goods container

5 — Fuel tanks and mud-guards

74
 Scale-model making can be an
excellent introduction to
engineering, not to mention a
lesson in humility: given a
chance, mechanics of forty years
ago performed miracles. Here, a
detail of the pre-1940 Mercedes
500s 8-cylinder-in-line overhead-
valve engine.

Displaying Scale-Models of Cars

Everything we have said about displaying medium-sized models, one can add a bit of
miniature cars (1/43 to 1/72) applies to window-dressing. Take a frame of the kind
models between 1/25 and 1/32, provided used to display butterflies and decorate the
you have room. In general, you will be inside. Place the model car in it, plus one
restricted to fairly restrained scenes: the or two accessories, such as a bench, a lamp
end of a race, a garage on Sunday evening, or a human figure. This will make for an
a stand at the motor show. Glass-case exquisite little tableau. Eight or ten of
display is also very attractive. With these in a room can have a beautiful effect.

75
 Improving on and Transforming Miniature Modifying Bodywork and Chassis
Vehicles 1/48 models are made of two ingredients—
zamak (a zinc and aluminium alloy), and
Over the last twenty-five years there have injected plastic. Like any soft alloy, zamak
been enormous improvements with regard can be drilled and sawn. Thus a saloon car
to the accuracy and the finish of mini¬ can be converted into a convertible
atures, toy cars and other vehicles. Some without major difficulty. Cutting-down can
of them indeed are so lifelike that young always be done with a fine-toothed saw
and not-so-young collectors do not hesitate and a soft triangular file. Finishing is done
to enthuse over them. with emery paper. Mouldings, headings,
handles and bolts on the original are some¬
Models on the Market times too hidden to make any visual
There are so many makes that it would be difference, and sometimes forgotten
foolish to try to list them all, but certain because they posed moulding problems.
broad categories emerge from the ranges There is a special knack to etching. First,
available. The most common scale of all is the surface must be thoroughly scraped
1/43, which corresponds to the ‘0’ class in and cleaned. Apply a thin coat of varnish
model railways. On this scale, a human to the metal or plastic. On this use a pencil
figure works out at about 3.5cm tall. There to trace the shape to be etched. Then, with
are also some models at 1/50 and 1/72. a hard cutting-tool, go over the pencilled
These are usually trucks, plant vehicles or outline so as to leave a small furrow in the
military machines. As far as precision is surface. Remove the film of varnish. Only
concerned, there seems to be a certain the scooping out now remains to be done.
anarchy abroad because the same model, Take a triangular-pointed tool. This kind
supposed to be on the same sclae, some¬ of modification is always easier on metal
times varies as much as 15 to 20 per cent in than on plastic. Metal surfaces must
its dimensions. The basic categories, both always be cleaned with trichloroethylene,
for collecting and for making into other both before and after. ShopTought models
things, are these: can be improved as follows: Make the
—production and sports cars; doors and windows slightly smaller, and
—racing and rally cars; file down and polish any pieces that are too
—military and armoured vehicles; large.
—fire engines;
—vintage cars; Windows and openings: The rather thick
—trucks; pieces of plastic used nowadays can well be
—plant vehicles. replaced by thin rhodoid. There is no
Each class has its own particular problems problem cutting this with an ordinary
of research and compatibility. Many tech¬ blade. On a screw-jointed model, you have
niques that apply to the ‘large’ models only to undo the various parts of the
(1/8, 1/16, 1/35) can be used on these bodywork to get at the transparent compo¬
standard products but, at the same time, nents. In other cases, you will have to dis¬
certain special cases do arise. mantle and be prepared to re-assemble the
bodywork. Remove the original windows
and lay them on top of the rhodoid, to
Information and Documentation enable accurate cutting with a blade or
Before modifying a present-day vehicle, sharp scissors. Use tweezers and a drop of
you need brochures and technical publica¬ glue to fix.
tions concerning the vehicle. For cars and
trucks, simple magazines and maintenance Wheels: Although there have been great
guides should suffice. For military equip¬ advances in moulding, the wheels of all
ment and plant vehicles, you must refer to miniature vehicles can do with improve¬
highly specialized publications. In the case ment. The areas which are to remain
of vintage cars, there are various chromed should be masked with Maskol.
bookshops equipped to supply model- Paint the remaining parts with matt paint.
makers with diagrams and old The tyres (previously removed) should be
maintenance and repair guides. given a light coat of thinner to make them

76
more matt-looking. Wipe off immediately With elaborately-moulded wheels, start
afterwards and examine the effect, as they off with a dark undercoat, going on to
are not always made of the same materials. lighter touches.
Always use a '00' or an 'O' brush to paint
wheel details. Interiors: All sorts of improvements can
Grip the model in a small vice. Apply be made in this area. Cushions, seats and
paint with the right-hand in thin layers, upholstery should all be painted a matt
turning the rim on its axis with the shade, as well as the carpeting and uphol¬
left-hand (thumb or index finger). This stery on the insides of the doors. A better
enables you to work to within a tenth of a floor covering will result if you use a car¬
millimetre. Another method is to fit the tridge paper cut-out—which can also be
axle onto a mini-drill, which can then be used for the mirror and sun-visors. Dash¬
turned as light touches of paint are board painting should be done with a '00
applied. This method works for tyres as brush.
well as for the wheels themselves.

There was something fascinating

about the Bugatti dash-boards —

especially the touring model's,

which deserves special attention.
Heller’s 15TA Citroen, a new¬
comer in the large-scale range,
is both handsome and accurate,
and made entirely of plastic.
The thousands of Citroen fans
will be pleased. Note the bonnet
raised to reveal the large 6
cylinder 78 x 100 engine
developing 77hp. This car
continued to be made,
unchanged, from 1939 to 1954.

77
 Exterior accessories: Unlike most models vehicles. A few points of detail to
you can buy, cars are seldom all one note: tarpaulins and other coverings can
colour. More detail will be added if you be replaced by or covered with pieces of
paint joints, hinges and radiator grille in a fine silk painted camouflage colours, and a
light matt grey. Wings and mudguards can radio antenna can be made from a suitably
be the same colour as the bodywork, but painted synthetic broom-bristle. Camou¬
matt not glossy. On large vehicles, you can flage netting can be made of painted crepe.
add piano or copper wire under the chassis Military tools (shovels, pick-axes etc.) can
for the various pipe and leads. Larger be drawn on cartridge paper, cut out, and
pipes can be made from the kind of plastic glued in the right positions. Home-made
tubing used for washing-lines. Finally, accessories generally need to be
windscreen-wipers can be made from added: maintenance-catches, reflectors,
extra-thin copper or brass wire. convoy lights etc. You can buy (at 1/72)
adhesive or transfer lettering for tanks and
Military vehicles — a special case: All the aeroplanes. Either can also be used effec¬
techniques suggested for plastic models tively on other military vehicles.
can, of course, apply equally to military

Facing page 80:

Above: Alfa-Romeo racing
car.
Below: Mack articulated truck
for transporting trees. Note the
boom and wheel assembly on
the rear of the truck. A fine
piece of modern equipment.

Page 80: Details of the

Heller 1950-1 15TA Citroen.
Note the accuracy of the dash¬
board accessories, and the fine
tread on the Michelin tyres. This
1/8 model is 59cm long, 22cm
wide, and has 1061 separate
components.

Museums are a unique source of

information for the model car
enthusiast. These pictures were
taken at the Saint-Dizier
museum, France.

78
 Sign painted in balsa-wood

Cellulose for the awning

Rhodoid sheeting used for notices in the window

AO

w
PREMIER
embueco&e.
Cartridge paper for the front
dt
&U.LARD

Background painted on two or three layers of paper and stuck with glue

Scale-model street lamp (from Brawa, Tamyia, Busch etc.)

Final assembly of the model

Figures

Bush made of foam

Moulded plaster for surface

1.6 to 2 times the length of the principal model

79
 Display of 1/43 and 1/72 Models (See also
chapter on Scenery)

These popular models, which you can

modify yourself, have one major
advantage: they do not take up much
room. They can be displayed on a shelf, or
in a glass case, as in a museum. You can
get some twenty cars into one metre. At
1/43 you can also put together some
striking little tableaux. You can obtain
plastic human figures and build up a
pleasing scene—for electric trains (light¬
ing, buildings, countryside) or for any
other kind of model.
We should point out, to those who want
to create dioramas with perspective
effects, that you can use small models in
the background and 1/35 models in the
foreground. A motor-race, a cross-roads
at six in the evening, or a major work-site
would all make good dioramas—and your
imagination can take over. (See also the
use of different materials for scenery).
Diorama dimensions: minimum depth of
25 to 30cm; frontal length 50 to 60cm (over
100cm is too long except for very large
models); height 15 to 20cm is usually
enough. For a very precise small-scale
scene, 20 to 25cm would do.

Models of the Past — A Brief Look

This is not supposed to be a complete and
exhaustive catalogue of past models. We
are keeping simply to the principal model
cars made between 1939 and 1955, particu¬
larly the most common ones. To begin
with they were made of zamak, not plastic.

Pre-1940
The Dinky Toys sold by Meccano were
almost exactly the same as those sold after
the war. Apart from the wheels, they were
remarkable for their time. The Dinky
range comprised a 2-seater convertible and
a 4-seater convertible (similar to the
Triumphs and MGs of 1935-40), a 2-door
coupe and a limousine. The wheels were in
white rubber. The range also included
lorries on a smaller scale (about 1/80), a
cattle-truck, a flat-bed truck and an Esso
petrol tanker. Just before the War, Dinky
added the very accurate Simca 5 and
Peugeot 402 to their range. There were
also taxis—blue, yellow, or two-tone
cream and maroon.

80
(.For captions see p. 78)
Right-hand page: The Pocher
Mercedes 500, the prestige car
of Hitler's Germany.

:
 Solido too supplied models only of con¬ Peugeot 203, the Citroen 2CV etc. As well
temporary cars. Their range included a as the range of small-scale models, during
touring coupe, a convertible (which the 50s Dinky also brought out industrial
worked), a saloon and a street-car—all vehicles on a larger-scale: the Dumper,
rather American-inspired. During the War cranes, Massey Harris tractors.
manufacture continued, although they So we come to the present-day. Immedi¬
Facing page: Heller, Tamyia
were all blue-grey in colour. ately after the War, Solido continued to and various other companies
There were certain brands—Vebe and produce their pre-war models and added make interesting models of
others now forgotten—that were various other cars inspired by the Simca 8, Honda motorcycles. The same
goes for 1939 - 45 military
extremely accurate. These were quality the Ford Vedette and the Fiat 1400, all
motorcycles.
products that were worth having: a made between 1948 and 1952. Then they
Below: An ESCI BMW.
Parisian street-car, a Renault bus and moved into larger scales—the Fregate, the Motorcycle models are generally
truck, on scales of about 1/35 to 1/40. Then Packer and the Studebaker, but these were fairly large-scale.
there were the toys that were reproduc¬ still only toys. Around 1951-2, new brand-
tions of actual vehicles, such as the names started to appear—Juvaquatre, Below: Pocher model of the
Renault Viva Grand Tourer and the Celta- Prairie-Renault, the Renault Bulldog 1932 Alfa-Romeo Gran

quatre, Citroen toys, the 3.5-ton Renault truck under the CIJ name. These Turismo.

etc.

