Introduction to Model Making.
Model Making need not be difficult. Armed with the correct tools the job of making accurate and exciting models can be a lot easier than imagined. Also you do not need huge amounts of space. A desk top kept clean an organised is the perfect place to make these 3 dimensional gems. Your studio spaces here at Chelsea should make an ideal place to make your models and to promote an inspiring and creative environment.
The following tools and accessories will make your model making lives a whole lot easier. Don’t borrow, have your own!
Basic Tool list.
-Stanley knife. Ideally the fixed blade version 199A. Should come with blades.
-Scalpel. Swann Morton make the best with a 10A blade.
-Steel ruler. Use a strip of masking tape on the back to stop it slipping.
-Engineers square. 100mm (4 inch ) or less.
-Tweezers or long nose pliers. For the fiddly bits!
-Masking tape and scotch tape.
-Double sided tape. A useful alternative to glue
-PVA wood glue. Great for sticking card models.
-Scale Ruler. Make sure it has 1:1, 1:200, 1:100, 1:50 and 1:20 at least.
-3M Taps measure. The workshop will never lend you one so have your own!
-Drawing Compass. For drawing a circle.
-Clutch pencil / Mechanical pencil. HB leads ideal for accurate marking up.
-Eraser. For rubbing out your marking up.
-Scissors.
Gluing
There are basically two types of gluing that you will come across. The first is to glue the edge of something to either another edge or a flat surface, edge to face. The second is to glue two surfaces together, face to face. The following is a general glue product list and when and with what to use them.
-P.V.A. ( Poly vinyl acetate ) Edge to face. Foam board, card, balsa wood, all other wood and man made boards such as m.d.f or ply wood. Also plaster and jesmonite .
-Liquid solvent. ( dichloromethane ) Edge to face. Acrylic and styrene. The two surfaces must be touching and the glue brushed into the join.
-Balsa cement. Edge to face. Balsa wood, light pieces of wood and card.
-Mitre fast. Edge to face. Two part glue with spray activator. Acrylic, wood, metal.
-Impact adhesive. Face to face. Card, wood, paper, metal sheet, acrylic.
-Spray glue. Face to face. Card, paper. Make sure you use ‘display mount’ rather than ‘spray mount’ as it is much stronger.
-Double sided Tape. Face to face. A quick and unsmelly way to stick many materials together.
-Super glue. Fingers to fingers!
-Uhu. Creating effects on your landscapes!
Materials
The following is a list of useful materials often used within model making. The thing to remember when using any material is the scale of the model you are making and therefore how appropriate certain materials are because of their grain, texture, colour etc. Most of these materials can be worked effectively within the studio environment but some will require the main 3d workshops.
-Foamboard. Can be used to produce sharp clean models. 3mm and 6mm good for walls at 1:100 and 1:50. Foam edge often difficult to hide neatly.
-Card. Great for quick sketch models and small scale models. Comes in all sorts of colours and tones.
-Balsa wood. A member of the hard wood family despite its lightness. Old men use it to build model airplanes but can be used to good effect for architectural models at 1:20 and above as it has quite a large grain.
-Wood. A nice piece of real wood can really add to your models. Small bits of Oak, Walnut or Cherry can focus in on certain architectural element such as a staircase.
-M.D.F. ( medium density fibreboard.) A man made product that is useful at most scales to represent walls, floors, furniture etc. with texture.
-Aeroply. A very thin flexible wooden sheet that can be bent and formed into many shapes and used to represent wooden floors and walls.
-Flexiply. 5mm thick flexible wood that can be bent and glued together to form interesting shapes and forms. Would be best in larger scale models.
-Cork. In sheet form great for landscaping although it does have a large grain which may need ‘knocking back’ with white spray paint.
-Acrylic. Not the easiest material to work with but at 1mm used to represent glass in scaled models.
-Acetate. Thin plastic sheet that when heated creates some great shapes and forms.
-Styrene. Use thin 0.5, 0.75, 1.0.mm to make accurate easy to cut plastic models. Glue with liquid solvent for clean results and can be spray-painted.
