Modelling Glossary R - S

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MerlinJones

Modelling Glossary R - S

Post by MerlinJones »

R

RAL
German Standard colours.

Ratz
You know when you've toiled long and hard with a model and it's looking mighty fine...and completion is but a breath away...and then utter disaster strikes, ruining the model completely and you honestly believe that juggling angry porcupines might be a better hobby. This is a ratz, or you have, through some error on your part, committed a ratz. Whilst "Ratz" is what you might say, (amongst other, more colourful metaphor and expletive), the term is a tribute to John Ratzenberger, aka jratz, following this incident;
http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewtopic. ... 7&start=15;

RDF
Rate Determining Factor. A term borrowed from chemical engineering and is defined as that which, in any chemical reaction, will limit the extent of that reaction. So, for those of us cracking along with our modelling, it may be our reluctance to paint that eventually slows down our production line. For others, it may be their insistence on researching their subject to the nth degree.

Release agent
A chemical used to ensure the plastic kit comes away cleanly from the mould in an injection moulding machine. Release agent can be left on a kit and its presence can be seen by dripping some water onto the plastic; the water forms into beads. It can be removed by washing the plastic in warm, soapy water. An undercoat can be used to ensure no adverse effects and good adhesion, or 'key', of the topcoat paint.Resin kits nearly always tend to have traces of the release agent on them.

Rendering
See Colour Rendering.

Retro Modelling
A term used to describe modelling, as done in days of yore! In other words, we're talking polystyrene cement, if we're lucky, pva glue, sandpaper and hairy sticks. If you were going to go all Retro in the proper sense, you'd probably build a 1977 vintage Airfix Fouga Magister and take a photo of it, using a real camera.

Resin
A component of a paint. Resin binds all the solid material in the paint together when the paint is dry.Obviously, resin is also a material increasing used by modellers and model manufacturers. Making a resin piece is much less complicated than using injection moulding and so many smaller companies tend to use resin. Detail can be infinitely more ‘crisp’ than on injection moulded equivalents.

Resin kit
A kit cast from polyurethane resin. Resin is cheaper to use and the moulds less expensive to manufacture, hence it is favoured for many limited run kits. Resin kits require superglue to assemble them. Older resin kits tend to be made up of solid lumps of resin. Modern technology and better resins have allowed even small scale companies to manufacture hollow pieces that resemble, in shape at least, their injection-moulded counterparts.

Rifle Target Paints
A derogatory term, used to describe the small pots of cheap, acrylic paint, often supplied with Airfix Gift Sets. Due to their general low quality, as compared to, for example, the excellent Humbrol tinlets of enamels, these paints are sometimes deemed as fit for nothing, other than being used for air rifle target practice.
Acrylic paints are inherently safer for children than enamel paints, making their inclusion in Gift Sets, intended for sale to children, an obvious choice.
It may be worth noting that the acrylics referred to may have been replaced, since 2007, with better quality acrylics.

Rivet Counter
Unfortunately, this is often used as a derogatory term, used to describe someone who is more of a JMN than anything. A Rivet Counter is someone who displays an almost obsessive attention to detail and who make become quite anxious if, for example, the model they are building has an inaccurate number of rivets embossed on its surface, or the 'wrong' style of nuts are modelled, holding the wheels on a certain marque of Sherman tank, or whatever.
To be fair, we owe a lot to rivet counters, for it is they that have raised the bar of accuracy for kit makers everywhere and allow us to build a Spitfire that looks like a Spitfire, as opposed to a Hurricane.

Rotor
The big whirly thing on top of a helicopter and that smaller whirly thing, often on the tail.

Rubburns
The small finger wounds acquired when sanding small pieces.

S

SAMI
Scale Aviation Modelling International - A modelling magazine, the Editor of which has a soft spot for Classic British kits and 1/144.

Satin
A mid-sheen paint, higher than matt but lower than gloss.

Satin Cote
(Humbrol) A solvent-based varnish used to give a protective and decorative mid-sheen satin finish. As with other ‘Cotes’, this does not yellow over time.

Scale
The relative size at which a model is reproduced, indicated by how many units length of the original one unit of the model corresponds to. So for example, a 1/72 scale aircraft means that 1cm of the model equals 72cm of the original. Common indicators for scale include 1/72 and 1:72, but they all mean the same thing.

Scale Modelworld
The National Model Show, organised by the IPMS-UK, usually over a weekend in November and, in more recent years and for the foreseeable future, held in Telford, Shropshire, at the International Centre.
This show hosts displays from most IPMS-UK Branches and SIG's, as well as those from abroad. There is a highly competitive competition and more stalls selling kits, accessories and anything else that might be of use to the modeller than you could shake a spue at.

Scalpel
See Modelling knife

Scratchbuilding
Making your own parts, or even models, out of materials such as plasticard and sprue.

Seam Line
An artifact of the moulding process. When the two halves of a mould are pressed together, they should form a perfect seal. Liquid plastic will flow out of and into any gaps and, when the piece is removed from the mould, it will have an obvious line of plastic running around it. This will usually require removal.

