Right, so I'm fairly new to the whole prop-making thing, though I have a habit of building most of the things I like to use rather than buying them.
Anyway, what I still seem to struggle with (after multiple attempts using a variety of tools) is cutting straight lines (or grooves, if you want to call them that) into props. Some of the methods I've tried so far:
- Small rotary tool . I use a cutting disk, mask off the surface with gaps for the lines I intend to cut (to try and keep them straight) and then cut the lines slowly and carefully. Issues with this approach are that the lines are still not perfectly straight, and depth control is also an issue (note that I don't have a dremel - do these have cutting disks with depth control?)
- Scoring the material with a knife or sharp object, then using files or more knives. I've read about this also, but I seem to have difficulty scoring plastic/metal with a nice straight line, which means the end product is not too good anyway. Plus it seems to take me ages - can anyone recommend any better tools for this?
- Using small files to file into the material. I have tried this briefly, but my file was too large and I have more on order.
My most used method is the rotary tool method, but I still can't seem to get lines and grooves to be perfect (especially on curved surfaces, such as helmets or armour pieces). Has anyone got a better method for plastic casts or metals? Or is this simply a case of practice makes perfect, and I should just keep reworking the lines until I get them looking clean and sharp? To be honest the lines I have aren't too bad, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I want to get them really sharp before moving on...
Anyway, what I still seem to struggle with (after multiple attempts using a variety of tools) is cutting straight lines (or grooves, if you want to call them that) into props. Some of the methods I've tried so far:
- Small rotary tool . I use a cutting disk, mask off the surface with gaps for the lines I intend to cut (to try and keep them straight) and then cut the lines slowly and carefully. Issues with this approach are that the lines are still not perfectly straight, and depth control is also an issue (note that I don't have a dremel - do these have cutting disks with depth control?)
- Scoring the material with a knife or sharp object, then using files or more knives. I've read about this also, but I seem to have difficulty scoring plastic/metal with a nice straight line, which means the end product is not too good anyway. Plus it seems to take me ages - can anyone recommend any better tools for this?
- Using small files to file into the material. I have tried this briefly, but my file was too large and I have more on order.
My most used method is the rotary tool method, but I still can't seem to get lines and grooves to be perfect (especially on curved surfaces, such as helmets or armour pieces). Has anyone got a better method for plastic casts or metals? Or is this simply a case of practice makes perfect, and I should just keep reworking the lines until I get them looking clean and sharp? To be honest the lines I have aren't too bad, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I want to get them really sharp before moving on...
lol I usually draw a line with a pencil, or a sharpie, score it with an Xacto knife, then I use a needle file and or something like a hacksaw blade. I actually use a hobby saw, but a hacksaw blade is a cheap alternative. Check out some of the Iron Man build posts from Surreal Studios, That guy makes some clean freakin lines ! I hope that helps, welcome to the RPF and good luck !
