Anyway, the photo is to show the wheel centres. When I look at prototype photos, the 5 holes in the wheels really catch my eye and so the filled in centre steel wheels weren't going to cut it.
My first thought involved plastic sheet and compasses. You can't drill through the really thin material, at least not with the bits I have available, you have to cut by whirling around a pair of compasses fitted with a point in each arm. That and an Olfa compass cutter for the bigger circles.
This was taking ages and if I'm honest, not working very well. However, with the silhouette cutter handy, I wondered if I could design something.
It turns out I can. OK, I've cheated and cut 4 holes not 5, but then there's a lot of compromises in this model anyway so one more won't make a difference. Lining up the holes was important and I'm not sure how I'd have done this with 5 holes - but then I'm a beginner with the machine and software.
A quick blast in the cutter gave me a sheet heavily scored with the design. A few minutes with a sharp knife popped them out and they fitted perfectly into the wheels.
Design and cutting took less time than doing the job by hand so maybe I need to think about using technology more often in the future.
A neat solution. There might not be the right number of holes, but just having some relief in the wheel centres makes a difference, and helps 'lift' the model.
ReplyDeleteWould your machine be any good for doing multiple layer, round cornered, coach panelling - especially "bolections"?
ReplyDeleteThe reason I'm asking is that cutting some of this stuff by hand occasionally seems to be far more awkward than some people might think. (Probably best if I don't go into too much detail right now).
But is it really modelling if you use technology?
ReplyDelete:-)
Huw - I think it probably would, although it would take a bit of experimentation. Some of the very thin pieces might be tricky to handle, but no worse than cutting by hand.
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