ChrisW
01-26-2009, 10:24 PM
A former member of the Polar Lights forum did a great job on Polar Lights' reissue of the Bride of Frankenstein - in fact it was a big winner at Wonderfest. One of the reasons was the way he virtually eliminated the seams in the clear pieces. He posted this information later on the board. Keep in mind he's referring to the bride pieces which had locator pins rather than the ridge that the Invisible Man has, but generally the info should work.
First I dremeled (yes you can use a dremel for more that saluting) off, from the inside of the bottles, all the locating pins, holes and flange that the pins and holes are on. I also ground off all the ejector pin marks. You also want to open up the tops of the bottles so you can get your syringe in them later. Then I sanded smooth the insides of the bottle. Then using Novus 3 step polish, I polished the insides of the bottles don't forget the edges). At this point they are almost perfectly smooth and clear. Next I coated the insides with Future Floor wax. This stuff is great. Future removes all tiny scratches and imperfections and leaves a smooth glassy (that's what were looking for) surface.
Now it's time to glue the halves together, harder than it sounds because you removed your locating pins. I used Testors glue. Use it sparingly (so none runs down the insides of the bottle), but use enough so that it seals the bottle. Clamp the bottle and give plenty time to dry. I used Testors because it dries quite clear (when used sparingly) and dries strong. Testors White glue didn't have a strong enough bond, and broke after handling the glued together halves. Tenax is so thin that it ran down the insides of my tediously polished bottles and fogged everything up (arghhh). Super Glue's also fog up the plastic. Bad idea.
Now you have bottles that are super clean and clear on the inside buy still average on the outside. Take an exacto and gently scrape the seam on the outside. What you're trying to do here is remove any misalignment that happened as a result of removing those locator pins. You need to be careful during this procedure because you don't want anything (scrapings, sanding dust, polish) to fall inside your bottle. Next, hand polish the seam areas to eliminate any "ridge". Close your eyes and see if you can feel any seam. When you have that seam virtually eliminated to the touch, it's time for the next step. Stick a wire in the hole in the top of the bottle and dip (the bottle) in Future.
There you have it. Once it's dry you will notbe able to feel any seams, although you can still sort of see them.
Now, with the boiling flask, I used Micro Mark to seal up the hole in the bottom of the flask. Once that dried I mixed up some Envirotex (a 2 part epoxy) and added some lime green flocking to the mix, to get a soupy lime green concoction. Then I used a good metal needled hobby syringe and sucked up some of the goo, them squirted it in the flask. I then set the flask of a towel in the same position that it would sit on the model. I wanted to ensure that the liquid would dry with the correct fluid line. Let me tell you, you could still see a tiny seam at this point. It was after I assembled the model that I weathered the bottles with oils that the seam disappeared. I imagined that the good doctor wasn't very clean, so all my components were a bit sloppy. You couls "spill" some of the liquid out the top of the bottle and lightly down the sides to hide what's left of the seams too.
There are also hobby glues for clear parts(windshields,canopies) and there is also a jewler's glue for watch crystals that won't fog the plastic. Good luck.
First I dremeled (yes you can use a dremel for more that saluting) off, from the inside of the bottles, all the locating pins, holes and flange that the pins and holes are on. I also ground off all the ejector pin marks. You also want to open up the tops of the bottles so you can get your syringe in them later. Then I sanded smooth the insides of the bottle. Then using Novus 3 step polish, I polished the insides of the bottles don't forget the edges). At this point they are almost perfectly smooth and clear. Next I coated the insides with Future Floor wax. This stuff is great. Future removes all tiny scratches and imperfections and leaves a smooth glassy (that's what were looking for) surface.
Now it's time to glue the halves together, harder than it sounds because you removed your locating pins. I used Testors glue. Use it sparingly (so none runs down the insides of the bottle), but use enough so that it seals the bottle. Clamp the bottle and give plenty time to dry. I used Testors because it dries quite clear (when used sparingly) and dries strong. Testors White glue didn't have a strong enough bond, and broke after handling the glued together halves. Tenax is so thin that it ran down the insides of my tediously polished bottles and fogged everything up (arghhh). Super Glue's also fog up the plastic. Bad idea.
Now you have bottles that are super clean and clear on the inside buy still average on the outside. Take an exacto and gently scrape the seam on the outside. What you're trying to do here is remove any misalignment that happened as a result of removing those locator pins. You need to be careful during this procedure because you don't want anything (scrapings, sanding dust, polish) to fall inside your bottle. Next, hand polish the seam areas to eliminate any "ridge". Close your eyes and see if you can feel any seam. When you have that seam virtually eliminated to the touch, it's time for the next step. Stick a wire in the hole in the top of the bottle and dip (the bottle) in Future.
There you have it. Once it's dry you will notbe able to feel any seams, although you can still sort of see them.
Now, with the boiling flask, I used Micro Mark to seal up the hole in the bottom of the flask. Once that dried I mixed up some Envirotex (a 2 part epoxy) and added some lime green flocking to the mix, to get a soupy lime green concoction. Then I used a good metal needled hobby syringe and sucked up some of the goo, them squirted it in the flask. I then set the flask of a towel in the same position that it would sit on the model. I wanted to ensure that the liquid would dry with the correct fluid line. Let me tell you, you could still see a tiny seam at this point. It was after I assembled the model that I weathered the bottles with oils that the seam disappeared. I imagined that the good doctor wasn't very clean, so all my components were a bit sloppy. You couls "spill" some of the liquid out the top of the bottle and lightly down the sides to hide what's left of the seams too.
There are also hobby glues for clear parts(windshields,canopies) and there is also a jewler's glue for watch crystals that won't fog the plastic. Good luck.