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Realistic Tarps!

Preparing the tarp

For this article I am building a tarp for a pallet holding a 44 gallon drum, some scratched ammo boxes and some Friul tracks (Photo 6). These items have great scope for raised edges and depressions, which add realism to the finished item. Put the model onto the tarp and work out the area required, allowing for seams, folds and depressions, then add another 10% to be on the safe side. I want part of the items on the pallet to be in view, so I cut it accordingly. (Photo 7).

Optional Extras

At this point you can put in seams, repaired areas, or eyelets.

For seams, score a line with the BACK of a blade about 1.5mm from each edge, and glue it down with PVA. Then take each folded seam and fold it over itself AGAIN, and glue down. (Photo 8).

For patches, take a spare piece of sprayed tarp, cut the size and shape you want, and paint it a darker green (straight XF-26 Deep Green in this case) than the original, (don’t forget the edges, or they will be white). Glue it to the tarp, and with the point of a straight scalpel blade, make the ‘stitches’ around the edge. (Photo 9).

For eyelets, take small rings from and old PE fret and glue them at corners and points in between along the seams. Take a sharp pick or pin and punch out the tarp hole through the ring. You can now run ‘ropes’ through these eyelets. (I use rigging rope from the shipbuilders). (Photo 10).

Once done with all the extras, seal both sides with a good coat of future. Rub down the length of each seam with a Q-tip to ‘raise’ it. It should now be looking quite tarp like. (Photo 11).

Before fitting to the model you will need to create the normal folds that appear in a stored tarp by folding it into halves and quarters, and sharpen each crease between finger and thumb. Do this several times to really ‘form’ the creases, then flatten the tarp again to eliminate some of the sharpness to create a used effect. (Photo 12).