i wanna know why its so hard to scribe new lines in planes lol.
cause iam building a bf-109 and while sanding the seams i took so lines away .
so i wanna put new lines,
should i heat the tip of the scriber.
or just use tape for a line.
cause i tryed to just do it free hand and i went off the line lol.
so i need some help here thanks

tazz - DON'T HEAT THAT SCRIBE !!!! You'll be sorry.
My method (not that it always works the way I want it to)
Get a fresh xacto blade (like a No. 11), press it into the area you need to scribe ( kind of hard to explain just how, you need to use the length of the blade and kind of roll the model under it , you're not trying to cut it just leave an impression ), this will give you a shallow starting groove (if you need tape to guide you, so be it), now you can scribe to depth in that groove, take your time it takes multipule passes, don't try to remove too much at one time.

thanks iwill try that..
cause at the top of the model where the seam was there is lines rfrom around the plane that goes to the top and they are gone,
so iwill use the tape for a guide iwill tape both sides and work slow thanks for the help

Use a thick tape, like electrical tape to give yourself a nice tall ridge to use as a guide.

:-) For a guide I use Dymo tape (embosing tape with a sticky side for lables). For compound curves, like fuselage halves cut it into thinner strips, these will conform more easily to the contours. (just use the 2 outside edges).
Good tip, Chuck, I'll have to try that. Something else that might work in a similar manner, I recently purchased an etched saw set (made by Airwaves, of ED models) :-)
I am putting together an article on scribing panel lines, might be a while though, I have a whole Marauder to scribe :-)
Mal

Hi there

I've got a couple of different types of scribers which I use with Dymo tape.

I used to use Dymo or a scalpel to run a panel line over the fuselage seam, but I just found a "secret weapon" that's working really nicely... believe it or not... it's a 50 year old, blunt knife from a standard cutlery set! :-)

It works brilliantly! Using a "rocking motion", it's really easy to follow the existing line up and over the seam. :-) It takes a few passes to create a suitable depth - no bad thing, because it means you can't muck anything up too badly with one swipe! :-)

Try it... I think you'll be surprised...

All the best

Rowan

I use labeling tape because it is thick enough to guide the blade. I put to pieces of tape, one on each side of the panel line that I want to scribe because this give me a secure guide for the scribing tool.
To scribe I use a a special tool that I bought for that. Never heat the blade.

Tazz,

You need to us a special knife to re-scribe lines in plastic. If you use an ordinary blade or scalpel etc all you will do is cut a line. The material you cut through is not removed but pushed to one side - thus the raised burs/edges you get when cutting any type of plastic/styrene.

What you need is the type of knife illustrated below. Go halfway down the page until you see the red handled knife: ref KN4150 : DAFA PLASTIC CUTTER

http://www.shesto.co.uk/acatalog/Shesto_Catalogue_CRAFT_KNIVES__BLADES__KITS___ACCESSORIES_40.html

This type of blade when cut literaly removes a sliver of plastic and will leave no edges or burs - perfect for those panel lines. This knife is on a UK website but I am sure there will be US equivalents - have a look on Micromart etc.

For marking the lines out I use tamiya masking tape or a very flexible steel rule. Using the above knife even a VERY light pass will create a pilot groove and then with care you should be able to freehand the line deeper.

Lee

I have been using the Squadron Panel-line scriber for years and it works really well...The dymo tape is also the best thing as well....Jim

thanks guys i habe a testors scriber,, i guess i need a new one lol