Profil 0,25 x 0,50 mm

The thinnest strip of the whole range, a quarter-millimeter section

A section of 0.25 x 0.50 mm is so small that the profile can be bent between your fingers without effort and cut with scissors like paper. That is precisely its strength. Where a heavier material would look coarse, this strip adds a detail that stays in scale.

Typical uses are found on the stiffening ribs of sheet metal cabinets, on the frames of doors and hatches, on the trim around the windows of railway cars, on the thin edging of deck superstructures or on railings and steps in larger scales. It is also used for repairs, where a broken-off detail has to be replaced by a part that nobody on the model will tell from the original.

The material is polystyrene, that is exactly the plastic the sprues of kits are molded from. Several practical advantages follow. Ordinary liquid cement for plastic models holds it and the joint comes about by dissolving both surfaces, not merely by sticking them. It sands at the same rate as the surrounding material, so it can be sanded flush. And it takes the same primer and paint, which is why on a finished model you cannot see where the kit ends and the modification begins.

A tip for accurate work: measure the profile held against the place it is going, not against a ruler, and cut it with a sharp scalpel against a board. A blunt blade squashes a thin strip and deforms it. Bending into a curve works cold; on larger radii a brief warming over warm air helps. A longer straight run is easier to lay down if you first tack it with a drop of cement at both ends and only then run the brush along the whole length.