Small scale/micro mesh.....

[Army of One]

...Hello all.....just a quick question on if anyone knows of where to get any really fine mesh that would be suitable for use in simulated filters in 1/72 scale.....quite a few helo's seem to have a frame/holes in the airframe that has a mesh FOD guard....I wish to try and replicate this.....I have had a brief look on ebay and have found some 'size 14 plastic mesh' but not sure how small/fine it is...........any help would be welcome....can't use google to much as at work at the moment....well...til 7pm then home by 8.30pm....

[NARSES2]

Hi Hank

Don't know what that size is but Model Railway shops can be useful for fine mesh but it can be pricey. Last stuff I used was some very fine nylon mesh which came from a tea strainer bought in the local £1 shop.

[Army of One]

Ah.....many thanks.......the sheet I was looking at on fleabay was just under a foot square n a size 14.....which seemed to be finer than the size 11........

[beowulf]

Last stuff I used was some very fine nylon mesh which came from a tea strainer bought in the local £1 shop.

i did similar in one of the pound shops........2x20cm circles of steel mesh with handles...supposed to be 'splatter guards'  ...........works great for mesh in grilles for 1/24 cars so i guess it will find other uses in due course 

[kitnut617]

Try an old drip coffee filter, the plastic mesh in the one I use is very small.

[Army of One]

What do you mean....? the ones that sit on top of a cup.....single use....?

[kitnut617]

Like this one

[Army of One]

Aha....!!!! Gotcha.....many thanks......!! 

[frank2056]

You can use tulle netting fabric. It comes in different mesh sizes and the smallest/finest mesh should work well in 1/72 (or even smaller).

You can also use discarded nylon stockings, although it's a little harder to use because it's stretchy.

[Army of One]

Discarded stockings.... Wish I could get SWMBO'd into some in the first place for her to discard them....!!!! Don't really know Radish well enough to ask either........if I get into trouble for buying models....imagine what would happen if I went an bought some stockings......as well as the sales assistant saying 'they won't fit you love...!'......many thanks though.....

[PR19_Kit]

Discarded stockings.... Wish I could get SWMBO'd into some in the first place for her to discard them....!!!! Don't really know Radish well enough to ask either........if I get into trouble for buying models....imagine what would happen if I went an bought some stockings......as well as the sales assistant saying 'they won't fit you love...!'......many thanks though.....

Hehehe, how about going to buy some powder eyeshadow for weathering purposes? It's actually superb for the job as it comes in zillions of colours and it's slightly oily so it sticks to the model nicely. Then all you do then is zap it with some matt varnish, but the buying process can be somewhat complex, to say the least!

[chrisonord]

some armour kits come with fine mesh grills too, I know the dragon stuff does as I have used it for other stuff too.
Chris.

[rickshaw]

Computer air filters or the better ones at least, have fine mesh in them, usually either plastic or metal.  Expensive way to get it though.

[The Rat]

Don't really know Radish well enough to ask either

Just buy him a few beers and he'll drop 'em. 

[sequoiaranger]

..one is from "Kemtron", and is fine brass screen. I has a "woven" apearance when viewed close-up (duh, because it IS woven). I used this on the grille of my 1/87 Cadillac Brougham:

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,26694.0.html

And He-113 desert filter in 1/72:

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,26949.0.html

(scroll down a ways) so you can get a look at its appearance.

Another fine mesh is nylon (?) by "Clover House" and is a model-railroad thing. It says it is "80 mesh", whatever that means, but it was fairly cheap ($1.95 USD) in the 1980's. It was a sheet "only" 4" x 6", but that is plenty at that fine a scale, and I think they carried several mesh sizes.

I bought them both way back then, and have only used small portions. Sorry I have no current source, but it seems that it shouldn't be too hard to find.

[edit:] I googled "Kemtron" and they are definitely still in the model-train brass business, but did not have mesh for sale (at least on the few sites I tried). "Clover House", when googled, had nylon screen available.