Copyright 2006 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
You
would be amazed at what can be done with heat from a simple candle. The common birthday candle is a wonder for
miniature makers, especially for using plastic. With a little practice, it helps make detail parts. It also helps make enhancements to models
and conversions of plastic figures. The
only other tools you need are pins and a small, thin screwdriver with plastic,
wood or rubber handle.
Two kinds of candles work well
for us: common birthday candles, and Hannukah candles. We used to stand them upright. To keep them in place, we used to melt the
bottom slightly, and then slam it down onto a smooth, flat surface. The melted wax would bond it in place. The item had to be upright. Of course, a better thing would be to use a
holder, such as those sold in bakeries and craft shoos for birthday cakes. (Small candle holders can be found to fit
Hannukah candles)
Trick 1: bullet holes. We would
hold the end of a long pin in the flame until it turned red. Then it would be thrust into the side of a
plastic model. We would try to get two
or three thrusts per heating. Plastic
would burr up around the hold, and be removed with a craft knife, What was left was a bullet hole! Great for a diorama of a shoot-em-up
involving vehicles or planes. The same
trick was used to create holes for fastening handrails and other items. If you need a tiny hole in plastic, either
for battle or for attaching items, this trick works nicely. Be careful to hold the pin in a pliers, so
as to avoid burning yourself.
Trick2: Keep some of the sprues
left over from building plastic kits.
It is good to have pieces of varying thickness. Take a length of it, at least four inches
long or longer. Hold over the flame
high enough to avoid catching fire, but low enough to melt. When it melts enough, pull the ends as you
lift away from the heat. You get thin
strands, ranging from thin wire to thick cable. With practice you can vary the thickness. You will learn how the thickness and type pf
plastic works to give different thicknesses.
The “stretch sprue” trick can be used to make antennae, cable, and round
stock for a variety of modeling applications.
CAUTION:
be careful not to burn the plastic. If
it catches fire, extinguish it immediately. I keep a small bowl of water
nearby, so that if sprue catches flame ,I can just drop it into the water. Plastic catches fire easily., so be
prepared!
Trick 3: hold the small
screwdriver in the flame for a few seconds. You can use it to sculpt out little
bits of plastic. It can be used to add
small gouges and cuts, or to smooth burrs.
Use your imagination.
Trick 4: only after a lot of
practice with the stretched sprues, you can use this. Hold a part of the figure that you want to change. Heat can make an arm or leg pliable enough
for a small movement. This technique
takes practice and a lot of caution. Be
aware that parts near the heated area can be affected. For instance, if heating an arm, be careful
you don’t inadvertently harm the finger of an adjoining open hand.
These are but a few of the applications of small candles to hobby work. I am sure you can cook up a few of your own. Little candles can mean al lthe difference in making a project easier. But be careful! Always have a cup of sand or water to extinguish flames, if needed. Safety first!
A
long time ago, some enterprising model railroader saw that sawdust could be
used for scenery. He colored it with
food dyes, a common household item back then.
Food dyes were used for cakes and novelties. Green was good for making grass. Diluted ink might turn sawdust
into earth toned powder. The grass
color would be used for lawns and fields, the earth for riverbanks and bare
places. It was glued down with common
white clue.
LifeLike, a hobby manufacturer,
turned sawdust into dollars. They
mass-produced boxes of green and brown sawdust, sold respectively as Grass and
Earth. LifeLike’s colored sawdust
covered many a train layout. Naturally,
military miniaturists discovered it and found it useful on dioramas.
The ground cover came to be
known as “ground foam” in later years ,thanks to improved formulas from
European makers. The Europeans used
crushed foams with more realistic shades of brown and green. The texture was also more realistic. LifeLike’s product., which is still made,
looks like colored sawdust. The bright
Hunter Green hue of Grass and medium tan of Earth look quaint beside modern
ground covers.
Today, good ground cover is
available from several American and European makers. It is light years ahead of the old colored sawdust.
Along with grass and earth
colors, modern manufacturers offer a
variety of other textures. There are
coarse and fine foliage, as well as foams simulating flowers and other
plants. You can even find “grass” than
stands!
The easiest way to apply ground
foam to figures is to coat the base with white glue. Then sprinkle on the foam and shake off the excess. Another trick is to add foam while the paint
on the base is still wet. Paint can
serve double duty as glue. (Be careful
that the paint does not totally infuse the ground foam!)
The variety of ground foams is
supplemented by miniature gravel and related stone products. Some ground stone is sold as “ballast.” In railroading terms, “ballast” is the
crushed stone used under tracks.
Because of scale differences, “ballast” for N or HO might be fine enough
to serve a gravel for 54mm, 75mm and larger figures. Here is where model railroad scales work for us. The smaller the scale, the finer the
“ballast.”
For the modern military
miniature maker, there is an amazing assortment of products which can improve
his figures and dioramas. Model
railroading’s ground foams and ballasts are a ready source of ground cover
. Made to the exacting standard of
realism demanded by today’s miniature railroad buffs, these scenery materials
are equally useful for the military miniature enthusiast.