I know that most of the contributors on this forum are familiar with vacuum-formed modeling, but I thought I'd do a little how-to for those who haven't yet attempted a vacuform modification or kit. I apologize to everyone who's already familiar with this media, but I will share my techniques for those who aren't.
My first step is to plan where and what to cut out first. That can actually be important with some vacuform kits as damage to outlying parts can occur if you're too aggressive with the big pieces. Here's a Koster PB4Y modification kit for an example:
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
On a sheet this size I usually cut the major parts into individual segments before the close trimming begins.
Next, get out a SHARP X-Acto blade and scribe fully around the part, leaving just a little bit of the flat sheet with the part:
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
When you've completed scribing the outline, very carefully snap the extra plastic off and free the part from the sheet.
Here's half of the horizontal stabilizer for the YB after being snapped out of the sheet.
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
Now, prepare a flat, hard, stable surface--a desktop works well--and secure some rough sandpaper (I use 180 or 240 grit for this) to the tabletop. Then, carefully sand the excess material from the part you're working with by using slow, deliberate strokes, keeping steady pressure on the entire part so as not to over or under sand the seam. This is the critical step in preparing vacuform parts as it's easy to sand off too much material. I also wet-sand as it keeps the sanded material from collecting on the paper.
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
I'll add to this process when I get more time to do so,
Scott
