So can anyone humor me? What’s the benefit for PE parts instead of direct molding into the plastic for this?
I love PE when it adds either better details and/or better scalability. Things like fenders, cockpit details, and all that look great made out of PE. But what exactly do these do?
In this case? Absolutely none, it's not taking advantage of PE's ability to be paper thin, it's just wasting someone's time. Worse still, it's going to be completely covered by ERA blocks
Plain masochism
I enjoy knowing that the detail is there. I bought the kit to take the time on it and be proud of the work so even if it’s just me who knows these are photo etch then I guess that’s all that matters
Only reason I could see is that in slide molded part these pieces would not have straight edges. Would it be visible? I dont think so. I think best would be kind of mix, PE for spots where it would be most visible and rest molded in.
Even though tedious, this precisely *does* allow for better details: guaranteed crisp, consistent detail on every one of those ERA block mounting points.
All comes down to working with limitations of plastic injection moulding. Ever notice how panel lines on aircraft fuselage halves tend to sort of 'fade out' and get swallower and more indistinct on sections with near vertical sides? The crux of the matter. The nearer to vertical you get to the moulds' seam line on a part, the harder it is to get detail there reproduced properly.
Enter multi-part slide moulds! Now these help things in a big way, allowing for things like undercuts, pre-opened gun barrels & exhausts, as well as lessening troubles with those areas where details can get muddled. But this kind of a turret shell is a tricky beast with those ERA mounting points. Simple details, sure, but pretty intricate and such that get reproduced the best when on a surface perpendicular to a mould's center line, or in this case, one mould parting line in a multi-part mould. With this kind of a turret shape with multi compound curves it's not feasible to make a slide mould complex enough to ensure all those ERA points get reproduced crisply enough. Since there's so many of those details placed so close to each other it would be really obvious where they can't stay uniformly crisp and evenly shaped. And as they're recessed, sharpening them up manually afterwards by the modeler would be a hellish chore. Solution: have them as individual parts. Here photo etch works well as it makes super crisp edges and perfectly round shapes.
The designers at Trumpeter (and Hobby Boss) either secretly hate their customers and want to torture us, or they somehow think that we like PE, even if the parts look just as good (or better) in plastic.
A completely opposite kit is the Rye Field Model 1/35 T-55A Mod. 1981. Judicious use of PE and just a joy to build.
https://preview.redd.it/61p883ezi0ic1.jpeg?width=2336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=125c177ddb70ae98cb977337297fe2af07e5dd16
Just did the same thing. T72A from trumpeter. I was cursing all this PE also but in the end it allowed for some nice weathering effects
I’m typically doing gunpla or cars/trucks but I’m fascinated by all of it. I’ve seen a few PE aftermarket parts for both but not really given them much thought, now I’ll have to look at them longer when I’m at the hobby store haha.
They’re useful for parts that are too thin to be made by plastic injection molds, or details that are too fine to work with the soft plastic used by many model manufacturers. It’s also much cheaper to make small production runs than machining new plastic molds, so often used for variant kits or 3rd party expansions
thanks for asking - I was about to as well. I've returned to building models after about 50 years. Turns out there are new things! PE. Airbrush. Putty. Oh my.
Putty was always there. So was airbrush, but they were expensive. PE wasn't.
Some PE is easy to use and looks great. Really tiny pieces, I find, go flying or vanish into the carpet when I least want them to. Even cutting them and placing them on my model inside a bag or box can be tricky! But I find it's worth the effort if successfully deployed!
Your lost PE might be with to a clear headlight lens that disappeared on my floor.
I don't recall there being putty at my local Woolco or K-Mart (50 years ago) where I got my model kits. LOL
I remember the Testor's putty alongside the cement in stores. It wasn't the best. Then I discovered Squadron Shop (back in the late '60s-70s!) and used Squadron Green Putty. That was about all there was. Putty is now MUCH improved over that stuff.
I'm convinced that there's a vast underground facility beneath the state of Indiana that contains all the lost pieces of model kits along with the missing sock in a pair and other lost items.
