Manufacturing of headlight lenses. Special effects How to make headlights on a model

I don't think I'm exaggerating if I say that every BTT modeller has been dissatisfied with the plastic imitation headlights offered by the kit makers.

What to do with these headlights? Glue as is on the model? But such optics looks, to put it mildly, implausible. Trying to paint somehow is useless. Anyway, when you look at it closely, such a headlight will look like something similar to a headlight, painted with silver. Replacing such a headlight with an aftermarket product is a good way out. But there are a few significant points: such headlights are not always available in real stores; not every person, for various reasons, can afford to buy headlights in online stores or at numerous flea markets of model forums; not every modeler is willing and able to spend money on additional kits.
When I was working on , I ran into similar problems nose to nose. I found a way out pretty quickly. At the same time, in the finalization of the headlights, materials were used within walking distance.

To begin with, I picked up a drill, which coincided with the diameter of the headlight lenses. I sharpened the drill shank into a sphere:

I took food transparent plastic, heated it over a candle and pulled it onto the prepared spherical shank of the same drill:

I made an imitation of a light bulb from a stretched transparent sprue:

I cut out the glass of the headlights from the hood, cut off the imitation of light bulbs from the drawn sprue:

On acrylic varnish I glued all the details in place:

That's the whole improvement. Simple but tasteful

Alexander Vergin (B!gSeXy)

December 31, 2019 Happy New Year to all our friends and colleagues! We wish you success and new beautiful models.

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How to make believable headlight reflectors

If you look at some truck models, you get the feeling that the headlights are “blind”. This happens when there is flat plastic under the glass of the headlight instead of a reflector, as on a real headlight. Sometimes through holes on the model (on bumpers) are covered with headlight glasses, which also does not improve perception.
For self-production of reflectors, we need:
- a piece of sprue (slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of the headlight);
- sheet polystyrene (the thinner the better);
- model knife;
- drills 0.8 - 1mm and large diameter;
- conical and (or) dental drill;
- drill;
- skin;
- modeling foil or Alclad II chrome

Note: Alclad II chrome is a 30 ml bottle of chrome paint that is only airbrushed in a couple of light coats. The surface must first be painted with black glossy enamel. In fact, Alclad II chrome is a nitro varnish diluted for an airbrush with a metallized pigment of very fine grain.
First, cut out the excess plastic, if any.

Let's say we have a round headlight. Then we take a sprue of a suitable diameter (thick sprues are often found in AMT whales), carefully clamp the drill into the chuck and round off its end with sandpaper, as on a lathe.
For convenience, I stick the skin on a plastic card.

Let's make a small (0.8 - 1mm) through hole in the center. It will serve as a guide for us and is useful for simulating a light bulb. By the way, it is better to drill by hand. Drills and burs have too high speed and the drill can melt the plastic.

We cut the tube lengthwise, we get 2 rear walls of the reflector. We grind the sides at an angle. It remains to add to the rear walls - side, cut out of sheet polystyrene and make a "mirror" in an accessible way.
Note: if you need a larger or smaller diameter straw, look around. Surely you will find something suitable (tubes for cocktails, inserts for shoes). After all, Evergreen, Plastruct, and Tamiya sell plastic profiles and tubes in various gauges.
If you use foil, it is advisable to paste over the workpieces with it now. Please note that the glued "pot" is more difficult to paste over than its individual components.

I prefer to use Alclad, so I form a “mirror” on an already assembled “pot”. Carefully, so that the glue does not get on the foil, we glue our headlight. If cracks appear, close them with putty.
Now you can drill a hole for the bulb. Light bulbs can be imitated using a drawn transparent sprue or LED (the second one is more suitable for trucks, since the minimum diameter of suitable diodes is 3mm, and on a 1/25 scale it is 7.5 cm).

Not only trucks suffer from the effect of "blind headlights". The rear lights of passenger models are also rarely equipped with reflectors. However, it is time consuming and impractical to make "pots" of reflectors for each bulb here. You can make pots in pants plastic.
We draw the plastic under the diffuser glass along the same borders as on the glass. In the center of each square, we drill an imitation of a light bulb (although this is not necessary). We arm ourselves with a dental drill and make reflector holes. Be careful when handling corners. Do not climb on the borders of the "pots" with a drill. If you have removed more plastic than necessary, use putty. And finally, we make a “mirror” in an accessible way for you.
In the following photos you can see the difference between a headlight with and without a reflector:

Another raw material for the manufacture of headlight reflectors can be a blister pack from pills. We will need:
- blister pack
- household decorative foil on an adhesive basis (or BMF, ordinary foil, silver paint, finally),
- cotton swab.
First of all, we choose the packaging from the tablets of the desired size. For example, let's take the Porsche 944 Turbo model (see header photo) in which I needed to revive the headlights in the front bumper - they did not have reflectors. Porsche has doubles, so I cut out a blister fragment from under two tablets at once.

