I am trying t scratchbuild a thinner version of the Academy M36 Jackson


so far, all of the attempts have been unsuccessful
any suggestions?

How thin did you plan on going?

use thin brass sheet and bend and solder it. Tidy it up with a file.

cheers
Cliff

I use foil, but not too thin. You'll have to burnish it down with a cocktail stick though, and shave off the hinges before you do it. The curves are difficult to do, but can be accomplished with a little 'snip' in the right place.

Vinnie

It looks like you are using too light a foil. Try the disposable pie plates or the little aluminum pans you get from the chinese food place. They can be cut up with a couple of strokes of a knife or a pair of scissors and bent to shape.Some sanding before you prime and paint will make sure that paint adheres properly later. Bend them as you would any sheet metal.

Unless you are replicatinf some wear and tear or showing them folded up like was common to avoid mud build up, you can scrape the plastic kit edge of the fender or mud guard at an angle to make it look thinner from viewing angles. By doing it from the underside, you can gve it the look of a scale piece of sheet metal wthout having to do the whole fender or mud guard. Just concentrate on the leading edges or any through-holes (like on the panzer fenders that have the openings to go over convoy or rear vehicle running lights or the metal hull around hatches.)

Another good material for lilghter sheet metal applications or smaller scale vehicles is the foil from around the top of wine bottles.

Looks like you use the ole coke can technique.
Don't ever - ever - try that again. Coke can metal is far too hard to shape into any decent form, and you're guaranteed to cut yourself in a really ugly way if you keep messing with that stuff.
Try the aluminium tray you get with takeaway chinese food, or use thin plasticard. Lead works well, too. Sadly thin lead is hard to come by and it's poisonous.
The aluminium tray is the easiest material. You can easily cut it with scissors or an x-acto knife and it bends in any shape you want it. Glue with cyano-acrylate (superglue).
If you want something more solid, try thin plasticard. More difficult to bend that, but if you need straight edges and nice smooth surfaces, that's what you need. Of course, the best results come when you combine materials.
Never overlook the possibility to shape something out of puttty or car repair cement/filler. That stuff dries quickly and gets as hard as a rock. It cuts easily in the early stages of the hardening process. When it's cut to shape, you can glue it on to other parts with CA glue.

Jan