I was looking at this link http://www.igshansa.de/igsorg.html from the intermodal topic and under the tips and tricks there is a description on how to make rivets in German. I tried to translate it but still could not follow. Could someone please translate it and post it here. It looks like a neat method to make rivets. If it works for Z it will be an awesome thing. also if you have any other tips for making rivets please post them here. Thanks Kim
I don't know German, but to get the look of rivets I would just run a pounce wheel along a straight edge. It will leave a row of dimples, but will look like rivet bumps. I've seen it in N scale and you can't tell in photos they aren't rivets.
Here is the translated article. I never liked the german language when I had to learn it in high school. I do understand german but talking is a no-go for me! Rivet representation on ship models: You'll need water resistant polistyrol material - wood glue as well as a pack of wooden toothpicks. Mark with a soft pencil the desired places for the rivet rows. Then pour a little bit of glue onto a plate or a cucumber glass, dip the toothpicks into this glue and dab it on the first point of the rivet. You'll repeat this procedure for a long time, until you are finished or until your Mrs. calls you for dinner. (lol!) The glue doesn't run, it dries as a round point of glue on the GRP or Polistyrol material and hardens in such a way that it also withstands normal mechanical load. It is recommend to try a "sample rivet joint" on a small piece of plastic waste first in order to get the feeling for the work. During the later paint finish you should make certain that the used color is not too thick, so that it does not fill the gaps and make the whole work thereby destroyed. This method exists since approx.. 2 years in our club and it's practiced with large success. On different exhibitions we recieved admiration again and again. Example of a sample rivet joint Here in scale 1:50 The size of the rivets is determined by the amount of adhesive you use
Hi Kim, sometimes it's too much work to do such a job. I would recommend burning holes instead of building bumps. At normal viewing distances, and for normal photogaphy it looks acceptable: But when you go Macro, you can see that they are holes instead of rivets: You might even be able to reduce the laser power to a point where instead of burning a hole, it just melts and bubbles up the plastic to make a psuedo rivet. -Robert
i saw something like this in narrow gauge and shortline gazette ( a long time ago). a thin plastic strip had holes put into it where the rivets would go. it was laid onto the surface to be riveted and a thin swipe of glue was run over the strip (and the holes). when the strip was lifted the glue droplets remained where the holes had allowed. now they seemed to tout that it was a great way to do rivets ... i couldn't help but wonder why the glue just didnt' drift under the strip and make a mess. maybe you had to clean it every time. you could probably only do a rivet row ever few hours. these are questions to which i do not have answers. but ... if robert wants to burn a strip of rivets with his lazer, maybe he (or we) can try this technique and see if it produces a good result? dave f.
I dunno--in N scale you can tell they are holes, but when they are that close together as in Z, they really trick my eyes into seeing rivets.....
I used to press them from the back side of a thin sheet of styrene and then laminate that to a thicker piece. It was difficult to keep things from warping. I now use a variation of the glue drop meathod using 10 minute epoxi and a needle. The oil bunker on the locomotive shown below was my first attempt. http://hometown.aol.com/ramblinrus/images/fireman%20side.jpg
Russell, That has come out real nice, a lot of work and patience I guess. The only problem is if you mess up one it is difficult to correct. I was thinking if one uses the hole method and cover it with fine balls the dia of the hole and press it in so half the ball stands out it might work. The reason I am asking for protruding rivets is to see if I can do it in a tank Car. I can automate drilling holes in the metal tank, just need to find some fine sized balls that fits in. Kim
I know you can find glass balls that small, Also there is a kind of bead called PSL or Poly Styrene Latex that is smaller than sand but very uniform in size. We used to put them on wafers and run them through the KLA to calibrate particle size bins. Unfortunatly, I don't work in photo anymore... But you do Kim? Look around work. -Robert
Here is a link to 100um PSL beads: 100um PSL Beads Those will yield 22mm scale rivets, which are kind of big for true scale, but then again, a guy cannot deal with stuff much smaller than 100um can he? -Robert
