From
JoeWorld-OnLine.com
Basic Tips and Tricks to kitbashing
By graeylin
Nov 2, 2004, 09:16
To make easy 1/6th scale signs, get a sign/label catalog from someone in the working world. Brady, Lab Safety, Emed all send out mailers to safety engineers and facilities personnel. The signs and labels they use in these catalogs are very nice for 1/6th scale background effects. I can't guarantee they are perfectly scaled, but they look darn nice.
Select the sheets of signs that you want. I personally just cut blocks of signs out, and do not focus on a single sign. For what you will do, working in larger blocks is better. I keep a file of paper cut outs on hand, and can make signs as I need them, or if I get bored, use the cut outs and make signs ahead of time.
I have found that the plastic 'cover' on the boxes of 21Century soldiers or Hasbro Joes is a perfect stiffener for your signs-to-be. Carefully remove that clear acetate plastic sheet from the box (I know that ruins the value of the box. But if you were a purist, MIB, NRFB person, you wouldn't be kit bashing signs for a diorama, would you?). Then, take rubber cement (find it in craft/hobby stores, even department stores), and lightly smear a section of the acetate the size of your paper cutout. Press the cut out onto the acetate, cutout on top of rubber cement on top of the acetate, and let it dry.
Once you have prepared this, you can store your signs for whenever you need them. I simply cut them out with scissors as I need them, because keeping one large section of signage is easier than keeping and sorting a hundred tiny signs.
If your sign is on a post, you will want to paint the acetate backing a nice silver/metal color. Or, you can paint the backing black, to hide the wording that will show through. For hanging signs on walls, no prep work needs to be done.
1/35th scale modelers can point you to sections of plastic I-beams and H-beams that make excellent sign post material. Your new sign is now ready to be glued/mounted. If you want to preserve the sign longer, you can coat with a clear/matte protector coat, either from a spray can, or simply apply a coat of clear fingernail polish.
When making these signs, keep in mind that the "do not" circle was not in existence in the World War eras, nor were pictograms. However, good stop signs, warning tapes, electrical hazard warning signs, no trespassing signs, etc. haven't changed in 50 years. I also found a first aid poster in a sign catalog, reduced to about 1/6th scale, and that is going up in my Vietnam Medical Station.
This technique also works for reproducing cigarette cartons, advertising posters, recruiting posters, pin-up girls, etc. I have searched magazines and junk mail for small photos, boxes, etc. and found that even junk mail now has a purpose. You never know what you will find at about 1/6th scale.
Weathering clothes, the safe way: An alternative to bleaching.
A simple trick to weathering clothes, without fear of damage (from bleach, sandpaper, etc.) is talcum powder. Simply rub talcum powder into the clothing, to lighten it little by little. It can be applied in spots, like elbows and knees, or all over to simulate many washings of the item. Lighten pants separately from uniform jackets, to add to the effect, as many soldiers washed their pants much more often than their jackets.
Talc is safe, even for our youngest modelers, and has no long lasting side effects. Too much lightening? Simply dust it off, and start over. Or, wash it in water and some soap, and you are back to normal color. You can't do that with bleach.
Need dirt? Use RUST. Find an old rusty nail, saw blade, metal part, and simply rub your clothing with it. The different colors and layers of rust you can find will guarantee you will have multi-colored dirt on your clothing and equipment. No two dirt stains are ever alike, and no two rust stains will be either. Again, like Talc, MOST of the rust stain will wash out, but not necessarily all.
Need camo netting? It is an old trick, but it works. Use cheesecloth. Buy it at a hardware store, and cut it to fit your needs. If Cheesecloth is too loose, use a roll of gauze first aid wrap. The weave on that is tighter, but the widths are preset at one-three inches, usually.
To quickly camo either one, I love spray paint. Green, black and rust/barn red are great background colors for jungle came. Simply spray sweeping 'splotches' of each on the white cheesecloth/gauze until the entire item is covered with mixes of all three colors. Spray lightly, unevenly for best effect. You can then add better detail with hand paints, but using the spray effect makes wonderful background on the sheets.
I have found the same tactic works well for dirt and ground on my dioramas. Prepare the diorama base with sprays of black, rust, brown, etc. and then when you add rocks, mounds of soil, trees, plants, etc. there is a nice uneven color to the ground that shows through when done. You can hand paint the details, but leave the big background work to the 'impressionists' and spray paint.
It has been said elsewhere, but you should stuff any pockets at least lightly with scrap paper, cloth, etc. Even those packing peanuts can be useful here. Most soldiers had items in their pockets and backpacks, so stuff something in there for better effect.
I found a great fast footlocker, if you have access to these items. I had photographic slides made from some pictures a while back, and the package the lab sent the slides back in was a small, rectangular plastic box with a hinged lid. I saved the thing, because I save everything, and I came across it when I was making my tunnel rat diorama. Two coats of homemade OD paint, and viola, a small footlocker for my soldier. Technically, it is not as deep as a normal footlocker, but it looks darn good for the ten minutes it took to make it. If you want to add detail, you can add corner braces, even a rope or metal handle, but I simply covered mine with enough stuff to make that unnecessary. Maybe my next one will have handles.
We all know that black matte painted barrels, weapons, and gear often becomes field worn........this is VERY easy to replicate......simply take a pencil lead and begin shaving the lead.....then simply put a small amount on your finger and begin to rub your weapons or gear..... Powdered graphite (look in the key/lock section of your stores) also works, and prevents you from having to shave your pencils. Another way to get that gun metal look with pencil is to simply "write" on the weapon with a pencil then smear it. Make sure all the lines are straight and you cover the entire area of one section. This is also great for reaching in those little cracks and such. Do this sparingly, and add on if the effect isn’t enough. It is easier to ADD than to subtract.
