Styrene question

Hi to all im new

I was reading through tutorials and i dont know what styrene is and how to use it? is it bandable? thin, thick? what tool to use to cut it and is there any some other name for it, who in australia would have something like that for sale?

thanks for help guys
sash

comes in diffrent thickness. i use .030 it works fin. easy to bend if you are going for a perfect 90degree bend, it can be hard without breaking it, but a simple use of a lighter works. styrene is in sheets, it is white. sciccors cut it just fine. if you are cutting thicker might use a dremel or sheers. any basic hobby store will have it.

Styrene are sheet of plastic. The main brand is Evergreen and cost about 2$ for 2 sheets

They come in different tickness
.10, .15, .20, .30 .40 and more
there is even some with draw on it that can be used to make inter cooler on other thing.

.10 is used to fill gap between 2 pieces, can be usefull
.20 and .30 are good for modeling parts and starting to custom built aero part
.40 is about GTwing size

you use plastic glue (the same you use for model) to glue it.

Very usefull stuff for the price

Styrene is very usefull. I have at least 1 sheet always by my hand. For test painting mostly, but it's far more useful as that ;)

Great guys thanks alot


Oki, my hobby is fibreglass work and bodykits, but up to now i was just coping others and learning tehniques, now i want to start my own modeling of bodykits, and i read many pages but this styrene stuff sounds good, so i want to try it.

What putty do you use? is it same bog as for cars ...or?

so i cut is in peaces, glue it with plastic glue, make shape, than just putty on top and sand it? is construction going to be hard enough not to brake or something, once i have it sanded and primed im just going to make mould of fibreglass .. is ithat the way>? any suggestions ..? whats good whats not, does it take too much time?

can you sand styrene?

i think this should be enough to start :)

Thanks champs

you can sand styrene. i use squadron, other people like to use tamiya putty.

if you are planning to do a mold and make more then 1 of the kit. you can do one from fiberglass(althought i have never seen that) or you can make a resin copy. what size models are you planning to work with?

you can do one from fiberglass(althought i have never seen that) or you can make a resin copy. what size models are you planning to work with?

Fiberglass for 1/24 is very hard to do. I have done fiberglass work on cars and that alone is hard. Let alone the intricacy of body kits. I wouldnt reccomend it unless you have many many many hours under your belt with fiberglass.

you make the general shape with styrene (like fenders and side) then you shape with putty

I use Tamiya Basic Putty

Fiberglass for 1/24 is very hard to do. I have done fiberglass work on cars and that alone is hard. Let alone the intricacy of body kits. I wouldnt reccomend it unless you have many many many hours under your belt with fiberglass.

yea i hear ya. i havent used it at all but my grandpa has a bit and it is tricky stuff. the reason i asked is becuase it sounded like this guy was building a body kit for a real car, saying he was making fiberglass molds of real kits. i just said that becuase the word fiberglass is more for real 1:1 scale. but i could be worng. just the way he wrote it sounded liek 1:1

hehe yes scale 1:1 i make real kits

nah guys you didnt understand i already make fibreglass bodykits, but the thing is i just copy kits that already someone made but now i want to do modeling my own. So if someone needs help mail me or i can make tutorial on that, hard, o yeah i've spent days and nights in my garage just to learn that shit and guess what? no one wanted to help anywhere i asked, it was like they invented it and they dont want anyone to know .. but its alright, i've spent too much money on it i still havent earned it back.

Oki thanks for replay guys but what kind of putty is that maiya.. ? what else is it used for, im in australia so maybe its called different where yous are. ? will plaster putty do the job? or maybe it will crack, what about putty used for patching the cars, ?


cheers guys

hey man, where in aust. you situated. coz there are a fair few ppl on here from our wide brown land that might be local close to you and might give ya a hand
im near brissy if thats any help
laters, WIDE

man im not sure what the hell your talking about? are you wanting to make bodykits for 1:24 scale model cars? if your asking for help on making your 1:1 bodykits then evergreen styrene and tamiya putty are not gonna do the trick? and second of all if your asking for help on 1:1 scale bodykits you in the wrong place, this is a model car board. forgive me for being so confused.

Hi wide load

Im in nsw wollongong good to here there is more aussies

yeah do you know the answer of my last post ? just not sure what putty is it and who would sell it, it sound some different type than what im using.

Also that styrene thing, who sells that in aus?

jdmhotrod i think that was the answer to all my q

im making 1:1 scale kits, thats why it confused me i didnt know that this is only for little 1:24 cars forum.


so styrene and putty doesnt work on big jobs?

