hi men

as the title says how do you make bed rolls and tarps?you know the kind of stowage that you buy from verlinden and legend. the problem with some of these extras is they are solid lumps of resin and they never seem to sit wright on the vehicle. I would like to add some stowage to my pershing but do i really nead to go to the extra expense or can you help me to make my own.
thank's alot guys
cheers
neil..........

Hi Neil
I tend to use loo roll paper (not used )
What I do for tarps is cut to size needed place where needed to go,then with apply water with a paint brush,not to to much water just a dip into it,then touch the tissue paper.You can move wet tissue around to where you need it.(I fold paper twice better thickness) For bed rolls lay out paper fold/roll to size or shape needed then tie with cotton,(you can put straps on when dry) wet with water with brush as with tarps then shape as you like. If needed you can use diluted white glue to mach doubley sure they stay the shape you want. then leave to dry. I've done this loads of times and looks ok to me. Hope this is of some use to you .

Daaren

I use two part epoxi, Duro and Magic sculpt/Milliput mix. Duro is good for its plasticity, that makes very easy to get it rolled very thin without breaking. I add Milliput or Magic Sculpt to get a sandable surface later if necessary. I prefer Magic sculpt for the putty itself and for is indefinite self-life vs the Milliput.

Essentialy you should flatten it in a ceramic tile or a piece of glass with a roller or something cylindrical -I use a cheap hobby knife handle-. I also use petrolem jelly to avoid the putty sticking to the surface and tool. Other people use talcum powder.
Let it dry some time to better manipulate it -if you work with too fresh putty it will be too soft and break- then fold it like the real thing and with a toothpick make folds and seams with a hobby knife. It´s good to have some plastic/resin item to get the dimenssions of standard items. For generic tents/rolls you can go with your 'Mk I eyeball'. Then let it dry some more time and gently place it in the vehicle taking care not destroying the details.
When the putty is dry or very firm you can straps - but mark its depressions when still soft-.

For me this is the most reallistic technique although quite time-consuming. Also you need to practice to get the usewd to it.

Hope this helps.

Hello Neil,
I use a two part epoxy compound from Aves. I use the white compound because of the finer grain. First off mix the 2 parts in equal amounts and let stand for an hour. Tape out a piece of plastic wrap and spread talc/baby powder on it then roll out the epoxy like pie dough. Use a handle from an exacto knife as a rolling pin or something similar. when the epoxy is at the desired thickness cut it to the dimensions you want, roll it up, apply it to the vehicle. Use a sculpting tool to form it, add folds and rope creases. Add the rope ties after it has set up. I used epoxy for both the folded tarp on the front and the folded canvas top of this Pkw.K2s. I prefer it to the tissue paper method. Just my preference. It may take a couple of tries to get use to working with it, but IMHO the results are worth the effort.

I also use the tissue paper method. Don't use toilet paper though, it is designed to dissolve when wet. I use either Kleenex tissues, or tissue paper; the type used to wrap up clothes in when you wrap a present. It works great for me. Just shape, coat in diluted white glue, shape some more to get it to conform to the vehicle or whatever it is on, and let dry. Once dry, you can paint them and they are done. Its easy and comes out looking great.

thank's for all your suggetions guys.
i think i will try magic sculp ive been looking at it on the www and it looks pretty good stuff to me.
neil............

hi neil
i agree with the diluted pva glue approach but i tend to use the blue paper towels found in washrooms and i like texture on them seems more realistic ie the canvas look

I'll back up what Gino said. I use shirt box tissue coated with a white glue and water mix.

Another option for tarps is a 120l bin liner. They are resonably dureabel yet cheap and HUGE. Cut to size and then paint either directly if used as a spread-out tarp or fold and paint the folded tarp.

You can also take a look at Brian Balkwill's article in the "Features" section...

HTH

Frenchy

I use plain white paper cut to size or shape and then use thinned paint in the shade i need and paint it this also helps mold the tent/tarp to the under lying shape.

iv heard that coffee filters are good. soak it in watery white glu and placi it where u want it. when the glue dries it retains its shape n the texture of the filter looks like canvas in 1/35. its good!