-Styrofoam. Blue, Pink, Green, whatever takes your fancy! Very dense foam that can be put through band saw and sanded to good effect. Can also use with a hot wire cutter to sculpt interesting shapes.
-Polystyrene. Not as thick but still useful to create shapes quickly but does appear like you have walked through a blizzard after you have used it!
-Polypropelene. A softer plastic that is difficult to stick but useful to line a mould with if you are casting something like resin.
-Plaster. A powder casting compound that when mixed with water and poured into a mould dries solid and white. Not much character but other finishes can be ‘stuck on’ to change it.
-Jesmonite. A casting compound similar to plaster, but a combination of a liquid and powder. When dry has a fantastic marble, stone, polished concrete appearance that is great at 1:50 or 1:100. Metal powders can be added in the mixing stage to create all sorts of finishes.
-Modroc. (plaster bandage) plaster impregnated bandage which is great to form landscapes on top of chicken wire. Also good if you have broken your arm.
-Metal sheet. Useful when in very thin sheet form otherwise difficult to cut. Lots of different textures and effects out there.
-Chicken wire. Can be used to build an enclosure for you chickens but we use it to make the form of landscapes before covering it with plaster bandage or paper mache.
Suppliers
For a full and comprehensive list of suppliers of materials and tools for both model making and all types of 3d fabrication follow the link below.
Below is a general list of suppliers useful to know for all your requirements
-Acre Lane Timber. 02073261037. Wood, sawn timber, boards etc. Next day delivery.
-Amari Plastics. 02089611961. www.amariplastics.com.
-Atlantis Art Materials. 02073778855. Comprehensive collection of artist materials.
-Axminster. Comprehensive list of tools for all applications. www.axminster.co.uk
-BTA. 01974298748. Trees and landscape materials at scale.
-B&Q DIY centre. General tools and materials. Will cut boards to size. You could easily waste a day wandering the isles! www.diy.com to find your nearest.
-Colmac Plastic Fabricators. 02083614807. Will supply acrylic to any size with polished edges. Can also make beautiful acrylic display cases for your models.
-E.M.A. Model Supplies. 01932228228. Good suppliers of materials, glues and architectural details. www.ema-models.co.uk
-Fays Metals Ltd. 02089938883. All sorts of metal sheet, rod, angle etc.
-Gilbert Curry Industrial Plastics. 02476588388. One of the cheapest places to buy acrylic in bulk. Will also cut your large sheets down to required sizes. www.gcip.co.uk
-Hamar Plastics. 02077392907. London based plastic supplier and fabricator. http://www.hamaracrylic.co.uk/
-Leyland SDM. 02078288695. Local to college, 6 Warwick Way, SW1, a good DIY store specialising in paint.
-London Graphic Centre. Covent Garden. 02087537000. Good for art and design materials and tools.
-Maplin Electronics. Batteries, gadgets, electronic components, bulbs, motors etc. www.maplin.co.uk
-4D Model Shop. 02072641288. The daddy of all model making shops. Will sell just about anything you need to make your models but are a little pricey! www.modelshop.co.uk
-Modelzone. 02074056285. A general model shop for most needs. www.modelzone.co.uk
-Moss & Co. 02077488251. Suppliers of those gorgeous bits of wood that will transform your models. Will also sell M.D.F and most other types of wood.
-Paperchase. 02075808496. Hundreds of varieties of paper.
-Peerless Products. Best suppliers of thin acrylic sheet.
-Siesta Cork Tile Company. 02086934055. Get you cork sheet or tiles from these guys. www.siestacorktile.co.uk
-South Western Industrial Plasters. 01380850616. Jesmonite, plaster, silicone, fibreglass etc.
-Specialty Waxes. 01737761812. Wax!
-Talbot Designs. 02083614807. Can vacuum form objects and make you domes and spheres to any size.
-Tiranti. 02076368565. Silicone rubber, gelflex, resins, glass fibre, modroc etc. www.tiranti.co.uk
-Travis Perkins. 02076221022. Builders materials you may wish to get your hands dirty with plaster and concrete.
-Toolbank. Good for engineers squares. www.toolbank.com
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