Profil 0,25 x 2,0 mm

A Strip as Thin as Stiff Paper

A quarter of a millimeter is the thickness at which the material stops behaving like a plastic rod and starts to resemble a strip of stiff paper. It can be wrapped around a cylindrical tank, around a barrel and around a fuselage and will sit down along its whole length without lifting on the curve. That is exactly its main advantage over thicker sections of the same width. Thicker material would resist the same radius and stand away from the surface at the ends.

Typical use

Most often it makes the securing straps of tanks and crates, hoops around barrels, thin decorative edging, sheet metal reinforcements, the seams between deck planks or strips suggesting taped and overlapped joints. It also serves well as a shim that evens out a gap between two kit parts that do not meet, because it can be pressed into an uneven surface without resistance. At the same time a width of two millimeters stays large enough for the element to read on a model even after it is sprayed.

Working with a thin section

It can be shortened even with ordinary scissors and the cut stays clean, with no burr on the edge. Use as little glue as possible: the solvent passes right through thin material and the softened strip dents under a finger, so once it is in place leave the joint alone for a while before you touch it. Sanding calls for the same care, because the paper goes through the strip before it does the surrounding surface. Paint holds on the surface just as it does on kit parts; just watch the thin edge, which is easily rubbed. Wipe the strip with a dry cloth before laying it, since dust clings to a smooth surface and creates bumps in a thin layer.