"Use a white length of BT-20 if available, or coat a brown cardboard tube with white paint or primer. The dark color of the tube will show through the 24lb paper to some extent the white tube makes the colors look brighter."
I hadn't noticed and brown tube showing through the white paper skin overlay. I guess I've used white BT-5 and BT-20 tubes when makking carded down scales. Bruce's tip makes sense, a brown tube color might show through making a lighter print skin darker.
TIP: Be sure to use a white body tube (or painted white) when making carded models with printed wraps.
I made the Der Red Max both BT5 & BT 2.5 with just 24lb paper. I've played with making fins with 24lb paper in the past when down-scaling carded rockets below BT5. Using 24lb paper I could see the cereal box images through the paper on the fins. I then started using white mailing envelopes and painting the inside, which was brown, with white primer; I would then rough up both sides. I can make several rockets with that one piece of painted mailing envelope.
ReplyDeleteMeasuring carded fin thickness, using a light touch with a caliper, 100lb paper fins are about 1.2mm thick and 24lb paper fins are about 1mm thick.
I’m also finding out, measuring just now, that while cereal boxes are about .5mm thick my mailing envelop is .73mm thick. I’m feeling much better about using just one sheet of 24lb paper for my fins. This saves on ink too, which I print using the highest quality settings.