Adding uniform rivet detail post-printing?

[dhanners]

I’m wondering if anybody has come up with a way to add uniform rivet detail to a model after it has been designed and printed. In particular, in 1/32nd scale.

I’m planning on building a repaint of Ken West’s X-15, and I want to add rivet detail to the wings and tailplanes. The pages have already been printed. I bought a rivet making wheel set used for making rivets on plastic kits, but I’m sending it back because I ordered the small set with the teeth too close together. I’ve ordered a set that makes rivets 1.5mm apart.

My concern is whether it will look right, or just serrate the paper.

Any hints/tips/suggestions?

The rivet patterns I’m wanting to replicate look like what’s in the photos. The photo on the left shows the general pattern of rivets on the tailplanes. The photo on the right is from a chap who added rivet detail to the wings of the odious Special Hobby styrene and resin X-15A-2 kit.

[Thumb Dog]

Hi All,

And hi, dhanners. I can’t speak from experience about embossing rivets into a paper model, but the solution you’ve chosen, using a rivet making wheel set, would be my first choice, too. I think just as important as the wheel set will be the item you choose as your backing material when rolling the rivets. Suggestions could range from a new, unblemished cutting mat, cardboard, such as cereal-box cardboard or picture framer’s mat board, or even glass or plexiglass. Experimentation with a few materials will be necessary.

Also, the use of a sealer on the riveted parts might be worth trying. The rivets might respond differently if the sealer is applied before or after the rivets are made. More experimentation is needed.

One last idea. I think most modern, high-speed aircraft are flush riveted and they have been for some time. Howard Hughes’ H-1 Racer of 1935 was among one of the first airplanes to employ flush riveting and my guess would be that the X-15 was flush riveted, too.

Good luck with your project whichever way you choose to go.

Score and fold,

Thumb Dog

[Siwi]

This is a topic I keep my eye on.


So far I've made rivets on 1/72 and 1/48 machines by doing each one individually with a push pin against a ruler edge. This is tolerable on WW2 fighters but I need a better system for anything larger. One idea I did have was to create a line of pins in a block that I could push in together.


What I can say is that with one layer of 160gsm and gentle pressure you can make both recessed and embossed rivets without it going through the paper. With two layers glued you can be less delicate. Of course, with a black aircraft such as the X-15 you will need to take care not to punch through the printed colour to the white paper.

[dhanners]

Thanks, guys. The X-15 was flush-riveted, but the rivets took on a silver color that stood out from the dark Inconel X alloy panels they were attached to.

Ken’s model replicates the riveting on the fuselage and side tunnels pretty well, but almost completely omits them from the wings and tailplanes. The model I’m planning on building is fairly heavily weathered, so a lack of rivet detail on the wings will stick out like a sore thumb.