SPA Modeler

Even though I haven't had much time to post, thanks to lots of "fun" summer time chores, I haven't been idle. On my bench sits a 1/48 Apache for my oldest grandson, a 1/32 Sopwith Camel that I finally rigged into submission, a 1/35 PBR that still requires a few tweaks, and my NMF 1/48 F-106 that needs a place to park. The last brings me to where I am today. Just to give you an idea of how quick and easy a basic base can be, I knocked this out in two days. Could have been one, but paint needs time to cure.

Here's what I did;



Found a scrap piece of MDF shelving that was roughly the size I need. First thing I did, was paint a bit of my "concrete" color to see how it would cover and dry.




Once satisfied, I looked online and found out the distance between expansion joints on the average flight apron. Scaled that down to 1/48 and drew squares.




Taking a small finishing nail, I locked it into a pin vise and scribed my lines using a metal straight edge




Using a paint marker, I filled in the lines. The bleed over is ok, as it will add to the illusion of depth, however it doesn't hurt to lightly sand them so the color isn't quite so sharp.




Then I painted the whole thing a lovely shade of concrete grey and let it cure overnight. This was all day one.




On day two, I lightly dragged my scriber back through my lines. This lifted the grey off the black, but not down to bare wood.




Then I made a mess. Let's face it, equipment leaks, and crews spill things. No flightline is pristine.


Now I have a place to park and can stay off the CSM's grass! (Kind of an inside Army joke)

Be creative. You never know what you can make out of scrap.

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for looking!

Joe

Nice toot. The base looks great.

Great idea! I've been trying to come up with something similar... but what is MDF shelving?

Absolutely great idea!

And does not look so difficult either, to do the base stuff.. Painting and weathering being of course another story,

- Kari

Stikpusher wrote:Great idea! I've been trying to come up with something similar... but what is MDF shelving?

I'm curious too. Is it some sort of plastic fiberboard of sort?

Stikpusher wrote:Great idea! I've been trying to come up with something similar... but what is MDF shelving?

MDF stands for Medium Density Fiberboard. Essentially it's the wood that generic furniture is made from. Most often used to build speaker cabinets "back in the day". The stuff is a bear to work with, as it's essentially small wood shavings (fibers) mixed with epoxy, put in a mould and pressed into shape. Power tools are the only way to cut or drill this stuff. However, if you buy a pre-fab shelving unit or cabinet, this is most likely what it will be made from. Next to indestructable and practically waterproof. Plus laminate adheres to it very well.

You can usually find 4x8 sheets of it at home improvement stores, but it's pricey.

On the plus side, had I used a normal plywood, my lines would have been jagged and most likely tracked in the wood grain. Too soft a wood, and my lines might have been too deep.

Thank you for the enlightenment!