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Hi guys, I was wondering if any of you could suggest the best way to model bolter straps? I am currently trying to put this librarian together, and where his left arm is stretched out, I wanted to have his bolt pistol hanging from a strap over his shoulder. Any ideas or examples? I was thinking about pinning the pistol to his left thigh so that the strap wouldn't be taking the weight, then kinda wrapping the strap over his shoulder. Just not sure what to use. Any advice would be most appreciated.

Hello,

When I make straps, i just use wax paper and GS and roll out logs and then just "smoosh" them flat. Let them dry and then cut to length. Dried green stuff will actually bend. Glue one end of the strap to the gun and then just "loop" it over the shoulder and glue into place.

Hope that helps

Andyman

I did a whole squad with them, I just rolled some wet GS onto some cling film, keeping it quite long, but quite thick, then cut the straps to size, drape them over the desired area, stretching in parts, then gluing on the bolter and keeping it supported.
It's easy enough to do, but the best thing to do would be to try a few experimental runs using different techniques to make sure you get a style you're happy with.

Thanks guys. Never actually used gs before, except in its liquid form to fill cracks and things. Wasn't sure how it performs when it's mostly set, whether you could actually drape it over models and manipulate it a bit more. This helps, I'll maybe try pick some up.

Also, what do you generally glue it with, just superglue? And when, only when it's completely set?

Thanks again.


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And Sam, I just had a look at your gallery and seen the squad you were talking about. They look fantastic. You''ve probably convinced me to try the technique on more than just my librarian. Sorry for stealing. Consider me subscribed to your p&m blog.

You could try cutting up a coke can, cheap and easy way to get sheet aluminium. Just cut it into strips and there you go, weapon straps galore: easier to bend than plasticard and will retain it's shape better too

if you arent so good with gs you could fold a piece of paper in thin strips and glue it and then cut smaller strips for buckles and such. I did it on my engineers and I plan on doing it again on more of my krieg in the future.


Shown on the guy on the left.

I'd use card (either styrene or paper) before I used aluminum, which tends to kink and buckle quite easily. The material cut from a can would also be too thin, I imagine, to match other "heroic scale" strapping and details. Strips cut from lead sheet would be ideal, but it's a bit of a specialty supply and some people are put off by the potential health issues (which I'd argue are seriously overblown, but they exist, nonetheless).

bobo_5 posted a great example of what can be done with simple paper, but greenstuff will allow for more poking and prodding to get natural drape on longer, looser straps or dynamic mid-swing poses, once you get the basic technique down. It's also generally quite useful, so it's well worth having some around and getting used to its properties.

Regarding your GS questions: Yes, superglue is the weapon of choice when attaching GS. In fact, lots of people use a little dab to tack fresh putty in place while sculpting - it needn't be 100% cured, although it certainly can be. It also cures to a rather rubbery consistency, so relatively thin sections, if unsupported by a stiff armature, can be flexed quite a bit when fully cured. It has a degree of memory, though, so it will try to spring back unless glued down. Icons can be push-molded flat and glued to curves, but you'd want to set the drape of your straps before the putty is fully cured. Curing is a simple linear progression, in regards to stiffness, so you can play with your timing to allow you to work at the consistency you desire for your current task.

Thanks folks. I think I will try out the Green Stuff. I'll have to try it eventually, may as well start here. Thanks for all the tips.

Thin pieces of plasticard (or styrene, or whatever you want to call it)



That's actually a cut piece of a "For Sale" sign, cause that stuff is cheaper than the stuff in the game store.

If you can find lead foil that would work.


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An alternative is either aluminium foil (not the kitchen stuff as it's too thin but from a decent modelling shop) or bits of brass etch sprue.