Photo Etched Parts Help

Watson

Watson

Sr Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
So I bought all three sets of PE parts for the PL Refit I was commissioned to build. I have never used PE parts before and was hoping someone wiser in this area could offer up some advice. Or pictures would be nice as well.

Namely what is the best way to remove them from the sprue.

Cleaning them? Is it necessary before painting.

Attaching them? CA or other glue?

Then there are the parts that are made to go over the windows to separate the panes. Any ideas on the best way to go about those?

Thanks in advance.
JDH
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jades Dark Heart @ Apr 28 2006, 02:20 PM) [snapback]1234768[/snapback]</div>
So I bought all three sets of PE parts for the PL Refit I was commissioned to build. I have never used PE parts before and was hoping someone wiser in this area could offer up some advice. Or pictures would be nice as well.

Namely what is the best way to remove them from the sprue.

Cleaning them? Is it necessary before painting.

Attaching them? CA or other glue?

Then there are the parts that are made to go over the windows to separate the panes. Any ideas on the best way to go about those?

Thanks in advance.
JDH
[/b]
Click to expand...


To remove them from the sprue I usually ude the rearmost part of a modelling knife blade to guillotine the attachment point against a piece of steel.The base has to be solid or you'll end up denting/twisting the parts.If you can get in, a sharp pair of snips can also be used.Needle files can tidy up rough spots but the cuts are usually pretty clean.

I've never bothered cleaning photo etch parts unless they've corroded,never really had a problem.

CA is usually recommended but epoxy can be used also.

For clear parts you can sometimes find non fogging CA,(Tamiya make one) or use epoxy.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jades Dark Heart @ Apr 28 2006, 10:20 AM) [snapback]1234768[/snapback]</div>
So I bought all three sets of PE parts for the PL Refit I was commissioned to build. I have never used PE parts before and was hoping someone wiser in this area could offer up some advice. Or pictures would be nice as well.

Namely what is the best way to remove them from the sprue.

Cleaning them? Is it necessary before painting.

Attaching them? CA or other glue?

Then there are the parts that are made to go over the windows to separate the panes. Any ideas on the best way to go about those?

Thanks in advance.
JDH
[/b]
Click to expand...

I have a pair of snips that have a perfectly flat side just for trimming things off of the sprues.

I clean the PE parts with a Q-tip with Alcohol on it, then let them air dry. depending on the paint I'm using, I might also run another Q-tip with water on it over the PE parts to get rid of any other residue.

CA is the way to go with attaching the parts. As for the parts to go on clear canopies go out and grab a bottle of ZAP-O or something similar.... no fumes so you won't get the crazing on the clear plastic.
 
Tamiya makes a pair of scissors specifically designed for nipping photoetched parts from the metal sprue.

Tamiya also makes a nifty set of "bending pliers" for folding PE parts into any of several typical configurations using angles built right into the pliers.

You can find both tools here:

Tamiya Craft Tools

Items 74068 and 74067, respectively.

:)
 
To cut I use a straight edge razorblade on a piece of glass - it gives a nice clean cut without bending the part. All the snips and shears I've tried don't work as well. If cleanup is needed I use a small metal file while holding the part in some flat-nose plyers.

If alot of bending is necessary, getting one of these will eliminate hours of maddening frustration.

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...roduct&ID=83137

It's expensive but you can find smaller versions for less $$. It's an indespensible tool - I used my constantly in my armor building days.

Hope that helps Greg. If you want to borrow my bending plate, shoot me an email.

Dan
 
Thanks Dan but I think I have it down now. May need to pick one of those up for the future though.

Greg

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(1138 @ May 4 2006, 12:56 PM) [snapback]1238336[/snapback]</div>
To cut I use a straight edge razorblade on a piece of glass - it gives a nice clean cut without bending the part. All the snips and shears I've tried don't work as well. If cleanup is needed I use a small metal file while holding the part in some flat-nose plyers.

If alot of bending is necessary, getting one of these will eliminate hours of maddening frustration.

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...roduct&ID=83137

It's expensive but you can find smaller versions for less $$. It's an indespensible tool - I used my constantly in my armor building days.

Hope that helps Greg. If you want to borrow my bending plate, shoot me an email.

Dan
[/b]
Click to expand...
 
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