Resourceful Links
Sanding off Diecast "Rash" - Noticeable with older models as they age.
| Safety Equipment: goggles, rubber gloves, and dust mask. I should definitely get a respirator soon. |
| Drill Bits: 1/16" to get a pilot hole which makes the 9/16" bit dig through the rivet in less than a second. |
| Sharp clippers: nail clippers like this one snip off the plastic prongs that secure the axle to the chassis plate. |
| Dremel: cutting disk will deal with metal prongs and can clear out a channel for brass tubing. Wire brush is excellent for smoothing out the body for a clean zamac finish. |
| Wheels: Break open other cars, take their wheels. I've got a large inventory and it wasn't cheap! |
| 1/16" Brass Tubing: Needed for adjusting axle lengths. The factory axles slide into these and they are secured through crimping. |
| Files & Sandpaper: Widen the axle channel on the chassis plate with small-set files. Fortunately the thickness of the flat files matches the brass tubing perfectly. 60 grit is great for clearing off freshly-cut tubing, and I run up to 600 grit for prepping a surface for gloss-coating. |
| Putty & Adhesives: I'm currently using Tamiya polyestor putty for sculpting and fabricating custom parts, and have a variety of adhesives at my disposal. |
| Paint Stripping: Will have to start relying on aerosol-can stripper eventually. |
| Paints: Krylon Acrylics, Dupli-Color Enamels, nail polish, Tamiya and Testor Enamels. |
| Masking Tape: Green painter's tape ain't great at a 1:64 diecast scale. While it's inevitable to get bleeds, Scotch drafting tape has worked the best for me. Would like to try Tamiya one day. |
| Painting Booth: Life saver when painting outdoor isn't ideal. I'm using a basement bathroom because it has an exhaust fan to remove fumes and it's the least used washroom in the building. (14 May 2013 update: Click here to see the newest spray booth I made) |
| Painting Assistance: Dog clips have made the workflow of spray painting more flexible than before. This is also where gloves will be of use to keep your hand and forearm free from paint. |
| Decals: The final feature of any custom is the graphics. I'm using Expert-Choice Decals and using their solutions Micro Set and Sol to work them onto surfaces. |
| Documentation: Final step in making a custom is to photograph it, upload and update the index post here on Blogger. Keeping things organized now saves billions of minutes in the future. |
