If your elevations are on paper it is best to spray mount them onto the foam board. Spray a light even coating onto the back of the design, let the glue become tacky then apply the paper to the foam board working from one end smoothing out any trapped air. For a very strong adhesion of the paper to the board use the spray mount as a contact adhesive by spraying both the paper and the board allowing the glue to become touch dry before sticking together.

You can either draw your template directly onto stiff card or draw your design on a computer, print out the design and glue it onto the card.

f gluing the template onto the card spray glue is usually the easiest method of gluing. Spray a light even coating onto the back of the design and onto the card, let the glue become touch dry then apply the paper to the card working from one end smoothing out any trapped air. Using spray glue as a contact adhesive will give a very strong adhesion of the paper to the card.

Before you start you need to check the hot wire cutter is set up correctly.

• Make sure that the wire is under tension and not loose.
• Make sure that the wire is set at right angles to the cutting bed.
• Set the temperature control to the correct setting for the thickness of the material you are cutting.

Then using the guide on the hot wire cutter cut the styrofoam to width, length and height required.

Now pin your cardboard template onto the foam and cut out the details of the design.

note: When cutting the foam try and make sure that you use one smooth movement as you pass the wire through the foam. The temperature of the wire will determine the speed that you can cut through the foam, you need to find the optimum cutting speed.
Cutting slowly will melt the foam too much causing uneven edges, where trying to cut too fast will distort the wire and could also cause it to break.
Use some scrap pieces to get the feel of the cutter before start.

suitable metals:

• Brass
• Copper
• Zinc
• Tin (tin plate)
• Steel (not stainless)
• Nickel Silver

Standard solder 60/40 will do for most jobs. There are specialist solders for particular jobs, such as Easy Flowing for long seams or Low Melting Solder for white metal.

The latter should only be used with an iron with an adjustment for temperature.

For electrical connections use Non Corrosive Resin Cored Solder.

Fluxes - helps the solder flow & stick to the metal (key) Acid Flux will serve most purposes but it will be necessary to wash the joint after construction otherwise it will corrode. Different fluxes are available for different metals (see Carr’s Range).

Large soldering jobs require large irons, but for most small model making joints use either a 25 or 40 watt iron.

Preparation of the tip is vital: with Tin Plated Tips (Weller) clean with sandpaper or a file. Iron Plated Tips (Antex) should only be wire brushed. When the tip is clean, dip in flux then apply a little solder to tin* the tip.

*Tinning - coating a base metal with a thin coat of solder

Make sure that the joint surfaces are clean, then add flux and then solder using the iron so each joint surface has a layer of solder. Put the joint together then apply the soldering iron tip to melt and unite the solder layers to make the joint.

On long joints, start at one end and work your way along to the other end rather than spot joint.

Styrene: Flexible but rigid extruded plastic from the polystyrene family

Users: Cladding for architectural models, vac forming and quick builds

Colours: White, Black, Grey & Clear and now, red, blue, orange, purple, yellow, cream and green

Thicknesses: 0.25, 0.38, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.2

Sheet size: 457x 508mm upto 660 x 1370mm

Accessories: White styrene strip, shapes, ladders, spiral staircases et

'As if by Magic'

The advantages of styrene over other building materials is speed:
>>score
>>snap
>>glue!

Four tools required:

• Scalpel
• rule
• paintbrush
• liquid solvent adhesive

Measure your shape out, score the surface, snap apart, pare the edge to tidy, hold together and then using the liquid solvent apply to the joint.

Capillary action: The adhesive is a solvent that will melt a small part of the styrene, drying in air the melted styrene will solidify and seal the joint

If you don't like it, peel apart, pare the surplus melted styrene off and start again.

Don't like it much later, score the surface, snap apart, and again and off you go!