Working with 1:16 Etched Brass Parts

[daviddunlop]

Hello.

There seems to be an ever growing supply of this kind of detail part and many of them look very tempting for my Tiger I. I am curious, however, regarding how easy it is to work with them. Should one paint first, or install and paint detail later? What type of tools are recommended? Brands to avoid? Etc.

Anyone had experience and want to comment?

David

[fv432]

Hi david
first welcome to the forum

havent had much experience with brass etched kits but i have been known to add a little brass here and there on my bulldog ::) ::)

also did a tutorial on making your own scale hinges out of brass you may find handy


Kind regards rob

[Rivetcounter]

David, I think you may be looking at the Aber parts I used these on my late Tiger I build if you have no experience with PE then it may be a minefield for you tools you will require are an etch mate this will help bend the parts small tweezers and small pliers will also be an advantage time and patience will also come into play you will find that there are many parts which are too small to handle with fingers and if you drop any then it could take hours to find them again, for the Tiger I the parts I recommend for any build is the exhaust shields and the side mudguards these are fairly easy to make and can be dented up to look very authentic the parts which will be of little use are the front and rear mudguards these will take many hours to make but will only last seconds 

[daviddunlop]

Thanks for the insights so far, Gentlemen.

I believe it was the Aber parts I ran across and it was the grill screens for the rear engine deck that really caught my eye. They looked fairly straight forward to work with. There also seemed to be a large selection of 'fiddley bits' to think about, like straps and buckles etc, and even a Commander's Cupola interior details set, though I think there is also a molded plastic version of this item in 1:16 lurking about.

Several years of biology labs in the past have given me quite a collection of tools for working with small things, but the etch mate makes a lot of sense. I picked up a punch and die set last year for making scale hex bolt heads. Works really well, but the resident feline definitely needs to be kept out of the room when doing this sort of stuff. Though it is amazing how well her eyes spot little bits on the floor. Hmmm...I wonder if that would be a trainable skill set???...

Best regards,


David