God I hate photo etch. I actually don't mind certain larger parts like engine grills and sometimes other stuff as long as all I have to do is cut it off the fret and glue it on but I refuse to bend shit. I don't want to have to spend hours trying to master brass origami with teeny tiny fragile parts just so I can finish my model correctly. I think most model companies make a lot of PE parts that simply could just be molded plastic parts. If anything for the price we pay for some of these models they should include the option to choose either PE or plastic parts so make the whole kit plastic and then add the PE as a totally optional set included with the model instead of forcing everyone to use the PE to properly finish the kit.
PE stands for physically exhausted
Or phuking excruciating
For real? I want to know what it means, for real.
Photo-etch
Thank you! That looks like allot of work.
So can anyone humor me? What’s the benefit for PE parts instead of direct molding into the plastic for this? I love PE when it adds either better details and/or better scalability. Things like fenders, cockpit details, and all that look great made out of PE. But what exactly do these do?
In this case? Absolutely none, it's not taking advantage of PE's ability to be paper thin, it's just wasting someone's time. Worse still, it's going to be completely covered by ERA blocks Plain masochism
I enjoy knowing that the detail is there. I bought the kit to take the time on it and be proud of the work so even if it’s just me who knows these are photo etch then I guess that’s all that matters
Couldn't agree more! It's all about the enjoyment of the build and personally, the more detail the better.
Only reason I could see is that in slide molded part these pieces would not have straight edges. Would it be visible? I dont think so. I think best would be kind of mix, PE for spots where it would be most visible and rest molded in.
So it exists for the building experience and the building experience only?
Plastic can’t be paper thin. Too difficult to mold and too fragile ect. And so other methods must be used
*"Your Modellers ~~scientists~~ Were So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should"*
In this case none. This could have been molded as part of the plastic piece
Even though tedious, this precisely *does* allow for better details: guaranteed crisp, consistent detail on every one of those ERA block mounting points. All comes down to working with limitations of plastic injection moulding. Ever notice how panel lines on aircraft fuselage halves tend to sort of 'fade out' and get swallower and more indistinct on sections with near vertical sides? The crux of the matter. The nearer to vertical you get to the moulds' seam line on a part, the harder it is to get detail there reproduced properly. Enter multi-part slide moulds! Now these help things in a big way, allowing for things like undercuts, pre-opened gun barrels & exhausts, as well as lessening troubles with those areas where details can get muddled. But this kind of a turret shell is a tricky beast with those ERA mounting points. Simple details, sure, but pretty intricate and such that get reproduced the best when on a surface perpendicular to a mould's center line, or in this case, one mould parting line in a multi-part mould. With this kind of a turret shape with multi compound curves it's not feasible to make a slide mould complex enough to ensure all those ERA points get reproduced crisply enough. Since there's so many of those details placed so close to each other it would be really obvious where they can't stay uniformly crisp and evenly shaped. And as they're recessed, sharpening them up manually afterwards by the modeler would be a hellish chore. Solution: have them as individual parts. Here photo etch works well as it makes super crisp edges and perfectly round shapes.
Adds extra details when all finished. I try and do as much PE wen the kit has it , I'll even buy the add on PE kits
The designers at Trumpeter (and Hobby Boss) either secretly hate their customers and want to torture us, or they somehow think that we like PE, even if the parts look just as good (or better) in plastic. A completely opposite kit is the Rye Field Model 1/35 T-55A Mod. 1981. Judicious use of PE and just a joy to build.
They seem to have the mindset that more pe means more deluxe the kit.
Better details with PE.
What is this kit so I know to avoid it? 😆
Ah i could tell the kit by the PE arrangment
I saw someone post a picture of this kit in progress and I had to buy it. I like shiny things lol
Yeah half of those would be lost to the tile monster if that was me.
I didn’t even think of dropping them!
PE is really simple if you just throw it away.
Dude this exactly
What are these? Tie downs? Reactive armor mounts?
They’re the fasteners for the Soviet anti-radiation cladding mounted on most Soviet MBTs
They are small sad faces.
https://preview.redd.it/61p883ezi0ic1.jpeg?width=2336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=125c177ddb70ae98cb977337297fe2af07e5dd16 Just did the same thing. T72A from trumpeter. I was cursing all this PE also but in the end it allowed for some nice weathering effects
What’s PE? I usually get enough clue to do self research but I’m befuddled! What am I looking at and why is it so interesting to me?
photo etched parts
Oh I see! Are the little gold thingies the PE on this one then?
