I was wondering if anyone knows of good articles or good sites that explain the intracasies of photoetch detailing. I've got some Royal stuff in the mail, and I'd hate to screw it up when it gets here.

Thanks,

Well, if you would read my signature line, you will see that I am a PE expert :-)
The intricacies of PE are learnt through a trial and error process. The key is to carefully read instructions, bend only once as if it is bent to many times, the seam will break, use very little Cyanoacrylate (Superglue) as if you use too muchthe result will be poor, use tweezers, etc.
I am sure that more people will add but if you want some more advice on specific problems, PM me.
Have fun,
Andrew

Try these sites.

http://www.twenot.nl/photo1.htm

http://www.eduard.cz/info/colin.html

The best advice I can give you is to take your time and think things through in advance before bending and folding.

And be real careful when you go about applying washes and dry-brushings to your model after it's all painted. You don't want to knock off any of those little PE parts you worked so hard to build and lose them. Remeber, super glue will hold just about anything together, but it lacks shear strength. I've learned that from experience!

Take care, sgrity

I like to use a form of super glue called 'Hot Flash.' It bonds in a couple seconds and unlike many other glues I've dealt with, it is EXTREMELY strong. Just my two cents (USD).

good articles you found there charles, thanx.

Only thing is that in both articles they don't explain how to make roundings with the PE. I mean for example exhaust grills on trucks.

Never mind. I already found the answer in an other forum topic which I must have looked over earlier
My humble apologies

Thanks for the tips/articles. I've read about this tool called the HoldnFold thats supposed to make PE easier. My question is, is it worth the cost, or should I just buy a good set of flat edged pliers?

If you plan to use a lot of photo etch then the hold n' fold, or the etch-mate are definitely worth the price. Even if you don't plan to use a lot of PE, if you can afford one it makes using PE alot easier.
my 2 cents
Mike

Jeff - what's "HOT FLASH"? Never encountered it before...

Gunnie

Since buying the HOLD AND FOLD tool I have never looked back. It is expensive but the results are proffessional, and well worth saving for.

Mission models also has a new PE folding tool, picked one up a week back, it will bend all sizes including large fenders, to the small periscope guards, THUMBS up in my book.

I too picked up the Etch Mate and must say, it has taken my photo etch skills to a whole new level. It is easy to use, and yields great results.

I'm looking to pick up one of the above mentioned tools soon. Been Working on my first PE detail set (Tamiya marder III with eduard PE) for awhile now bending parts simply with razor blades. Happy with the results but now I've tested the PE water I'll be getting a proper tool.


cheers for the article links too

Thanks for those links, Charles. They helped me a lot. I've acquired a couple of kits that have some PE parts to them, but I've been putting off working on them, because I've never used PE before. Hearing everyone express a little apprehension when first using it makes me feel a little better. Maybe I can get used to the stuff, too.

Mike

Just ordered an Etch Mate from InternetHobbies. They say it'll be here tomorrow, can't wait.........

I read this article to make my decision:
http://www.ww2modelmaker.com/articlepub/Pefoldart.htm

Another good article I found......

http://pmms.webace.com.au/reviews/misc/etchmate.htm