BAN006 imbus cone head 0,5mm

A countersunk head with a hexagonal recess

Compared with a domed one, a chamfered head has one essential property: it disappears. As soon as it seats into a countersink, there is nothing above the surface to cast a shadow and the eye reads the joint as a dark dot inside the part. On fairings, covers or side panels that works exactly as it should, because real countersunk screws are used in those places for the same reason a model imitates them.

Half a millimeter and its limits

In the smallest diameter offered it has to be reckoned that the hexagon of the inner recess can no longer be told as a hexagon. What is left of it is a dark dot, and that is all right, because it is exactly that dot which gives the impression of depth. Worked out to 1:12 scale, this size matches a real head of around six millimeters, that is a size usual on small covers and plastic panels.

The countersink that decides

For the element to sink in, it needs a conical seat. Drill the hole with 0.4 mm and widen its mouth with a larger bit turned in your fingers, just a few turns. Anyone using a powered drive will cut through the wall. Check the seat dry: the element should seat so that a fingernail can pass over it without catching.

It pays to fit them at the very end, after painting and after a light overcoat. A countersunk head is filled with paint more easily than a domed one and every further layer takes depth away from it.

Several sizes usually come together on one model. The bottom three steps of this head are also to be had as one common item, which saves deciding in advance, at a time when you do not yet know everything you will need.