Hi guys,

I am trying out for the first time to make some minor changes to DML's Loki. And the first block I came across was trying to make decent bolts and nuts. I bought some stripstyrene and attempted to cut them, but all were out of shape.

1. Did you guys uses stencils to mark out the outline?
2. Can anyone assist and point me to some reference on how to do it?
3. How to do rivets?

Appreciate all the help I can get.
Thanks!

Hi Put WW2 modelmaker in your search engine and click on articles , then go to ian's cheap tips no 2 to see how I make rivets hope it helps cheers ian

there is a kit from Greif to do bolts and is very easy to do just need a plastic strip , you heat the strip, until is soft, then you pressa gainst the device ( metal sheet with different size bolts ) you press, the plastic flow fill the cavity and then you cut the bolt

greif is a manufacturer from Mexico

Hey Dan,
I use many methods of replicating nuts & bolts. What you can use for rivets, superglue or Elmer’s (school) white glue. Draw out your rivet line and add drops of glue onto the line. Works pretty well, you’ll have to practice a bit to understand how much glue is needed.

Nuts & Bolts, I like to cut mine from Evergreen Plastic rods. They come in many shapes and in hex shapes and sizes. Again with a little practice you’ll achieve great results.

I follow the same procedures as Mother above. Hex rod is great stuff.

thanks guys,

great information. I did a check on evergreen website and found no hex rods. Any other ideas where to get such stuff?

Thanks again!

Dan,
The company you want is plastruct. They sell lengths of hex rod in various sizes
http://www.plastruct.com/

Hope this helps!

Rob

My friend Ian Sadler ..(Sandy)..did a blurb on rivets some-where ---have a copy of his tips sheet he gave me a few years ago -----IIRC --involves "water filter's "--specifically the "beads"inside them ..........
IAN !!!!!!--where are you ???
aye
[:::] BARV
(GOSMG)

I'll echo the opinion that Plastruct styrene hex rod is the way to go for making nuts.

My contribution to the discussion is a tip: It is hard to slice off perfect nuts every time, so go a little thick and sand them down once they are fixed in place.

Here is Evergreen’s web page, http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/

Not sure around your areas, but around here Plastruct is expansive. Not only that but you get less in pieces and in lengths. You can order from them directly, that’s what many of the member here are doing.

Joe

Plastruct hex rod


Do a search- type in STYRENE HEX ROD

Hi all,

Thanks for your advises!

Mother

Hi all,

Thanks for your advises!

The idea of white glue idea of rivet head sounds promising and exciting. Cant wait to try!

What a week i had, searching aorund my LHS for any hex rods and end up buying on line (and yes, plastruct is expensive!), but thanks again guys, for the pointers.

PS: Ian, your advise sounds great, but i do not have oven at home and secondly, got kids around, so will not try them out. But thanks!

Will share photos with you guys when I received the goods and have some progress done!

Cheers~