Secret to bi-symmetry

davehal9000 · Post by **davehal9000** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 12:24 am

I'm scratchbuilding a tiny Viper Mk II, and am having a hard time achieving bi-symmetry in the intakes. Anyone have any secrets on making it happen? I can't give you a scale, but the finished model will be 1 1/4 inches long.

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:30 pm

I'll give it a shot. When you say "bi-symmetry," I'm going to assume you're talking about getting the left-hand side to mirror the right-hand side. My best advice is to use a template to make the first side and then flip it around to make the opposite side. If you're trying to do it by eye, you could literally make dozens of pieces until you're satisfied. I use CorelDraw to make all my templates and I can scale & mirror them and then print them on plain paper or label paper. I can tweak the design if I find something doesn't work in the real world. I still usually make two or three parts before I'm satisfied. Hope this helps!

davehal9000 · Post by **davehal9000** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:24 pm

Yeah, looks like I need to get a decent drawing program. I've used MS Paint for years and it's done fine, but working this small makes Paint useless.

Thanks!

Shinnentai · Post by **Shinnentai** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:26 pm

You can always draw/print it big, then reduce it to scale using a photocopier.

davehal9000 · Post by **davehal9000** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:52 pm

The problem is the intakes are so small that any detail gets lost when the picture is reduced. I just need to find a better program to draw with.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:46 am

What about drawing it by hand using a grid? Basically, gridding a prototype image, and using the same grid structure on the small image, manually transfer the image by hand.

Make sense?

Kenny

DX-SFX · Post by **DX-SFX** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:13 am

Is this some kind of gender confused symmetry?

You can also photograph the item, flop it in Photoshop and overlay the two images or, print up the item actual size and cut around the edge to make yourself a profile that you can offer up to the other side.

davehal9000 · Post by **davehal9000** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:57 am

The intake is smaller than any grid I'd hope to buy, and I'm working on getting a better drawing program for the task. Looks like that'll help.