Friday 22 July 2022

Go For Broke - US 442nd Infantry Regiment, France 1944

 A little more progress today especially with the M1907 rifle sling. This was particularly tricky as I needed to punch the eyelets along the length of the straps and achieve a natural sag of the sling. After some experimentation with paper and epoxy putty, I decided to use rolled sheets of epoxy putty. Epoxy putty can be easily shaped with a wet brush to achieve the natural sag and attaches easily to any surface with PVA glue. The main drawback is that its structure is very delicate and breaks easily with the slightest touch. My solution is to paint both the front and back of the thinly rolled sheet of epoxy putty with AK 11419 Waffen Red Brown. This gives it a thin vinyl shell to preserve the shape and acts like an exoskeleton to fortify the structure of the putty. I am therefore able to punch the holes through the putty's surface without breaking up the putty. Furthermore the skin of paint prevents the putty from adhering to each other - removing another headache in the process. 





Cheers,

Calvin




No comments: