Plasticard

C

CoggesRailway

Registered
Hello All, I do like this new software very rich feel to it. I sell software and this is a nice UI...

Anyway that's a diversion.

Plasticard- what is it? where is the easiest place to get it? is it a material or a brand name? does it always come in the same grade, same thickness etc? What are the best tools to work it? What does one use to glue it?

I am going to attempt to emulate Dave H's snow plough, but never done something like this before! I built an RC plane that flew very succesfully as a teenager but otherwise not that handy!

Ta, Ian
 
I think "Plastikard", strictly speaking, is styrene sheet sold by Slater's of Matlock Bath. Rather like Hoover it's become the name for the product whover makes it.

Availability - it usually comes in thicknesses from 10 thou up to about 80 thou, though the thicker sheets are harder to find. Colours: white or black. Also most sheets are about A4 size. For larger sheets, suitable for G scale rolling stock, you might try Eileen's Emporium (no connection) from whom I've bought large sheets in the past. However they've recently changed hands, so you might want to email them to see if they can still supply. They are mail order or purchase at shows only, but seem to go out almost every week-end, so you should be able to catch them reasonably locally.

It cuts with a standard modelling knife, and if scored will snap along the line. Otherwise any small modelling tools - files, mini-drills, emery boards etc. etc. work well. Slaters sell MEK which will weld parts together, or you can use good old polystyrene cement. Plastrukt aso sell styrene plastic items and I think produce a suitable solvent; beware as they also make another plastic (ABS, I think) which uses a different solvent unsuitable for Polystyrene. Someone else will probably be able to expand on the chemistry side of this.
 
C&S has said it all really.
I tend to use 'Plastic Weld' or similar solvent these days as it will tackle joints between the different plastics.
Get some plasticard and have a play, you'll soon be making all kinds of things ;)
 
Hi,

The commercial name for plasticard is High Impact Polystyrene Sheet -or HIPS.

Amari Plastics sell it in BIG sheets but only 1, 2 or 3mm thicknesses, and a £25.00 carriage charge so I have discounted them.

The other supplier I have found is Metalsmiths http://www.metalsmith.co.uk/ who sell, with a £8 carriage charge, sheets from .020 to 2mm (except .030) with sheet sizes up to 660mm x 440mm. Scroll down the 'sundries' section to 'Plastic & Laminates'.

I will be buying some from them in due course

IF you can get to an exhibition where 'Eileens Emporium' are they also sell large size sheets.

Yours Peter.
 
Eileen's Emporium is where i get my sheets. They do the normal A4 size and approx 2' by 3' sheets as well. Both in a large range of thicknesses up to about 3mm.

GRS also sell large sheets, as well as the preformed stone/brick/roofing sheets. They also sell several different coach roof sections which are very useful.
 
Just one thing to look out for when working it

IF you turn it, or work vigorously with file or saw, it will tend to drag & melt a bit so

slow & steady is the rule
 
Wow I am honoured that you want to emulate me, You'll change your mind if you ever meet me!:bleh:

On a more serious note I use a place called station road base boards online quite reasonable lots of variety in thickness too. I tend to use 2mm for bodies or 3mm for bases. plasticweld or dichlorymethyene is great with this stuff.

here is a link for station rd base boards:

http://www.stationroadbaseboards.co.uk/cart_plastic.htm

There is also a useful FAQ page to have a read of if your new to plasticard.
 
Ditto what Tac said regarding plastruct- very useful stuff, I use it for strong 90 degree joints at corners and to hide possibly less than perfect measuring (it's amazing how wrong something looks if it's even slightly off square), and also for detailing bits and bobs. These wagons were my first attempt- on HLW chassis- and are all 2mm plasticard with plastruct (or similar) used for details and glued together with common or garden poly cement, one with a needle tip type bottle instead of a toothpaste tube type- far more precise. Oh, except the "doors" which are just thin plasticard.

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There are much better examples of working in plasticard on here- Dave and Gareth (3-valve) spring to mind as masters of the art- but I was quite pleased with how they came out as a first attempt.
 
Evergreen also make lots of different styrene sections, similar to Plastruct.
 
That's the name I was trying to remember! The wagons ^ actually use Evergreen strip.
 
For bulk sheet, try yellow pages for your local industrial plastics supplier - not all of them are modeller friendly, but quite a few stock HIPS and will sell it in individual sheets, model boat builders also tend to need a bit bigger than A4. For the cost of driving a few miles whenever I need to stock up, I pay about a quid for 4x2ft (actually oversize) in 10thou, thicker stuff is more or less pro-rata to weight (so 20thou is about £2, 40thou £4, you get the idea).

J.
 
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