V-Groove Siding (1,0 x 1,3 x 0,30)

V grooving every 1.3 millimeters

A sheet one millimeter thick has V-shaped grooves scribed over its whole surface, 1.3 mm apart and each 0.30 mm deep. The result is a wall nailed together from narrow boards whose joints stay legible even under several coats of paint.

The width of a board converts directly: in 1:35 the spacing corresponds to roughly 46 mm, in 1:48 to about 62 mm and in railway 1:87 to roughly 113 mm. This finest of the usual spacings suits everywhere the wall is close to the viewer's eye and a coarser division would enlarge it beyond what the eye will bear.

The usual applications

• sentry boxes, sheds and shelters over a loading ramp,
• the planking of a truck bed and the side boards of a flatbed,
• the inner lining of cabins, huts and caravans,
• fences and screens where both sides can be seen.

The base and building a wall

The siding is usually glued onto a smooth board or onto a box built up from profiles; trim the overhangs only once it has dried, otherwise the corner will open up. Individual boards can also be cut off the edge of the sheet for patches, for loose fence palings or for mended holes in a wall, which you can do from the material at hand instead of reaching for a set of ready-made strips.

Working with the material

Run the cut along a groove; the plastic then breaks straight and the edge needs no sanding. Individual boards can be picked out by running a blunt point down some of the grooves so that the surface ripples; after spraying, the difference shows in the shadows. Apply the paint thinly so that the fine grooves are not lost, and bring out the shades of wood with a glaze of oil paint wiped off with a cloth in the direction of the grain. Drybrushing finally pulls the sharp edges of the boards out.