1945-65
People have been collecting the toys of this
period for many years. Immediately after
the War the Dinky range was enriched by
a string of Ford lorries (flat-beds, tankers,
rubbish trucks), and also by a handsome
range of Studebaker utility trucks—in fact
the models made available under the
Marshall Plan. As for cars there were also
a number of American models: a Packard
with a driver inside, a 2-door Chrysler
coupe. Then, enter the new generation of
cars—the Simca Sport (1948 — 50), the

81
Pure delight: close-up of a
Bugatti wheel and brake
mechanism. The detail here is
so subtle that we are halfway
between cars and motorbikes!

handsome vehicles stiil turn up today in Suggested Reading Matter

old toy-boxes. It should be noted that If you are tempted by scale-models of cars
during the 1960s the Solido 1/43 cars came or military vehicles, you will want to know
back. Remarkably well finished, they more. Modellers’ supply shops carry well-
ushered miniature cars into the modern informed monthly reviews which keep the
era. Today, Solido make dozens of diffe¬ model-maker up-to-date with what’s going
rent models. A number of new companies on in the world. Apart from sections on
are reaching out toward new horizons. model making and what to buy, magazines
Their brand-names are about as numerous carry particularly authoritative reviews
as their scales, which vary from 1/60 to telling you everything you want to know
1/35! about model-making publications.

1/72 Construction Kits Large-Scale Model Cars

This scale is particularly valuable because
it is the standard-scale for a lot of aero¬ By large-scale, we mean no smaller than
planes, tanks and military figures. While 1/12. These models are so detailed that: on
the choice is not vast, nevertheless with the one hand a lot of time is needed on
cars constructed on this scale you can them, and on the other hand the tech¬
make tableaux and be sure of finding niques are very different from those we
everything you need for it. have covered so far. When undertaking a
Matchbox, the famous miniature toy large-scale model, take your time. You
company, brought out in 1976 a type 59 will need many days or even weeks of
Bugatti, an SS 100 Jaguar (1930-7), and a quiet work and undisturbed evenings. It’s
1931-3 Aston Martin Ulster, in addition not a question of putting together a
to a range of armoured vehicles, a field in collection efficiently, but rather of making
which there is huge competition. ESCI a few handsome pieces.
(Italy) also produce a lot of military equip¬
ment, including vehicles that can be The Models Available
assembled for either civilian or military Most components of these models are
tableaux—Opel trucks, the Kfzll made of plastic, but certain parts are metal
Half-Truck and staff cars. or rubber. The best-looking models at the

82
manufacturers of the scale-model have got real collector’s item, as it takes a long time
a real one, no doubt retrieved from the to assemble, to paint and to finish. The
western front. The Kettenkrad could carry BMW is used by the police in Germany,
three men and their equipment. Denmark, Holland, Turkey and France.
Tamyia make some marvellous present- We find the 1/6 Harley Davidson
day models at 1/16, including the civilian somewhat easier to assemble. The manu¬
and police versions of the Harley facturers provide a very precise set of
Davidson FL HI 100. Their quality leaves instructions which you follow step-by-step.
little to be desired, and the same is true of This seems to us a better system than the
their various Hondas. BMWs appear more old assembly diagrams.
frequently than most: vintage models At a scale of 1/8, Heller make the
(1939-45) are made at 1/9, while Heller following machines: the Laverda SF and
and Tamyia produce present-day models, SFC, the Norton Hi-Rider and SS, with
the R 75/5, the police R 75 and the R 90 S. 750 engine, the Norton 750 Commando,
The only difference between the two the BMW 750, and various Hondas and
brands is one of scale. The R 75/5, which Kawasakis. The 1/8 German police
we had occasion to build with friends, is a machine, made by Tamyia, has 350

A;

Models of present-day motor¬

bikes are not particularly easy to
assemble. Each of the many tiny
details can become a miniature
masterpiece.

85
 transformation. Assembling them does not
require any very special know-how. They
simply have to be done extremely care¬
fully, that’s all. No piece can be concealed,
the slightest slip will show. Transfers must
be stuck on especially carefully. This
process can be helped by the addition of a
drop of eau-de-Cologne or alcohol in the
bowl used for soaking them; it will help the
transfer to slip more easily into the correct
position. A simple wipe with a sponge or
chamois-leather cloth removes the surplus.
More than with any other kind of model,
glue must be used very sparingly. Select
the most liquid kind possible, and apply it
by brush. During assembly, do not be
afraid to use adhesive tape to hold
together pieces that have just been glued.
Detail of a U.S. army motor- separate parts. Revell also make a number When painting frames and other small
bike, the Harley Davidson. of machines at 1/8: the Kawasaki Mach parts, a quick and easy method is to hang
III, the Harley Davidson Electra, and the each piece to be painted on a thread and
Triumph Tiger. We must make particular use a spray-gun. Turn the piece as you
mention of this last machine, which dates paint, to achieve a uniform surface. When
from 1952. It is a real collector’s item, the it comes to complicated assemblies
only machine at the mid-point between involving several pieces, use a vice: it will
‘vintage’ motorcycles and the present-day. save you trouble. Remember too that if
Revell (whose products are exported to you have trouble shaping plastic lines and
the United States) also make various sorts casings correctly, they soften easily in
of Chopper. 60-70 °C water; use pliers to obtain the
desired shape and then dip them in cold
A Few Words About Motorcycle water (with an ice-cube in it). This makes
Construction Kits shaping them much easier. Otherwise, the
This 1/8 Heller model of a
Unlike other vehicles, motorcycles do not techniques that apply to other models
Laverda 750 SF motorcycle is
one of a series of twelve models. really lend themselves to modification or apply equally to motorcycles.

86
Constructing ait J
Military model making is enormously
popular. Combat tanks are particularly in ca
fashion at the moment. tY
For those interested in starting a codec- i
tion, we have tried in this chapter to give
an overall picture of the principal types
made between 1939 and 1970, with an
indication of the ones that are available in
scale-models (sometimes toys). They are
classified by nation.

Great Britain
British tanks look quite different from
American tanks. There are not many
1939-45 models on the market. Tamyia

market the Matilda Mk II and the Lee M.3

(1/35). The Matilda was an infantry tank
designed in 1937 and 2,987 were made up
to 1943. As for conversions, it is fun to use
this kit to make the Matilda Scorpion with
mine-protection, or the Matilda Amra Mk
I —A. The Lee tank—and its opposite
number the Grant, intended for the
British—appeared in 1941 and was the
predecessor of the famous Sherman. This
tank was also built in the United States.
The only difference in the English version
was in the turret. At 1/72, there are
models of the Valentine Mk III tank and
the Churchill Mk IV built between 1941
and 1945. There is a construction kit for
the A22F made in 1944. ESCI Polistil also
market the Matilda. More recent English
tanks are also available—the Centurion
and the Chieftain, which achieved fame in
Korea and the Middle East in 1973.
Available in 1/72, 1/35 and 1/25.

Germany
Of all the categories of scale-models,
Germany is best represented in tanks.
Almost the complete range from 1940 5
can be created, as follows:
—The Panzer Kampfwagen II (PKW II), a
Tamyia model. There are scale-models of
the prototypes (versions A, B and C)
made between 1937 and 1939. This tank
weighed 9.5 tons and had a crew of three, a
20mm canon and a 10.3mm machine-gun.
By using different wheels in the tracks you
can make the VK 1601 and Lynx models
built in 1942.
and remained so until May 1945. A 75mm
canon was standard. A slightly different
version, the Jagdpanzer self-propelled
gun, is available on the same base-plat¬
form from Tamyia, at 1/25 and 1/36.
—The PKW VI, the Tiger, originally
designed for combat on the Russian front,
where it was up against those redoubtable
Soviet tanks the T.34 and the KV 1. There
are models on three scales—1/25 (with
motor), 1/35 and 1/72.
—The PKW VI Tiger II (the Konigstiger),
built in November 1943. The first produc¬
tion models went into service a year after
the prototype. Up to May 1945, 484 tanks
of this type were built. They come in 1/35
and 1/72.
To make a German tank collection
really complete, Heller supplies construc¬
tion kits at 1/35 for tanks built since 1960—
in particular the Gepard 320 P and the
famous Leopard II and IV, widely con¬
sidered to be the best tanks in the world,
on a level with the French AMX 30 and the
new American GM tanks.

France
Most manufacturers of model tanks are
little interested in French tanks owing to
the relatively short involvement of French
armour in the 1939-40 campaigns, and the
fact that all armour stationed in France
from 1940 to 1945 was idle. Solido produce
various 1/72 models of the principal
French tanks of 1939 — 40—the Renault 35
and the Somua S.35. A survey of the tanks
of that time of course includes the Hotch¬
kiss B-1, D 2 and AMX 40, machines that
ought to be available as scale-models, but
only Heller appear to be showing any
interest in producing them.
After 1945, there were basically two
types of armour—the armoured scout-car
and the AMX. They first appeared in
1951. There are various versions of the
AMX 13 on a scale of 1/35, including the
155 self-propelled gun, tanks with 75mm
and 105mm cannon, anti-aircraft gun, and
the armoured personnel carrier used for
troop transport.
The AMX 30, of which the first real
prototype appeared in 1960, is now
standard equipment in the French army.
There is a 1/35 scale-model, in both
combat and anti-aircraft versions. The
connoisseur of French armour will notice
that none of the usual armoured unit ancil¬ in 1940. The name Stuart was used by the
lary vehicles are available at present—the Commonwealth armies, and M.3 by the
Berliet and Simca 5-ton trucks, Peugeot Americans (available in 1/35).
appliances, Someca trucks etc. For the —Present-day tanks. A number of Ameri¬
beginner, there are easy-to-assemble 1/72 can tanks are available in kits—the M.60,
versions of the AMX 13 and the AMX 30. the M.60 El and the Patton—in 1/72, 1/35
and 1/25.
The United States
The United States produced more tanks The U.S.S.R.
than any other nation during the Second Russian tanks were for a long time almost
World War, and is correspondingly well unknown to the model-maker. There are
represented in scale-models. two main models available in 1/35, the
—The M.3 tank, made in conjunction with famous T.34 and the K.V.l, the second
the Commonwealth, known as the Lee in less well-known than the first. It was the
the U.S.A. The best known version is the K.V.l that faced the German Tiger in 1942
M3 A2. Tamyia produce a 1/35 model. and 1943. The models are extremely
—The M.4 tank, better known as the accurate. There are other models in 1/35,
Sherman. A number of models (1/72, 1/43, including the T.44 and the K.V.85, made
1/35, 1/25 and 1/16) show the various by converting and modifying the first two.
stages of development of this, the best There is also a model of the I.S.3, the later
known American tank. The most fre¬ edition of the Stalin tank.
quently reproduced are the M4 A3 and the At 1/72 there are more recent tanks like
M4 A4 (Tamyia, Airfix, Monogram etc.). the SU. 100. These need a lot of conversion
(We must also make special mention of the and finishing off.
1/16 motorized version of the Sherman).
There are various scale-model versions of Japan
the M.4, including the rocket-launcher There are kits of certain rare models used
(Monogram). A number of well-tumed- during the 1939-45 war. At 1/35, the Type
out Solido 1/72 toys can be used for 97 Shinhoto-Chi medium tank, used in
conversions—not only the M.4, but also operation in 1942. It was armed with a
the open-turret Cruiser. 47mm cannon and two 7.7 machine-guns.
—The M.3 Stuart tank, lightweight, origi¬ Other Japanese 1939-45 tanks are not
nally equipped with a 37mm cannon and a available in scale-models. On the other
platform for a 105mm mortar. First made hand, one can get more recent machines,

Model of the Elefant self-

propelled gun. There are
various models of this hybrid
machine, the result of much
research. The entire wheel
assembly, in particular, was
intended for a prototype version
of the Tiger tank. The scale-
model is very impressive.

