Profil „I“ 7,9 mm

A medium girder for heavy structures

An I-section girder 7.9 mm high is among the heavier pieces of the range and comes in a length of 35 cm. Converted into 1:35 scale it corresponds to a girder around 28 cm tall, and in 1:48 to a section of around 38 cm. Girders of exactly this kind carry gantry cranes, the roof trusses of industrial halls and the supports of bridge spans, so the shape also suits structures where the framework is the main subject. The material is white styrene, which can be sanded, drilled and cut without difficulty.

Typical use

It is the choice for anyone building a crane runway over a workshop, a harbor transshipment area or a railroad bridge with a lattice span. It also proves itself as a rail for a heavy load on a diorama and as a base under a stored locomotive. Where the profile stays partly hidden, it fully substitutes for a photo-etched structure. It is useful for walkways and catwalks too, where it forms the edge trim with suggested rivets.

How to work with it

The heavier web means that a knife alone is no longer enough: a fine-toothed saw gives a clean edge and will not tear the plastic. Joining is done with solvent cement, not with cyanoacrylate, which holds far less well on smooth styrene. If you need to thin the girder down, take the material from the inner side of the flange so that the outer outline stays crisp. Paint and the rust streaks that follow hold best on a surface flattened with very fine abrasive paper, as a smooth gloss repels the paint.

One piece 35 cm long is supplied.