Hi all,
Years ago, Tamiya offered a very thin styrene sheet called Plastic Paper, as it was thinner than standard typing paper. It was ideal to represent scale thickness sheet metal and other thin model features, and usable with plastic cement.
It's not in their current online catalog, so: does anyone know where it or similarly thin sheet (0.0x mm)could be bought?
Happy Modeling,
Peter

Is this what you are looking for
https://hlj.com/pla-paper-0-1mm-b4-3pcs-tam70208

Evergreen Scale Models offers various thickness white sheet stocks down to I believe, .010 inches thick (0.25mm) and clear sheet stock down to .005 inches thick (0.13mm).

I have both in my possession and use them regularly so I know they exist.

Here is some of the Tamiya 0.2mm product for sale in 3 sheet packs on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273555989702

I’ve never seen the Tamiya stuff but both Evergreen and Slaters make or made styrene sheet in 5thou (0.0125mm).

Never seen that of Tamiya but just ordered by Hobbyeasy some evergreen 0.13mm white sheet

Another source is plastic shim stock. Comes in all sorts of thicknesses. From .001" to .032".
Gary

I have purchased the Tamiya Pla-Paper here in Canada. It is .0035"
I also use a lot of Evergreen's .005" white styrene sheet.

One must be careful with both - Tamiya cement is too "hot" for them. I use Testors Liquid cement . . . sparingly.

Have you thought of using an aluminium can? Cut the top and bottom off run it over the edge of a bench to help flatten it and remove the thin plastic lining coating on the inside with some wet and dry. I use it all the time to fabricate parts or as a gap filler etc.

Of course the advantage of using the plastic paper is that it is perfectly flat (if you want it that way) and it reacts perfectly with the glue solvents used in the rest of the build as apposed to the aluminum.

But then again, sometimes the aluminum is the perfect answer to certain challenges.

If you want flat aluminium and don't want to struggle with cans, go to the grocery store and purchase some disposable pie plates or similar disposable cooking pans. They have large (enough) flat areas and most are about .003" thick, although some of the huge turkey roasters are thicker. The aluminium cuts easily with scissors or a craft knife. I usually sand them a little to remove the gloss finish. It is easier to shape as well, as it has less "spring" than brass sheet.

0.0035" - yeah, that's what I want to buy again! Sheet and beverage can aluminum is much more rigid and presumably thicker, so please, Tom, could you let me know who your dealer in Canada is?
Thanks to everybody else,too, but you know the way it is: if you've been working with something for years and run out of it, you want that very material or tool again.

Peter

Tom - excellent point! I will remember that one!

Peter, contact me - [email protected]

Never experienced any problems with ordering from Hobby Link Japan.

https://hlj.com/search/go?ts=custom&w=tamiya%20plastic%20paper

If you want really thin you could check the windows in envelopes (Briefumschläge).
Example:
https://www.amazon.de/Herlitz-Briefumschlag-Selbstklebend-Folienpackung-eingeschwei%C3%9Ft/dp/B0018GC81O

Check the window in the next window envelope you get, usually with invoices or official letters. If it glues with your styrene glue/solvent then you have found a winner.
The best part is that they are free and once you have removed the plastic windows the rest could be recycled as paper
The thinnest Evergreen sheet is 0.127 mm which means almost 4.5 mm in 1/35th scale and that is a heavy sheet metal ....
Modern cars have a thickness of a mm or less ....
It gets really tricky to glue such thin sheets ...
/ Robin

Robin,
That's awesome! I just tried out an envelope window"pane" and am thunderstruck. As yet, I don't even have an idea what to use such immeasurably thin stuff for, but am sure the idea will stay in my memory to pop up when the need arises.
As for cementing it, I used good old tube cement from a more than 10 year old tube; letting a tiny amount of it on the other part start drying for a short while was enough to stick the envelope onto it w/o its being dissolved.
Thanks for the hint - I am totally convinced!
Peter

Vacuformed food packaging can also contain useful pieces of styrene. Look for the Grüne Punkt and the PS or 6 in a triangle which shows that it is PolyStyrene.
Sometimes there are really thin sections in those containers...
/ Robin

Another product is mylar drafting film.
Its usually 3-4 mil (.003 or 4).

It will glue but does not melt easily.

I got a lifetime supply just from picking up scraps in the print room at work.
So if you know any architects or engineers ...