PlaymoFriends
Creative => How-To => Topic started by: basilsdad on July 23, 2010, 21:10:39
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I have begun the thinking stage of customizing my 5300 Victorian mansion. I would like to safely remove the bottom flange on a front door panel (30 65 9030.) Would grinding off the excess plastic be the best bet? If so, which tool would be best to purchase?
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Not shure which part you mean exactly. Do you mean the threshold under the door?
I use a dremel multitool with a cutting disc for the rough cuts and use a file, sandpaper or a sanding-bit on my dremel to do the finer finishing work.
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I usually use a file that has a very thin er fily bit :hmm:
This works well for removing material for presision, as apposed to just hacking it off as there is very little control unless you have a Dremel or Minitool.
Damo :)
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I use a (very sharp) chisel sometimes to remove material. Just go slow (use only your hands, no hammers or anything else that adds power) and electrical tape to stop the chisel where you want it to stop.
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Thank you Ali Baba, Damo and Andy R for your suggestions. I will let you know how I make out. I have sharp chisel, so may try that first and I have wanted an excuse to by a Dremel set for some time. Your support and imput is much appreciated. ;D
Joe
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Finally got time to remove the material from the bottom of the wall units. I used a sharp chisel as I thought it would give me a little more controll (however I did buy a Dremel and I can't wait to put it through its paces. ;D) The chisel worked well for me and I was pleased with the outcome. I still have to do some finishing sanding on it. Thanks for your help.
Joe
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Very nice work Basildad! What are you going to do with it if I may ask?
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Thanks Gis. My plan is to unite two mansions using the two door panels on either side of a patio section. So far so good. Now I have to figure out how to rip down the fence base so it will fit between the two sections. This will probably take me another two weeks! :lol: Isn't Playmobil fun?
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Yes it is SOO much fun.
Hope you will be posting progress pictures
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I was able to cut the fence base, used my trusty hack saw. There is a bit of a gap between the two pieces, but the fence railing fits just fine. Any ideas as to what to use as a filler?
Joe
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Depends on the effect you want, but the best overall will probably be simple modeling putty (tape the underside, then flood the gap with putty and sand). Of course, wait a day or so for a couple other people to reply and see what they say… 8-)
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Thanks Andy, will do.
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If the gap is big enough, you could make a piece that fits it exactly. Maybe even from the same color plastic. Especially when you have a dremel. :-)
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If the gap is big enough, you could make a piece that fits it exactly. Maybe even from the same color plastic. Especially when you have a dremel. :-)
Thanks Ali Baba. That is a great idea, I am visiting my brother in Annapolis next week, he is going to give me some lessons on how to use the Dremel. ;D Wish me luck!
Joe
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I have a dremel and I love it very much. It is a great tool. You won't be needing much luck, but I wish it for you anyway.
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I was able to cut the fence base, used my trusty hack saw. There is a bit of a gap between the two pieces, but the fence railing fits just fine. Any ideas as to what to use as a filler?
Joe
You can get what is called a 'razor saw' - it is the same thing as an hack saw, but a much thinner blade with very fine teeth for more precision cuts. You can get them at any hobby shop.
(http://www.kipperboxes.co.uk/assets/images/tools02.jpg)
With such a big gap as that, I might glue in some styrene (plastic) and then fill the fine seam lines. If you fill such a big gap, it will be a very weak point when you try to take it apart and it could very easily break.
You can get some very good glues today for the type of plastic that Playmobil uses (the hard plastic, styrene, anyway, the softer stuff used for some parts like the anchor wheel, for instance, which are made of a polyethylene and you can not glue that type of plastic (even though there are a couple glue makers on the market who try to claim they make polyethylene glue, it does not work).
Here is a link for gap filling:
http://www.scalemodelguide.com/guide/construction/gap-filling/ (http://www.scalemodelguide.com/guide/construction/gap-filling/)
Here is alink about fillers:
http://www.scalemodelguide.com/guide/construction/about-fillers/ (http://www.scalemodelguide.com/guide/construction/about-fillers/)
For glue I use Plastruct Bondene (http://www.plastruct.com/Pages/CementGuide.html (http://www.plastruct.com/Pages/CementGuide.html) because that's what I can get locally, but you can get other cements that are just like it. It is perfect for gluing Playmobil together and is a very strong bond (just right to glue those broken parts).
Hope this helps.
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Wesley,
Thanks so much for the information on tools, fillers and glues (and the links too.) As you can tell, I am new at this and very nervous about making mistakes, but I guess that is how you learn. Thanks so much everyone for sharing your experience with me. I will try to keep you up to date on my progress.
Joe :wave: