Looking for tiny 1.5mm trusses in PE

[Agent Orange]

Hi,

I've been searching the net for photo etched Trusses.

The length isn't too important so long as they are over 20mm long but the width of the part needs to be about 1.5mm.

I'm trying to scratch build the titanic's sister ship Britannic's gantry davits in 1/700 - they look like this:

http://www.titanic-plan.com/i_HW_plans_ ... age131.jpg

I've already tried model ship railings and details and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

[Rocketeer]

I realize that this maybe isn't what you wanted to hear, but why don't you try etching them yourself? MicroMark sells a home photoetching kit that works pretty well; I've used it to make bits for a French land ironclad and a nameplate for a Space Pirates model.

Here's a thread on another site which describes my experiences:

http://coffincorner.proboards.com/threa ... to-etching

[Agent Orange]

Heh, thanks - doing it myself is an option but a last resort really.

I have toyed with getting them made for me too but right now I'm looking to keep costs down.

I'll defiantly check out your thread though - thanks!

Steve

[ajmadison]

There is a styrene solution. And there is no shame in not wanting to go this route. The only reason I could or would even try something like this, is I become fond of smaller scale 1:1000 for capital ships (1:144 for airliners) and started honing my skills and sensibilities for very small details.

So one thing I have learned, you cannot cut sheet styrene smaller than 1mm square into a meaningful detail. Which doesn't mean a scratchbuilder cannot make details smaller than 1mm. One can drill holes smaller than 1mm, you can chop square and round rod into 1mm parts.

For the trusses you want to build, I would take angle stock, and chop out a bunch of very thin 'L' shaped pieces. Line them up between two tiny rails of sheet stock, and you have your trusses. I would build the truss on wax paper or aluminum foil, and use pin point application of super glue (e.g. dab a toothpick in a puddle of superglue, and transfer the droplet to the sub assembly under construction). Because the L shaped pieces will probably be inconsistent in thickness, sand your truss to make the angle parts the same thickness as the rails. I would sand the truss while it is still stuck to the wax paper.

Another, method is take some wire, and bend it into the desired zig zag shape, and glue it between a pair of rails. Not an exact match for your drawing, but better than a blank or solid piece of injected styrene.

BTW, this kind of construction benefits most from repetition. On the plus side, tiny sub-assemblies like this will only take less than an hour to build the first time. And the first attempt will look like crap. A second attempt will go much faster. And once you're in a groove, you should be able to attach parts at the rate between 2 to 6 parts per minute. Depending upon how intricate the sub-assembly, somewhere around the 3rd or 4th attempt will be perfect. My point is, don't expect the first try to be any good. And especially when you may need a dozen or more of these things for the project in question, plan on building al ot of them, but be ready to be very impressed with your results on the 3rd or 4th attempt.

[Kylwell]

IIRC Tom's Modelworks has generic trusses and such on one of their sheets.

[Agent Orange]

thanks for all your help.

I found some tiny PE trusses that are almost the correct size.

I tired the bent angled wire but couldn't get a consistent shape which is what started me on my PE hunt.

It never ceases to amaze me how small PE can go and still be structurally strong enough to support its own weight!

Steve

[Andrew Gorman]

I saw some of these little metal kits in a tourist trap gift shop, and they are inexpensive with some good and useable etched/laser cut metal parts:
http://www.fascinations.com/metalearth/viewall
Just a suggestion, but another source for tiny metal bits.