Adventures in mixed media

[ColonelKrypton]

There are not too many kits being built these days which do not have some type of mixed media in their construction even if it just a bit of photo etch or masking tape seatbelts.  It has become so common that I think most do not even think twice about it and just go about building their latest project.

There are those of course who mix many different type of media into their builds - for example brass, wood, and for those who make dioramas even rocks, ruble, grass, and twigs. We are only limited by our imaginations.

I just happened to be reading through Ken's build thread Roden 1/32 SPAD XIII - detail added and noted in this posting https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12387.msg233456#msg233456 his description of gluing paper over the axle using CA as way of mimicking the doped linen covering of the original. Indeed, the photos show that the result was quite realistic. A very good example of imaginative mixed media.

Some time ago I was experimenting with paper and fabric and made an interesting discovery. Usually, in order to glue something like paper or fabric to styrene you would probably first reach for good old PVA wood glue, either right out of the bottle or diluted with a bit of water.

Well, PVA doesn't always work. It will stick to styrene but doesn't really bond. The result is a joint without a lot strength but suitable for some things.

What I found was you could bond fibrous materials like paper, card, thread, and fabrics to styrene to using good old model builders solvent cement like Tamiya's extra thin cement or Mr Hobby S or SP cement.

I think it works this way. The solvent cement gets absorbed into the paper and softens the styrene sufficiently that soft styrene then also gets absorbed into the fibers of the paper (etc). When the solvent evaporates you are left with a reasonably strong bond between the two materials.

This first picture shows some bits of fibrous paper bonded to a piece of scrap styrene as a simple test.



This doesn't seem to work that well with something like smooth printer paper. In fact the more fibrous and course the coarse the material the better it works. This also shows the effect of using the thicker model cements like Mr Hobby Deluxe or Tamiya white cap cement. These cements contain dissolved styrene which is what makes them thicker. The effect is that a bond with the fibrous paper is still made but the dissolved styrene in the cement also fills the fibers somewhat.

This second photo shows a bit more extensive test using heavy brown paper, common red construction paper, thread, and tissue paper



and just to show that the bond is reasonably strong, this photo shows that piece of 2mm thick styrene held up by that loop in the thread



The best way to apply is simply to use the fine tipped brush from the cement and place drops of the cement along the material where you want it to bond. Run a toothpick or smooth object to pat or roll into place and if unsure repeat with a bit more cement. The cement did not as I feared it might cause the dye or colour of the construction or tissue to run.

I have just started to explore how I can make use of bonding these types of fibrous materials to styrene. Some of the first things that come to mind are ribs tapes, fabric wrapped exhausts, piping around seats or what not, adding small fabric hatch covers or

I did think of printing ( laser ) a coloured design on paper and then trying to bond that to styrene but that didn't work - the toner was immediately distorted by the cement.

cheers, Graham

[torbiorn]

Thank you for sharing your experiments, useful stuff. I have tried using tissue paper as insulation to engine pipes, and getting the PVA to stick was indeed an issue - in fact so annoying I didn’t try again. I will make an attempt with Tamiya, your explanation as to why it works seems reasonable.

[RAGIII]

Thanks for posting your experiments! I also used paper on My SPAD spreader bar. Paper has been a useful element in MY Styrene modeling since the 70's. As an example many WW2 aircraft lacked wheel well walls back then. Using paper, Testors tube cement, and then Testors liquid took care of that issue 
RAGIII

[kensar]

Again, thanks for posting your experiments.
When I covered the SPAD axle, I didn't glue the paper covering to the styrene axle.  I just glued the rear edge of the paper together with aliphatic glue.  I then used CA glue to fix the 3 strips to it, then just painted it with enamel paint.

In a related application, I have added a rough fiberglass cloth texture to a smooth styrene surface by using an open weave nylon fabric.  I laid the fabric down and painted liquid styrene glue through the fabric.  The glue softened the styrene and the cloth could be pressed down into it.  Worked great.

It may not show up well in the picture below, but the gray fenders next to the engine are covered in this manner..

[2996 Victor]

Although they have their uses, I find that Tamiya Extra Thin, and also PlasticWeld, are far too aggressive with many forms of styrene. For example the plastic currently used by Airfix is highly affected by them.

When using solvents to make a bond between plastic parts, I tend to use Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) as this is much gentler, although that Airfix plastic still can't take too much. An even gentler alternative which is particularly useful for very small parts is D-Limonene, which is a naturally occurring solvent that is entirely biodegradable. Both of these solvents would be ideal for laminating a textured material to styrene.

MEK and D-Limonene are readily obtainable and relatively inexpensive for a decent quantity.

Hope that's of interest.

Cheers,
Mark