does anybody have any suggestions on how to make engine grills for tanks besides using PE parts?

Use mesh from veil material or window screen. There are also plenty of PE sold in sheets with various mesh sizes.

Check your local crafts store. Look in the sculpture area for 60 or 80 mesh screen. If you can find it in aluminum, it is easier to cut. However brass will also work.

This question was already raised a few weeks ago. Plse check under "diorama" forum and look for mesh wire or something similar. There's several suggestions there. You can check my scratchbuilt M35 and M577 in the pictures from my link below to see results.

Any sort of fabric that looks like mesh will do. I recently got Tamiya's King Tiger, which came with a small sheet of mesh for part of it, but it didn't say to use it for the actual grilles. When I found out how long it would take to get the PE parts in for it, I decided to try using the leftover mesh that came with the kit and it worked great, though cutting out the circular grilles was difficult. Now doesn't that little anecdote make you feel better?

Nic

how you can make wire mesh grills ?

try to geet your hands on some wire mesh that keep the fly's outdoors

that will usely work very well

how to applie it ?

Cutting wire mesh for turret baskets, etc. First copy the cutting template from the instructions. Cut the template out and tape it to the wire mesh with transparent tape. Cut along the template with a pair of scissors, and .... voila!

hope this will work

Eric

I believe that window screens are just to big for some jobs. now this may sound strange untill you see what im talking about.
I was rifleing through my house looking for the perfect mesh, I gave up and checked my wallet to see how much money i had when lo and behold there it was!!!!
some wallets actualy have the perfect mesh instead of that clear sheet were your I.D. goes, (but I'm sure I could find a youse for that too.)