how do you rescribe panel lines.........I feel like an absolute beginner here..........but I don't do that many planes now.........actually the question is how do you find out where to put them after they've been sanded off?

huh oh - One way is to make a map before they are sanded off. Either sketch it or you can do a rubbing, Put paper of the wing and get a pencil and rub the raised lines.

So - if they are gone you have to go to hard and fast research. Get out a book and or the instructions/box art etc. and measure it off. If you have a left wing right wing situation you can use the opposite one to be your guide.

not sanded off yet I went here first..........good thing too.......ok any other ways?

Next time try scribing the panel lines a little deeper before sanding. This has helped me many times in the past

maybe I should have worded that better...........I HAVE NOT SANDED THE PANEL LINES OFF YET................there.........................

The question should be asked......are they raised or lowered. Raised is bad, what animal said if they are lowered is the way to do it. Get a scribing tool and make them deeper. If they are raised, get the scribing tool and sand a little, scibe a little sand a little scibe a little. that way you keep the area marked. The other part of the eqation is...don't go hog wild with the sanding. That's why I do so few planes all the joints show and removing them screws up detail.

A reply from the big sand box of iraq..
As far as panel lines go if they are raised and you havent sanded them off as yet, you can use embossing tape as a scribing guide. Embossing tape is that hard plastic tape that you use to make labels for different things. It is cheap and readily available at just about any office supply store. Use the original panel line as a guide and lay the tape along side. The tape is slightly sticky so it will stay in place. Use your scribing tool and after a few carefull passes, your panel lines should be nice and recessed. Perfection isnt really needed when doing this. If your lines dont meet, it is a simple matter of figuring out where they should and playing connect the dots, or in this case, connect the lines. Hope this helps. "Q" :-)

:-) I am in the process of writing an article on this subject, but as I am now in work it will be a while, so here is basically what I do.
Wash the parts to be re-scribed, I use rubbing alcohol, to remove mold release agent. Spray the parts with acrylic primer (I use plastic primer for cars by Halfords, in the UK). Use grey if the plastic is dark, and a dark colour if the plastic is light. If the plastic is silver this is not necessary, as the panel lines will leave "shadows" when they are removed.
Choose the line you wish to re-scribe, take a sharp pointed impliment and push it into the intersection where the line meets another (useually at right angles), do this at both ends.
Take a No 10 scalpel blade, or a curved hobby blade, and carefully scrape away the panel line. Take your scribing tool, put the point in one indent, put your straight edge up to it, move your scribing tool to the other indent, move the straight edge up to it. Check the alignment and scribe.
The primer makes it easier to see what you are doing and highlights the raised lines. It also helps you to see what you have done.
If you have detail close to the raised line that you don't want to lose then carry out the same proceedure, but instead of removing the line scribe through it, (more difficult than removing it first) For small detail such as inspection hatches use a template. When you carefully scratch away the raised one the blastic shows through the primer so you can easily see where it goes.
I've tried to take a picture to illustrate, but it's to dark, I will try tomorrow and update this. I'm just about to start re-scribing a B-26 Marauder. :-)
Have fun :-)
Mal

just one question mal..........wouldn't the dark color screw up the pre-shading???..........or would i sand the dark off too??

:-) Here's my Monogram P-61 that I have been re-scribing for ages. The black plastic made it difficult to see what I was doing, that's when I tried the grey primer. It does make life alot easier. :-)

When the re-scribing is complete I will rub down the model with fine grade emery paper and wire wool.



Yes a dark colour primer over a light coloured plastic would screw up pre-shading, if you wanted to do it. Same as above, the panel lines require rubbing down. The model is constructed as normal and another coat off primer is applied, in the case of the dark primer, now use the grey or white. You can then add pre-shading if you require. :-)
Mal