Jump to content

Litho plate substitute?


Daithi O Buitigh
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'm just curious if this will work (or if anyone has tried it).

SWMBO handed me a 6 pack of C&C Club Orange (duly accepted and consumed - she won't buy me beer ) Anyway, I noticed after emptying them that the cans seem to be a very light aluminium (unlike most other cans), easily bent and light weight and I just wondered if anyone has tried this on a model yet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used beer cans successfully years ago for cowlings etc. Club Orange cans and the like end up a bit small when you take off the top and bottom. I scraped, stripped the paint from the outside and ended up with a nice clean piece if thin plate. However I tried it again recently and found that 1) for some reason the plate now creases very easily and 2) its almost impossible to remove the paint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 6 years later...

Litho plate is rather crispy as it comes and would need annealing to conform to fancy shapes. I have a roll of malleable aluminium which is wonderfully easy to work.

Failing that, the small ally sheets that come from the K&S Metal Centre rack in almost all model and even toy shops has a very malleable ally grade. I have hammered that into scoops, bulges, vents, brackets, etc, right down to 1/32nd scale slot racing bodies (Morgan 3 wheeler and Bloody Mary hilclimber) I carve a Ureol or pearwood pattern and hammer the ally over with a Lignum Vitae block so as not to mark the surface.

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's fine for covering stuff, Jon, but not up to making self supporting items. Sellotape aluminium tape is wonderful for making a chrome look. I'm foiling a 1.48th scale Lightning, panel by panel with Kit-Kat foil, turkey foil and Sellotape aluminium. Turn the sheets from time to time, they have a grain which shows when burnished. Also boil foil in vinegarry water with a copper coin in to get jet pipe colour.

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And he lives 15 minutes away from me! I gave him the beginnings of a Lightning fuselage pattern I'd made while in Germany. Meant for his jet engine he kindly showed me.

Martin

Edited By Foxfan on 19/07/2019 15:30:43

Edited By Foxfan on 19/07/2019 15:32:51

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 months later...

I am building a Brian Taylor Gloster Gladiator and the instructions on the plan for building the flaps are to start with 1/64" ply laminated with 'thin' litho plate. If the litho cannot be found does anyone have any idea what I could use in its place? I have absolutely no experience of litho so don't know what it looks or feels like.

Thanks

Graham

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Litho plate is simply thin gauge aluminium. It. Was used for printing some years back. You can use come or Pepsi cans. Cut the top and bottom off then cut open the tube with a pair of scissors. To make it plyable / remove the springy -ness you will have to anneal it. There are some good videos on YouTube showing how to use litho plate and anneal it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...