Profil 2,5 x 3,2 mm

The 2.5 x 3.2 mm bar as a load-bearing element

A rectangular section measuring 2.5 x 3.2 mm is one of those a modeler reaches for whenever something has to be made that cannot be cut from leftover sprue. The stiffness of the section carries a structure of its own, so a framework can be set up from it without its bowing under the pressure of the crossmembers.

Cutting, sanding and gluing

The material is identical with the styrene from which kit parts are molded, so ordinary solvent cement works on it as well as cyanoacrylate. Run the knife along a metal ruler and build up the pressure over several passes - it is cleaner to break the material than to cut through it in one go. True up the end with a fine-cut file, or a visible wedge-shaped gap will remain in the joint. The white surface takes a primer without degreasing; just lay it on thinly so that sharp edges stay sharp.

What it is most often used for

It yields scaffolding around a building under construction, a floor grid, the boarding of a cargo bed, the frame of a window opening in a diorama or a simple jig into which another part is set while it is glued. No scale ties its use down: in 1:35 it stands in for a beam, in 1:72 for a heavy girder.

It is supplied as a bare white profile with no printing and no surface finish; painting and any texturing are up to the builder.

Storage and choosing the size

Both thin and thick profiles are better kept lying flat at full length, as a bundle stood on end bows over time and there is then no point trying to straighten it. When planning a structure it pays to reach for two neighboring sizes at once: the thicker one sets up the framework, the thinner one adds the crossmembers and infill. Do not throw away offcuts shorter than a palm; those are exactly what wedges, shims and spacers are made from, the things there is never any material left for during a build.