This is another helpful piece rather than a detailed article. Being able to easily add certain details to our kits can really enhance the look of the finished piece. Tackling what might be a problem will also allow you to get more satisfaction and fun from building our kits.
An almost essential detail for most buildings takes the form of a drainpipe for plumbing and rain runoff. Artful placement and finishing of this common component can add a lot of visual interest to an otherwise bland looking wall. The reference images should illustrate that drainpipes can come in a variety of sizes and finishes. You can have a lot of fun with this element as there are various ways to create a custom look for your vignette. We'll offer a "standard" idea for the rain gutter along the roof edge and the first choice is probably cutting a drinking straw in half for this detail. It's not always a first try success but straws are inexpensive and easy to work with.
That element out of the way, we can look at some of the options you have available for making the pipes.
The first option for making pipes is a spool of large diameter solder, about 1/8" in diameter. Cut off a piece from the spool and flatten/straighten it by rolling back and forth over it with something like a plastic ruler. This goes quickly and the long piece can then be custom fit to your facade by bending it with your fingers around the architectural elements. It glues easily with "superglue".
The second easy and inexpensive source are the plastic sprues form you model kits. There are plenty of bends and angles ready to use after the mold seam is sanded off. Of course, it glues with the same solvent as you use on your kits. It can be bent by using heat if necessary.
You might also want to consider other options such as a variety of more rigid materials that are fairly easily obtained.
The photo shows some of the alternatives including:
A cocktail straw. These are usually smaller diameter than regular straws and therefore more in scale with our kits but don't dismiss the larger straws completely.
Plastic rod. This styrene rod can be found in some hobby shops with the "Evergreen" brand of detailing materials. You can also purchase it online and it's very useful for scratchbuilding other elements as well. It comes in a selection of diameters.
Plastic tube. From the same source as the rod, it's nice because it's hollow and the larger diameters can be "sleeved" over smaller for easy joint collars.
Aluminum tube. This is also very useful in scratchbuilding and can be found with the plastic tubes. It's already metal color and can also be "sleeved" together.
Aluminum armature wire. This is very useful for other things besides drainpipes. Sculptors use it as a "skeleton" for figures and it's slightly more rigid than solder. Art supply stores are a usual source.
Larger diameter plastic tube makes an easy way to add joint collars to the pipes. Speaking of connecting joints, other methods for indicating this detail are wrapped strips from paper or flattened solder.
Page 1 | Page 2 | |
