Make your own parts
Thrifty George Dent loves nothing more than to repurpose scrap materials and offcuts to create useful detailing components.
George Dent repurposes scrap materials and offcuts for detailing parts.
These days, us modellers are rather spoiled when it comes to highly detailed locomotive models from the mainstream manufacturers. Yet there are still some areas where models can be improved or modified, perhaps to incorporate details specific to individual locomotives or eras. Furthermore, many of us still operate locomotives that may be a few years old and, in some respects, might be lacking in the fidelity stakes.
All in all, then, there remains a need to get one’s hands dirty with glue and paint. Presented here is an assortment of handy tips and tricks that I’ve employed over the years to get my steam traction fleet up to scratch. The projects here feature ‘OO’ gauge locomotives, but most of the processes can readily be
adapted to models in any scale. I’ve avoided the obvious topics of adding a footplate crew and real coal chippings, while I’ve also shied away from illustrating the use of bespoke detailing kits and components, with the onus being on parts that you can make yourself using leftover materials.
I hate to throw stuff away at the best of times and tend to hoard offcuts of plastic and metal, keeping them in lidded containers for future use. This thrifty nature came about by necessity, as most of my early forays into modelling had to incorporate ‘found’ or repurposed objects and materials rather than stuff bought new. Necessity breeds invention, as they say, and the restrictions of the last year have prompted me to recapture that spirit of making do with what I could find. In fact, I’ve enjoyed my modelling much more recently and this approach has definitely rekindled my modelling mojo.
Most of us will have some ‘stock’ materials in our hobby space, be it plastic card or strip or metal wire and wood offcuts. So why not have a look in the bottom of your materials drawer or toolbox and see what bits and bobs are lying around? Save those offcuts, etched metal frets and plastic kit sprues from the trash and repurpose them in your modelling. I can guarantee that you’ll get a great sense of reward from making something out of nothing!