Drybrushing with silver or chrome matte paint also works well to replicate the worn edges of helmets, steps, etc. but drybrushing is a technique that takes a while to master. Don’t try it on your showpiece without a lot of practice first.
CHAIN LINK FENCE
Cheap gutter guard makes great scale chainlink fencing. It comes in various "link" sizes though so make sure you get some that's 1/6th scale looking. To make a fence you will need to get some brass tubing and paint them the color you paint your fence. Then just use some small wire to attach the fencing to the posts. If you want to go the extra mile you can drill small holes in the brass tubing to wire the fence directly into the fence poles in a more permanent way. Since most gutter guard comes in such a narrow width you will have to use probably 3 rows of fencing to make a tall army base type fence. You simply wire these three piece together at the seams with more small wire. You can even hammer one end of the fence pole down flat and bent it at a slight angle to get that extra piece for some barbed wire strings to top it off.
"SIMPLE" LOOSE ANKLE FIX.
A simple tip to tightening those ankle joints. Get some of those clear rubber bands that you find packaged with certain 1:6 products. Then just loop it around and around the ankle joint of your figure. Start off wrapping it real tight while making sure it goes down into the separation between the foot and the lower leg. Just keep looping it around and around until you can't anymore. This will cause that much needed friction in the joint and will make your loose ankle problem disappear. The rubber bands are so thin too that they won't hinder boots or anything from going on as normal. You might even be able to find some thin rubber bands at you local Walmart or something that could work as well. Now depending how much you "play" with your Soldiers you might have to replace these rubber bands as they get old and stretch out but this is a great temporary and non-permanent way fix that loose ankle problem.
Using a old Tupperware container, add a bit of dirt or clay soil. Set some uniforms inside, add water until uni's are covered and then shake well. Let set for at least 48 hours. When you remove you can suit up your figure then or rinse a little to knock off some of the dirt. Feel free to also let the clothes dry and then roll them in your hands to remove excess dirt. This will give a very good "been -in-the-field" look.
Use coffee grains as dirt on unis. You can dust some on the knees, elbows, etc. You can also rub it in for that down and dirty look. If you want the effect of mud, simply mix up some coffee grains and water, but make sure that the ammount of coffee outweighs that of the drops of water. Add this mix to the uniform with caution, because it is very sticky and could cause a mess.
Mic cables and communication lines: you will need 1) Twisty ties) 2) a thick round size plastic (for the MIC). 3) super glue 4) some type of device for the earpiece. 5) black paint 6) scissors
First take the twisty ties, and flatten them as well as you can. Then take the plastic you have chosen for a microphone/mouthpiece, and glue it on to the end of your twisty tie. Cut the desired length and glue it on to your earpiece. Paint black.
Get your hands on some regular household bleach. Get an empty coffee can, fill it a little over half way with water, and then add a small amount of bleach. I usually do 1 part bleach to 4-5 parts water. I mostly just guess how much would be good. It usually makes a pretty subtle effect, but if you want it more faded just do it a few times. But I do NOT recommend adding more bleach if you want a greater effect, you'll probably just ruin the uniform. Anyways, add the bleach, stir it up to mix it in with the water (I like to use those little wooden coffee stirs, they make great floor boards as well), now add the uniform. Use the coffee stir to get the uniform completely saturated, and just leave it sit there. Stir it every 20 minutes; I typically leave a uniform in there for 45-60 minutes. Then, take it out, get a piece of cardboard (I keep all the backs to my 21C carded items and these are handy for this), set the uniform on the cardboard and make it completely flat, if you want creases, now's your chance. Then just let it sit outside in the sun until it dries. It helps to do multiple uniform pieces at a time, but make sure you come up with a good bleach to water ratio before you put your whole 1/6th wardrobe in there. When you take it out of the coffee can, it may not look like it's changed at all, and it'll just look wet. This will change once it dries good, you'll notice a difference. If you're not satisfied, do it all over again. The key is moderation.
If you're using white material, bleach really isn't going to do much. Lighter tans and yellows as well as whites, I like to soak in tea. We had a whole bunch of old nasty green tea packets that were probably not suitable for drinking anymore, so we were just going to toss them. Instead, I took them, threw them in a box, and said I'd probably never use them. Surprisingly, they have a lot of good uses though. Just make a glass of hot tea like you normally would, and soak your material/uniform in it.
As a sort of guideline, troops would most likely wash their shirts more often than pants, so fade your shirts more than your pants.
Next, it's time to roughen up the edges. After you let the uniform dry in the sun good, you may notice that it's pretty stiff. This is good, it's what we want. When you placed the wet uniform on the cardboard, and made it flat, you made edges, really work on these edges with some 220 Sandpaper, but be careful not to tear the fabric. The edges should be pretty worn, and now just do a light sanding of the entire uniform, but go easy. Be careful around pockets too, but a hole in one of the pockets adds some character. After the sanding, stuff the pockets with fabric or cardboard or something to add some depth.
Now you're ready to do the mud and dirt weathering. One of the easiest ways to weather a uniform is to go in your garage or basement, sweep the floor so you have a nice dust pile, and then put that dust into a Ziploc baggie. Put your uniform in there, and just mix it up. Then take it out, and brush it off until you have as much as you want on. After this, get the coffee out, put it on the hot spots: elbows, knees, butt. Rub it in good. You can also substitute a rusty nail for this part, if you want more reddish dirt. After you bleach your uniform, throw some old nails in that coffee can so they're in the bleach/water mixture. In a few days you'll have some nice rusty nails. Think of where you would get dirty if you were out in the field, wear you would wipe your hands if they were dirty (most likely around your thighs or upper pant leg, on the sides).