Year of the Monkey revisited

**adamaia** · #1 02-12-2016, 05:36 PM

Thanks to eatcrow2 I managed to find the model of the monkey he built. It is a great model IF built properly (I think that it is a very difficult model to make...nicely) I saw that it employed the tab/overlap system which creates a lot of lines and shadows in double curvature shapes ..like the monkey! So I decided on a butt joint approach on the important parts, the face, torso sleeves. It takes longer as you print twice,cut twice and glue twice! Hopefully the end product will look ok. I use card stock on my models which is not tab friendly. I started with the base, then went on doing the head and torso. Then off at a tangent with bits and pieces. I am attaching pics showing my butt joining technique which requires printing the part on ordinary print paper which will act as the tab and cutting the tabs off the part printed on card stock. This is how it looks now, .. I chose a different japanese fan and gave it a fan fold!

**adamaia** · #2 02-12-2016, 05:44 PM

Am trying to get rid of self generated tags..please remove them!

**eatcrow2** · #3 02-13-2016, 07:50 AM

Excellent work, and a great photo showing how you do the tabs!!

**adamaia** · #4 02-13-2016, 12:55 PM

Thanks eatceow2, I have two questions for you...did you build yours with light paper? I see a wrinkle behind his neck..if not what paper did you use..second question is why do all these tags appear when i just put one? then it tells e that only five tags allowed!

**eatcrow2** · #5 02-14-2016, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamaia

Thanks eatceow2, I have two questions for you...did you build yours with light paper? I see a wrinkle behind his neck..if not what paper did you use..second question is why do all these tags appear when i just put one? then it tells e that only five tags allowed!

Yes, light paper. Built very fast and not the cleanest of work. Have no idea about the "tags".. Had the same problem, and found that if I by-pass the preview, and just post.. I was able to load my photos into the post. Did not matter what browser I used..

**adamaia** · #6 02-21-2016, 12:29 PM

I finally finished the monkey..it was not the easiest thing as I like using card stock which is very springy and does not like being made into curvy shapes. The tab method worked very well producing a overlap free joint. However the right high kicking leg offered a lot of problems, so i had to redesign the parts to get a decent fit. Eatcrow2 did not seem to have this problem (paper thickness?) anyway the finished product looks good. Took me about two weeks on and off work.

**JohnM** · #7 02-23-2016, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamaia

.it was not the easiest thing as I like using card stock which is very springy and does not like being made into curvy shapes.

I find that card stock can be warped into better and stronger curves than paper ... if it is slightly dampened, but don't get it too wet or it will disintegrate. I have a small misting spray scent bottle available (Don't tell the wife I've nicked it) but I must admit that more often than not, I just lick the unprinted side of the card. When roughly shaped and glued into place, the curvatures can be further worked using round ended tools. Again licking the tool to slightly dampen the card.

The technique is much like metal panel beating, but in a much gentler form. For small details there are such things as embossing tools available, and I have added to these using various size ball bearings and glass marbles glued onto the ends of bamboo kebab sticks and old ballpoint barrels.

With a bit of practice some quite amazing double curvatures can even be achieved, using a marble inside as an anvil and stroking outside with a hard smooth tool. I use diamond nail file boards (Again liberated from her dressing table). These are useful as gentle files, but even more useful is the hard high gloss surface on their backs. Ideal for burnishing card surfaces.

**adamaia** · #8 02-26-2016, 11:16 PM

thanks for the tips, I remember using the wet paper with the "hot spoon method" found in the instructions of Micromodel kits! at the moment I am trying the hot ball peen hammer and a nut (as the female part of the mold) to form the hatches on the VIIC 1/72 sub...it is a never ending project!

**romanmodels** · #9 02-27-2016, 04:19 AM

good job on the monkey

**eatcrow2** · #10 02-27-2016, 07:53 AM

Came out looking great!!