Modelling > Tips, Tools & Techniques

Cheaper Sheet Plastic For Model Building‏

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Kerick:
Some food packaging is polystyrene. You have to check the recycling marking to see for sure. PS is ok but PEP is not worth the trouble. Bonus is that it’s usually very thin and clear. Save the PEP ones for storing parts.

apophenia:
Good thinking Mog! And the case interior will yield some interesting shapes.

Although most rigid CD cases are polystyrene (regular and transparent), some, more flexible cases are polypropylene (contact cement, maybe?).

Robomog:
I still can't believe for years  I had a source of glueable plastic to hand and didn't realise it was there. 

If you carefully cut the hinge off the clear top it will give you a natty little base that you can glue things to.

Kerick: I have found most food packaging to be PEP, but it often provides useful shapes for scratch builds. They do need a lot of extra work however, like a vac form with attitude!  ;)

As you rightly pointed out they are normally thin and make good windows  :smiley:

Apophenia: Didn't think of the vinyl/poly ones,. But gel super glue  or gorilla glue ought to do the trick.

 I feel another spaceship coming on............ ;D ;D

Mog
>^-.-^<

Kerick:
I found some plastic salad plates at the discount store that were polystyrene. Two of them glued face to face made a great saucer shape. I've found a few plastic cups and things that were PS. Your right, PEP is far more common. If the object doesn't have the recycling markings I can usually tell the two plastics apart. PS is more rigid while PEP is more flexible and has that slick feel to it.

Frank3k:
One of the meany reasons I like to print in ABS (or HIPS, which is styrene) is that the leftover parts (supports, base, etc.) can be used as a part or melted in acetone of Tamiya Extra Thin to make styrene putty.

If anyone in the US wants some, PM me your address and I'll send a small box. I have about half a pound of ABS waste sitting around. I can always make more...

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