89
 such as the defensive M.B.71. This is Modification and Conversion of
rather similar to contemporary American Models
and European tanks, it carries a 105mm
cannon and is current Japanese army Whatever the scale being used, there are a
equipment. certain number of traditional tricks,
including the use of transfers, that help to
Italy individualize your armour. We have gone
There are plenty of Italian 1939—45 model through all the literature available and,
aeroplanes around, but nothing like so more important, the complete range of
many armoured vehicles. The M.13—40 is armoured vehicles built between 1936 and
one of the few models available in 1/35 and 1945 (hundreds of different models). We
1/72. First used in 1940, this tank under¬ have come to the conclusion that it is
went numerous modifications, and by 1942 possible to build your own highly individu¬
had changed a good deal. They only made alized models which nevertheless repro¬
82 of the final version. The Tamyia model duce what was actually made. Here,
is the African version, while ESCI has a country by country, are some armoured
more European edition at 1/72. vehicles that can be put together, using
what is available in the shops.
Other Countries
There are already scale-models of Swedish Canada
tanks. By burrowing into the records of Starting out with a Sherman kit, a Grant
This ‘giant’ Tamyia model tank various countries and reference works on kit, and the modified turret of a Russian
is a reproduction of one of the 1939-45 armour, and using the models K.V.l, you can make three different RAM
numerous Sherman M.4 tanks tanks—the Mk I, Mk II, and the
available as a base, it is possible to turn out
built between 1943 and 1946.
tanks of other nations—Czechoslovakia, Command Operational Tank.
This one has one of the latest
wheel assemblies. This 1/16 Poland, Australia and Canada, whose The Canadian tank was a hybrid Anglo-
scale-model has tread armour had certain features in common American/Canadian concept. It was made
components which must be with that of other machines. Furthermore, from 1941 to 1943. As for the Grizzly I
assembled one by one. Turret tank, it was the Canadian version of the
if you draw on historical documents you
and motor radio-controlled. The
will get some idea of the spoils of war and American M.4. The modification-conver¬
veritable prototype of the good
quality powered model. how tanks were often converted. sion is not very complicated.

90
Czechoslovakia tions in cannon and equipment that
There are models available of the Skoda appeared during the war. These various
and Tatra tanks used by the Germans conversions are easy, as is the substitution
between 1939 and 1945. ESCI makes the of a 3-inch gun on the Matilda.
T35 Skoda in 1/72. This kit will also make
the ST.39, in line with actual production— Italy
300 of these tanks were made to equip the The 13/40 medium tank, available in the
Czech army. Another piece of armoured shops, can be used for conversions into the
equipment, the LT.38 (Praga TNHP), can prototype Ansaldo L.3, or the 1939 M.II,
be made by using the Marder III incorpor¬ the platform and the track assemblies
ated into the German army (ESCI kit). remaining as they are: the changes are in
From 1942 onwards, Czech production was the superstructure. Modification can be
tied into German, to produce the Hetzers extended, to produce the observation
and Marders. The turret can be made from tank, or even the most complicated
a Tamyia M.13—40, while the chassis is version, the 15/42 with 47mm cannon to

that of a Panzer I. replace the 37mm.

Two details of the Jagdpanzer,
Germany the Wehrmacht’s self-propelled

The various 1/35 models available make it gun or howitzer. This 1/35
Tamyia model is particularly
possible to construct the various versions
well-made and easy to construct.
that were actually built between 1937 and
1943, starting with the Mk III and the Mk
IV. Using Panzer models, the various
versions can be made, including the D.l,
the D.2, the A, and even the observation
tank (the Beobachtungspanzer) with fixed
turret and gun, used by artillery officers.
The platform of the Elefant self-propelled
gun (available in various brands) can take
a Tiger turret to produce the P prototype
of this tank (dating from 1942). It should
be noted that apart from French and Czech
tanks, the Germans captured a number of
others in the course of action, and re¬
modelled them: the Russian T.34
became the T.34.747, the American M.4
became the M4.748, and the British
Matilda became the Mk. 11.748.

Great Britain
Beginning from standard models, it can be
interesting to build the special vehicles
that were used at the time of the 1944
Normandy landings. A number of strange-
looking machines were built, based on the
Sherman—the Crab, the Scorpion, the
Lobster, and the Lulu. These conversions
can be done with the help of plastic
sections, small chains and recovery
materials. The Valentine and Churchill
tanks underwent various modifications in
the course of production, some of them
external: modifications for river-crossing,
flame-throwing etc. Reference to works on
the history of armour will show the varia¬

91
 also be fitted with ‘hedge-trimmers’
(Normandy front, 1944). For those who
like to build their own personal models
from separate components, there are a
certain number of American tanks which
as far as we know are unobtainable in kit
form: the heavy M6A2 (1940-3), the
light M2 in its different versions, the light
M3 (Tamyia do a version of the Stuart
model, the platform and wheel and track
assemblies of which can be used for a
number of conversions), the light T.9, and
the tanks in the T.4 series. These last ones,
built between 1930 and 1937, served as
models for the designs of the first Russian
T.34s, and certain components of the T.34
can be used to make them, in particular
the wheels of the 1943 model.

The U.S.S.R.
Suspension detail of the Japan The various versions of the T.34, the KV I,
Sherman M.4 tank, Tamyia There are not many models available on the KV II and the SV.85 available in kit
large-scale. Faultless! the market. Using the Shinhoto Chiha form can be used as platforms for the con¬
(type 97 medium tank) as the basic plat¬ struction of the T.60-T.70 light tank
form, the best one can do is to convert the series. The parts of the T.36 will also do—
turret to make the 75mm cannon model just about—for the building of the T.26.
(type 3 Chin-Nu), which was equipped The wheel-train can be that of the KV II.
with a French Schneider gun. The Marder The T.32, a medium tank that preceded
III turret can be used for this conversion. the T.34, made in 1940, differs from it only
in its more sharply-angles turret and
Sweden shorter cannon. There are nine versions of
In 1938 the Czech TNH.SV. Skoda tank the T.34 itself. The T.43 was a develop¬
was ordered by the Swedish army. ment from it. Starting from a model of the
Delivery turned out to be impossible, but KVIC which is available, the very similar
Scania Vabis acquired the licence. Using IB can be built, as can the streamlined IS
the PzKFw I (German) and a Marder version (S for Skorostnoy, which means
(Czech-built for the Germans), you can high-speed). The KV.85 is essentially a
make a model of this tank, of which only KV.I platform with a modified, longer
238 were made. Using the PzKFw I turret. One could also attempt the con¬
bearing wheels, you can also build the struction of the famous Joseph Stalin
STRV.M 38. IS.85.

The U.S.A. Materials for Conversion of Tanks

The number of tanks derived from the
Sherman and the Lee are so numerous that The materials we have discussed for
there is no room to list them all here, but conversion jobs on cars are also suitable
the variations among the models available for military vehicles. However, moulding
mean that all sorts of permutations are is never a good idea. Plastic filler, better
possible, corresponding to modifications known as Body Putty, is preferred: this is a
that actually occurred. sort of plastic cement which can be used to
There are a number of things that can be change a component’s shape in order to
added to the various Sherman M.4 tanks, modify a turret, for example, or a cowling.
including a number of rocket-launchers Body Putty should not be over-used, but it
(the T34 E2, the T 72, the T40 etc.). Anti¬ is especially useful for made-to-measure
mine equipment used by the British army parts. It should be worked on when in
was also used on U.S. tanks. Sherman can position.

92
 Camouflage net

Winter camouflage

Mixture of light and dark colours from base to turret of the tank: white, green, brown

93
 On certain tanks, and especially on self- the matt shades that they recommend—
propelled guns like the Elefant and the but use between 10 and 30 per cent of
Jagdpanzer with poor visibility, the thinner to increase the washed-out
Germans used an anti-magnetic protective appearance. Real-life tanks never had
coating called ‘zimmerit’. This was bright colours.
intended to inhibit the planting of mines by
partisans, commandos and anti-tank units. Camouflage 1940—5
This coating can be rendered very well in Camouflage in the different armies varied
Body Putty, which is worked with the with military requirements and the
point of a tool. weather. So there was winter camouflage,
desert camouflage, and so on. The manu¬
Military Vehicle Camouflage facturers make recommendations with
their kits, but corrections are always
In this section we shall discuss both the necessary, and the model must be suited to
details of how to put camouflage on scale- the scene.
models, and the techniques worked out by When on operations, armoured vehicles
the various military authorities between and tanks were camouflaged with, as well
1939 and 1950. The traditional kind of as paint, foliage and branches, which were
camouflage was more or less abandoned changed daily. They were not just dumped
and then taken up again during the allied on, but fastened. For this, extra-fine metal
occupation of Germany and within wire can be strung along the sides of your
NATO. In the case of nuclear warfare, models to hold foliage etc. Sprigs of briar
camouflage presents problems when it can be used for the latter as they have a
comes to radiation protection. suitably twisted effect.
Camouflage nets can be made from fine
Camouflage 1939—40 netting dipped into a thinned mixture of
French army armoured vehicles were brown and green. Afterwards it should be
painted beige-khaki, the tanks being given stretched out to dry flat. When dry, paint
a basic camouflage of brown, beige, and certain parts again to make the colours a
olive-green. A look at contemporary bit more vivid, then apply a few drops of
photographs shows that there was not one glue to the netting and sprinkle with brown
but a number of kinds of camouflage. B and green flocking. The netting is now
and D tanks were painted with a jigsaw- ready for use.
puzzle patterned camouflage that was You can buy special transfers to be used
basically beige and green. On the Hs on tanks. These are often more suitable
(Hotchkiss) and the AMCs, the outlines of than those supplied with the kits. The
the camouflage were picked out in brown. ESCI and Italerei ranges satisfy just about
British army tanks had a similar kind of every need.
camouflage, with beige and brown being
used on the larger areas. Thanks to Ready-made Components for Building
German air supremacy between 1939 and Dioramas
1942, their armour at that time had no
camouflage at all. They used grey paint, These are basic components for military
and sometimes added foliage. Camouflage scenes, available in 1/72, 1/43, 1/48 and
is painted or sprayed onto armoured 1/32, relief-moulded, measuring about 40
vehicles, and the same techniques apply to by 20cm. They can be used for trenches,
scale-models. The air-brush can give very shell-holed roads, artillery positions and
good results if the body has been breastworks, operational landing strips,
thoroughly prepared. A good practice is to supply points, blockhouses, landing
Following page: Some small-
scale (1172) models. ESC I, use cut-out masks so the paint will not run beaches etc.
experts on this scale, offer a outside the desired area. Maskol can also Smaller models can be equally well used
large choice of vehicles and be used on the areas not to be painted; it in little tableaux. Standard dimensions are
armour.
can be removed afterwards with a pair of 26 by 11cm. There are bunkers, trenches,
Above: A scout car.
eyebrow tweezers. A kit generally includes bridges, barriers etc. While Airfix produce
Below: A Hanomag tracked
armoured car and an artillery instructions on camouflaging, and the ready-to-paint forts—Fort Apache, a
towing vehicle. paints to be used. As a general rule, use Middle Ages castle, Waterloo, a Roman

94
fort, etc., Armtec make scenery access¬ ‘Illustrated Record of German
ories at 1/76 (tools, weapons, spare parts). Equipment’ (War Office, London,
1947).
Reference works available in libraries Milson: ‘Russian Tanks (1900-70)’
which are useful for conversions: (London and Harrisburg, 1970).
‘Profils AFV’: English language edition,
Bellona Publications (Great Britain). with descriptions by model of British
Tanks and Combat Records’ (Aberdeen and German armour.
Proving Ground, Maryland, 1944). See also: The Royal Armoured Tanks
‘Handbook on German Military Forces' Corps Museum, Bovington, Dorset,
(War Department, Washington, 1945). Great Britain.

