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Post by lurker on Dec 21, 2019 1:11:23 GMT
came upon these at hobby lobby, currently working on their peacock, doing a build thread on affiliated budget bicycle board. preprinted precut brass sheets, cut parts off the sheet, fold them, lock them together with tabs and slots. parts are small, you will want needlenose pliers, tweezers or hemostats, and magnifier. very diverse selection, military, aircraft, cars, ships, give them a looksee. after about an hour, i have a head. oops title typo. iconx
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Post by lurker on Dec 24, 2019 23:55:14 GMT
more progress eta: pretty sure i posted pics. hmm.
next, tail and wings
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Post by Firemist on Dec 25, 2019 17:52:44 GMT
When I think about it, sometimes it might be nice to take a break from plastic models with all the finishing that is required. I checked out the Metal Earth site, and saw a Star Wars A wing fighter and a couple of other things that caught my eye. I looked a little further and even found some cars. Finally, I am wondering if the pieces are sort of laid out similar to a plastic sprue or are the pieces cut individually? Nice work by the way!
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Post by lurker on Dec 25, 2019 21:25:45 GMT
here's one of the 3 & 1/2 sheets with the tail bits punched out, and the pliers and nail clippers i'm using. each of the little pieces has 2 spots that must be nipped and the bigger ones have as many as 8 spots to clip. the sheets appear to be .25mm thick brass, very malleable. i've had to remove and replace a couple of parts so the tabs have been bent, unbent and rebent, and no breakage (crossing fingers) so far. if you do give it a try, start with easy or medium, it's a miracle that i didn't give up in frustration in the first hour.
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Post by Firemist on Dec 26, 2019 2:12:36 GMT
I was going to recommend some nipper type pliers you buy at the home depot for a few dollars. They worked really well for making clean cuts with photo etch details.
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Post by lurker on Dec 27, 2019 2:11:00 GMT
i have some fine wire cutters i got from radio shack but they aren't pointy enough to get in among the detail, hence the nail clippers. and a little file to clean up the cut wouldn't hurt either.
today while working on the wings i encountered my first "doesn't fit". one of 3 tabs on the wing piece i assemble out of individual feathers is not fitting, and cant be bent to fit, so i just folded it over out of the way. i think this is a case of "tolerance stacking", i.e. each of the 8 feathers is out a tiny insignificant little bit, but by the time we get all 8 of them assembled, it IS significant.
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Post by lurker on Dec 29, 2019 3:06:32 GMT
wings all done, building the tail. then attach the wings and tail to body, all done! had another "doesn't fit" moment, except... it fit on the other side. very close tolerances. so maybe the same problem the first time, but it seems to work so i'm not gonna take it all apart.
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Post by Firemist on Dec 30, 2019 0:30:22 GMT
Couple of thoughts. Will have to get a picture of the nipper pliers that I was talking about. As I understand, they are like $5.00 at the Home Depot I believe. Also, you would figure with AutoCad and computer designing programs models in general would have of better fitting pieces, but I guess its not always the case. Even some of the more modern offerings have a few problems with fit.
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Post by lurker on Dec 30, 2019 18:26:01 GMT
i've had very few issues with fit. one of them i'm sure was my fault(assembled left-side part to right side), another not so sure. i'm about to have problems fitting the back, with tail attached, because of the curvature of the pieces. tonight, i'll do that tonight. it would help if the parts were bigger. overall, i'm very favorably impressed with design, fit and finish and have no problem recommending one of the easier kits.
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Post by Firemist on Dec 31, 2019 4:12:35 GMT
Its actually looking pretty cool.
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Post by lurker on Jan 4, 2020 0:52:44 GMT
yes, thanks! i've been stalled right about here, i did put the wings on the body and attached the tail to the back so i'm down to two parts to put together, but i'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my mind around that last bit. i'll get to it. i'm also contemplating cuttting, routing and staining a walnut base for it. seems like it would be tippy as-is. i'll get back to it in the next day or so.
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Post by Firemist on Jan 22, 2020 4:05:14 GMT
I finally found the nipping pliers that I was talking about and took a quick picture of them. My wife says she bought these at the home depot, and they say they are chrome nickel alloy; which should be fairly tough. This tool really worked wonders for small photo etched parts. They are about 4 inches length and cost around $5.00. Harbor freight also sells something similar, but I think its carbon steel. Anyway, I found that these cut fairly well.
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Post by lurker on Jan 22, 2020 14:49:35 GMT
i broke 2 of the 3 tabs where the tail attaches to the back. we're going to try 5 minute epoxy. as a consolation prize, i bought their 1-sheet monarch butterfly. "easy", it says.
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Post by Firemist on Jan 23, 2020 4:34:17 GMT
I have to admit, I have blown a good many kits over the years for a variety of reasons. Over time, it has happened less and less. One thing I have learned is that if I have some tricky assembly or paint work, I usually do it on a Saturday or Sunday morning shortly after I wake up when I am at my best. The less complicated stuff I do on weeknights if there is anything left of me after work. In addition, I find if I get stuck on something I will put it aside and when I least expect I often manage to come with an idea on how to fix it. Other times, its just better to move on, but when you finally finish something you are pleased with its really a great feeling.
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Post by lurker on Jun 6, 2020 3:56:58 GMT
well it's been a while, lots of stuff going on in the world, lots of time for modelling. sadly, the cat (yes, i'm blaming the cat) wrecked the peacock and it is no more. i was about fed up with it anyway, likely too demanding for my skill level. i still have 2 others, much easier, have not started them. about to run out of other projects so maybe start one of them soon.
hoping y'all are safe and well!
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