todays soda pop cans are so thin if you look at them cross eyed they ripple. Thought they might make good metal on armor kits. Tried it out on my Stug III-G as side armor. They look great. Thin enough to look scale and they bend up delightfully well. also hold paint

I have used soda cans in the past to make big boilers. I planned to used them in my Russian factory dio which BTW never really matrialized. They are supereb for that as they alread hold the basic shape.

You're right on - I have seen more and more people using them as an alternate source for fenders, armor, etc.

If you are talking about the aluminium cans I agree with you, they are just great. To make them more "workable" I cook them with a lighter or over a candle. Doing this you get rid of all the plastic and the varnisk on them as well.
Ciao

Hi,







Blaster and Scoccia good tips. I'll try them on my T34 for Barbarossa campaign.

Didn't know about heating them, Be sure to do that the next time. I like the price, for 35 cents you get the material and something to drink....waht a deal.

Aluminium cans, I use beer cans but as this is a family rated forum I wont mention that, are great for making small details. The material spec may change from country to country, but I also use aluminium aerosol containers such as deodorant comes in. These are the cans that say "don't puncture" on the side so I did not tell you this. If you ensure they are fully discharged, ie tape the nozzle open and leave it for a while, you can safely cut through them with a hacksaw - most easily done by holding the neck in a vice. They are of a thicker and more malleable type of aluminium than the beer cans and therefore more suited to make heavier parts.

In fact I save any sheet, tube or wire material of a dimension that may be suitable for modelling. Old electrical appliances, car wiring looms, relays and other electrical gear is a goldmine for the spare parts bin.

Old car wheel balance weights, often found lying on the raod, especially kerbside, are great as a source of lead, and are a nice cross section to fit into tank hulls as static weight to stop the road wheels floating on the tracks.

My idea of a good model is one that costs as little as possible so expensive after market goodies are out and scavenging is in.

Regards Dave

I tried it too, but the can metal bends a lot less than lead foil, which I prefer. Be careful not to get a cut when you start cutting pieces of can metal !

I've thought about drink cans but never took the time to clean one out. I'll definitley try it out. Thanks for the tip! Better than thin brass sheeting...it's what I usually use because it's much cheaper. That way I can buy more stuff!

Thank for the idea,

Don Porter

great tip guys. A can rolled out flat gives a decent size area of metal as well. Those 500ml cans would be perfect. Another source I seen recently was those little disposable candles that come in the little metal holders. If you cut of the side you are left with a nice little piece of metal that can be shaped quite easily.