Making Staright/Neat Panel lines?

[NullARC]

Hi,

I am new to the forums. I had a quick question.
Sorry if this is a duplication, but I was unable to find the answer
sifting through all of the topics.

I was wondering how such straight, neat lines are made on body panels.

Here is an example of what I am talking about.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[USS Atlantis]

Ok

1) Links only, inline pictures are not allowed by the forum owners

2) Couple items that can help - an engineer's ruler

Or you can cut some thicker blank styrene using a straight edge and use the styrene to lay out straight lines - the styrene will bend to follow curves

[NullARC]

Sorry about the inline pic. Fixed.

Thanks for the info.

What sort of tool do you use to scribe the lines?
Any special techniques to use with the tool?

[Joseph C. Brown]

Also, consider looking over the how-to items, like Zog's on plastic sheet methods:
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/cj_scribe.htm

[G-man]

There is also the technique where one lays out thing strips of tape where they want their lines to be, Then spray your primer over it in several coats, and you'll get nice crisp panel lines with that method too. Done and sealed properly you can also cast the painted object, then remold for the panel lines....Or so i have read anyway.

G-man

[NullARC]

There is also the technique where one lays out thing strips of tape where they want their lines to be, Then spray your primer over it in several coats, and you'll get nice crisp panel lines with that method too. Done and sealed properly you can also cast the painted object, then remold for the panel lines....Or so i have read anyway.

G-man

WOW, that's a really interesting idea!
There are so many really great ideas. It's nice that we have so many
brains working at the same time to come up with "simple solutions" to "complex problems".

[G-man]

there is a studio scale Defiant model that's being built ( or maybe complete now) if you search for it on google, you can see the way the process turned out...don't remember if he showed any in progress of it.

g-man

[Tankmodeler]

Quite a number of companies make scribing tools & aides. Squadron makes one, I think as do others, like UMM-USA and, I think, OLFA and many more. They come in many shapes & methods of operation. Do a google search & I'm sure you'll turn up a bunch.

There are also a lot of ways of guiding the tools. For flat surfaces, the steel rule is best, I like to tape the rule in position to concentrate on the scribing, and not the holding. There are also flexible thin stainless rules that easily conform to single-curved shapes, like fuselages. For sribing radii or doors & the like, there are a lot of companies making scribing guides out of PE stainless. You just run the scribing tool gently around the inside of these etched shapes & away you go.

Another way to guide your scribe is to get some of the infamous Dymo label tape. Stick it to the model and scribe along the edge. You can also cut curves or shapes into the Dymo tape and then then stick it to the model to do funky compound things that you might not have a guide for.

Also, almost every model building site that supports articles has one or more articles on methods of scribing. Do a search and you'll be amazed at the different ways there are to skin this cat.

Paul

[ajmadison]

IMHO, the best scriber I've ever bought is the one from Mission Models. It comes in a not-so-inexpensive set, but its worth the money. The smallest width scriber is a finely honed steel point, the others are actually pull gouges. The scriber set is compatible with the micro-chisel(s), which is another excellent tool, so you can buy just the replaceable nibs once you have the handle.

Couple other techniques worth discussing are the creation of specialized templates for solving odd shapes either within the body of the surface, or solving the problem of following the edge of the hull or similar sub-assembly. You don't necessarily have to cut the template out of thin brass sheet, if its only needed for a couple of times, then cut one out of sheet styrene.

I also copiously use a pair of dividers (compass is a point & pencil/marker, dividers are two points) to scribe circles. Its how I scribed new concentric deflector grid lines on a Star Trek primary hull. In one case, there was a detail part that goes over where the center point of the dividers goes, in another case, I super glued a sacrificial piece of scrap for the center point, then popped the scrap off and cleaned away the ACC remnants.

[MillenniumFalsehood]

I actually use a dull eXacto knife. I practised pulling it straight in a line, and I've gotten good enough to not need a straightedge unless it's a particularly long line and I'm not feeling particularly patient. After I'm done, I sand the line flat and drag a dental pick gently along the line to remove the debris.

