# Question RE Seams On Clear Plastic



## ost15jr (Apr 4, 2002)

Hi -- I'm planning on starting my Bride of Frankenstein soon and have been prepping seams. I'm wondering about the clear plastic beakers and glassware -- is there a way you can make the seams 'disappear', and what have you used to simulate the liquids in the containers? What I would normally do is paint the inside of the plastic to look like coloured liquid, but is there a better way?

Thanks!
:dude:


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## irocer (Aug 22, 2000)

I do the same for liquids - paint the inside and have added a coat to the outside, then a clear coat. The paint can be solid or transparent for more of the liquid look. You can smooth and reduce the appearance of outside seams, but cannot remove them. The inside and seam faces will still be visible. I know of no way to make a "seamless" appearance.


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## Otto69 (Jan 2, 2004)

*Doh!*

I had a link to a post of an award winning buildup of the PL Bride, and the guy who did it detailed his efforts to resolve the seam lines, which it seemed he mostly succeeded in, but it was an effort. However I've just spent some time searching and cannot find a bookmark for the discussion of how to do it, and I searched both the CultTVman and PL boards and couldn't find it (thought I didn't search each link that mentioned "Bride")

Perhaps someone can once again post a linke to it, or at least the name of the guy who did the buildup? I know it was entered in some contest...


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Markenstein did that build-up and it was _phenomenal_.


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## The Batman (Mar 21, 2000)

I'm going from memory here ( so, take it for what it's worth ) I believe Markenstein said that he removed the locater pins and sanded everything down real good.  Then he cemented the beaker halves together with Testor's Clear Parts glue - which is essentially similar to Elmer's white glue - because it wouldn't cause _crazing_ of the clear plastic parts. The bottles and beakers had been coated inside and out with Future floor finish to make them crystal clear.

If anyone remembers differently or has any further suggestions, by all means, let's hear from you!

- GJS


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## Rebel Rocker (Jan 26, 2000)

If memory serves me correctly, somebody posted about filling their bottles with a liquid (possibly a liquid soap?). They looked great and, after a year, had shown no signs of evaporation. Anyone else recall this?

Wayne


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Yeah, Markenstein used colored liquid which he injected into the bottles with a syringe.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

The reason you can't find it, is because it was purged from the system a long time ago. (hence the reason I pop the Signed G thread up every so often so it isn't lost)
Here is the text from the post.



> Markenstein
> Member
> Posts: 1616
> Registered: May 1999
> ...


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

Hey Tay - thanks for saving and reposting the explanation! It really is testimony to what perserverance can accomplish!


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## ost15jr (Apr 4, 2002)

Thanks guys! Any pics of this builtup anywhere? I'd love to use it for reference!

:dude:


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## Rebel Rocker (Jan 26, 2000)

Thanks a lot, Tay! Printed that puppy out and stashed it away! It will definitely get some use.

Wayne


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Just returning the favor.

I didn't actually save the text myself and another board member was nice enough to send it to me about a year ago.


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## ost15jr (Apr 4, 2002)

I'm almost finished this kit (and I've been putting it off, and off, and off, and . . . . ) and have one last question

I was struggling with getting the 'goo' into the bottles and couldn't find a needle with large enough guage to suck up apoxy, so I settled with a large drugstore needle. I was able to mix clear flat laquer with coloured paint. But for the largest flask I'd like to do it right. Can you thin down apoxy with anything (so I can get it into my syringe)? Can I thin it with just a little varsol or will that screw it up somehow?

Any ideas?
:dude:


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## Otto69 (Jan 2, 2004)

Well, Milliput is epoxy putty and it can be smoothed with water...so maybe do test on something expendable using water to dilute the epoxy?


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## Da Queen (Mar 11, 2005)

And you should have seen the looks on Denny and his team from PL shipping when those Nikki Fritz signed pics arrived as a "thank you" for the box of clear parts for Markenstein to practice on!! :tongue: I remember she signed Denny's, "Breast Wishes! Nikki"  

Markenstine did a fabulous job...it was flawless!! BTW, whatever happened to him??? I heard he and Nikki split up.  

Hugs!
Da Queen


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## The Batman (Mar 21, 2000)

That's what I heard, too. In fact, someone said that he traded Nikki in for a better looking girlfriend!

- GJS


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## Da Queen (Mar 11, 2005)

Now, why do guys do that?? Good grief! Well, Nikki was not only stunning, but she was smart, too! The girl had a brain. I hope she's doing well.

Moi


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

*Liquids.*

I drew on my memory of Markensteins' description of how he dealt with the clear parts when I built my Bride of Frankenstein kit. I couldn't remember how he said he'd added the liquids to the bottles, so here's what I did:

I was leery of trying to inject epoxy into the bottles successfully, worried that it might expand and pop a seam, or heat up and warp the plastic (which all that sanding will make pretty thin, BTW). After a little thought, it occurred to me that all I really needed was the surface of the liquid. So I used a circle template to get the outer diameter of each bottle at the point where the level of the liquid would be. Then I guesstimated that about 1/16 of an inch taken off that diameter would compensate for the thickness of the bottle's walls. I used the template to scribe the smaller circle onto a piece of clear acetate (the packaging from some grocery-store pastires), and cut the circle out.

