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For discussions on tanks, artillery, jeeps, etc.
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Clear shell
Blackstoat
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Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 06:06 PM UTC
Hi all

I'm a real fan of modelling interiors. The issue for me though is that I'm not happy with all that hard work being visible through hatches etc. I know some people are, if you're one of those people - fair enough.

I know there are, and have been, kits issued with optional clear parts so that the interior can be seen.

My question is, has anyone thought to offer these as after market additions? Am I right in thinking the only 1/16th kit with clear parts was the original Trumpeter KT?

Thanks
tankmodeler
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Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 06:35 PM UTC

Quoted Text

My question is, has anyone thought to offer these as after market additions?

The problem with large clear hull/turret parts is clarity.

People who might want these to see an interior, as you suggest, want to actually see all the fine work. The problem is, getting optically clear plastic (or worse, resin) is exceptionally difficult. Interior changes in thickness of fractions of a thou mean waviness, anything less than a perfect polish on the tools means blurriness, sleigh fractions of a degree of non parallelism means diffraction and magnification. Shrinkage or knock-out pins mean lensing effects.

It's virtually impossible to get large plastic mouldings that are actually clear. This is why the airplane guys go for the really thin vac-form canopies dipped in Future, to minimise distortion. You simply can't do that with structural parts like whole hulls or turrets.

Paul
Blackstoat
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Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 06:57 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

My question is, has anyone thought to offer these as after market additions?

The problem with large clear hull/turret parts is clarity.

People who might want these to see an interior, as you suggest, want to actually see all the fine work. The problem is, getting optically clear plastic (or worse, resin) is exceptionally difficult. Interior changes in thickness of fractions of a thou mean waviness, anything less than a perfect polish on the tools means blurriness, sleigh fractions of a degree of non parallelism means diffraction and magnification. Shrinkage or knock-out pins mean lensing effects.

It's virtually impossible to get large plastic mouldings that are actually clear. This is why the airplane guys go for the really thin vac-form canopies dipped in Future, to minimise distortion. You simply can't do that with structural parts like whole hulls or turrets.

Paul


I take your point. But what about say a glacis plate, a turret top, a turret side, an engine cover, a radiator cover etc. Or, how about a kit with optional cutaways?

Byrden
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Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 07:16 PM UTC
Is it really necessary for the clear part to mimic the shape of the real thing, or even the opaque part that it replaces?
A flat transparent sheet, cut to fit the panel outline, would work for tanks that have flat surfaces.

David
Frenchy
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Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 08:22 PM UTC
Other options to show what's inside :





H.P.
retiredyank
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Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2018 - 09:13 PM UTC
Would it be possible to make a mold of the part you want, and cast it with clear resin?
RobinNilsson
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Posted: Friday, March 23, 2018 - 12:00 AM UTC
See above about getting perfectly clear castings.
There was a fad many years ago for small objects, for instance insects, small flowers, pretty rocks/pebbles, cast in clear resin to make paper weights or simply as decoration.
The problem waas to get a really shiny object to use as master for the mold. And those castings weren't thin either ...
CD-cases have reasonably clear plastic so getting clear sheet for flat panels would be possible. On the other hand it would be easier to simply make cutaways as shown above.
Store the model in a glass dispaly case if dust is an issue (dust is always an issue by the way).

/ Robin
petbat
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Posted: Friday, March 23, 2018 - 01:14 AM UTC
Another issue with clear parts is you are looking outside in, so the rear of parts attached to the walls/hull are visible.
gloucesternige
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Posted: Friday, March 23, 2018 - 02:29 PM UTC
And yet another issue to be considered.. this can "clearly", (no pun intended), be seen on the Trumpeter 1/48 U boat...

If the clear plastic is mega polished and shiny it will reflect everything in front of it, so the viewer may just see a reflection of himself when he/she takes a closer look inside your beautiful model?
m4sherman
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Posted: Friday, March 23, 2018 - 11:37 PM UTC

Quoted Text

See above about getting perfectly clear castings.
There was a fad many years ago for small objects, for instance insects, small flowers, pretty rocks/pebbles, cast in clear resin to make paper weights or simply as decoration.
The problem waas to get a really shiny object to use as master for the mold. And those castings weren't thin either ...
CD-cases have reasonably clear plastic so getting clear sheet for flat panels would be possible. On the other hand it would be easier to simply make cutaways as shown above.
Store the model in a glass dispaly case if dust is an issue (dust is always an issue by the way).

/ Robin


My Mother did that years ago. Her trick was to use glass jars that she broke off a few days after the plastic stuff set up. Baby food jars if I remember right. When we cleaned up the house there were still a few pieces laying around. So yellowed you could barely see inside. Not really practical for molding thin parts.

I think if there was a market some of the resin people would get involved. Or you could ask someone to make the part you wanted. It would not be cheap.
tankmodeler
#417
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Posted: Sunday, March 25, 2018 - 09:13 PM UTC

Quoted Text

But what about say a glacis plate, a turret top, a turret side, an engine cover, a radiator cover etc.


Any part large enough to expose a significant amount of the interior will suffer from the clarity issues I outlined. Clear resin has exactly the same problems.


Quoted Text

Or, how about a kit with optional cutaways?

_That_ is easy enough to do, but, for the number of people interested, hardly worth the tooling upcharges. If you make a part removable you either have to provide another part without the section removed or live with the fact that there will be a seam or gap or discontinuity at the join because it's really not possible to make this sort of think totally equivalent to a one-piece component form a fit and finish point of view.

And if you're OK with a panel removed, it's easy enough to cut them away yourself.

Paul
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