What Scriber is best for simulating deck planks in plastic?

[wefalck]

Good idea and the results look great on the two examples ! However, it may depend on the type of primer used, which has to take a clean line without fuzzy edges. It also requires priming, which I often try to avoid in order to not build up unnecessary paint layers. Have to watch the video tonight in order to get more insights.

[michael mott]

Well I thought I would add my two cents worth to this discussion. I have done a great deal of scribing over the years on many types of plastic the back side of an exacto blade work very well.  I have even used a set of blades laminated together with AC glue on one Architectural model to represent a brick infill on a concrete spandrel at 1-200 scale, I think there were 12 blades and the material was plexiglass. The back of the blade can be dressed easily on a bit of 400 grit wet and dry.

 

I agree with the earlier comments about visibility of wood grain etc at viewing distances. A hint of texture can work well if not overdone, but again it does depend on the scale. I remember taking a Heller Victory and sand off virtually all of the hull planking so that it was almost not there.

 

Michael

[Old Collingwood]

I think that wood (pontos simulted decks)  or proper decking as we use in our  wood kits  can look  simply superb,   I have used both at different scales.

Scribing  especially for planes can be really useful  to open up panel lines that have been lost with sanding - or just plain missing.

 

OC.

[wefalck]

Watched the quoted above video by P Budzik last night and think there is an idea worthwhile trying out: scribing only through a layer of paint to reveal another layer beneath. This is essentially what is know in art as sgraffito (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgraffito). As the covering paint layers will be very thin one doesn't need to worry about creating out-of-scale furrows, such as those moulded into kits or that the laser-engraved wood decks seem to have. It has the potential to create very thin lines that would be to scale in small scales. The art will be to not scribe through to the underlying material. This would probably require a quit thick black/brown under-paint and the paint should be quite hard.

 

I think I will give this a try, when I am getting to the only wood deck on my current project, though I already lightly engraved (using an engravers' graver) the bakelite sheet from which this decking will be made.

[Hubac's Historian]

A very impressive video presentation, Mr. Budzik!

[P_Budzik]

Hubac:  Thank you

 

Wefalck:  I don't build any more primer than I would normally, but you do need to have a light touch.  Just do a little practice, but honestly, it really turns out to be very easy and fast.  You also need to do a little playing around with how fine a point you put on your scribe.

 

Paul

[ASlrWnt2C]

I reckon that I owe the group a comeback on what I did with the information posted here. I'm a little shy about posting my work since I can see that I am in the presence of master craftsmen. Please keep in mind that I am just a beginner. 

 

I marked the video from @P_Budzik as "the solution", since I thought that was the single most helpful post. 

 

I purchased the UMM SCR-01 as recommended by @kurtvd19

I love using this tool. I like the way it pulls a chip out of the groove it is cutting. 

 

Anyway. I haven't started on the actual deck piece yet, but here is my test piece:

after sanding with 80 grit and scribing the plank lines. 

 

after priming with airbrush. Then I brushed some Raw Umber acrylic into the scribe lines and wiped the piece with paper towels. 

 

 

after painting with airbrush. Much to my suprise, the plank lines were not obscured by the tan color. But I wanted more "texture". I had planned to wash the piece with more Raw Umber thinned way down. I was a bit afraid that the wash would mix with the paint layer and muddy the colors, so I got the idea of using a lacquer barrier layer between the paint and the wash.  

 

The section on the left just the airbrush tan over the primer and fill. The section on the right was airbrushed with Testor's Dull coat. Then the right and middle sections were washed with more Raw Umber thinned way down, then dry brushed. 

 

My technique could be better, but i'm reasonably happy with the section on the right. That is the process I plan to use on the spar deck. When I get that far I will post a picture of the finished project. 

 

Thanks again for the useful information and the interesting discussion. 

[wefalck]

Looking good ! It is really important to have narrow, clean lines that are only engraved to the minimum needed to hold the paint.