Modelling: Rivet basics

[InquisitorPalpatine]

Just wondered if anybody had any magically easy way to make rivets for a tank conversion I'm working on? I've been looking for some small plastic rod to cut but I'm having a hard time finding anything that looks small enough. If anybody has any info on a good diameter to use or an alternative method it would be greatly appreciated. I did try to do a search and nothing came up.

[Yamez]

very tiny balls of greenstuff pressed onto the model is what I use

[Lastman]

I heard you can saw open a used water filter (such as Brita) and use the small ceramic bits. They cost 8 bucks new so you probably want to find someone who changes theirs regularly. I have not tried this so I don't know if they look good at this scale or not.

[armored walker]

Get some nylon fishing line and cut that up, you should be able to find as thin as you like. You'll just have to figure out a way to move and even see the tiny bits, below 0,5 mm it becomes really hard...

[Deathwing70]

I've drilled a bunch of holes where I wanted the rivets, glued pieces of metal wire in it (basically just same size I use for pinning models). Cut it off to the right size and sanded off the rough/sharp edge my cutter left behind.

 

it worked for me anyway :)

little trouble getting them into place, all the same size. It might just be a little hard sanding off the edge if you put it in a hard to reach corner or something.

[Sin Vraal]

I roll a little snake of GS to the right thickness, let it set, then I can cut it into slices and glue it down. A light filing keeps them level and even.

[NemFX]

I suggest a nailgun. Use it on everything. You'll eventually get the desired effect, even if you might end up with the 'perfect' look on your neighbors cat >.>

[ardyer]

I use .03 inch plastic rod. I have a drill bit of the same size (well actually 0.031 inch) that I drill a hole with, glue in the rod, snip it, and sand it till it's rounded.

[InquisitorPalpatine]

thanks everyone. I tried the green stuff and had a hard time getting a piece rolled out that was thin enough and consistant in diameter, I will try to cut it up tommorrow and see how it comes out.

I still haven't been able to find any small plastic rod and the nearest hobby store is a 80 miles away.

NemFX what type of nailgun are you refering to?

[armored walker]

I tried the green stuff and had a hard time getting a piece rolled out that was thin enough and consistant in diameter

 

How did you roll it? I use a piece of plasticard as a work surface and roll the GS back and forth with a metal spatula-type-of-thing ( no idea where I got it from, could be an artistic accessory or something ), but you could probably use any plastic or metal thing if its not too big ( 10x10 cm, 4x4 in max IMO ) and is straight. and water, of course, so the GS doesn't stick.

[Kraigen]

I recently needed to create 48 rivets myself, so I'll share my technique. Basically I pushed the greenstuff through from the backside of a rivet hole.

 

This technique requires access to the back of the surface you're riveting. I used it on 1mm-thick styrene sheets. I had already glued them in place, but I pried them back up to do this--that's why I use super glue.

 

0. Drill your rivet holes all the way through the material (size to taste and project, your final rivets will be close to this size). Measure them out if you want them to look even, I find milimeters invaluable for this task, even though I live in the US. Poke the place you want to start the hole with a blade tip or a dental pick, etc.

 

1. Mix the greenstuff (I mixed about a teaspoon at a time)

2. Wait five to ten minutes

3. Roll out the greenstuff into a tube--any size. This is just to make it easier to get the smaller globs you'll work with in position.

4. Cut a glob of the tube and begin shoving it through from the backside.

5. When the greenstuff begins to poke through the other side, you could call it here, I continued for more consistent results. But I'm crazy.

 

6*. Mash down the greenstuff on the front side to ensure it is sticking to all sides.

7*. Poke more greenstuff through from the backside.

8*. Cut off the greenstuff on the front side. Your goal here is to leave a nice, smooth surface, flush with the front side. It's also your chance to ensure that the area around the rivet is nice and clean.

9*. Poke the final greenstuff through from the back, just enough to create a uniform rivet. (look at the profile view if you can.

 

10. Leave the greenstuff to dry overnight

11. Cut the excess greenstuff off the back side, if desired. It should be a piece of cake to cut it off flush with the back surface.

 

My tool of choice for this operation was a "dental tool" that looks like a spear tip. (I really hope it isn't used by dentists!) It could push material from the backside, and smoothly "cut" the material on the front.

 

To avoid fingerprints, keep the greenstuff lubricated when you roll it out into a tube and portion it into globs. Use the tool to transfer the globs to the backside. The fingerprints can push through, and it makes for a very ugly-looking rivet.

[Dominar_Mortis]

found this thruhobbes site:

 

hobbes searchy links

 

and also this from repent.be (brother sinaer), though it is in french it's fairly easy to follow. to access it take these steps:

 

1. go in to "trucs & astuces"

 

2. the tank looking thing saying "la creation de rivets"

 

3. voila!

 

 

DM :tu:

[TheRat]

What I do to get rivets is go to my local train store, and buy the train tacks,

 

OR even use straight pins from your local craft / sewing type store. Push the pin into position and cut off the shaft on the back side. Quick Easy ...no GS, and consistant. Very cheap too.

