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Casting metal parts


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Does anyone have any suggestions or links to a tutorial on casting model parts in pewter?    I'm getting tired of catching the HF antenna on the tip of the 1/144 Minicraft KC-135's tail and snapping them off.   I'm guessing pewter would just bend and I could straighten it out instead of the plastic part getting launched into the stratosphere when I snag it.  I haven't caught the antenna off the Roden RC-135's yet but I'm guessing it's just a matter of time.

Edited by Drifterdon
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I have taken to inserting steel rod (0.020") into fragile protuberances (drill into to body of the antenna and a receiving hole) then using both CA and plastic glue to hold it in place (eg harrier wind vanes, vertical antenna, small vents with no real locating surface etc).  This gives the joint a lot more strength and rigidity - almost impossible to knock off because in order to do so the steel has to rip out of the plastic.  Not sure if that would work for 1/144 scale.

 

Graham

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5 hours ago, Bob Beary said:

You can also fold a piece of cardboard over the tail and tape it in place to protect it.

This is one of the things I had thought about doing while I was decaling.  Unfortunately, I have a bunch of what I call half-bakes and one of the got bumped before I could place the cardboard over the tail.   Ping goes the antenna into the stratosphere!   :bandhead2:

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White metal casting takes me back. I didnt think anybody did that any more, its all about 3D printing these days.

 

The "hard" part of casting white metal is getting a material to make the moulds from. High temperature silicone rubber is what I ended my casting days with.

Your gate will need to be quite wide at the neck as the part will be so small...

 

Im sure there are place you can get the silicone from, but Ive not been to Colorado for a long time now (Brighton and Windsor).

 

If you are really interested then I would imagine a search for White metal casting on youtube will bring up far more information than you would get here. 

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  • 1 month later...

For protecting parts like antenna, gear, etc. I wrap tinfoil around them and leave a bit of a trailing edge. When you're working on the kit and your finger gets too close the foil will give you a clue to retract before you hit the actual part. You can shape the foil however you want to protect it.

HTH

Keeper

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