# how to cut very thin strips of styrene?



## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

I messed up my Sulaco. I sanded away the raised panel lines on the upper fore section of the model to get the seam down the center. (why are there only raised lines along that one section?)

Anyway, I'd like to replace them and I don't quite know how to.

any help you could offer would be great!

I've tried the stretching technique. I've never been able to master the amount of heat applied to the sprue or it gets way too thin or something. I suppose I could practice.


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

all the tutorials I'm finding demonstrate on how to stretch it very thing for small scale aircraft and whatnot. I need it slightly thicker than that.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

You can make thicker stretched sprue. It just takes practice. Its hard/impossible to cut styrene that thin in a long strip. You might try to CA glue down some pieces of wire... I'd just use sprue. Also the type of plastic you use does effect how it comes out. If you are using kit parts trees and its not working... try a different kit/plastic. You can even use Evergreen rod, etc.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

Best to use thin Plastruct or Evergreen strips and cut them with The Chopper.


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## starseeker (Feb 1, 2006)

You can buy replacement stretched sprue-like raised seam replacements in various thicknesses from Archer. It's a new product this year and, like their rivets, you cut as much as you need and apply them like a decal. For very fine work, after applying you will probably want to very carefully sand the edges of the decal paper so they don't leave a ridge. Great stuff, much much easier that working with stretched sprue or 1000's of individual rivets, tho care is still required.
http://www.archertransfers.com/AR88013.html


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## Magesblood (May 12, 2008)

starseeker said:


> You can buy replacement stretched sprue-like raised seam replacements in various thicknesses from Archer. It's a new product this year and, like their rivets, you cut as much as you need and apply them like a decal. For very fine work, after applying you will probably want to very carefully sand the edges of the decal paper so they don't leave a ridge. Great stuff, much much easier that working with stretched sprue or 1000's of individual rivets, tho care is still required.
> http://www.archertransfers.com/AR88013.html


so to be clear, this isn't a decal? It looks like a decal. Do they have dimension to them?



Trek Ace said:


> Best to use thin Plastruct or Evergreen strips and cut them with The Chopper.


"Chopper"?

Oh wait, I have one of those Fiskars' paper trimmers. I could put in a thin piece of plastic and run the blade along it several times.

I like the idea of prefab ones though.


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## starseeker (Feb 1, 2006)

It is a decal but they have somehow managed to make tiny 3 dimensional resin shapes adhere to the decal. The rivets are 1/2 spheres and the panel lines are long super thin 1/2 cylinders. Search more on the web (FSM did a review of them in the spring (??) and there should be other reviews out there as well. Plus Archer should have instructions at their site.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The chopper is a wooden base with a guillotine like razor blade to cut wood, thin plastic. But its hard to cut something as thin as sprue...


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## starseeker (Feb 1, 2006)

Here's a shot of their rivets in a 1/24 LM I'm working on. Pardon the rest of the model. This was just after it's first coat of primer to spot all the cracks, scratches, cat hair, and other messes I've made of it. 
But the rivets looks great!


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## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Those rivets look awesome! I was thinking of getting some for my Iron Man kit...

Rob
Iwata Padawan


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