Constructing and nicn,°'nn<T

Military Vehicles
Armies have other vehicles besides tanks.
These days you can buy different kinds of
trucks, staff cars, self-propelled guns and
half-tracks in various scales—1/25, 1/32,
1/43, 1/48, 1/72 and 1/76. In these cate¬
gories, the vehicles are generally British
and American. Reconnaissance vehicles
are on the whole well represented, particu¬
larly those in service with the German and
American forces. Military trucks, on the
other hand, are not so common. It is
amazing that there are no models of the
various GMC trucks which did such
wonders for so long. Apart from the Opel
Blitz, Germany is poorly represented,
considering how many vehicles were made
by Daimler-Benz, Krupp, Krauss Maffei,
and Hanomag. The virtually international
Fords are also missing from the
catalogues.
Generally, when a tableau is being set
up, vehicles other than tanks play a
secondary role. Collections are of course
enhanced by small-calibre artillery pieces
and anti-aircraft guns, which are available
in profusion. Nevertheless, there are still
large gaps that remain to be filled.

Basic Colours for Military Vehicles

France: buff and khaki (1940).

U.S.A.: olive drab 613 brown and army
X-24087, olive drab no. 41 and zira
chromate.
Germany: Panzergrau (1939-43), 04
Gelb (official colour as from 1943).
 Constructing and Displaying Aeroplanes
There is a multitude of ready-to-construct Assembly and Modification
plastic scale-model aeroplane kits, on a All the techniques for assembly, glueing
host of different scales. The international and painting already discussed apply
brands are generally on the usual equally to aeroplanes. It is particularly
scales: 1/32, 1/43, 1/48, 1/55 and 1/72. important to make sure that glueing lines
There are also scales that vary somewhat, disappear with the help of Body Putty.
making it difficult to assemble a uniform Paint is applied in the ways we have
collection—scales like 1/54, 1/55, 1/60, covered already, with an airbrush, a spray
1/63. Larger machines are available in gun, or a brush. The transfers supplied are
Right-hand page, top: The ME scales varying between 1/80 and 1/100. Yet often mediocre or at best not very accu¬
262, first operational combat jet out nf -,11 this apparent chaos, it is still rate. Better to replace them with ABT,
(1944) * - ' ESCI, or Italerei products; there are also
micro-transfers—made by Micro Scale, ,
specially designed for each type of plane.
There are two areas that deserve special
attention: the cockpit, with its controls
and instruments; and the engine, in so far
as it will be seen (as with a jet, or a radial
engine). After painting, planes should be
finished in matt colour.
Conversion of standard kits into indivi¬
dual models, or as part of special series,
can be done as follows:

Fuselage: Polystyrene can stand

grinding, sawing and trimming. Very fine
delicate work may not always be success¬
ful. Since this is so, always use jeweller’s
saws and files with polystyrene. To alter
the volume of a component, there are
three possible procedures. Fine sheets of
balsa-wood or cartridge paper can be
made to look like authentic plates, and are
then glued on and held in place. Each rope
is then stretched from the base point to the
mast, and fixed with a drop of either glue
or varnish. Tautening should be done
before drying, using two alligator clips. Kit
manufacturers usually keep quiet about
the problems of assembling the masts and
yards. Whether the mast is wooden or
plastic, upward assembly of the three main
components is always difficult, especially
with the main mast.
On a real ship, the different pieces of a
mast are lined up with each other and held
securely by pieces of timberwork. This will
not do for a model, so the timbers are
replaced by fine nylon thread. The two
parts to be joined are varnished. The
thread is then coiled securely and, most can be made out of mosquito or meat-safe
important, in a regular spiral round both netting. Ships are painted in the same way
pieces, with a constant tension being main¬ as other models, most of the paint used
tained. being matt. On present-day ships, only the
The numerous pulleys used on porthole surrounds, certain hoisting
old-fashioned sailing ships can be made equipment and hatches should have a
out of lead fishing weights or children’s shiny finish. It is wrong to lacquer a whole
beads. Whichever is used, a coat of acrylic ship. The hull can be weathered as
paint makes them look more realistic. necessary, and dealt with like an aeroplane
On many models, the hatchway grills fuselage.

101
Old ships: /d the finishing touches

Hulls are made to look like wood

by painting with thinned yellowish
brown

Plastic sails can be made to look like canvas by being

somewhat dirtied—by mixing a little brown matt paint
with plenty of thinner
The gilded bits are done last of all

Attaching the various ropes and stays to

the masts is always done last. Apply a drop
of varnish to the lower point, extend the
rope to the higher point, and fix it there
with another drop.
All the techniques of ageing and
weathering, rust, wear and tear etc. that
we have already discussed apply to ships.
The painting of plastic sails often presents
problems. After a bit of practice, it is
better to replace the original plastic ones
with cloth, painted first on a flat surface
before being mounted. The first coat
should be half white and half cream, with
60 per cent thinner. The sail can then be
mounted and creases and weathering
drawn in in grey.

Sources of Information
Not everyone has access to the necessary
reference works to learn all the details of
the rigging, the sails, the cargo capacities,
and the armaments of sailing ships, but
visits to antique dealers and secondhand
bookshops will yield very accurate old
prints and models of sailing ships. Very
often copperplate engravings—these
reproductions have a two-fold interest:
they can be used as background scenery
for a model, and as a source of information
for conversion purposes. Another very
good source is the English Bellona series
of publications.

102
103
Scenery, Decoration and
Enhancement of Models
The principles of scenery and settings do
not change, whether the models are 1/72,
1/32 or 1/25.

Background Scenery
The display case, whether ready-made or For the background horizon line to
in construction kit form, will eventually appear horizontal, it must in fact go up at
house a diorama—that is, scenery incor¬ each end of the diorama. If the display
porating false perspective to resemble the case will be looked at slightly from below,
horizon; or it would be a simple setting—in this horizon line must not be placed too
other words, a scale-model and its environ¬ low. The base (i.e. the ground) must be
ment with facade, depth and height all on a tilted at an angle of about 5 per cent. From
constant scale. every point of view, there is room for
In a diorama, only the foreground is to numerous practical observations between
scale, and then the scenery gets smaller the initial drawing on a piece of paper and
and smaller. The diorama has a fore¬ the final finished model. In particular, it is
ground, sometimes kept to the simplest useful to operate in the same way as if you
possible, a main area, a secondary area, were looking at a television screen
and background scenery. The most diffi¬ (centre-on, of course).
cult part is linking these different areas Optical illusion also enhances the
while maintaining continuity. Basically, a appearance of the models themselves.
diorama is rather like a stage set, with Anything in the foreground (or in front of
similar conventions: the foreground quite it) must be precisely coloured and richly
flat (painted), the main area given maxi¬ shaded. Colours in the secondary area or
mum space, and the background painted in in the background will be far more fluid or
perspective. The foreground could consist thinned.
of branches of a tree, the piers and arch of Apart from what is painted on card¬
a bridge, or other detail which makes the board or wood, background scenery also
scenery look normal when seen in a rect¬ can have figures and accessories on a much
angle. When the eye passes around the smaller-scale than that of the foreground.
horizon, it is as though you are looking in a A street in perspective, for example, might
curve. So the background of the diorama have in the foreground a 1/25 model, then
must be somewhat curved, at the edges if 1/43 models, and in the background some
nowhere else. 1/72 or 1/100 models. Here is the succes-
sion of scales that can be used in one or tion, you can envisage what the country¬
more settings: 1/25, 1/35, 1/43, 1/72, side will finally look like. Make any
1/76, 1/83 and 1/100. (These are all necessary changes, and then remove the
‘commercial’ scales). Whatever the models paper. Cut out each separate area, and
used in the background, they should then use water-colours or poster paints to
always be placed diagonally, facing right paint it on the selected material—wood,
or left—but never perpendicular to the cardboard or plastic. The simple act of
front. It is best to place them in the direc¬ leaving a two or three millimetre gap
tion of a vanishing-trace leading to the between each component of the back¬
vanishing-point. Ideally, scenery runs ground scenery will further increase the
from the secondary area to the back¬ sensation of perspective and relief.
ground, first three dimensional, and then
continuing as painted scenery: the front Putting the Scenery in Place
of a building, the surface of water, a road, Once the proportions have been worked
a hedge, or a line of trees. Care must be out, how is the scenery actually made?
taken that the vanishing-trace causes no First volumes and colours must be
visual break with the areas further balanced.
forward. An eye should always be kept on
the inclination of the ground level (see Sorting out the Volumes
diagram). Look first at the foreground and pre-fore¬
ground: these will be in the middle. In
How to go about it? general, figures of people and things in the
Take a sheet or two of drawing paper and central area will be made from shop-
sketch your scenery. Mark where the bought models, whether modified or not.
buildings, mountains and fields will go, They must be made with special care and
then set the drawing at the back of the attention. Items of scenery in the middle
display case. Then, with a little imagina¬ background are made to size, using raw

105
 materials. Some items can be constructed sheet normally. See where the shadows
using parts of models. If possible, this area appear and shade them in gently. This
should contain a flat vertical surface big ‘bas-relief surface can then have relief
enough to get the diorama effect. In the accessories added—an electric sign, a
background, scenery can have less depth, balcony, timbers etc. but, of course, they
or even none at all. must be taken into account when painting
in shadows afterwards. Sometimes a
The Effect of Colours simple wooden cut-out, a tube or a dowel
Every setting must have a dominant to represent a moulded cornice, can be
colour: green for a wooded clearing, enough to bring out the relief, and to make
light grey in a street, blue-green for the the scenery exceptionally lifelike.
seaside. Since, when it is painted, every¬
thing must be the correct colour, this effect
of dominant colour must be got through
the lighting or in the shading of the back¬ Town Scenes
ground.

