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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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What Size Is Thise Grill
nheather
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Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 05:09 PM UTC
Hi,

Wanting to buy some grill mesh for a BT-42 - it's an Eastern Express model so it is inaccurate to start with so I'm not too bothered about absolute accuracy. Just wondering what size to get. Here is the grill shown on a BT-7 (same chassis)



What size do you recon the holes are in full size? Doesn't look like it must be less than 10mm.

Cheers,

Nigel
RobinNilsson
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Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 06:42 PM UTC
The opening on my BT-7 kit (built many years ago) is somewhere around 2 mm but the "sheet metal" on top is rather thick styrene so let's make it 2,4 - 2,5 mm
In 1:1 scale this would be somewhere 85 - 90 mm.
The mesh has a frame around it so the actual mesh is smaller than the opening, say 70 mm. Zooming in on your image lets me count to 9 openings for that height -> the mesh is 7.5 mm (center to center of the wires).
In 1:35th it would be somewhere around 0.2 mm.
In art&craft stores and similar they could have woven mesh of that size, used for flower arrangements, sewing, decorations, scrap-booking et.c.
I bought a black gauze curtain which is actually a mesh of approximately that size. Maybe I should upgrade my BT-7 ....


Google helped me find this:
http://www.themeshcompany.com/products/Fine-Mesh---0.5mm---0.025mm-Hole-Size.html
They probably even have a mesh for filtering gnats testicles ....

organza ribbons ?
/ Robin

Namabiiru
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MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
#399
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Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 06:48 PM UTC
I would suggest going with slightly out of scale mesh (larger openings). Once mesh gets too small, it is too easy for primer and paint to clog it up and it ends up looking less realistic than a slightly out of scale unclogged mesh. That's just my experience and personal preference.

RobinNilsson
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Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 09:00 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I would suggest going with slightly out of scale mesh (larger openings). Once mesh gets too small, it is too easy for primer and paint to clog it up and it ends up looking less realistic than a slightly out of scale unclogged mesh. That's just my experience and personal preference.



Yep, valid point Thanks!

Thinned paint,airbrush and then blow only air through the mesh to clear the holes from paint.
Mesh up to 1 mm can clog if using a paintbrush ...
With an airbrush the limit of troublefree painting is somewhere around 0.4-0.5 mm. Easy on the paint when airbrushing, several light passes instead of one heavy and blow through with only air to clear clogging ...
Namabiiru
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#399
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Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 09:03 PM UTC
I usually prime with auto primer from a rattle can, which makes it a challenge, although the worst offender with clogging mesh is Mr Surfacer from a rattle can.

RobinNilsson
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Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 09:29 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I usually prime with auto primer from a rattle can, which makes it a challenge, although the worst offender with clogging mesh is Mr Surfacer from a rattle can.



Ahhh!

Well, airbrushed Humbrol can clog fine mesh too so don't blame the rattle cans too much. I would find it a real challenge to get good results with rattle cans.

When I was in high school one of the teachers repainted his car in some kind of baby blue mother of pearl colour using rattle cans ...... it definitiely looked as if it had been painted with rattle cans ... I presume he didn't care too much ...

/ Robin
m4sherman
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Posted: Monday, May 29, 2017 - 01:43 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

I usually prime with auto primer from a rattle can, which makes it a challenge, although the worst offender with clogging mesh is Mr Surfacer from a rattle can.



Ahhh!

Well, airbrushed Humbrol can clog fine mesh too so don't blame the rattle cans too much. I would find it a real challenge to get good results with rattle cans.

When I was in high school one of the teachers repainted his car in some kind of baby blue mother of pearl colour using rattle cans ...... it definitiely looked as if it had been painted with rattle cans ... I presume he didn't care too much ...

/ Robin


That takes me back! My parents had a 1970 van, Candy Apple Red. After about 100,000 miles my Mother rattle canned the center strip of the body all the way around phsyco-delic multi-colored Picasso designs. I can remember riding around thinking "I'm inside so what the outside looks like don't matter"!
RobinNilsson
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Posted: Monday, May 29, 2017 - 03:08 AM UTC

Quoted Text

....
I can remember riding around thinking "I'm inside so what the outside looks like don't matter"!


Back in 1955 when my dad built the house, that I would grow up in later, he painted the outside light blue (the neighbours house was light green).
It's a bit pale in this Google street view:
https://www.google.se/maps/@59.6648528,12.6024635,3a,75y,337.96h,85.76t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDxJD1_NRTiathyYtA-bLOg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Anyway, the old geezers from the neighbourhood asked my dad if he was really serious, painting it blue and everything and my dad replied: I'm gonna live on the inside, the outside is for you to look at.
/ Robin
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