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Hello everyone,
I'm new to wargaming and would like to try and find an assortment of flat, basic shapes for scratchbuilding some hover tanks. Right now I'm designing the locomotion system, and I need stacks of discs with alternating diameters -- 4mm, then 6mm, then 4mm, and so on.

Having researched elsewhere on the net, I see that the most common ways to get styrene circles is to use punch and die sets, or a compass/scribe, or use sharpened brass tubes. For such a basic shape though, isn't there someplace that would sell large quantities of little 1 mm x 6 mm discs?

Thanks!

Not something I've ever seen before for sale.

Since you only want very small circles, one option is craft punches, which work ok on up to around .5 mm plasticard and come in various hole sizes and shapes - I'm guessing you'd find 4 and 6 mm or very close.

If you don't want to punch, or cannot because you want thick discs, there is another option, but that'd mean the discs have a hole in the centre. Which would make them Rings I guess. =]

What I mean is you can cut the plasticard/styrene sheet to squares, cut off the corners drill a hole in the middle and line them up one a M3 or M4 machine screw. Clamp that in a cordless drill and use sanding paper on a piece of wood to get a nice even disc. Just don't overdo it to avoid overheating.

Do they have to be styrene?
What about nylon bushings, spacers and penny washers?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=6mm+nylon+spacers&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.X6mm+nylon+washers&_nkw=6mm+nylon+washers&_sacat=0
Thread them onto a styrene rod and youre good to go?

Washers are a much easier option, nylon or steel.

I haven't heard of a normal supplier of polystyrene shapes (for architectural model building, etc) that supplies small discs.

Plastruct sells Butyrate plastc discs in 1/8 inch increments which are gluable using plastic cement. They start at 1/4" and go up to 1 1/8".

Gluing nylon can be a PITA as most adhesives do not work well, including super glues.

You can also buy polystyrene rod from several places up to about 2" diameter without much difficulty. Use a razor saw to slice off discs however thick you need. A friend does that and uses a blade guide that is designed for cutting vegetables the same thickness to cut uniformly thick bases from rod. Since 1" diameter goes for about $5 per foot, it actually is a pretty economical source of bases.

Punches on sheet stock may be the better way to go though. The heavy duty craft punches can almost handle 1 mm, though the pivot point becomes a weak link. Hammer punches and a backing die will allow you to knock discs out of material up to about 1/4". You can get sets, make your own or purchase individual punch and die groups.

You may be able to find a local sheet metal shop as well with a hydraulic punch and die machine that will do the work for you as well.

Thanks for the help, everyone.
Alex, I like the idea of threading washers onto a rod. That should produce the same effect.
Sean, thanks for the tip about gluing nylon, and the Plastruct source.

Sounds like the best option at the moment is to go the Plastruct or washer route, and then invest in some hammer punches at a later date. I'll be sure to post the resulting vehicle when I finish it.

Just keep these links handy:

http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/
http://www.plastruct.com/

You could try the small bolts that model train modellers use to detail locomotives or RC car hobbiest use.

I have no idea about this store but this sort of thing:

http://www.scalehardware.com/