How to bend curves in styrene or plastic for scale models

Failing the cold water fix, I would clamp it down.

Too much work, use a hair dryer!!

Use scotch tape to hold it in the bowl.

Thanks.this is very helpful, i want to scratch build a Ralph maquarrie y wing.

Im making a model of a spaceship and the propulsor is basically a cylinder covered with panels that are curved around it.
So I bought Styrene in plates and everything's fine until the piint I have to curve it.
I dont know the rupture break point of that material nor if it properties will change if I heating it up to curve it.
Plates are 22.5 cm x 8 cm.
So a bit bigger than normal small pieces.

Good tips, both in video itself and in the comments. I've used the rubber-band-to-curved-former mentioned in one the comments below a number of times, worked great for some fairly small pieces like air cleaner brackets for 1/25 trucks.

Yeah I made fenders for my scale scratch built RC half track by boiling water and soaking the plastic. Like you said be about getting burned either by the water or steam.

I tried this and it didn't work. It kind of sort of softens it into gentle curves, but it doesn't form the styrene. Full-on boiling water.

Try dragging the styrene over a rod , you'll find it curves

Do you think this would work on clear plastic runners?

I'm gonna get a bomber, build it then cut away! And cover it with clear plastic.

Miniature clamps to hold it place.

Very useful video Dave. Thank you.

Great work I'm working on an. N scale train layout I was looking into scratch building a couple buildings n subway platforms what's the width on the styrene?

Use clothes pegs to hold inside bowl or paper clips

Working with plasticard later this week for the first time. Thank you for this video!

This is great, thanks!
I have a question about the holes you cut: What tool do you use to cut out thos crisp circular holes from the styrene?

I use a heat gun

Many thanks for sharing the trick of taming the styrene !

Thats cutting not bending

CAN WE BEND IT BY HEAT?

Obrigado!!!!

I do it with a hair blow dryer.

I just do a ribbon curl pull on the strip and it’ll make it curve. Makes it so easy. And you don’t have to leave the bench.

Hi can we use hair dryer.I fixed my pvc dented rc body shell using hair dryer .

To make styrene follow a curve, for thicknesses up to .5mm.

Cut the piece to the required dimension except the length over the curve. Leave it quite long. Now pull the strip of styrene through your hand and over your thumb nail until it begins to curve. Continue until the piece approximates your required curve. Glue it in place as soon as possible with plastic weld (thin) type MEK or similar, starting at one end, and work your way around the curve. This can be followed up with either ACC/superglue or old fashioned "plastic cement" as reinforcement.

so... I put my plastic piece in steaming hot water for like 10 minutes, and still rock hard... anyone know why this is? Based on some searching it should be styrene plastic.

Thank you Dave. Im trying to make a gear shift housing for a Dragon Models 1/35 SdKfz 10. The parts supplied with the kit at the gear shift area are woefully inadequate compared to walk arounds of the real vehicles.

Thank for the tip 👍

Try using 2 medicine bottles from pharmacy, one of them being a size bigger. Heat it like your doing then wrap it around the outside of larger one then place in smaller one and let it set in ice water! That shape will stay without effort

Prefect

Great help to a new model builder, thanks! Unrelated question re the drill holes in the other piece - do you use a pinvice mini drill and scale up the bit size or just a normal electric drill? I need some speed holes in rat rod and found It hard to do them without expensive hole punch die set...

Would this technique work on a plastic kit wall that has a "bow" to it? I run into this problem a lot in construction of kit buildings, etc.

hey Dave how to make plywood panel from .020 white sheets please

Oh this is cool. I'm om my fourth Gunpla build and starting to scribe and customize parts so this very helpful. Thanks!

Well, it's convex as seen from one side and concave from the other, so they are both right in this case.

Heat gun with proper jig,made.

Great tip, thanks. I am lucky enough to have a band saw and quickly cut the curve in wood then clamped the hot styrene in between the 2 pieces, worked really well and no spring back.

i have used this technique , but i use rice to hold it in place , gets into all the right places and holds it in place really well , and you can use it over and over

may be better to do the shape in wood and clamp it down.

Hello Sir,
After you bend the plastic strip and then join the two pieces together do you use some type of filler to hide the edges
Thank you for your time
Sincerely
Allan aa

What about a heat gun or hair dryer? How would this translate into bending tubes without wrecking the tube?

Great thanks

When i'm curving styrene I tend to cut it longer than it needs to be (because the ends don't seem to want to bend for me) warm it with a hair dryer and then wrap it around either a piece of tubing or a marker pen or some type of cylinder and then hit it with the hair dryer again and then let it cool before removing it. I also use a strip heater, it really depends on what I'm building.

Use a few clothes pins (or whatever you call them there) to clamp the ends and middle in place in the ramekin?

Easy and it's works. Like.

botton line: you need a ton of ramekins of all sizes :-)

Very useful trick....I will try it in the next project.....thanks for taking the time and effort to produce and share your methods...!
...my dad used to say...there's many ways to skin a banana.....share the way and eat the banana..!
There are million of wizards out there...but not a single one here to share the wisdom...

Really excited for this build. Can't wait to see the paint job start. Thanks for the tip!

I am doing the exact same thing right now as I wait for the water to heat, thought I would peruse my uTube list...and here you are with a video. Happy Easter