Further, everything is very simple. We put a piece of household decorative foil into the recess from the tablet (or, say, glue ordinary foil) and smooth it with a cotton swab. I have only such a foil (bought at the OBI store), it is not plastic at all and after gluing in the recess it puffs up:
It’s good if the headlight glass itself has a special pattern, which eliminates this drawback (and even turns it from a disadvantage into a virtue - the light shimmers on the folds of the foil). If there is no pattern, and the headlight is 100% transparent, all the flaws in the gluing of the foil can be seen. In any case, as a backup option, our makeshift reflector can be painted silver - the headlight may eventually become dimmer, but neater.
On this, our reflector is ready and can be glued. You can see the final result using a blister and foil on the model in the title of the article (headlights in the bumper).
By the way, I also put foil into the headlights, which have some kind of reflectors.

And finally one more detail. The design of standard or homemade headlight reflectors can be complicated by making light bulbs as well. To do this, we need a piece of sprue made of transparent plastic. Above the heat source (gas burner, lighter, match), we stretch it so that it becomes thin.

Then we cut the resulting part in half and melt one of the resulting thin ends, holding a piece of sprue vertically under a heat source (otherwise it will melt to the side, but should be like a candle on itself), in this case matches will be the most convenient. It should look like in the photo.

Next, we cut off the melted end of the sprue - this is our light bulb. It remains only to make a hole in the reflector and paste the light bulb there. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that such “bulbs” can be painted with “transparent” headlight paints and, for example, inserted into the dashboard as control lamps.

On this, perhaps, everything. In any case, before you start making a reflector using one method or another, carefully inspect the design of the headlight of the original car, the components of the headlight from the whale you have, and the place where you plan to insert the homemade reflector. The above methods should replenish your arsenal and possibly lead to your own, the most correct decisions in each specific case.

A lot of models are usually old, and what can I say, and the new ones are equipped with plastic headlight lenses, which, of course, spoil the appearance of the model.
Of course, the problem can be solved if you purchase ready-made headlights from third-party manufacturers, but what if this is not possible.
Traveling on the Internet sites, I found several ways to solve this problem. We will now consider one of the ways.
We will need: a frame from a transparent sprue, a candle and a little patience. For the test subject, I took a model from Trumpeter. Is this a model of the Japanese reconnaissance vehicle Type 87?, where the manufacturer provides only triplex glass with transparent parts, and even then only in the form of a film
Let's start with the fact that we heat the sprue stick so that it does not melt, but sags, as it were. Next, we stretch the sprue to the desired diameter of the lens we need. Wait a bit until it cools down, and cut in half. Next, bring the tip of one blank to the candle, make sure that the blank does not catch fire, slightly twist the tube with your fingers. Under temperature, the tip melts and takes the form of a lens.
Next, let the slices cool the extra leg from the workpiece. If desired, on the reverse side, you can imitate a light bulb by drilling a recess with a small-diameter drill. You can also paint the inner line with silver.
We drill a plastic imitation of a headlight in the model and mount our homemade product.
Such headlights significantly improve the appearance of the model.

An easy way to get the effect of metal on the edges of the tank is with a graphite pencil. You just need to go over the edges with a pencil several times until you achieve a realistic effect. In order to create a metal effect in hard-to-reach areas and cracks in some hatches, you can sharpen a pencil. It is not recommended to create this effect on all parts of the tank, apply it only where there is a high probability of erosion or wear due to operation. You can use different types of graphite pencils to achieve different shades of shiny metallic surfaces, (photo: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5))

(All images are clickable)

Metal with dyes

Dyes are still a great way to achieve a metallic effect on large surfaces, such as on tracks, on the edges of tank armor, and on some types of weapons. Do not forget that not all types of dyes are the same. Try to pick the one that fits best. The ones I did before were too coarse and the effect they produced was not realistic enough. The new metallic pigment from AK Interactive is very good and has more realistic colors, (photos: (1), (2))

You can apply the metallic pigment directly with your finger to the parts you want to give a steel sheen to. You can also use a cotton swab for more precision, (photo: (3), (4))

Metal by other means

We can also make a metallic effect with many other mediums such as enamel paints and acrylics in metallic colors such as steel, aluminium, etc., which are ideal for painting small parts and components with a brush. On the other hand, the Czech brand AGAMA has a special product for creating metal effects using friction. Using a piece of cloth or a cotton swab, we apply a small amount of the product to the surface, and then rub until we achieve the desired shine, and until the product dries, (photo: (1), (2), (3), (4), ( 5), (6))

Fallen leaves

One of the last details that can give more realism to our model is the addition of small natural elements that have fallen on the model, such as small tree branches, leaves, vegetation elements and soil. These elements get on the tank as a result of explosions nearby or even when the tank passes through the forest thickets. These elements, although they are almost invisible in black and white photographs, are very common and easy to see on modern models of which there is more information and documentation, (photo: (1), (2), (3), (4), ( 5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12))

