How to Make Scale Tarps

Scale tarps can give your model a more realistic look

Making scale tarps is a means of adding a textured look to your model. Whether you are making sails for a model ship, barrack tents for a scale army or Sherpa quarters for your model Himalayan mountain expedition, scale tarps are a simple, fun way to add a custom touch to a model that might otherwise look rigid and impersonal. While there are different theories on making model tarps, one tried and true method has time and again proven to provide the desired aesthetic results, and it's as easy as blowing your nose!

Things You'll Need

• Facial tissues
• Scissors
• White glue
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4-inch watercolor paintbrush
• Stir stick
• 1-cup mixing bowl

Instructions

1. 

   White glue is too thick to spread over tissue paper unless decongealed with water.

   Make scale tarp glue by mixing one part white glue with one part water. Fill one eighth of your one-cup mixing bowl with the two components. Mix the water and glue together with the stir stick. The water will soften and liquefy the white glue.

2. 

   The thicker the facial tissue, the better the results.

   Cut the facial tissue to the size and dimensions you want. Place the tissue over the frame, edifice or object on your model that you want to tarp.

3. Brush the glue/water mixture over the tissue with short, even strokes. Make certain the tissue remains placed in the proper position. Too much glue/water mixture or indelicate strokes will cause the tissue to tear. The tissue is especially vulnerable to tears when saturated with the glue/water mixture. Once you have saturated the entire tissue with the glue/water mixture, allow the scale tarp to dry for one hour.

4. Apply a second coat of glue/water mixture to the tissue tarp. Allow it to dry for an hour as well, then apply a third and final coat. Once the third coat is dry, your scale tarp is finished and ready to be painted, if you so desire.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not substitute toilet paper for facial tissues. The porous texture will show once the model tarp has dried.

References

• How to Build the Scale Models?
• Introduction to Scale Modeling | A Beginner's Guide
• Quazen.com/recreation/crafts/how-to-make-a-cape-for-your-scale-model/