Rivet Heads, Large Void Fill, and Final Surface on Scratch Build Masters

FLM Concepts

Well-Known Member
I'm curious what people use for rivet heads on larger-scale scratch builds. I need LOTS of them for an idea that I've had knocking around my head for about 15 years.

I'd also like to know what people use for large void fill, like between cross-sections, and then for the final sanded surface. Is it a two-part putty, clay or Bondo? I've seen stuff that's grey.

Ultimately I'd like something that can be used as a buck for either vacuforming or fiberglassing.

Thanks!
 
For Rivets some people use Brad fastener :
il_570xN.358750646_ia34.jpg


For myself i have collected scrap-booking enamel dots to use as rivets.
Some supply places have larger sizes of packages and in different sizes.
DSC_97171.jpg


For really small rivets this guy used
candys :Model Making Tip: Rivets. - YouTube
 
Interesting ideas!

The candy and enamel rivet methods give me another idea that may save some time. :)

I'm going to need hundreds, if not thousands of rivets for this project.

I suppose if I make the final model from fiberglass I could poke round holes into the mold, too.
 
Interesting ideas!

The candy and enamel rivet methods give me another idea that may save some time. :)

I'm going to need hundreds, if not thousands of rivets for this project.

I suppose if I make the final model from fiberglass I could poke round holes into the mold, too.


I just rememberad that you could use 3M's bumpons for rivets.
Comes in all sizes and shapes and you get loads of them pretty cheap if you count how many you get :
3M Bumpon Products-Shop 3M
 
For rivet heads, do you think something like this would work?

UltraDome Products Page

Is there a cheaper solution for something similar? One of the reasons I can see the benefit of UV epoxy is that you have plenty of time to work, as opposed to two-part epoxy.

With this I could cut thousands of tiny circles on my plotter and "dome" them.

- - - Updated - - -

I just rememberad that you could use 3M's bumpons for rivets.
Comes in all sizes and shapes and you get loads of them pretty cheap if you count how many you get :
3M Bumpon Products-Shop 3M

That's an idea for larger scale projects. :)

For this particular project I need something fairly small, but not that candy small. This will probably be in the neighborhood of 1/72-1/144, depending on the final design (it still just exists in my noggin).
 
For this particular project I need something fairly small, but not that candy small. This will probably be in the neighborhood of 1/72-1/144, depending on the final design (it still just exists in my noggin).

I'm not good at scales like 1/72, i googled it and it seems like that is 20 mm is that right?
 
I saw in another thread that someone was using ULTRACAL 30 to form his vacuforming master (void fill and final buck surface).

Is this the recommended stuff, or is there something else that's preferred?
 
If you are working in 1/72 or 1/144, I don't know that I would be too concerned about raised rivet detail. At 1/72, a 1" rivet head would be in the neighborhood of .01", at 1/144, that same rivet would be .007". In any case, rivets of this size would be barely discernible in a buck molded vacuform and if they did form, would actually appear bigger due to the thickness of the plastic. A female mold would provide crisper surface detail but again, at those scales is the aggravation worth it? Panels may be addressed during the painting. It would certainly simplify the buck building. Just a thought. In any case, have fun.
 
I actually need the rivet heads for another project that I'm working on, which is larger than 1/72 or 1/144. :)

Also, this detail will be added to the model itself, not to any molds or masters. Just prior to painting.
 
Ahh. It all becomes clear now.
In that case, good luck in your pursuit of the perfect rivet head.
We will of course be expecting pictures. :)
 
What scale is your project? How big is the thing your making? Rivets come in different sizes and shapes, starting at 1/2in(all rivets seem to be speced in inches in my copy of Machinery's) and go up to 1 3/4 in shaft size. The heads come in a series of different shapes:
Industrial Rivets & Fasteners | American Fastener Technologies Corp
This guy looks to have covered most of the basics of rivets and joint design:
Riveting | Valuable Mechanisms: The Design & Engineering Blog of Justin Ketterer
I've discovered that you can make stuff look better if it looks right, rather than just slapped on for appearance.
Now you may even be able to use real small rivets to represent much larger rivets, but that's going to mean drilling a lot of holes. I hope that this helps and good luck.
 
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