Need suggestions for 1/24th scale spanish tile

[Ray Dunakin]

I would like to do some 1/24th scale, Mission Revival style buildings with Spanish tile roofing, but so far I'm at a loss as to what material to use. I need some sort of semi-circular channel that can be cut with hand tools. I considered trying to split styrene tubing but splitting dozens of them accurately seems like a daunting task, at best.

Any suggestions?

[marc_reusser]

The original method of making these...even into the 20's and 30's was for them to be hand formed over the workers thigh....

I have been pondering how to make them in 1/35, and came up with the idea of measuring the interior widths and lengths of an original period tile, and then making/turning a properly Delrin piece...cutting it in half, then adding a straight spacer under (using 3M mounting tape)...so as to give me a trimming space, over wich I can then form/shape and trim rolled out Milliput.

Now this can be cumbersome if you need hundreds or thousands....BUT....for lesser amounts, once you have some 20 or so made, you can then create a mold box using legos, press casting clay into the bottom, place the tiles so as to get the seam line along the edges, place the casting channels using styrene rod, pour in latex, remove all, place the latex mold and tiles back into the lego box, add mold release, pour in 2nd part of mold latex.....after set, remove masters, and cast as many tiles as you need using resin.


Just a thought.

M

[Carlo]

Great idea Marc.

Perhaps, at least in large scales (1/16, 1/12?), you could cast them in pre-colored plaster.

And, if you're really crazy, you could cast them in actual terracotta clay slip (thinned clay mix),
then fire them in a kiln. Of course, you'd have to take into account the 8-12% shrinkage.

I've done this with bricks. Tedious, but "authentic".

Carlo

[Mr Potato Head]

I thought that Cuban women rolled cigars on their inner thighs
MPH
I want to go to Cuba and see that first hand!

[Malachi Constant]

Hmm ... what about using some terra cotta colored Sculpey ... a couple pieces of corrugated or suitably ribbed / rounded objects as formers and pressing a bunch, then baking them?  -- Dallas

[marc_reusser]

... a couple pieces of corrugated or suitably ribbed / rounded objects as formers   -- Dallas

You cant just use ribbed/corrugated formers. Spanish clay tiles were/are tapered. You do have the option of reducing the amount of round tiles by using flat "Roman" pan tiles instead of the inverted half-round tapered....although you need to be very carefull in where and what application you use the flat pan tiles.

M

[Seattle Dave]

Well, if you are not a "materials bigot", these guys make some pretty good stuff in plastic sheet form:

http://www.appliedimaginationinc.com/precision_products/plastic_veneer_sheets1200.html

[Malachi Constant]

You cant just use ribbed/corrugated formers.

Okay, I won't.  I promise.   
-- Dallas

[Ray Dunakin]

I don't know about being a "materials bigot", but Spanish tile is hard to do realistically without using individual pieces. None of the vacuum-formed sheets I've ever seen have looked right. I can't tell what the Precision Products sheets look like, since they don't have an actual photo of the product. However, the drawing they show appears to be "S-tiles" rather than "barrel" tiles.

[lab-dad]

What about using one of those silly putty presses?
Like they make pasta with?
Make a die, use clay, or sculpty or whatever and extrude the shape.
Cut to length then pinch one end for the taper?
Just a thought.
I've seen/done harder things..................

-Marty

[Seattle Dave]

Ray, how much of it do you need to do?  Small building or entire town?  Seems to me I have a book or three back at home that addresses this.  I will check early next week when we return and post results.

Off the top of my head, all I can think of would be some kind of small two-part press mold for each piece.

Dave

[marklayton]

Ray -

Dallas' suggestion of Sculpy clay is my favorite.  US Tile sells traditional clay roofing tiles.  Here is the brochure:  http://www.ustile.com/Resources/Documents/2Piece%20Mission_0910.pdf.  Definitely tapered, although it the amount of taper is not specified.  The nominal length is 18 inches, the wide end is 8-1/2 inches wide, and the narrow end is 7 inches wide.  That's 2.3 degrees of taper, but I suspect 2 degrees would be close enough.

Turn the inside form with a 2 degree taper on a wood lathe or even drill press.  2 degree tapered end mills are readily available from MSC or McMaster-Carr.  Be sure to get the right diameter and choose one that is center cutting so it can be used to drill.  Use the end mill to drill out the outside part of the mold, making it larger that the turned inside part by the thickness of the rolled out Sculpy.  Cut the outside mold part in half length-wise.  Then cut the rolled-out Sculpy to the correct trapezoidal shape, lay it on the mold core, and press the outside part down on top to form the tile.  Then cure and bake the Sculpy per their instructions.

Mark