The Illusion of Mass Town scenes have two basic elements—

Certain solid objects appear more massive streets and houses. On the HO scale,
than others through the ‘redundancy’ which goes with electric trains or small
effect—a lighter shade showing up more electric car tracks, there is seldom a
prominently on a darker background. problem. There are many construction kits
When making scenery, always bear in available—but at 1/25, 1/35, 1/43 or 1/48
mind the tricks used for traditional theatri¬ the problem is more complex because all
cal scenery. 40 to 50 per cent of the objects buildings have to be constructed. The most
must be in relief—anything medium-sized, popular material is thin plywood. The first
ground surfaces, steps, columns and trees, thing to concentrate on is accuracy of
telegraph poles and electric cables, shrubs detail. There will probably be two or three
and bushes, water, or people. While most shop bought models, figures or
flat surfaces can be satisfactorily done with accessories, that will be of more or less the
tricks of perspective. right scale. So you must have documenta¬
tion to ensure that the scenery is accurate.
The Effects of Artificial Relief With ‘Historex’ figures this is very diffi¬
It might be thought that the systematic use cult, as a 19th century ‘ambiance’ must be
of in-the-round relief would be ideal for created. Things are easier with a street
dioramas and models—it is not. Of course, scene set between 1900 and 1945. Be care¬
your boat, your car or your plane will ful of historical errors—posters advertising
obviously be constructed entirely in the products that did not exist at the time, or
round. Most of the scenery around it can the inclusion of things, cars or scenery that
be in genuine relief too. However, certain were unknown at the time when your
parts can be made flat, using the illusion of scene is supposed to have taken place.
perspective, a bit like stage scenery. This We can say that the reproduction of life
technique includes building facades and in a town is very difficult because it
the ‘backcloths’ (the end of a room, or involves technical details and research.
countryside etc.). However, you hesitate, Here are various random details that apply
because you are not very good at painting. to many towns before 1950:
Here is a simple way of getting dramatic —Some streets were cobbled.
perspective effects. On a piece of cartridge —There was no fluorescent lighting. Street
paper or Bristol-board, draw the main lights were either incandescent or gas, and
area and cut it out. In the secondary area, they gave a rather weak light.
on another sheet, draw the doors and —Shopfronts were generally wooden and
windows, getting smaller as they go back. painted in dark colours, and they had
Put both sheets together and shine a light different names from today. It goes with¬
along them horizontally. Mark the darkest out saying that snack-bars and mini¬
areas of shadow with a pencil. These areas markets did not exist. Shopfront walls
will be painted light grey. Then light the often had advertisements painted on them.

106
—There’s no need to include television or black followed by a light spray coat of
aerials, because they did not exist either. artificial snow. You can find in the shops a
For the craftsman-modeller, Morris special product for doing puddles.
columns, Wallace fountains and fire
hydrants all represent little challenges Trees and bushes: Use brown, russet or
which can become real masterpieces. grey lichen. The lower parts of bushes and
tree-trunks should be dark grey, sprayed
Making Things Flat and in Relief on if possible. Fir trees and evergreens
Anyone who fancies himself as a painter amongst other trees should be painted a
can paint shopfronts and interiors simply dark (French railway-carriage) green, as
in one dimension, flat, using an artist’s their colouring seems even denser in
techniques—false perspectives, heigh¬ winter.
tened shading etc. Sometimes a sheet of
drawing paper, painted and applied to a Snow: Two materials can be used—
piece of plywood, itself painted, is enough sheets of expanded polystyrene for the
to create relief and the illusion of volume. open stretches, and spray cans of
Use very matt paint at all times. Do not Christmas decoration snow. The latter
hesitate to use poster paints or modellers’ must always be applied very thinly. Matt
acrylic paints. Avoid monotonous effects. spray paints can also be used.
After applying the undercoat, use an air¬
brush or spray-gun to apply two or three Lighting: You can opt either for cloudy
lighter shades. Only the fronts of cafes or weather, or for a red sun. The principal
the woodwork on shopfronts can be light source of the scene should be low
painted in bright colours. Street surfaces enough to make good long shadows. An
present the same problems as walls of opalized light bulb can be covered with a
houses: show cobbles by varying the piece of black crepe. Orange-red paint on
colour with shades of grey, pink and blue. a couple of patches will give the colour of a
Finally, let us again stress that you must half-hidden sun. A 40-watt bulb, or a
consult old magazines, books and post¬ 20-watt night-light is sufficient to create
cards before undertaking a diorama of a the atmosphere. Auxiliary lighting is pro¬
town scene. We could say that the under¬ vided by a night-light masked with a piece
taking of a town scene should be the last in of dark-coloured material. Between this
a series of creations. So we do not source and the scene, you could also have
recommend it for the novice modeller, a sheet of tracing paper or some dirty
who will find country scenes easier. glass.
With a winter battle scene, place
Christmas tree lights at the vital points,
using only the red and the white bulbs.
Winter Scenes With the automatic oscillator, these give
the flashing effect of explosions a long way
off.
Whether you are making a scene from the
Battle of Stalingrad, a snow and ice car-
rally, or the Battle of the Ardennes, there
are certain special effects that must be Lighting to Scale
incorporated:

Mud: Roads and pathways are a dirty The diorama, the stand, or the shelf where
mixture of melted snow and earth. This models are displayed, should have suitable
texture can be obtained by various lighting, which can be of various kinds.
means: mix sand or sawdust with burnt This lighting creates relief, but must not be
cork and dip the result into a dark grey used in place of light sources which can be
poster paint. This gives a paste which is made to scale. Lighting made to scale for
then set in place on a bed of glue, with a models is generally things like the lights of
spatula. The relief effect is heightened by electric trains (12-16 volts) or the lights
applying a light spray coat of dark brown inside radio equipment.
 Lighting scenes

Auxiliary
Main lighting lighting

Sheet of crepe painted appropriately

Crepe painted
grey and red

€
_ /
7/
White gauze Scene set in summer White gauze Scene set in winter

diffusers and reflectors, can vary the inten¬

Lighting Buildings sity of light appearing at each window.
Whatever the scale selected, it is adequate When model-makers hold exhibitions they
to use the light sources which are normally link this kind of lighting to a rheostat.
used for electric trains. They come as small When the rheostat is wide open, all the
sockets and the bulb is screwed into them. lights in a building are on. As the rheostat
This kind of light can be placed inside is gradually closed, the building’s lighting
buildings, in shop windows and in rooms. circuit gradually closes down until the only
Varying degrees of shading, or the use of lights left are those that give a daylight
effect. For anyone who is handy with elec¬
tricity it is simple to put together, and
gives dramatic effects.
Various manufacturers make street
lamps, both standard and hanging types,
intended for the lighting of N scale and
HO scale electric train systems. These
lamps can also be used for 1/72 and 1/43
scales, the sizes varying just as they do in
real life. The L-G-B people, who make
electric trains on the I scale, make lamps
on the same scale. They are very suitable
for scenery at 1/25 or 1/16.
Once the decorative trimmings have
been removed, strings of Christmas tree
lights can be used to illuminate advertise¬
ment hoardings, shop window decorations,
or for indirect lighting.

108
Various Ways to Represent Water
A port, a landing scene, a river with fisher¬ rene etched with solvent. It is painted
men, a viaduct—these all require water to grey-green with poster paint. A few pieces

be represented. of green and grey lichen will do for the

vegetation in a pond. Over all this a piece
Water that is moving; a river: The classic of sea-green crepe is placed, and on top of
material that has always been the profes¬ it a piece of either altuglass or transparent
sional modeller’s favourite is opaque glass. glass. The glass can be painted a thinned
Painted in grey-green shades, the wavy pure green on the underside, but this can
surface looks like the moving surface of a be judged once it has all been put together.
lake. It does well for 1/43, 1/72 and 1/100. A product called Aqua-cote allows
For 1/16, 1/25 and 1/35, it looks no more extremely realistic ponds, streams and
than choppy. Be sure always to use any rivers to be made very simply.
given colour on the same side of the
waves. For example if you choose a grey- A waterfall or a mountain stream: The
green, only use this shade on the right most difficult forms of water to make! The
side. This gives an idea of where the sun is. basic ingredient for the rushing water is
Thus the painted part must face away from crumpled tissue paper mixed with
crumpled tracing paper, or it can be done
the lighting.
The effect of depth is made by painting with resin. The whole thing is very lightly
the bottom of the piece of water a dark sprayed a matt white. The surface behind
green, and the underside of the glass a the waterfall, or the bed of the mountain
medium green. The glass can be replaced stream, is made out of a sheet of rhodoid
by natural resin, but it is recommended for with a few traces of green paint on it. To

use on small surfaces. make foam, squirt some artificial snow at

either the top or the bottom of the model.
A small stretch of calm water: The Rocks, stones and vegetation beside the
bottom should either be modelled out of water should be sprayed with varnish to
plastic, or made from a piece of polysty¬ give the effect of water and spray.

The Countryside, The Vegetable Kingdom

We shall deal with vegetation quite separ¬ assembly procedures do not change at all.

ately from any consideration of scale. Start by making some shapes out of thin

Anywhere from the 1/72 used for model plywood. These shapes are braced, and

aeroplanes to 1/25, the materials and the they can then be cut with a jig-saw or small

same methods can be used with equal fret-saw. They are then fixed onto their

success. In this area, there is a vast choice support with wood glue. Sometimes
additional corner-bracing is a good idea.
of products, mainly aimed at model rail¬
way enthusiasts. Here we shall only give The whole thing is then covered with thick

some indications of the basic principles of kraft paper, stapled on. Cliffs and bluffs
can be made very realistically with
construction and choice of materials.
cork-oak bark (grey or grey-green in
colour) placed upright, or with pine bark
How are Hills and Relief Features made?
(red-brown). They are then placed on the
In a small-scale scene, say 1/83, a 30 or
40cm high dome can easily represent a slope itself. Liquid glue should then be
applied to the paper still showing in the
mountain with tunnels for railways and
gaps. These are then filled with any suit¬
roads going through it, but at 1/25 it will be
no more than a large rock. In fact able filler that can be spread with a knife.

109
 For the larger surfaces, the following
Making a relief feature mixture should be prepared: one part
vinyl paint, one part modelling plaster,
Hessian stapled on and one part filler. This gives a mixture at
once oleaginous and granulated, which can
1 — Box be applied with a knife or by hand (wear
rubber gloves). Sand, gravel or sawdust
can be added at will to this mixture,
depending on the desired finish, but the
mixture is very heavy. So cellulose paste,
although certainly more expensive, is
preferred as it is much lighter. In the case
of really bulky hills and mountains (more
than 1 or IV2 metres long), it is a good idea
2 — Special hydrozell-type plaster
spread with spatula to reinforce the kraft paper backing with
wire mesh, stapled in place. Reinforced
thus, the scenery has no chance of collap¬
sing.

Preparation of fillers: The surfacing used

to represent earth is prepared in the
3— Undercoating sprayed on,
followed by application of glue following way: mix a little vinyl paint
(brown or grey) in a receptacle of water so
that the water becomes the colour of the
ground, the mixture remaining fluid. Then
sprinkle in fine modelling plaster and stir.
After a few moments, a gritty, friable
paste will result. Then add cellulose filler;
this will give the mixture a certain
mellowness, and will prevent crumbling
later. It can be applied by hand or with a
spatula, whichever you prefer. Before the
mixture dries, you can set pieces of
scenery in it, such as boulders and trees—
but this is not always possible.

How are Minerals made?