Neither the acetate disks nor the interior of the bottles were perfect circles, but I fudged around until I got a reasonable fit (it's possible to have the worst side face the rear of the model and be less noticeable). I painted streaks of liquid running down the insides of the bottles to camouflage the seams; the area beneath the disks, which would represent the liquid inside the bottle, was painted as transparent colors. The disks were painted correspondingly (for the big retort with the arm, I even added small dots of 5-minute epoxy to the disk, to suggest that the liquid was bubbling). I used tiny drops of super glue on the underside of the disks, to tack them in place. The glue sets slowly enough to allow you to adjust the disk so that it will be *level *when the bottle is positioned on the model. Once the position of the disk was set, I ran a bead of Testors Clear Parts Cement around the edges of the disk, and cemented the bottle halves with more super glue.

The super glue dried clear and didn't fog the plastic, owing to the Future Acrylic dip. I used more super glue as a filler. This require more sanding, smoothing, and Future, until the outside of the bottle was pristine. The last step was to paint more "boiled over" liquid on the outside of the bottles to further camouflage the seams.

The clear parts were a lot of work, but I think the results are worth the effort. here's how my Bride came out: http://photos.hobbytalk.com/showphoto.php?photo=2368

Good luck!


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## ost15jr (Apr 4, 2002)

Nice work Mark! But my bottles (the SECOND set) are together already! So I've got to get liquid inside (if I have to sand a third set of bottles I may lose my mind)

I guess I'll play around with epoxy for a bit and then go for it!

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!
:dude:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

*Epoxy or your mind...tough choice.*



ost15jr said:


> ...(if I have to sand a third set of bottles I may lose my mind) I guess I'll play around with epoxy for a bit and then go for it!... :dude:


Ost, I feel your pain re: sanding another set of bottles. You might be able to find syringes at whichever hobby store you patronize. One word of caution - in my experiments with coloring epoxy with Testors oil-based paint, the amount of paint necessary to color the epoxy effectively seemed to prevent the resin from curing, at least overnight. I only tried this once, so the test was far from conclusive. Maybe the paint just retarded the cure or maybe, being sealed in 1/11 scale bottles, gummy resin wouldn't be a problem at all.

There's my other cent's worth. Good luck!:thumbsup:


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## ost15jr (Apr 4, 2002)

Thanks Mark!

Besides, what's the worst that could happen? . . . . :freak:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

The worst that could happen is, you foul up your bottles, have to get ahold of another set, and then sand the bejeebers out of _them! _Honestly, these kids today...


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## clark_savage (Jan 24, 2003)

Hi Guys, there is a Captain America Kit put out by Toy Biz a few years ago of Cap and the Red Skull fighting in a lab with a huge glass beaker as part of the diorama. I saw a buildup in a website where the guy used yellow hair gel to simulate the liquid. I think if you shake the gel before you put it in, there will be bubbles in it and I guess the beaker is sealed somehow so the gel will keep for a long time??


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

I'm curious as to how to minimize the seam on a clear part that DOESN'T have something inside to help out. Specifically, I'm thinking about the LiS Robot's "bubble" head.


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## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

Don't count on my lousy memory, but in short I think Markenstein's basic idea was to sand like hell with VERY fine grit wet/dry paper inside and out, and coat with Future polish. Anybody want to verify that?
Dabbler


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

spe130 said:


> I'm curious as to how to minimize the seam on a clear part that DOESN'T have something inside to help out. Specifically, I'm thinking about the LiS Robot's "bubble" head.


If you work the seam with LMG's polishing cloths slowly and patiently, then coat with Future, you can remove seams and imperfections. When you use the first coarse cloth (or sponge, my kit has both) you are going to think you screwed up, it will "scratch" the heck out of the clear part. But just follow the kits instructions, alternating direction of your stroke(up and down with one cloth, left and right with the next) with each different cloth, by the time you you get to the finest it should be really smooth. If you can still see remnants of the seams, repeat with the process using only the last three finest polishing cloths till it disapears and feels smooth, then coat with future.

This technique ( that I think I stole from Carson when he did his Proteus) has saved several garage kit clear parts that were fogged, seamed, or had imperfections. The LMG polishing kit is really handy, and works really well between coats on gloss finishes as well.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

*Seam, indeed! Bah!*



spe130 said:


> I'm curious as to how to minimize the seam on a clear part that DOESN'T have something inside to help out. Specifically, I'm thinking about the LiS Robot's "bubble" head.


Spe, the only answer there (that *I* found, at any rate) was to prepare the clear parts as noted above, then cement the halves with either Testors Clear Parts Cement or Future Acrylic Floor Polish. You'll have minimalized the seam a lot, but you'll just have to live with it.

The original _Lost in Space _Robot's bubble was blown from clear plastic, rather like a glass bowl. A section was cut out from the bottom, so that the Robot's sensors could be inserted. A flat plastic disk, with a hole cut out to accomodate the Robot's "neck", closed everything up. I suppose a completed kit bubble could be used as a pattern over which a clear piece could be vacuformed. That would be a lot of work to correct a defect that isn't really all that bad. Here's a link to some photos of my "Ferrous Frankenstein" (click on the Robot's photo): http://members.toast.net/blackswampmodelers/MarkMGallery.html

This model got a Bronze at the 1999 WonderFest, even though it was built straight from the box. I mention that only to emphasize how small a problem the seam really is.


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Beautiful Bride, Mark!!!!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

This is a very unseamly topic. 

Tsk tsk tsk.
Huzz


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I guess my idea is useless it you can't get the sponges to the seam!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Mitchellmania said:


> Beautiful Bride, Mark!!!!


Thanks Mitch. And may I compliment your work as well: http://photos.hobbytalk.com/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/7157

But I don't know if I'd call your Ygor "beautiful"...


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