As you can see, other than some weathering, the articulated flatbed truck I started to build from a Langley Models kit a few posts ago is now complete. The final step was to glaze the windows.
Given the small size of the windows, and the relative thickness of the castings, it was obvious that sticking some clear plastic inside the cab wouldn't work at all. One alternative would have been to try and cut some plastic to fit flush inside the frames but that also didn't seem like a sensible route. Fortunately there is a much easier alternative; Micro Kristal Klear.
Microscale Industries' Micro Kristal Klear (I bought mine from Eileen's Emporium) is a PVA like glue that is designed to both dry clear and to not discolour clear plastic. This makes it perfect for gluing windows in place, but it can also be used to make the windows. You simply use a cocktail stick to smear a small amount around the edge of the window frame, and then draw the glue across the opening to make a thin film. You can see this in action above, after I'd just done the first window. Once dry the glue is clear and the window is glazed.
I may have clicked the wrong thing as I've just commented.
ReplyDeleteThis is just brilliant..It's effective and I'm amazed.
I must admit to being pretty amazed by it myself. It took quite a lot longer to dry and turn clear than I expected; the bottle says to keep parts clamped together for 15 minutes, but it was around five hours before the windows had turned completely clear. I was a bit worried I was going to have to claim that I'd deliberately modelled steamed up windows!
DeleteI am completely astonished. When I commented on the last post (which was done after this post as it happens) I couldn't see how you could possibly have achieved plastic windows. This method is quite beyond anything I had imagined.
ReplyDeleteOne small point. The flat beds of the lorries I recall from my youth were usually bare wood.
ReplyDeleteUseful to know. It definitely needs some weathering so when I do that I'll try and make the planks look like bare wood instead of having been painted.
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