Additional relief and joins done We have made a basic framework and now
with modelling plaster we have to decorate it. Here again,
consulting tourist guides, books and post¬
cards will give precise indications as to
what a particular piece of countryside
looks like. Colours, the way shadows lie,
4 — Flocking sprinkled through a sieve
and the textures of things will be of help.
To make minerals, you will use a conglom¬
eration of natural substances and shop
bought products. Sand, sawdust and gravel
will always be useful. Chunks of porous
5 — Putting plants and trees in place
stone like the ones used between railway
sleepers, splintered shale and bits of mill¬
stone will make good boulders. The only
trouble with these materials is that they
make the model rather heavy—weight

Minerals and moraines can be made

being number one enemy for models dis¬
with sand, pebbles, cork bark and cork-dust played in glass cases. Pieces of half-burned
charcoal are equally realistic for darker-

110
coloured rocks like granite and slate, and trees. The colouring can be varied some¬
are very light. Modelling shops sell all what by using an airbrush to project paint.
kinds of powdery materials in packets, Indeed, when you look at trees in real life,
including special coloured sawdust and they are never one uniform colour. The
granulated cork. These can be used for airbrush means you can make them look
building embankments, roads, railway autumnal by using red and golden tints.
beds and so on. They come in any number
of colours, can be stuck on with liquid How are Fields and Meadows made?
glue, and set in position with a blotter or a The easiest way is to use rolls of imitation
roller. Sheets of broken-off chunks of cork ground which are glued or stapled onto the
(available from interior decorating shops surface. They come in various shades of
or home-brewing suppliers) can be used to green, in rolls measuring 2 by 1.2 metres.
make rocks, ruins, or sections of walls Flocking can equally well be used for an
made out of stone or natural blocks. They embankment, a hillside, or a sloping area.
can very easily be painted with poster Green flocking and glue can be bought at
paints. modellers’ shops. Flowers and cultivated
plants can be made from little pieces of
How is Vegetation made? foam, sold in packets. For HO scale-
One of the easiest ways is by using natural models, the German firm of Faller
vegetation—worm-eaten branches, twigs, publishes an annual brochure entitled ‘The
heather foliage etc. Owing to its shape, Countryside for Model Railways’. This
heather is particularly satisfactory for covers the basic principles of vegetative
making tree trunks. Stripped of its bark, it scenery—with, in particular, numerous
can be painted very dark brown, pinewood details of how to make a hop-field or a
red or white, depending on how the bark vine-yard! We must also not forget
should look on the scale-model. The paint Preiser, who make numerous HO (1/87)
can be sprayed on, or the heather can be scale accessories to make the fields even
dipped into a poster paint preparation. more lifelike.
The leafy twigs of certain evergreen
conifers with their fine needles can also be Applying flocking: Flocking is composed
used, provided they are prepared before¬ of green- or brown-coloured particles
hand: after cutting, the branch is given which, when used, give a relief effect to
two or three coats of a plastifying spray or vegetable and mineral materials in the
varnish, at twenty-four hour intervals. scenery. Flocking powders come in various
This mummifies it, and it can now be sizes of grain. Flocking is used as
covered with glass wool fibres, powder, or follows: the surface to be covered
synthetic green decoration according to receives a coat of special glue, either
the desired final look. It is then all painted sprayed or brushed on. The flocking is
dark green. It should be examined after spread out on a fine sieve or sifter. By
drying for two or three days to see that scratching the inside, you make the
there is no incompatibility between the flocking fall in a thin layer onto the surface
plastifier and the paint. to be decorated. Make sure no part is left
Foliage of a number of different kinds uncovered. Do not be afraid of putting it
can be applied to real twigs or branches— on too thick. After drying, a quick run
powder in packets, treated lichen, sawdust Over the scenery with a vacuum cleaner
etc. Once the wood is painted, it is coated will suffice to remove excess particles. The
with a special aerosol glue. Then use a areas with flocking (the surface of an
brush or miniature tweezers to apply the embankment, a road, the prairie etc.)
tiny pieces which will serve as foliage. should not end abruptly where the glue
Unlike what you can collect yourself in ends. The coloured effect is continued by a
the woods, Iceland moss has been treated fusion of colours. For example, at the edge
so it will remain supple for a long time. It of an area with green flocking on a uniform
is sold in little bags, in separate or mixed beige background, there will be some
colours. It is ideal for doing bushes and touching-up with paint. This technique is
shrubbery, and can also be strung out essential when making mountainous
along twigs to make the foliage of small scenery.
Making vegetation scenery

A — How to make conifers

Pine tree branch without needles Christmas tree tinsel wrapped around lower limbs Needles replaced after application of glue

— Area painted light brown

Area painted several shades

of brown (with brush)

Tree moss effect is got by spraying one side light green

2 — Glue spray can
through a screen

3 — Sieve

4 — A series of little fragments

of lichen is applied to the branches,
followed by fresh application
of flocking

5 — Application of light foliage

colour on one side of tree to give
it dimension

Application of first coat of flocking

112
Thus on a wooden base measuring 1.5 by assembly, all components must be
0.8 metres you can make a goods depot or repainted to make them look like real
passenger station. A round table (1.2 metal.
metres across) can support a fine circular
engine shed. The creative satisfaction will Hills, Cuts and Fills
be just as great as with a diorama or any Everything said about electric train and
other model construction. miniature car systems applies equally to
other kinds of scenery on the various
Practical Problems scales.
On small scales, railway and roadside Relief features need supports, and these
scenery has certain peculiarities. Far less should always be made as slender as
emphasis is placed on accuracy of detail possible. Thus thin sections of plywood,
and relief than on the model itself, on the easily cut with a jig-saw, can be glued into
intensity of its colours, and on its technical grooves of the same width, and reinforced
fidelity. with brackets. This structure is then the
base for the relief material—wire gauze,
Bridges and Viaducts metal or plastic netting, kraft paper, Facing page 112: After-castle
A bridge between two hills is most often hessian etc. of the ‘Soleil Royal’, a Heller
The materials we have described in the prestige model, scale 1/100,
built with prefabricated, shop bought
length 77cm, height 74cm.
components (embossed plastic sheets). If foregoing pages are then placed on this
the bridge straddles a valley, these sheets support—earth, rocks, grass etc. The
will have to be fastened to a sloping area. supports must be at once solid, and light, How should figures be realisti¬
The bridge could also have a road going and they must certainly not be thought of cally presented?
as movable, except in part. Thus on the Left-hand page,
across above a railway—what is known as
above: Moroccan troops
an overpass. If the road is underneath, it is slope beside a track there will be a notice¬
(Heller).
called an underpass. The piles can all be able line, which will also correspond to the Below: U.S. unit of the 1950s.
made out of balsa, which is easy to cut, and movable part of the relief. A sheet of ply¬ Every detail contributes to the
wood can be used to embed the structure, authenticity.
reinforced by small wooden sections. Next

113
which is fixed with large staples. Only then Choosing a Position
do you proceed to preliminary painting While dioramas and small particular
etc. scenes can be displayed in glass cases,
Interfacing material can also be used as large model road and railway systems must
a base, stiffened with wood glue. Scale- be placed on a table or something similar.
model specialists recommend yet another Once again, the limiting factor is the avail¬
material—Faserit. Faserit is made of white ability of space.
flakes looking rather like some washing
powders. Mixed with water, it forms an On a Frame or Panel
oleaginous paste which can be applied with A wooden frame measuring one to two
a knife or a spatula. It is much lighter than metres long and between a half and one
plaster and can be applied to any founda¬ metre wide can be made out of 25—30mm
tion with a mesh of up to 2.5 or 3mm. It slats or laths, which are joined and glued
can then be painted with poster or vinyl together. The frame has comer supports.
paints, and sprinkled with flocking. Unlike It is now ready to take the scenery and its
plaster, this cellulose-base material goes base; this will be made out of chipboard or
soft again when remoistened, so that all plywood between 10 and 20mm thick,
sorts of alterations and improvements are according to surface.
possible after the initial shaping. Finally, With plywood, the following weight
one cannot overstress the point that this limits should not be exceeded: for a
material is much lighter than plaster. thickness of 8mm, 13-kilos between two
Hydrozell is the brand-name of a product support points 40cm apart; for 15mm
similar to Faserit, both of which are thickness, 45-kilos between two points
designed specifically for modelling. (See 50cm apart; and for 20mm thickness, up to
the section on know-how for the use of 57-kilos between two points 60cm apart.
other materials which can be used in The ideal construction is one that is
making relief features). joined, glued, and finally screwed
together. Nails should not be used as they
Making Railway Beds and Gravel Roads tend to cause crookedness. When making
Railway bed ballast comes in grey, brown a supporting frame, always allow for
or beige cork particles that can be glued. possible subsequent extensions of length
The principle is easy, but actually doing it and/or width, and for it to be moved; even
can sometimes be tricky. When fixing any if the frame is to remain stationary, equip
of these gravel-type surfaces, do not use it from the very beginning with handles or
glue that forms strands, as this prevents castors.
the cork particles from separating out and The classic and most simple kind of
makes them stick together in lumps. Vinyl support for large items is trestles. They are
glue works better. For best results it is a also cheap. Ceiling suspension is accept¬
good idea to prime the surface with a able, provided suitable eye-bolts are used
wooden roller; this will make adhesion (chandelier type). Hinged construction is
more efficient. complicated and, moreover, it means that
the underside of the mounting board has to
be decorated somehow, if only to hide the
electric wires.

The Construction of Buildings

The quality of the buildings sets the tone of Building in Different Styles
an entire scene. Buildings are most easily
constructed on scales between 1/72 and Use books and postcards to get ideas of
1/43. On smaller scales the details regional building styles. Then make a
disappear, and on larger scales you need to tracing, on drawing paper, that will serve
be a real architect. as a basis. The building will be drawn on
drawing paper and then cut out, the pieces Roofs
standing against a supporting structure. On large scales (1/35 and upwards), it is
For farm buildings and old-fashioned low- worthwhile making a real framework with
roofed farmers’ houses, the support is wooden cross-pieces whose size will vary
made of light plywood or cardboard. For a according to the scale. (See the glossary
mediaeval-type tall house, or a factory, the for what can be bought in the shops). Most
interior will contain a wooden supporting illustrated dictionaries contain up-to-date
structure. plans of roofing frames. A kraft paper
base is glued onto the frame, and tiles cut
Walls from cardboard are laid either in strips or
Apart from the central drawing paper as individual tiles.
design, cork, wood and painted heavy-
duty cardboard can be used for extensions. Windows
So too can embossed sheets (scales 1/87 to Two materials can be used—cartridge
1/72). paper or wood. Wood is more solid, but is
more difficult to cut. The interior can be
backed with rhodoid. How to build a house? Notwith¬
Chimneys
standing the numerous possible
It is best to cut these from a painted
ways available in the shops, one
wooden lath or from cork blocks, depend¬ Architectural Details
is frequently obliged to construct
ing on the style selected. Chimney pots Wood, cellulose putty and cardboard can buildings to measure. See pages
and cowlings can be made from salvaged be used to reproduce extremely realistic 116-117 for how to go about

cotton reels. door frames, windows, facades etc. this.

