Products that were not intended to be used in model making but work anyway

[joberg]

Don't know if I'm in the right section for this thread, but I discovered two products that were not, originally, intended for building/modeling use, but are helping me achieve the same result for less money

First product: Loews Canada (don't know if it's the same product for Loews U.S.) sells a flat 2"X4" Smooth Pro (part 745-00) sheet of some kind of plastic (thickness: 6/8th of an inch) in a near satin finish.
Great for building anything: sands beautifully, no problem painting it and shaping it. You can use your normal contact cement or crazy glue. I love it and it's cheap ($15.99, CDN dollar)!

Second product: Shoppers Drug Mart Canada: Women's section: Nailene Brush-On Nail Glue(0.18 oz) That's right...cheaper than Crazy Glue, has a brush applicator and bonds even when sem-dry. Removable, from your skin, with soap and water (Ingredient: Ethyl Cyanoacrylate, Polymethyl Methacrylate...made in Taiwan).

There we go...any other products that you're using and are not intended for their original use (besides the Baking Soda+Crazy Glue trick)

 

[INVAR]

Inexpensive clear gloss, a form of liquid plastic which is great news for those of us who use Acrylic paint due to less solvent issues.

Excellent leveling abilities when applied and dries to a semi-gloss hard finish and seals in all previous paintwork or decal work.

Best Sealer, Decal setter and preserver. Excellent for airbrush to seal in weathering effects and to make gloss coats. Makes an excellent barrier to keep lacquers from attacking the plastic or acrylic undercoat. I do the dip for all my clear canopies and it literally fills and fixes scratches in the clear plastic and makes the canopy look thinner and sharper.

 

[Treadwell]

Emery boards. I scratch my head whenever I see people making their own sanding sticks.

 

[jake88]

A great alternative to epoxy sculpt

 

[Treadwell]

(thickness: 6/8th of an inch)

Typo? 3/4"? Pretty thick!

 

[division 6]

For Sale Signs are a cheap source for large pieces of styrene for scratch building.
Gardening / Plumbing supplies and fittings are also useful.

 

[adphill]

Tiny resistors and other electrical components make great greeblies for detailing.

20pcs Brand New 1K OHM 1206 SMT SMD 4D03 Resistor Network / Array | eBay

 

[publiusr]

Pen inserts.

Look here:
Pilot Precise V5 Liquid Ink Rollerball Pens Extra Fine Point 0.5 mm Blue Barrel Blue Ink Pack Of 12 by Office Depot & OfficeMax

When dry--use a pair of pliers to extract the inner section--has that great Dr. Shrinker laser cannon look.

The tops of hospital pitchers look a bit like Excelsior saucers, etc. This toner container also has a spiral shape:
Ricoh Aficio MP 201SPF Black Toner Cartridge, Genuine (G8244)

 

[adphill]

Also, I just picked up a pack of microscope slide covers and a tungsten carbide scribe, which I intend to use to cut actual glass for windows.

I will report back with actual results, but early tests indicate that it will be pretty straightforward.

 

[Haui]

Toothpickers made of plastic

 

[joberg]

Yep, typo for the thickness of those Smooth Pro Boards: 6 16th of an inch thick

 

[Robert McLain]

Talcum Powder. Great for simulating mud on ground vehicles when mixed with the appropriate color.

Robert

 

[Jedi Dade]

Bondo Spot Putty... made for fixing little divots on cars... awesome for filling seams on models... and relatively cheap.

Baking soda for snow is another good one... But kinda messy

Jedi Dade

 

[SofaKing01]

Plastic / Styrene "For Sale" signs are a cheap great alternative to the prepackaged stuff found in most hobby stores.

 

[Treadwell]

Yep, typo for the thickness of those Smooth Pro Boards: 6 16th of an inch thick

So, 3/8?

 

[Jaitea]

Baking soda for snow is another good one... But kinda messy

Jedi Dade

& Baking Soda sprinkled on superglue makes an instant super strong filler

J

 

[PHArchivist]

A great alternative to epoxy sculptView attachment 963406

Yes... Elmer's wood filler.

Much cheaper than "modeling-specific" fillers, like Squadron. And as long as you're not needing robust structural integrity, it can't be beat.

 

[Pixelworks]

Whenever it is election time, there are tons of posters hung out, almost all of them are printed on a type of styrene that has the same ribbed inner structure with an inner and outer wall (like cardboard). Of course I wait till after the elections are over to go harvesting, but these are great both for a styrene substitute and excellent for making boxes for pouring silicone moulds. The latter because you can just cut one wall where you need a corner, bend it and so on. I will add a picture this evening when I get home.

I also use shampoo bottles (or any kind of plastic bottle really) that have a colored transparent plastic to use for lighting. It is much cheaper than the sheets of colored transparent that you buy at hobby shops.

All in all, I always keep an eye open when I am throwing things in the trash. It can be a great source of greebles, but you need to be careful to not make it too obvious… I love it when I see a model and see a capsule for a coffee machine. which does not have to be a bad thing, cut it up, greeble it up, whatever… you just need to add it to your model so that it does not look like you just glued a capsule to your model.

 

[maverick626]

electric guitar strings are great to add tiny tubing details to any engine or robot, the same goes for soldering wire , as long a you dont expose it to high temperatures during the rest of the build , you can do piping work like on the of jet engines with all those intricate desings.
If you dont have vacuuforming equipment and need a canopy , you can always look for fishbowls/tanks decorative rocks and stuff , there are some that are just translucent colored plastic shapes ( stars, seashells , random " crystals") you can grind the proper canopy with a dremel and a little bit of sanding, polishing with toothpaste and future floor finish can give you a awesome looking canopy

 

[Gans]

Cheap lamp stands turned into model stands/bases. Trophy bases, shaving brushes

and

Well using it for a different purpose

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