Hi dojaja, you are coming at this from a very different perspective to everybody else responding to this thread so far. You are talking full size vehicles, everybody else scale model cars. Using sheet styrene and modelling putty would be a very expensive and time consuming method of designing real body kits!

Don't the professional design studios rely on sketches followed by mockups in clay? Might be a better option for you, unless you can afford the lastest CAD/CAM technology.

a method i've seen used quite a lot is a wood base (plywood generally) with cut polystyrene glued on to make the rough shape, then the whole lot is covered in plaster and the final shape is defined. sand smooth then take your fibre glass mould off that.

hope that helps :)

a method i've seen used quite a lot is a wood base (plywood generally) with cut polystyrene glued on to make the rough shape, then the whole lot is covered in plaster and the final shape is defined. sand smooth then take your fibre glass mould off that.

hope that helps :)

Polystyrene melts buddy. The epoxy/resin becomes chemically hot thus melting it and then the fiberglass falls in. You need to use polyurethane foam.

So are we talking about 1:1 or 1:24?

Polystyrene melts buddy. The epoxy/resin becomes chemically hot thus melting it and then the fiberglass falls in. You need to use polyurethane foam.

So are we talking about 1:1 or 1:24?


1:1 and if you read my post i said plaster NOT putty

its well known process in kit car circles (no, not plastic kits, i mean like kit cars, like becks, caterhams etc)...

Hey guys I know this is a little off topic but: At my hobby shop they have the stiff styrene sheets and the floppy ones. Which one would be better for body kits?

Hey guys I know this is a little off topic but: At my hobby shop they have the stiff styrene sheets and the floppy ones. Which one would be better for body kits?

Look at the thickness of them. It should say at the top. I prefer .020 and .030 thicknesses.

That sounds big job, wood, plaster, you cant make good lines with that.

How big are these sheets guys, that styrene stuff? and are they stong? i can use that and to make it stronger i just put coat of fibreglass from inside and that should be stable for sanding.

I found out new shit used for bodykits.. i dpont know what is it called and where to buy it..

Its paper, comes in rolles, 1m high and it has some wire inside so you can bend the paper and make any shape you want, there is special tape used for joint once you have the shape you aplly some paint on top which disolwes in that paper and once its dry its all one big plastic, and hard, easy to sand this sounds great idea, the guy told me he has seen that in body shop in sydney and its great product, he said its very expensive but usefull.

Thanks for help guys

Styrene comes in sheets as big a 20x12

styrene..
that's the stuff they use for vacuum forming right?
does that mean if i make a 1:24 buck of a car form, with careful planning and masking out, i can make my own little body panels out of the stuff?

if your trying to make a scale body kit for say a 1/24 model. then you would be best to start off with a styrene base. try a .030 thickness. and then glue it on. use the styrene for the basic structure. then putty and sand

styrene..
that's the stuff they use for vacuum forming right?
does that mean if i make a 1:24 buck of a car form, with careful planning and masking out, i can make my own little body panels out of the stuff?

They use Lexan (polycarbonate) for vacuum forming.

ok...
i just know it as 'the plastic sheet for the vacuum form machine' in the workshop....

it's just that it cuts in a very similar way to the stuff i got from the model shop.

i guess there's nothing stopping me from trying to make my own little body panels anyway.
the dichlorolmethane seems to be able to bond almost anything plastic...

Hmm they do a procsess of injection molding to make model bodys and parts. They shot hot styrene into a metal mold. That is about it.

Do you need to put putty over styrene to paint it?

Do you need to put putty over styrene to paint it?

No you but primer over the body parts to paint. For little things i just paint the pieces.

Hi to all im new

I was reading through tutorials and i dont know what styrene is and how to use it? is it bandable? thin, thick? what tool to use to cut it and is there any some other name for it, who in australia would have something like that for sale?

thanks for help guys
sash I dunno how im gonna start on makin my body kit can u tell me what tools an materials im gonna want

all suggestions that can make life easier would b great

I dunno how im gonna start on makin my body kit can u tell me what tools an materials im gonna want

Read the FAQ and take a look around in the tutorials before you ask already answered questions.

how do i stop solid mouldings from cracking off iv done some round my arches

I dunno how im gonna start on makin my body kit can u tell me what tools an materials im gonna want

Search this forum, this topic has been covered many times.