Background made of plastic or drawing paper

Lit background Drawn flat, poster-painted

Opening doors, potential light source

~v

Flooring made of fine

wood veneer, planks
painted in
Curtains and hangings
in painted paper tissue

False perspective painting

gives effect of in-the-round
Furniture made of painted drawing Furniture made of drawing
paper and glued wood veneer paper and wood, perspective-painted

115
 Use special sheets of printed cardboard
Sometimes a stone wall can be made from sandpaper
Mouldings cut out in Canson paper
(double thickness) and glued Framing sticks out slightly

2 — Doors Mouldings traced with tool

'i
2 —- Door frame surround in
coloured embossed cardboard
frt i
J) i
i
fl 55
Coloured head pins

T*-'
3 —Frame in painted wood
(square section 3 or 5)

1 — Piece of decorative wood 4 — Wooden threshhold

veneer (max. thickness 1mm)

116
 How to make a large-scale model house look solid and realistic 3 — Windows and shutters

Embrasure made
of Canson paper

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<? /
Frame made of Canson paper
Cross-piece (balsa)
V

Cellophane Frame (balsa)

Window-sill (balsa) How the finished window looks

Brass wire for hooks

Possible shutter designs. Wood veneer is basic material This part made of drawing paper
Chimney pots made of circles of
painted cardboard

4 — Making the roof

An old family heirloom glued to

brass wire to make a weather-cock

117
Interior Decoration
This hardly figures on scales of 1/100 to general principles of producing scenery to
1/43, where it is mass alone that counts, go with them. Furniture is improved by
but from 1/25 to 1/8 interior decoration being made out of wood. Real cloth or,
really comes into its own. even better, cloth-mesh should be used for
hangings and wall decorations. Everything
Lighting else can be put together from drawing
Windows and other openings must be paper, but once again, a number of small
backlit in such a way that it looks as though objects can be of assistance—press-studs
the light is coming in from outside. The or lengths cut from cardboard cylinders to
best source for outside lighting is a minia¬ make containers, pots or cans of food.
ture fluorescent bulb of the bedside-light Heller, Historex and other firms make
type. In some cases (the interior of a genuine accessories to go with your own
grotto, a pill-box, or a church, for ‘made-up’ decor.
example), an opening gives a single strong Generally speaking, if the tableau is to
shaft of light. The directional light source be viewed face-on, most elements of the
must in that case be very well shielded. decor can be made flat, and helped by false
perspective. If, on the other hand, it will
Installation be viewed from three-quarters, everything
In the chapter on figures, we outlined the must be made in three dimensions.

The Display and Protection of

Models
The question of display is often dealt with good idea to place a false cupboard or box
too late. A model-maker’s first model underneath it, because one doesn’t want to
always ends up on a piece of furniture, but have to crouch to admire the models. If the
it’s different when there are ten, fifteen or models are to be seen from one side only,
twenty models to find a place for. It is no then the case should be backed up against
longer a question of finding a place, but of a wall. Indeed this is essential with
displaying one’s creations. dioramas. A lockable cabinet is always
desirable, so that children cannot get their
Glass Cabinets hands in and start ‘playing’.
New easy-to-assemble cabinets are Interior lighting of the cabinet can be
displayed each year at the Do-it-Yourself provided with small 20-watt ‘daylight’ type
Exhibition and in furniture galleries. Made fluorescent tubes. These work both for you
out of aluminium or wood, and glass, they and against you—but they cast a shadow¬
all have basically the same design: wooden less light. This enhances isolated models,
boards are held in a box-shape on a and indeed the whole case. On the other
supporting base by means of either hooks hand, little tableaux and dioramas are
or braces. Sheets of glass are then slid into enhanced by directional incandescent
place. Some glass cases are totally lighting—reflecting battens or a small
enclosed. Glass show-cases of the kind 40-watt spotlight. Ideally the lighting
used in museums are very expensive, but switch will have two positions: full and
they are ideal for the display of a number directional.
of models.
The perfect display case is no more than Partial Display Cases and Bubbles
2 metres high and 60 to 70cm deep. It is a Elsewhere, (in the glossary at the end of
Effect of searchlight scanning the sky

1 — Etched metal sheet or

mirror covered with paper
Wmsmm

Doing it all by reflection

Initial beam

2 — Distant buildings at night

Tracing paper
Covering acting as lens regulates volume of light beamy* y' j

Plastic tube

Discarded computer cards

\

Tubes

Backing has openings with tracing paper and computer cards glued on top, painted matt black

Grey cloth
3 — Fog scene

Smeared glass

Diffused light

Tin foil

Scenery

119
the bo6k), we give the standard dimen¬ Labelling
sions of plastic domes, or bubbles. They In a collection, each model must have a
are widely used at exhibitions and for precise label, giving the date and how long
making closed-system gardens, and they it took to make, as well as a brief descrip¬
are expensive—but they are ideal for tion (maximum three lines) of the real
showing off aeroplanes which are usually thing. While remaining readable, labels
seen from all angles. They can be hung should be small. Scale-models almost
with piano wire or nylon thread, at various always come with rather detailed docu¬
heights from the ground. Thus, on a one mentation, and you can usually cut out a
metre square floor surface, eight or ten heading or an emblem to stick onto your
bubbles could be strung up to the ceiling. own label. Transfers can be used to make
These plastic shells come in small sizes for really good labels.
display of single small-scale models (1/100
or 1/83: people, cars) on a shelf or a piece Various kinds of Lighting
of furniture. As we have seen, fluorescent lighting gives
Models can be given their own indivi¬ a shadowless light that covers the entire
dual display cases, in glass or plastic. show-case or display shelf. The tube
Another time-saving way of solving the should always be 40 to 50cm above the
problem is to buy a ready-made aquarium, models, with a ‘diffusing’ grill between.
put it on its side, and put the model in it. Highly directional spots of the kind used
An individual display case can be glass or for reading at night are extremely useful
plexiglass. for dioramas. The light is concentrated in a
3 to 4cm beam which carries accurately for
Do-it-Yourself Display Cabinet 90 to 120cm. These spots, available from
If you need to make a number of display modern lighting shops, have the additional
cases to show off a collection, you must advantage of needing a simple clamp to
first make a rectangular piece of wood mount them. The lighting can be hori¬
with two grooves set as far apart from each zontal, overhead, or oblique, depending
other as possible. Glass or plastic sheets on the degree of drama required in the
will slide into these grooves, the bottoms scene. The combined effect of fluorescent
of which have glue in them, two at a time. tube lighting and directional spots does a
They are set exactly at right-angles and great deal for dioramas, but beware: light¬
tied into position. The cabinet bottom can ing can also show up any faults.
be a sheet of wood, the grooves made with Special effects can be got with lights
a chisel (so do not use plywood). The four originally designed for use in an aquarium.
uprights are now in place. Last comes the They give a purplish-pink light which is
lid. For certain scenes or historical models, perfect for dusk effects. Black lighting can
the five transparent sides of the case are be useful for making certain mechanical
set off by little brass corner angles cut in a models stand out—engines, locomotives
mitre-box. Old ships, or very large-scale etc.—because it picks out shapes with very
models need well-made showcases. great precision.
Technical Glossary of
Products and Raw Material
Whatever the kind of model you want to in the making of practically all kinds of
make, you are faced sooner or later with scale-models. Easy to work and to smooth,
using raw materials, metal or wood, that wood is more rigid than cardboard and
must be worked. When we speak of raw paper. Model-making shops sell various
materials, we mean lengths of wood, laths, qualities of wood: rectangular or square¬
tubes and variously shaped sections sold in shaped pieces, and wood veneer. In do-it-
modellers’ supply shops. Thirty or forty yourself and decorating shops, wood
years ago, these were the model-maker’s veneer comes in rolls or sheets in the
basic materials. In the chapter on know¬ following finishes: oak, mahogany, teak
how we had a look at other materials and citron wood. Veneer is economical,
which could be useful. but fragile and difficult to work; and it
Working from a scale-diagram, the must be used only in sheets or facings
model-maker used to make everything which can be painted or varnished—for
himself, often successfully. Today, model¬ things like the facades of chalets, cabins,
ling can and must be within the reach of decks of ships, partitions, roofing etc.
everyone, and those who are not particu¬
larly skilful at working in wood or metal Quality of Woods
can make something without too many Balsa: the model-maker’s wood, the one
problems. This chapter aims to present a that has been in use the longest. It was
catalogue of everything that can be being used to make model aeroplanes in
purchased, so that model-makers, both the 1930s and 1940s. Its most significant
experts and beginners, can learn to recog¬ characteristic is its lightness (it weighs
nize exactly what is available to them. 0.21-0.25 grams per cubic centimetre).
These are the basic materials for all Being soft and porous it is difficult to
modelling jobs, whether you are paint, to shape, and to smooth, but despite
converting or modifying an existing model this, it is solid and resistant.
or, like some true artists, creating it from Recommended for use on: wooden
raw materials. ship and aeroplane bodies, diorama
scenery, all kinds of woodwork and car¬
pentered installations, and any kind of
construction where lightness is of the
Wood essence.

Sold as Follows
As we see from the chapter on know-how, Blocks: These are what are called laths
wood is the basis of certain types of boat in carpentry. The standard sections are
and aeroplane, but its most common use is these (millimetres):
20 x 20 20 x 40 40 x 50 Balsa timbers:
20 x 30 20 x 50 40 x 80
50 x 90 70 x 90 70 x 100
Standard length: 1 metre 90 x 90 100 x 100 70 x 120

Blocks should be used for basic construc¬ Large balsa laths:

tion work like timbers and planks in real
building. Can be worked with a saw or an 20 x 20 50 x 50
X-Acto tool. 30 x 30 70 x 70

Dowels: Two standard shapes are avail¬ Mahogany: These days the name
able—square or rectangular. The standard mahogany is used, often wrongly, to sell
sections are: all red-wood trees of equatorial origin.
These woods have the following technical
2x2 3 x 15 5 x 15 qualities: good hardness, the right
2x5 4x4 6x6 amount of flexibility, excellent resistance
2 x 10 5x5 8x8 to mechanical working and good tolerance
3x3 5 x 10 10 x 10 of hygrometric variations (that is, atmos¬
pheric humidity).
Dowels can be used for all kinds of jobs on Its use is recommended for basic con¬
boats, aeroplanes, dioramas, electric struction work where weight is not a
trains etc. factor, but where solidity may be essential
(e.g. electric trams, fixed and solid
Sheets: The standard thicknesses of balsa models, solid scenery etc.).
are graded in tenths of a millimetre. There
are two widths, 80mm and 100mm; Sold as Follows
lengths, 1m and 1.35m. Thicknesses avail- Blocks: Two standard thicknesses avail¬
able: able, 20/10 and 30/10. We must also
include mahogany used for decoration,
5/10 15/10 50/10 which comes in wood veneer 5/10 thick.
6/10 20/10 100/10 (10mm)
8/10 30/10 150/10 Dowels: When purchasing, care must be
10/10 (1mm) 40/10 200/10 taken to see that the dowels are uniform;
in no case must they show propellor-type
In the choice of materials, sheets of 100/10 marks or be badly worked on one side.
allow joints to be made with blocks Mahogany dowels, rectangular or square,
upwards of 20mm thick. come in the following dimensions:

Special Shapes 2x2 2x8 3x7

Particularly supplied for aeroplane 2x3 2 x 10 3 x 12
construction. Half-round: length 100 x 8 2x5 3x5 5x5
and 10mm along side. 2x6 3x6

Poplar: For the model-maker, poplar is

Trapezoid sections available:
counted among the hard woods. It is used
as something in between mahogany and
15 x 5mm 20 x 5mm 25 x 6mm
balsa. For small components, it is good for
lathe-work: it can be used to make
(These woods are generally supplied
supporting structures, struts and braces. It
coloured right through)
is used also in making the basic structures
of buildings, boats, vehicles and dioramas.
Triangular sections available:

Sold as Follows
8x8 10x10 12x12
Sheets: Two standard widths, 80 and
100mm, in thicknesses graded by tenths of
a millimetre.
10/10 20/10 40/10 Other Woods
15/10 30/10 50/10
The woods which we have added below are
Dowels: Two standard shapes, square or really of secondary significance, but they
rectangular: sometimes have a part to play in building
scenery or the making of certain details.
1.5 x 1.5 2 x 10 5x5
1.5x5 2 x 15 6x6 Willow: Very supple material, available
1.5 x 10 3x3 8x8 in 2, 3, 4 and 5mm diameters; permits the
2x2 4x4 10 x 10 making of curved structures.

