Plechová střecha 12,7 mm

Roofing for figure dioramas

A sheet with edges of 150 and 300 millimeters with lengthwise standing joints 12.7 mm apart. The whole range is derived from inch measures, which shows in the fact that the individual steps correspond to three sixteenths, a quarter, three eighths and a half of an inch.

This coarsest variant is the only one where the conversion to large reductions works out without hesitation. Twelve point seven millimeters multiplied by thirty-five gives four hundred and forty-four millimeters, which is in the middle of the range in which seamed panels are actually laid. A factor of twenty-four works out at three hundred and five millimeters, also a real value for narrower panels. A factor of seventy-two, by contrast, gives nine hundred and fourteen millimeters, that is, metal almost a meter wide, which nobody will see on a roof.

The practical conclusion is simple: the larger the reduction, the coarser the pattern you need, and this sheet is the right one for scenes with figures. It suits a shed, a garage or a shelter over a ramp also because a coarse texture takes heavier weathering, dents and impressions without being lost.

Dents are made from behind with a blunt point while the sheet is still on a flat surface. If you try the same thing after gluing, the surface cracks along the grooves.

Large reductions are merciless to uniform surfaces. A roof with the same shade everywhere gives away that it is a piece of plastic, even if the pattern is right. So divide the surface into individual panels and give each a slightly different color, one more rust at the eaves, another a faded strip where the sun falls. Let the pigment build up in the lower third, because that is where water lingers longest. It is exactly this irregularity that makes the difference between material and a model.