Rolling Pin Diamond Plate

Diamond Plate texture roller (Green Stuff World)

Raised tread plate, popularly called teardrop plate, is one of the most common surfaces on workshop floors, on vehicle platforms, on cargo decks and on industrial staircases. Such a pattern is very hard to make by hand, because it has to be regular over the whole area. A texture roller presses it into modeling putty while it is still pliable, in a single pass. Green Stuff World is a Spanish maker of modeling chemicals and aids; the roller is a tool used repeatedly and contains no putty and no paint.

Use

• Roll the putty out into an even layer on a smooth surface; an uneven surface blurs the pattern.
• Dampen the putty and the roller or treat them with a release agent, otherwise the putty will catch in the pattern.
• Run the roller across in one smooth pass; going back doubles the impression and the ridges lose their crispness.
• Let the slab cure and only then cut it to the shape you need and glue it onto the model.
• The pattern comes alive after spraying a metal shade, highlighting the edges and running a wash into the recesses.

Who it is for

The roller will be used by modelers of military and civilian vehicles, by builders of industrial and urban dioramas and by wargamers who make science fiction and industrial terrain. The pattern is technical and timeless, so it suits the Second World War, modern equipment and imaginary subjects alike. If you build in smaller scales, consider the smaller variant of the same pattern from the maker's range.

This is a modeling aid, not a model. Putty, release agent and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise. Clean the roller before the putty hardens.