How to Use Photo-Etched Parts on Plastic Ship Models

What photo-etched parts are

Photo-etched (PE) parts are made by chemically etching a thin metal sheet, usually brass and sometimes stainless steel, to leave very fine shapes. The parts stay attached to a frame, called a fret, by small tabs. Because the metal is only a fraction of a millimetre thick, PE can reproduce things injection-molded plastic can’t do at scale thickness:

• Railings and safety rails
• Ladders and inclined stairways
• Radar arrays and antenna frames
• Aircraft catapults, crane jibs and cable reels
• Vent grilles, hatches and walkway gratings

Many fold lines and surface details are half-etched, meaning etched only partway through the metal, so the part can be folded accurately.

PE comes in two ways: included in the box (Italeri’s 1/35 S-38, for example, includes a sheet, as covered in our Schnellboot build guide), or as aftermarket sets made for specific kits. Some modelers even etch their own parts at home with toner transfer and etching chemicals, but that’s a separate project with its own safety requirements.

Tools you need

• A sharp blade. A fresh #11 blade or a small chisel blade works well. Change blades often.
• A hard cutting surface, such as a glass sheet, ceramic tile or hard plastic block. A self-healing mat is too soft and lets parts bend as you cut.
• A PE bending tool. A clamp with straight edges of several widths makes clean folds far easier than pliers.
• Fine tweezers, ideally a pair with flat tips and a pair with pointed tips
• Flat-jawed pliers (smooth, not serrated) for holding and straightening
• Small files or a fine sanding stick for cleaning tab nubs
• CA glue in both thin and gel types, plus a fine applicator: a cut-down toothpick, a needle in a handle, or a loop of fine wire
• Clear PVA-type glue for parts where you need working time
• Magnification and good lighting, especially at 1/700

Plan before you cut

Most PE trouble starts with planning, not technique.

• Read the kit and PE instructions together. Aftermarket instructions rarely say which kit step they belong to. Mark up the kit instructions with notes like “use PE part 34 here.”
• Find the parts on the fret before you need them. Large sets have a lot of near-identical parts. If there’s no parts map, make one by photographing the fret and labelling it.
• Identify molded detail to remove. Many sets replace molded railings, ladders or vents. Remove these early, while the parts are easy to handle.
• Work out the order. Fit fragile PE, especially railings, as late as practical so it doesn’t get knocked off while you handle the model.

Removing parts from the fret

1. Lay the fret flat on your hard surface.
2. Press the blade straight down through the tab, as close to the part as you can. Don’t slice or drag, which bends the part.
3. Keep a fingertip or a strip of tape over small parts so they don’t fly off.
4. Remove only the parts you need for the current step.
5. Clean any remaining nub with a file while holding the part flat in pliers or on the cutting surface.

Working over a tray or a light-colored cloth makes dropped parts much easier to find.

Bending and folding

Clamp the part in the bending tool with the fold line exactly at the edge, then lift the free side with a blade or a flat edge in one smooth movement. Folding a bit at a time from one end tends to give a wavy edge.

Half-etched fold lines usually end up on the inside of the fold, which lets the metal close up neatly. Some sets specify otherwise, so check the instructions for each part.

Curves and complex shapes

• Gentle curves, such as railings around a rounded stern or a curved splinter shield: roll the part over a drill bit shank, paintbrush handle or other round former of about the right diameter.
• Inclined ladders: fold the handrails up first, then twist or fold the treads if the design calls for it.
• Multi-fold parts like radar frames or catapults: dry-fit each fold before gluing, as one wrong fold can throw off the rest.

Annealing brass

Heating brass and letting it cool, called annealing, makes it softer and easier to form into complex curves. Some modelers do this for large curved parts. It isn’t needed for most parts, can discolor or warp very fine parts, and doesn’t apply to stainless steel frets. If you try it, practise on scrap fret first.

Gluing photo-etch to plastic

CA (super glue) is the standard choice for PE:

• Gel CA gives you a few seconds to position a part.
• Thin CA can be touched to a joint after the part is in place and will wick in. This is useful for tacking a part, then strengthening the joint.
• Use very little. Put a drop on a scrap of plastic or foil and pick up tiny amounts with your applicator. Excess CA floods detail and leaves visible blobs.
• Accelerator sets CA instantly, but it can mark paint, so use it sparingly and away from finished surfaces.

Clear PVA-type glues are slower but forgiving. They work well for parts you want to reposition and near clear parts, where CA fumes can cause fogging. Scuffing the plastic slightly and cleaning both surfaces with isopropyl alcohol helps either glue grip.

Fitting railings

Railings are the job most people find hardest on a ship model:

• Measure each run against the deck before cutting, and cut sections to break at natural points such as deck steps, openings or gun positions.
• Pre-bend curves and corners before gluing.
• Put the glue on the deck edge, not the railing. A thin line of CA or PVA along the deck lets you lay the bottom rail onto it.
• Start from a fixed reference, such as a bulkhead or the bow, and work along.
• Leave gaps where the real ship had them, such as at ladders and boat stations. Check photos of the actual ship.

At 1/700, railings are extremely delicate. Many builders fit them right at the end and handle the model by the hull bottom afterwards.

Painting photo-etch

Bare brass doesn’t hold paint well unless it’s cleaned and primed.

1. Clean the fret with isopropyl alcohol or a degreaser to remove oils from manufacturing and handling.
2. Prime with a primer intended for metal, or one that’s known to bond well to it.
3. Apply color in thin coats. An airbrush is ideal, because thick brushed paint fills fine openings in railings and grilles.

There are two main approaches:

• Paint on the fret, then cut. Easy to get even coverage. You’ll need to touch up cut points and scrape paint from glue contact areas so CA bonds to metal.
• Glue bare, paint with the model. Gives the strongest joints and hides glue marks under paint, but it’s harder to reach some areas.

Many builders mix the two: railings and large frames painted on the fret, small fittings painted in place.

Fixing common mistakes

• Bent part: lay it on a hard surface and roll a smooth round rod over it, such as a drill bit shank, to flatten it, then try again.
• Glued crooked: CA debonder, applied carefully with a fine brush, will release most joints. Clean the residue before regluing.
• Lost part: check whether the fret has spares. If not, small parts can often be scratchbuilt from thin plastic strip, wire or leftover fret.
• Fold snapped: brass work-hardens if folded back and forth. If a fold line breaks, glue the two halves together with thin CA along the joint.

A good first photo-etch project

Start with something forgiving: a destroyer or small warship with a modest PE set, or just the simple parts of a larger set (vent grilles, flat platforms, ladders) before tackling railings and radar. 1/350 is easier to learn on than 1/700.

Once you’re comfortable, aftermarket PE becomes one of the biggest upgrades you can make to a plastic ship. See our comparisons of 1/350 Bismarck kits and 1/350 aircraft carrier kits for subjects with strong PE support, or our guide to 1/700 waterline warship kits for small-scale work. The wider aftermarket picture is in our guide to plastic model ship kits by scale.