Wednesday, November 11, 2015

General Directions for Woodland Scenics Metal Castings

  1. Clean-up castings by removing parting lines, flash, and stems. These can be removed by scraping with a hobby knife, filing, or using sand paper. I prefer filing, but in certain cases a hobby knife must be brought in to play.
  2. As you are cleaning up the castings, refer to the directions and become thoroughly acquainted with their placement. Dry fit the parts before you start construction.
  3. Parts may warp or become bent during shipment and should be straightened before construction. Be careful here, you don’t want to break those fragile parts.
  4. Clean the casting with solution water and a little dish liquid and let air dry.
  5. After the parts are thoroughly dry, I use a tweezers to transfer the parts to a piece of two-sided tape, and I then give them a good base coat. I usually use grey spray paint, but white will work.
  6. Glue castings. I prefer “Super” glue, but a fast acting epoxy will also work. The detail I like about “Super” glue, is that it will adhere to a painted surface and it acts fast. When using a fast acting epoxy, both surfaces must be free from paint. By the way, if the part is going to receive some handing during play, then use epoxy. Epoxy will take a little longer to cure, but will produce a stronger bond.
  7. Paint the castings. Pick out details on the castings with contrasting colors. Some parts might be better served if they are painted before construction.

I have worked with many of Woodland Scenics Metal kits. Some like the outhouses have worked out very well, while others like the chicken coop did not go together without some difficulty.

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