How to distress plastic scale model leather or vinyl pleated seats
If your plastic scale model vehicle has that lived-in look, don’t forget the seats
The weathering detail you apply to the outside should be reflected inside — unless you’re doing a restoration in progress starting with the interior, but who does that? This simple technique will allow you to simulate wear and tear on your leather and vinyl seats in minutes.
You’ll need three tools: a small half round file, a razor saw, and a rotary tool. You could replace the rotary tool with a coarse sanding stick, but a rotary tool with low speed and a grinding bit does the job much faster.
The rotary tool I used is a Dr. Heiz electric nail file. Intended for manicures, it is an excellent tool for scale modeling. It has variable speed, a few handy bits, and is reasonably priced.
The kit part represents a factory-fresh seat, which would seem out of place for any model that is weathered, dumpy, or dilapidated.
Grind away part of the bottom cushion with the rotary tool. Go slow and consider the wear pattern you want to model. I also scored the rear cushion a few times. Yes, it looks a bit rough.
I cut new grooves into the bottom cushion with a razor saw to restore the pleated pattern. Then I widened the grooves with the file, smoothed the edges, and added some finer wrinkles for more texture.
Even refined, it was still a bit of a mess. Instead of reaching for fine-grit sandpaper, I brushed on light coats of Tamiya Extra Thin liquid cement to melt the plastic dust and smooth edges.
It only needed a couple of passes with cement while letting the part dry between coats, and that was it! Now you know a simple way to create a worn and more interesting texture on the seats of your used and abused model vehicle.
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