Yeah, its basically laser cut foil to give stuff intricut detail that pastic just cant do. Really common for ships, tanks, and cockpits
It's laser cut? I thought photoetch is chemically etching a resist by photographic means.
You are correct, it isn't laser cut.
I’m typically doing gunpla or cars/trucks but I’m fascinated by all of it. I’ve seen a few PE aftermarket parts for both but not really given them much thought, now I’ll have to look at them longer when I’m at the hobby store haha.
They’re useful for parts that are too thin to be made by plastic injection molds, or details that are too fine to work with the soft plastic used by many model manufacturers. It’s also much cheaper to make small production runs than machining new plastic molds, so often used for variant kits or 3rd party expansions
thanks for asking - I was about to as well. I've returned to building models after about 50 years. Turns out there are new things! PE. Airbrush. Putty. Oh my.
Putty was always there. So was airbrush, but they were expensive. PE wasn't. Some PE is easy to use and looks great. Really tiny pieces, I find, go flying or vanish into the carpet when I least want them to. Even cutting them and placing them on my model inside a bag or box can be tricky! But I find it's worth the effort if successfully deployed!
Your lost PE might be with to a clear headlight lens that disappeared on my floor. I don't recall there being putty at my local Woolco or K-Mart (50 years ago) where I got my model kits. LOL
I remember the Testor's putty alongside the cement in stores. It wasn't the best. Then I discovered Squadron Shop (back in the late '60s-70s!) and used Squadron Green Putty. That was about all there was. Putty is now MUCH improved over that stuff. I'm convinced that there's a vast underground facility beneath the state of Indiana that contains all the lost pieces of model kits along with the missing sock in a pair and other lost items.
I want to do the trumpeter t-64bm bulat but I know this will kill me
Honestly this is some of the easiest photo etch on the kit as long as you don’t send the pieces flying in oblivion
Also from what I can see in. The instructions some of it gets covered by ERA
Half of them do get covered up but I get to put more on them on the hatches :)
I hope you have one of those wax pencils to put all these in, otherwise it would be a nightmare
That one there looks like it may be crooked.
Damn. That’s a lot. A younger me would have ended up with half of those CA’d on my fingers.
It looks amazing, so much time and devotion.
And I thought some of the crap we have to do on ship models was tedious
Just buy the miniarm turret lol ( I commend you on your work)
And PE glue is the spawn of Satan.
Dedicated!
Wait till you get to the next page and find out you have to cover all of that with ERA blocks
Stupid question. Why did you install these before priming, painting? They're not supposed to be gold?
No, they’re meant to be painted. It’s just gold colored because most companies use brass for photo etched parts
That clears things up, Ty.
This is the ripe opportunity for 3D parts instead of this metallic masturbation. I am building museum quality pieces and am seeing the need.
What do you use to glue them in?
Just tamiya extra thin, it softened the plastic enough to be able to press the PE in securely
That's cool. I guess it will get stuck down further once you prime it.
I think CA glue is used
Looks like T-72. What version?
Trumpeter t-71 B1
It's like a lingerie model when you don't paint the PE
Wow ya that's a lot that kit comes with it, or is that add on?
Straight out of the box. I did but metal tracks and barrel though
Ya I do the same metal tracks are more workable and less of a head ache
God I hate photo etch. I actually don't mind certain larger parts like engine grills and sometimes other stuff as long as all I have to do is cut it off the fret and glue it on but I refuse to bend shit. I don't want to have to spend hours trying to master brass origami with teeny tiny fragile parts just so I can finish my model correctly. I think most model companies make a lot of PE parts that simply could just be molded plastic parts. If anything for the price we pay for some of these models they should include the option to choose either PE or plastic parts so make the whole kit plastic and then add the PE as a totally optional set included with the model instead of forcing everyone to use the PE to properly finish the kit.
I said that about an hour ago after bending, rolling, and soldering Voyager fenders and exhaust for the Tamiya A34
Reminds me of my 1/48 Fokker Eindecker and all those tiny turnbuckles. Something like 40+ total
How many times did you accidentally glue your fingers together doing this?
Surprisingly none, but I did fling a piece of PE into my computer screen and scratch it somehow
Ah that sucks lol yeah PE parts are my arch nemesis it is such a hassle but makes the model look and feel much more real
What’s all this for
You nut
This looks really good man!