How to fake screw head, rivets and welding lines?

[Neil]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and want to say hello to everybody.
I like SF movies but my main interested are spacecraft from the past. I built flying rocket models and now I have a Mercury Redstone on my work place. I start with a 1:12 Mercury capsule kit from Atomic City. But this kit is to nice to let it fly and maybe crash down. So I start scratch build a 1:12 capsule. For the flying model I want to use fibre glass. For that I need a negatic mold.
My main problem are the screw heads and the rivets. In 1:12 I think I am still able to detail all the screw. The head of the srew will be about 0,5mm. I need approc 1000 of them. How to do this?
My idea is to use a small screw from a wrist watch. I already found one. Now I want to mold the screw with the washer together. The washer will be 1,5mm in diameter. As the result I hope to get a negativ mold of the srew and washer with about 50 pices in one turn. This I want to glue to the surface. Is it the right way to do it or is it to complicate?
The capsule also have philips countersunk screws. This I can not add to the surface I must place them in the surface. How do I do it?
The rocket itself has a lot of rivets. I want to made the surface of 0,3mm thick brass plates. The idea is to press the shape of the rivets from the backside into the plate with a thin hard pen.
The mayor part of the rocket body is made of welded plates. I want to use a plane pipe and glue a thin cable on it to fake a welding line.

I hope this are not to much question to start here.

Greetings

Neil

[Rogviler]

Welds are pretty easy with some kind of putty, like Milliput or Mighty Putty. The technique can be seen here...

You basically just lay an uneven strip down and then stipple it with a shaped piece of sprue or toothpick.

-Rog

[Joseph C. Brown]

For rivets, look at Futch's handy home made rivet-tool:

http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog1.html
http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog2.html
http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog3.html
http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog4.html

[Chacal]

The capsule also have philips countersunk screws. This I can not add to the surface I must place them in the surface. How do I do it?

You can always do it the same way you'll make the screw-and-washer parts, with a small difference: drill shallow holes on the model's surface (just a conical 'pit'), the same diameter as the screw head, and make some resin screw heads to plug the holes.

[macfrank]

Futch's method is both cheap and effective for rivets. For both weld marks and rivets you can also use the Archer fine transfers surface details.

[Neil]

Hello,

thanks for all the information. That will help me a lot.

When I know how to put pictures here I will post some.

Greetings

Neil

[Sparky]

any ideas on how to do welds? Tamyia tanks have this effect, just wondering if there's some trick to reproducing it.

Never mind I see it now in that link. . .

[Whiteraven_2001]

There are also rivet and weld bead decals from Archer Transfers.

[TazMan2000]

I've never tried these myself, but I've read them in Verlinden books and other publications.
The most realistic rivets would be made by getting a box of pins sewing pins (not the ones with eyes, just the ones that pin the fabric). Chop off all but a bit of the end of the needle. Now they looks just like real rivets. Drill holes in the piece you want rivets in and then painstakingly insert all of the pins in. It takes a while, but you can't get a better look.
There is also a riveting tool that looks like a star wheel on a handle. This should be available from stores or sites that sell wooden model ships and supplies. Some old ships had copper bottoms riveted onto the bottom of their hulls. To simulate this a person runs this tool over thin copper to make several equally spaced indentations. Then turn it over.
Welds can be done by carefully drawing a hot soldering iron over plastic. For inside corners you have to glue a piece of stretched sprue in order to get the same effect. Needless to say, try practicing on a piece of scrap plastic rather than on your model. I heard its tough.
TazMan2000

[Lt. Z0mBe]

Another way to get the weld bead on the outside corners and flat surfaces of models that doesn't require heat also uses stretched sprue - just larger diameter sprue. Lightly as possible cement the stretched sprue into position. After it's had a bit to snuggle down, hit it with some more liquid cement. You want to use enough to soften it like a real weld bead would be, but not enough such that it melts away. Then, with a small, stiff paint brush (or one of those old makeup detail brushes if you can get a clean one), dirty up that soft weld bead you've got going on and, whammo, you have a weld bead. I used this method on my Naboo N-1000's FBO display base in a few places to learn the technique.

Two things: After it's dry, gently sand the area up to the bead - but leave the bead itself alone - as it will get a little rough looking. Also, clean your brush in the liquid cement to get the styrene crud out.

I hope this helps.

Kenny

[ajmadison]

For rivets, look at Futch's handy home made rivet-tool:

http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog1.html
http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog2.html
http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog3.html
http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog4.html

Goodness, I have a finish nail setting tool that has this same profile as this custom made tool. That is, its made of hardened steel, tapers to a small diameter with a recessed cup in the tip. For those you who don't want to make one, check the better hardware stores. But double check the tool, don't buy blindly, because not all finish nail setters have this profile.

[ajmadison]

The armor & larger scale A/C modelers also swear by punch and die sets for making rivet heads. The punch out a series of very small discs and apply them as needed. Couple of swipes with a high number sandpaper, and the discs become rounded.

[Butters]

I'm nin a spot where I'll need a ton of rivets, bolt heads and the like, for myself as well. I'll probably just order mine from Grandtline or Tichy.