being on kind of a ramen noodle budget I am always looking for things that look like other things or supplies for less. I thought it would be fun to post our super buys . I realize a lot of these will be regional, so maybe we should stick to the big chains.
Any way I was at Dollar tree and found this. Double bonus its styrene and its clear and its a buck. It measured out a .040 and you get 10 by about 14 inches of material
For styrene , I talked to a guy who worked at a plastics supply company . When they fill orders , they trim ends from various plastics . I got about 20 pieces ( 10 of .030 and 10 of .040 ) for the cost of mailing which was about $3 . You're right , there are supplys for the taking if you dig around a bit . Each piece was about 5" x 9" .
T
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
I no longer buy mixing supplies for casting(cups and stir sticks) from art suppliers but instead go to Dollar tree, General Dollar, Big Lots and some times Ollie's where I can find clear plastic drink cups and craft sticks to fill those needs
Also I recycle cereal boxes and other dry goods boxes for model building and also as mixing surfaces for glue(2 part epoxy type) and paint.
I save all kinds of do-dads like the plastic things on bread bags, wood sticks of various sizes big copper staples from large boxes. There are almost endless possibilities of repurposed items out there.
Lets keep this thread going as there are a lot imaganitive modelers on this site.
Something I bought at the Home Depot for a home project, but never used it for that, is a 4' x8' sheet of white plastic. It is made of recycled ABS and says it is .060", but I measure it at .045" thick. It is labeled "Plast-tex" and has one smooth side and a slight texture on the other. It is flexible and soft enough that you can cut it with a pair of scissors or a shop knife but still remains flat. I found it made very good edging for my layout and works well for scratchbuilding and just anyplace that calls for curved or flat plastic, and it takes acrylic paint very nicely.
As for cost, the sheet was around $22.00. I have a package of Evergreen plastic with two half-foot sheets of .040 ABS I bought a few years ago for $3.49. If we compare prices, 32 sf of Evergreen would come to about $175, or about eight times the cost of this stuff.
In N(ormal) scale, this one sheet comes to 640 feet X 1280 feet, enough to cover close to 20 acres, 7 1/4" thick ....I think this will last me a long time to come.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
I'm wondering if that is the opaque stuff I bought some time ago ....easy to cut but I didn't think it glued together very well as I recall ....think I was using Plastruct cement and experimented with some other glues too .
T
To err is human, to blame it on somebody else shows management potential.
teejay Wrote:I'm wondering if that is the opaque stuff I bought some time ago ....easy to cut but I didn't think it glued together very well as I recall ....think I was using Plastruct cement and experimented with some other glues too .
T
It is pure white and has to be ABS because it is so soft. I've used several different glues on it and they all work as well as with styrene or any other plastic. I've used, "Super-glue model and hobby cement", "Loctite Stik'n Seal" (both indoor and outdoor types) and just plain super glue. I'm working with it right now and was able to cut it into .2" wide strips to use as street gutters and edging. I used the model cement to glue it to the street (also make out of this plastic), and the Loctite to glue it to the edge of some foam laminate board.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
....I think this will last me a long time to come.