The FIBA ​​and PLUS MODEL brands offer a wide variety of leaves, in all scales and colors. Although these products are very expensive, they are worth buying for the level of realism they bring to the model. They can be applied leaf by leaf, gluing to the surface of the model with a small amount of acrylic matt varnish. Position the leaf with tweezers and leave to dry. To glue a bunch of small branches, apply a coat of matte varnish thinned slightly with water and lay vegetation, soil, or a tuft of leaves, whatever, on top. Once dry, use a soft, thick brush to remove excess material that has not been glued correctly. If any traces of varnish remain after drying, you can soften them with small strokes of earth and dust dyes, (photo: (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18 ))

How to apply dry decals

The rules for using dry decals are explained in detail in many publications and even in the instructions for the product itself. It is no longer a secret, as it was 10 years ago. At present, almost the whole world knows how to do it. But despite all this, I will explain the procedure one more time in case some modeler is still new and doesn't know how to use them. Of course, I always recommend using dry decals rather than the usual "wet" decals. Wet decals are difficult to apply and require a lot of effort to make them look perfect. On the other hand, dry decals almost always look great and are very easy to apply (photos: (1), (2))

If you later want to add camouflage, you can protect the dry decal with a small amount of Blue tac, a special plasticine-like clay that can be stuck on and peeled off. Paint the camouflage over it and then remove the Blue tac you used as the mask (photo: (10), (11), (12))

headlights

The simplest and most realistic way to make car headlights is with lenses specifically designed for modeling. AK Interactive offers a large catalog of lenses of various colors and diameters for all types of vehicles. You just need to take the lens with tweezers and fix it with a small amount of PVA glue or Tamiya polish, stick in the desired place. Once it's dry, don't forget to apply a light layer of dust to the lenses to blend in with the overall look of the model.

If you are using lenses made from clear plastic, which can be found in many commercial kits, after gluing them on, use a brush to coat them with Tamiya lacquer to give them a glassy look. If your model's headlights are made of opaque plastic or resin, first coat them with silver paint. Then, using Tamiya's "transparent" paints, give them the desired color, such as red, orange, etc... (photo: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5))

Number plates

The Czech brand EDUARD produces very realistic, pre-painted, metal license plates that are ready to use. You just need to cut out the desired plate and stick it to your model with super glue. It is necessary to age and soil the license plates so that they are in harmony with the rest of the vehicle, (photo: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5))

Masks manufactured by Quick Wheel

One of the latest and most interesting inventions I've seen in the world of modeling is the Quick Wheel stencils/masks designed by Greg Rossa. This simple tool allows you to paint tires on several wheels at once, effortlessly and with high precision. It consists of masks of two different thicknesses, in which wheels can be placed for further coloring, (photo: (1))

First, we paint the wheels with dark gray or black paint, this will be the color of the tire. We paint the wheels completely. Then we place the mask from Quick Wheel on all wheels. Now paint the same color as the car and then remove the mask. That's all! Quick and easy. Sometimes painting tank wheels can take a whole day, and the end result can be unsatisfactory. But in this way, we can paint all the wheels in a couple of minutes. It's worth it, (photo: (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12) )

The second stage - power brake lights

We gut the second servo, take out the circuit from there and solder the motor. We will connect the servo in parallel with the 2nd channel of the receiver. After connecting, it is necessary to turn the servo wheel to catch the moment when power is not supplied to the wires from the engine. I just soldered the tuning resistor and tuned it with it. I can’t illustrate this process, because everything is soldered and packed in place.

The original wiring diagram was as follows:

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Those. The headlight is powered by the battery from the iPhone (stage 1) while the rear light is on in “full light”. When the brake is pressed, 4V is applied to the rear light and lights up brighter.

By the way, the flashlight is made from the wheel of my first and eight LEDs connected in parallel.

The very first night ride revealed a very serious drawback of such a connection scheme. In the dark, a dimly burning rear light does not give a sense of the dimensions of the buggy, which means that it is very difficult to catch a model that is trying to break into a skid or is in a skid.

I decided to install real parking lights on the spoiler. Thus, the dimensions of the model are now felt from any side, and the wiring diagram has been simplified. There is no need to use diodes, because the lamp now performs only the function of a brake light.

LED headlights were embedded in the front bumper. To obtain reflectors, the remains of this one were sawn. As glasses - pieces of Lexan.

In the photo, the headlights have already fought enough, as you can see, they are still in place.

This LED requires cooling. I found in the bins a heatsink for the memory of the video card that came with some kind of cooler in the kit and prikolhozil them.

This design is very successful in removing heat from high-power LEDs.

All this is packaged in a waterproof box - the only thing I bought in an offline hardware store.

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