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i have been working with some templates (ref my previous thread "titans")
i am wondering how work is done with plasticard (or similar materials).
how is this work done with templates?? does one cut out the pieces and glue them or can it be folded like the templates tell you to?
any advice for someone who has never worked with plasticard.

thanks in advance

Emperor protects

-Kane

very difficult to fold them, cut them out, and work with ONE piece at a time. Use superglue t glue the main joint, then fillt he gaps and re-inforce it with GS

Generally you would print out (or draw) your templates onto paper/card, then cut them out and place them onto plasticard, draw round them and cut them out.

I would suggest building the titan (or major components of it) in the card/paper first, to make sure the templates are OK.

Also, make sure you are printing/drawing them in the correct scale (some are scaled up or down by the printer/screen).

You need to trace you design onto the plasti card I prefer to spray mount the paper on directly. Then you need to score and snap using a ruler run your scalpul (hobby knife) along the line and past the point you need to cut to then snap the pieces apart by bending them along the cut (if you cut/score north to south you would bend east from west I hope thats clear). You will have a small build up of material either side of the cut this is where most of the material went when you score or cut plasti card this can be easily scraped off. Then use the correct glue, superglue might be quick but its not as strong as polystyrene cement on plastic or dicholromethane on acrilic, once the correct glue has set properly feel free to re-enforce the joint with green stuff. Plasticard dosen't bend well unless you heat bend it and if you have the tools to do that properly you may aswell vac form the thing.

well thats the answer i am looking for.
that is going to be a bitch to do (please pardon my french)
there are alot of pieces in the titan so that will make it a long process to make from plastic.

thanks all again

Emperor protects

-Kane

Adamus Kane wrote:well thats the answer i am looking for.
that is going to be a bitch to do (please pardon my french)
there are alot of pieces in the titan so that will make it a long process to make from plastic.

thanks all again

Emperor protects

-Kane

I have seen some models made out of 1/4 white foam board (available from stationary/craft stores-its cheap!). Once the titan is built, plasticard is then used to cover over the foam board shape. this give the titan a hard outer shell. Next more plasticard is added in layers to create texture and shapes. Creating a titan only with plasticard (using templates) would be a tough task! GOOD LUCK!!

that sounds like a good idea. will take it under consideration.
any other tips i can ger for working with plasticard??

thanks

Emperor protects

-Kane

Use a steel ruler for cutting and scoring.

Circles can be cut with a circle cutter. Don't press hard because it distorts the cut due to the bevel of the blade. Make lots of light cuts instead.

Cut on a cutting mat.

I place the paper template on the platicard and the use the point of a hobby knife to mark the corners of the pattern. I then remove the template use a metal ruler and hobby knife to score the lines between the marks. (connect the dots). Finally I carefully flex and bend until it pops out. For more tips check out this link
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/341092.page

Adamus Kane wrote:that sounds like a good idea. will take it under consideration.
any other tips i can ger for working with plasticard??

thanks

Emperor protects

-Kane

I would trace my template pattern on the plasticard with a #2 pencil then use a metal ruler and hobby knife to score the line. In some cases the plasticard can be snapped apart. For thin sheets I have drawn my line and then used scissors (kinda tricky and may leave you with more work sanding the edge straight.)

Besides flat sheets of plasticard (erergreen brand from local hobby shop or maybe online) you can purchase it in the shape of tubes, rods, thin square/oblong beams, etc. Many forms for your detail work!!!

You should also consider buying a couple small hole punches (i mean really small) from a local craft/hobby shop to make "rivets"

Get yourself some full page adhesive labels. Print your pattern on those and stick them to the plasticard. Then, as stated above, use a ruler and a hobby knife to score the lines. Once the lines are scored, just peel the label off the plastic and bend at the lines.

It sounds more complicated and it definitely costs more, but I find that this method saves me a lot of time and leads to more accurate lines.

Even thin sheets respond well to the "score and snap" method. If you're using the Warhound templates I think you're using, beware. The template doesn't account for things like material thickness. I've been using cardboard, scored and bent at the edges, and have found that the pieces are always slightly distorted, due to the material thickness and the fact that some edges must be bent (two sides meet along inner edge, leaving proportions unaltered), while other must be glued (butt joint means one edge is shortened by a length equal to the material thickness.

If you really want your pieces coming out even, you'll likely have to cut each section of each piece out individually and glue the whole assembly together, trimming certain pieces by the appropriate material thickness. Looking at toe caps, for example, you could either trim the sides slightly and lay your top/front/bottom over the edges or you could trim the top/front/bottom and sandwich them between the sides. Either way, you leave the proportions unaltered, as if the shape had been folded from paper, as the template is designed to be. A pain, to be sure, but it's either that or deal with the wonkiness caused by ignoring it (like I have, with mixed feelings).