12 x 0,8 mm

Brass strip twelve millimeters wide

A flat brass section, eight tenths of a millimeter thick and 305 millimeters long. It comes into its own everywhere plastic will not carry the load or where a thin yet stiff plate is needed. Modelers use it for stiffeners in wheel wells, for strapping and ironwork, for hatch frames, for supporting tabs under resin castings and for a hidden armature inside larger conversions.

Working with the material

Brass of this thickness is divided with a fine saw or a sharp chisel over a hardwood support, and a file then levels the cut. Make the bend around the edge of a steel rule so that a sharp fold line arises without waviness. A soft-soldered joint holds more firmly than super glue and will take further working without the risk of coming loose under a file.

• Width 12 mm, thickness 0.8 mm, length 305 mm
• Soft brass suited to bending and to soldering
• Degrease before painting and use a primer meant for metal
• It also serves as nose weight in a model that would sit on its tail

Store dry. Brass otherwise oxidizes into a dull brown film, which has to be removed with a glass fiber brush or a fine abrasive before bonding. Do not throw the offcuts away; shorter pieces serve as shims for leveling the height of assembled parts or as spreaders while a bonded joint dries.

Cutting and measuring

A width of twelve millimeters allows narrower strips to be cut from the piece as needed. Scribe with a needle along a steel rule and only then cut. A shallow groove guides the tool and the finished part comes out straight even if your hand wavers during the stroke.