[Ramsayman]

I have gotten a "pick" that a dentist uses to pick at your teeth. I can't remember what they're called, but they're sharp and they curve - Dentists have to toss these often, if you ask one, they might just give you an old one. That's how I got mine - sterilize it and ouala! Instsnt free scriber!

Looks like this:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MQsRsvpxURM/T ... l_pick.jpg

[Harry Joy]

I use an X-acto knife, a cheap dental tool, a combination of Dymo tape and scraps of photoetch for ruling, but I do most of the actual scribing work, especially detail work, with a sewing needle chucked into a pin vise. Simple, cheap, effective.

[AbsoluteSciFi]

I actually use a dull eXacto knife. I practised pulling it straight in a line, and I've gotten good enough to not need a straightedge unless it's a particularly long line and I'm not feeling particularly patient. After I'm done, I sand the line flat and drag a dental pick gently along the line to remove the debris.

To add to your post/technique, The back side of the blade works excellent for this purpose, placed agianst a hard metal rule, you can apply force to the blade and gouge the line very crisply. Repeat this several time and rock the angle of the blade outwards, to give more width to the line. After several passes, you can follow up with a micro file and clean the trench up. I have actually found that scribing styrene is better than cutting styrene, because it clears away the debris and cuts into the styrene as it goes in, cutting actually pushes the styrene apart as it goes in, making a raised lip at the edges, which has to be sanded down. I usually make several initial scribe passes into the styrene first then cut away the part, so that there is no raised lip.

[srspicer]

Ditto much of what has been said already.

I actually covered this in the class I taught for Sci-Fi-U on Friday @W.F. this year.

The dull Xacto blade is the way I scribe and that is what I discussed. I follow that with a fine point steel tool. Just a finely ground point, nothing fancy. Sand down the ridges and clean out with a tooth brush. You really don't need the fancy scribing tools, unless that is what you desire to have. There are other tricks & tools I use to establish scribe lines, but that is for the people who attended the class.

I would stay away from the 'painting them" method, too much work.

All of the answers above will work, try them to see what works best for you. That's the beauty of a hobby!

Scott

[Tony Agustin]

....You really don't need the fancy scribing tools, unless that is what you desire to have...

Scott

I've bought my share of the fancy scribing tools and from experience found them to be basically a pain in the ass to use. Finicky little tools they are.
I'm always ending up going back to the old backside of my No.11 Exacto.

[TER-OR]

Here's a thread:
http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/vie ... hp?t=42752

[srspicer]

I had forgotten about the 'Book of Aves' ! Very funny!

Yep, use all of those guides shown for scribing.

[AbsoluteSciFi]

It is possible to scribe paint as well as plastic, but unless you are of very steady hand and well practiced, I would not recommend it.
When I scribe paint, it is for very small jobs, where the scale of the panel lines is so small the plastic scribe is too small. for this technique I put several layers of paint on the model starting with black primer in two layers, then top coat. scribe back to the black layer and you have a great black panel line.

[G-man]

scribe back to the black layer and you have a great black panel line.

i have never considered this.. I might giv eit a try on a random piece of scrap just for the grins of seeing how well it works for me, Thanks for the suggestion

George

[AbsoluteSciFi]

Here is a picture of me scribing lines, and this is literally all I use to get the job done.

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad27 ... erm-40.jpg

[Jeff Herne]

I use a couple of methods, depending on the model type and the lines.

First uses a set of spark-plug gap gauges, the fan-deck variety of metal strips in varying thicknesses. The thinner strips are easily bent over compound curves and are simply taped into place, then the line is scribed. I've ditched every scribing tool I have in favor of the UMM-USA Scriber. I've got dental picks, curved X-acto blades, even used a rotary cutter for awhile.

For more subtle lines, I'll lay a piece of tape down and apply a coat of Mr. Surfacer primer to the model, then left the tape. This is problematic, though, as it leaves a lap-strake appearance on the model (like the roof of a house). Another option I've used is laying a piece of styrene down with white glue, letting it dry, then spraying the primer along the edges and removing the white-glued part.

I'm currently working on a CC X-wing and I've re-scribed the entire model. Not sure if this was a later run (it is an early edition kit), but the panel lines were not great.

Jeff