 

 

 

I read a tutorial somewhere, I will look for the link again to get hex shaped bolt heads that might be worth mentioning here. Basically you take the appropriate sized hex wrench and poke it into a slab of GS or modeling clay. Repeat a few times to create a slab with a number of different imprints. let it harden.

 

Once hard use this as your mold. Use some vasaline or other lube. and press some GS into the imprints. Let the gs harden up a bit, and then pop out. Wala hex shaped bolt heads.

[Legion Prime]

I like that one TheRat. I must remember that one!

[cuthulu]

I use thin plastic card and a leather punch, if you get the ones that have the rotateing wheel then you can easily punch out a lot in a bout a hour and make lots of diffrent sizes ones as well by simply rotating the puch wheel. It was damn handy for my Gargant.

[Magnus the red]

the cheapest way ever is to use glue. Put a tiny dot on and wait for it too dry.

[daemonclaw]

another way is to use the spears from the skeleton sprue they have loads of rivets on them and are easily removed with a blade

[Lucrosium Malice]

I will also suggest the leather punch. You can buy the punch at wally world for about $10 and then get plasticard at the thickness you want, and go to town. You wall a bagillion rivets in about an hour and they work great.

 

I use a really sharp xacto knife to poke the rivet then I drop a dab of glue on other side, press to model and boom, rivet!

 

I even used the punch on some popsicle sticks to make wooden rivets for some scratch built seige engines for fantasy battle too. That thing is a lifesaver and I personally think its the best effect. Both for looks and ease of paint.

[General Malaise]

This may sound a little stupid, but in your craft store go to the dollhouse and doll construction isle -- they will have dolls eyes in all sizes including teeny weeny ones -- I use the smallest size and next size for rivets -- easy to place with a tweezer, and once you paint, no longer "googley eyed". ALso eaasy to skin off if you get the wrong placement. Two sizes makes for more realism.

[ixupi]

Use a mechanical pencil tip on flattened green stuff. Check my previous posts to find it. I posted some pictures and another member is using it himself. Looks good.

[Starks333]

Use a mechanical pencil tip on flattened green stuff. Check my previous posts to find it. I posted some pictures and another member is using it himself. Looks good.

 

 

***i used the bigger mechanical pencil tip, i used...0.46"....man this is ollllllldddd..... it made me bigger rivets seen on my daemon prince, i think they are perfect size for vehicles, but stick to smaller pencils for troops

 

 

Starks

[Greatwolf]

This is by far the easiest way out of what I've seen so far. Fiskars make 1/16" hole punchers which is the perfect size for "landraider, rhino" sized rivets. Any bigger use the 1/8" size. I tried punching mine out of a .040" thick styrene sheet but found the rivets to be a little thick. .020" should be perfect.

 

I think I got my two hole punchers from Amazon. With them you can make thousands of rivets in minutes.

[slaanesh1000]

http://grandtline.com/

 

152.....RIVETS-.032" DIA. CONICAL HEAD (175).....3.00

153.....RIVETS-.032" DIA. ROUND HEAD (175).....3.00

154.....RIVETS-.043" DIA. ROUND HEAD (175).....3.00

155.....RIVETS-.043" DIA. CONICAL HEAD (175).....3.00

156.....RIVETS-.063" DIA. ROUND HEAD.....100.....3.00

157.....RIVETS-.063" DIA. CONICAL HEAD (100).....3.00

 

Don't have any handy pics at the moment, but these are the best/easiest rivets I have found yet. Check out thewaaagh.com forums for a few more people that swear by them (and might have handier pics...).

[l33t h0b0]

http://grandtline.com/

 

152.....RIVETS-.032" DIA. CONICAL HEAD (175).....3.00

153.....RIVETS-.032" DIA. ROUND HEAD (175).....3.00

154.....RIVETS-.043" DIA. ROUND HEAD (175).....3.00

155.....RIVETS-.043" DIA. CONICAL HEAD (175).....3.00

156.....RIVETS-.063" DIA. ROUND HEAD.....100.....3.00

157.....RIVETS-.063" DIA. CONICAL HEAD (100).....3.00

 

Don't have any handy pics at the moment, but these are the best/easiest rivets I have found yet. Check out thewaaagh.com forums for a few more people that swear by them (and might have handier pics...).

 

 

yes finally someone thought of this too

 

fastest and easiest way to go

there are 2 ways to add them

 

1 drill tiny hole and set the "pin" of the rivet in teh hole till flush and glue

 

2 cut "pin" off and glue right to the model

 

since there plastic they will be easy to use with plastic glue

 

you can also get what is called NBW details ( NBW = nut/bolt/washer if its a bolt head you want )

[StratoKhan]

I know someone told me once they used small ball bearings. They'd drill a hole that was half the diameter of the bearing (radius), and then stick the bearing in with superglue. In that way you end up with rivets or studs that are all the same size.