Tuesday 15 February 2011

Right Angles....Right?

One of the challenges I have faced with the current batch of models is the fact that the front of the superstructure on some of them is 'V' shaped with the apex of the 'V' in line with the bow. You would think that cutting such a shape would be easy and I am quite sure that to many modellers it is probably routine fare. Try as I might, I could get the angles right and I always ended up filing one side more than the other and so the result was never even. In exasperation I finally hit upon a solution that has given me a little more work but at least ensures that the angles are constant. Basically, I cut a Mega Blok building brick (the 8 stud variety) into two halves and then cut from corner to the diagonally opposite one, leaving me with a triangular 1/4 brick. I then then trim the top of the brick so that I am left with a perfectly right angled piece of plastic roughly 15mm either side of the apex. I then use this to face a piece of balsa wood of the appropriate size. Simple but effective and you will see what I mean when the photos of the completed models are posted.

The Mega Blok bricks are really useful and I acquired a bag of then at a boot sale a few years back. The plastic is far better than Lego for chopping about and of course has the big advantage of being consistent in their angles rather than the hamfisted attempts by yours truly who seems to have real difficulty these days in cutting anything in a straight line!

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