Round poplar dowels are also available, Cork-oak bark: Used essentially to
and the model-maker will find them reproduce rocks and cliffs in dioramas and
useful. They come in the following electric train systems. It can be obtained at
diameters: florists’ accessory shops.

3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 15mm. Cork: Often used in interior decoration,

it is available in various forms in do-it-
Birchwood: An ingredient of plywoods yourself shops; in 4-5mm thick boards, in
used in making large-scale models of aero¬ thin sheets 0.8 to 10mm thick, or in bricks
planes and boats. Recommended for all and blocks. It allows very accurate repro¬
models exposed to the elements (all duction of a stony appearance or road
models taken outdoors). surfacings. Broken into small pieces, cork
allows the imitation of blocks of stone in
some kinds of scenery.
Sold as Follows

It comes in planks of standard shape: 210 Box-wood: Difficult to find these days,
x 420—but also 310 x 620 and 1,250 x 620. box-wood is excellent for lathe-work. It
Standard thicknesses: 3, 4, 5 and 7mm. allows very exact working of parts. Only
Birchwood veneer is also available in the useful for the model-maker who wishes to
following thicknesses: 3, 4, 5 and 7mm. make highly individual models.

Limewood: Sold in fine-quality boards.

Particularly useful for building aero¬
planes and ships.
Paper and Cardboard
Sold as Follows
Widths from 100 to 300mm, length
850mm, thicknesses 4, 6, 8 and 10mm. These materials, which the model-maker
will use extensively, are most often avail¬
Beech-wood: Used in making the sealed able in artists’ supply shops and decorating
plywoods used for aeroplanes and ships. It shops but, here again, it is one’s own crea¬
is also available in sheets of veneer and in tive imagination that will determine their
round dowels. different uses.

Sold as Follows Drawing paper: The most highly recom¬

Veneer: thicknesses of 0.8, 1, 1.2, 1.5 mended is that which comes in packets
and 2mm. measuring 297 x 420 or 210 x 297. Always
Plywood: 3 and 5mm, in numerous select 224mg/m2. This is the only weight
shapes. that will stand up to being worked with
Round dowels: length lm, diameters after painting. The uses of drawing paper
graded by millimetre from 2 to 20mm. are innumerable: conversions of models,
Grooved dowels: these are square- flooring, roofing, special components,
section dowels with one or two grooves. backdrops etc.
16 x 12 and 4 x 4mm, length 1 metre. This material stands up well to water-

123
colour paints, acrylic paints and special There are also extra-long sections in the
plastic paints, but it does not stand up well shape of a barrier or safety-railing. It is
to spray paint. Packs of coloured drawing obvious that all these sections allow the
paper save a lot of time when making construction of metal-looking construc¬
certain things, without any loss of quality. tions (ships, buildings etc.), and can be
fixed by simple glueing.
Kraft paper: Better-known under the
name of wrapping paper. Good for use as Transparent plexiglass: This rather costly
backing, but also when you need to repro¬ material allows the construction of
duce planking or certain kinds of roofing. windows and frames, and the protection of
An economical backdrop or moulding tableaux. It comes in 15/10, 20/10, 30/10
base. and 40/10 thicknesses. It is available in
sheets measuring 800 x 600mm and 1,600 x
Card and scraperboard: These materials 1,200mm.
are used by artists and professional model-
makers. They are expensive. They have Rhodoid: In a similar material, rhodoid,
one or both sides satin-finished or glazed, one can obtain sheets consisting of small
black or white, mounted on a thickness of plastic hemi-spherical shapes. Used in
card of about 1.5 to 2.5mm. They must be window-dressing and in jewellery, these
cut with a trimmer. Openings or windows hemispheres can be of great service to the
to be made must be cut with a strong knife. model-maker in the following
Use not recommended for beginners. cases: bombardier’s or cockpit canopies,
Uses: buildings facades, stations, roofing of a modern building or of science-
roads, bridges etc., and all stationary fiction scenery, protection of delicate
scenery that will be painted with water¬ models etc. Each sheet contains 30 hemi¬
colours. spheres with diameters varying from 10 to
50mm.

Altuglass: Altuglass hemispheres are

Plastic Products widely used for showing off better certain

items in exhibitions and in display-cases.
They can be used equally well to protect
delicate tableaux and models. Available in
These articles are generally available only diameters ranging from 100mm to 600mm.
at shops catering for professional model- Very expensive.
makers, which are rather few and far
between. However, it is a good idea to Cellulose acetobutyrate (CAB): Sheets of
know of their existence. blue or green-tinted plastic. For putting
coloured glass etc. into buildings, ships
Sections and angles: These items, in prin¬ and aeroplanes, but can also be used to
ciple intended for the model-maker give coloured background effect. Standard
making models for property developers sizes sold: 500 x 300mm in sheets, 0.75
and architects, come in the following and 1.5mm thick.
dimensions:
Celluloid: Transparent sheets for all
I-Sections: Length 610mm. kinds of use, easy to glue. Especially good
Section: 3.2 x 1.9, 4.8 x 2.4 for making all kinds of glass (cabins, cock¬
pits, windows of all kinds). Beware, this
U-Sections: Length 380mm. material is highly inflammable. Standard
Section: 3.2 x 1.2, 4.8 x 1.6 thicknesses 0.25 and 0.5mm.

T-Sections: Length 380mm Polystyrene: A basic model making

Section: 3.2 x 3.2, 4.8 x 4.8 material, this can also be obtained in
standard sheets. Available in the shops in
Angles: Length 380mm. 23 x 23cm sheets, thicknesses 25/100,
Section: 2.4 x 2.4, 3.2 x 3.2, 4.8 x 4.8 50/100, 75/100 and 100/100. Polystyrene
also comes in 'mini-strips’, little strips Hollow square sections: 4 x 4, 5 x 5.
designed for fine work. Angle-irons: 2 x 2, 3 x 3, 3 x 6, 4 x 2, 5 x
5, 6 x 6, 7 x 7 (dimensions indicate length
of each wing of the angle-iron).
U-Sections: 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5,7x7,

Metals 8x8 (all with squared corners).

T-Sections: 2 x 2, 4 x 4, 6 x 6, 8 x 8.
I-Sections: 4 x 2, 5 x 2.5, 8x4, 10 x 5,
As in industry, metals come in standard 12 x 6.
shapes. Three basic metals in model Bars: This is the name given to a sort of
making: aluminium, brass, steel. For the rather thick and rather wide metal dowel.
shapes and dimensions given here, we are Available in 1mm thickness, widths 20 and
talking of minimum standard production 60mm.
sizes, which means that you can sometimes Railway-line: Specialist model railway
find intermediary dimensions as well. suppliers sell rail-shaped sections on the
FIO, O and I scales for the construction of
Aluminium: This is the softest of the railway lines to scale.
metals, and the lightest too. When it is Foil: Sheets available in 50cm width, in
being machine-worked, the machine itself, the following thicknesses: 5/100, 10/100,
drill or lathe, must work at high speed. It is 20/100, 40/100.
a metal that fouls up machines, but can be
sawn, drilled or planed without the Copper: People often confuse copper
slightest difficulty. If it is not treated with a and brass. Brass is mistakenly known as
special protective varnish, it tarnishes with 'yellow copper’, as opposed to natural
age. Aluminium is the basic material of copper, which is known as 'red copper'.
complex mechanical models. It can be This material has all the characteristics of
used to make frames and chassis (cars, brass. Easy to work, it is very malleable. It
boats, buildings). is expensive, and not found in all
modellers’ supply shops. It is often better
Sold as Follows to obtain it from do-it-yourself shops.
Metals come in standard 1 metre lengths. Copper foil comes in small sheets 30cm
Tubes: external diameters graded by wide in the following thicknesses: 10/100
millimetre (20/10, 30/10, 40/10, 50/10, and 15/100. One can also sometimes use
60/10 and 100/10). fine copper wire, available from radio and
Foil: comes in small sheets of metal 50cm electrical equipment shops.
wide, available in thicknesses 5/100,
10/100, 20/100 and 40/100. Steel: Difficult to work, being a rather
hard metal, it is available in modellers’
Brass: This is a fine-looking, malleable supply shops almost exclusively in the
alloy, lending itself to all sorts of coach- form of threaded rods in standard
work (cars), boiler-making (locomotives) diameters, or again in the form of thick
and allowing conversions and wire known as 'piano wire’, in the
modifications of existing models. Can be following dimensions: 5/10, 10/10, 15/10,
worked as easily as aluminium: drilling, 25/10, 30/10.
planing, polishing, hammer-beating and
stretching Without problem. Used in all
kinds of scale-models, depending on the
shape chosen.

Sold as Follows
Special Materials
Tubes: Available in 20/10, 30/10, 40/10,
50/10, 60/10, 70/10.
Rods and wires: 5/10, 10/10, 15/10, These are products which are available in
20/10, 25/10, 30/10. the shops, but which one does not
Solid square sections: 2x2, 3x3,4x4, normally think of in connection with
5 x 5, 10 x 10. making models.

125
Wood ‘micro-veneers’: A number of reproduction of materials. The sheets
woods, including oak, teak, birch-wood come in a 32 x 42cm format.
and citron-wood, come as extremely thin
veneers on a silk paper backing measuring Adhesive mesh strips: As useful to the
65 x 50cm. Can be used to obtain a wooden model-maker as a tube of glue. These are
look on very small models of things like coloured strips, matt or glossy, sold on
houses, furniture, boats, carts etc. spools in all colours—silver, gold, red,
yellow, green etc. They come in widths
Metal flex: This is an adhesive laminate, 0.4, 0.79, 1.59, 2.38, 3.17, 4.76, 6.35, 12.7
metalled on one side. It is only 0.06mm and 25.4mm. Mesh strips sold under the
thick. Comes in various finishes: copper, name Normatape allow the lateral decora¬
aluminium, chrome etc. Ideal for tion of aeroplanes, cars, ships,
reproducing these metals on small flat or locomotives and carriages to give a grainy
slightly curved surfaces—fuselages, painted effect. Application is very easy,
coachwork, buildings. and is often better than brush-painting.

Transfer sheets: Known in the printing Embossed sheets: In plastic or in card¬

world and other areas as Letraset and board, these sheets reproduce rocks,
Letter Press, these black transfer sheets paving, bricks, and tile or slate roofing
reproduce a variety of designs over large very realistically. The sheets are coloured
areas: stones, bricks, paving stones, throughout. Available at modellers’
tiles, wood etc. All you have to do is to supply shops, they can all be simply glued
stick the sheet to the paper or cardboard on. Indispensable for accuracy in country¬
surface, cut around the contours and press side scenery and buildings.
the design on. Allows flat but suggestive