Settling
Where paint pigment has sunk to the bottom of the tin - especially common in low viscosity paint. Settling is generally not terminal, but the pigment must be re-incorporated to ensure consistency of colour and application. It can be easily remedied with vigorous stirring.

Sheen
A measure of how high the reflectance of a paint is, generally measured at a reflectance angle of 60 degrees. Gloss and sheen are often used interchangeably. Note that the sheen level of a paint can also affect its apparent colour.Short RunA term used to describe a kit that has been made in fewer numbers than is usual, with larger companies. The tools, or moulds, may have been made with cheaper materials, designed to last for only a few thousand kits, before needing to be scrapped. Short run kits tend to be of lesser quality than their competitors, but they allow smaller companies to produce more esoteric subjects.

Sheet Plastic
Available from many LMSs in small sizes but is cheaper if bought in large sheets. Buy big and share with friends is the best way.
See also "Plasticard"

SIG
Abbreviation: Special Interest Group. As in the CBK SIG

Silvering
An effect that can occur when a decal is applied to a matt surface. Tiny air bubbles are trapped under the decal surface by the relatively rough, matt film, giving a frosted look which can mar the appearance of the finished model. The solution is primarily prevention rather than cure: commonly the model is painted using gloss, decalled and then varnished using a product such as Humbrol Matt Cote to give the desired overall matt appearance. Proprietary decal setting solutions, such as MicroSol and MicroSet, also help to counter silvering.

Skin
An undesirable effect where a layer of dried paint has formed on the surface inside the tin. Skinning is caused by the tin not being airtight and allowing air to enter the can, which then cures the paint at its surface. The paint underneath remains unaffected as the skin acts as a barrier to the air. Skinning can be prevented by ensuring a tight fit when closing the lid after use or by inverting the can a couple of times after closing it to seal the rim with paint.

Snurge
To deeply inhale the conte...er....aroma of fresh plastic, esp. when opening a new box.
*Care must be taken not to inhale too deeply, as explaining the presence, to the dedicated staff of your local A&E Department, of a little plastic man, or undercarriage oleo, may cause embarrassment.

Solvent
Liquid used in paint making, also called a 'vehicle' in chemical terminology. The solvent can be water or a conventional organic solvent such as white spirit, and it carries all the solid material to ensure it gives a smooth application and finish. The solvent evaporates during the drying process after application, leaving only the solid material in the paint as the final film.

Spares Box
Most modellers collect those unused parts of a kit, whether its unused undercarriage parts, or ordnance that was surplus to requirements. Sometimes a kit becomes nothing but a collection of spare parts, or a model is broken and contributes its componants to the growing collection of plastic doo-dads.
(Modellers are quite bad at throwing stuff away, as we know that everything "might come in for something").
All of these bits and bobs tend to get stored into something called a Spares Box.
See also Greeblies.

Special Interest Group
A group for modellers whose interests are at least in part focussed on a particular subject.

Speck Sprite
A small member of the faerie realm, who delights in adorning damp paint with specks of undetermined material. (You probably don't want to know).
Fortunately, the Speck Sprite has an aversion to Tupperware, so placing your freshly painted model under a Tupperware box, will usually deter the little fecker.

Spray
See Aerosol.

Sprogalised
An often interesting phenomenom, most liking seen demonstrated amongst objects with a parents home. Common example would be the refrigarator;
In the homes of most adults, sans offspring, or 'sprogs', this item is usually white, or it maybe disguised as a broom cupboard, or similar.
In homes where 'sprogs' co-habit, the aforemention appliance is likely to be covered with an assortment of eclectic artworks, amusing magnetic devices and a coating of smeared butter/jam/fish paste etc.. Such a refrigidaire may be described as having been sprogalised.
Books are another common example of sprogalisation, wherein the children have expressed their latent artistry and critiqued the work therein.

Sprue
Plastic framework to which plastic parts for kits are attached.

Sprue Gate
That part on a sprue where it joins the component. Often abbreviated to 'gate'.

Stash
A term used to describe a collection of unbuilt kits. These often provide superb loft insulation, although all stashes are accumulated with the express intention of building every single kit...eventually.

Stippling
A technique using a brush that has been severely cut down, to apply paint in a dabbing motion, rather than a stroking motion. Usually, an old brush is trimmed right down, leaving only a bristly stump. This is then dipped in paint and then most of that paint is removed, by dabbing the brush on a paper towel. The brush is then dabbed onto the area to receive the paint.
Stippling in this way allows the modeller, with practice, to apply soft demarkation lines and mottled camouflage patterns.

Stoving
To dry a paint at elevated temperature.

Stretched Sprue
The runners that the parts of plastic kits come on (often, if erroneously, referred to as sprue) can be heated over a candle then stretched out to a thinner section. The section of the stretched area will remain the same, and can be used to make streamlined wires for rigging biplanes.

Substrate
A surface, in the case of modelling a plastic surface. The word is used generally in the context of painting.

Surface dry
When the surface of the paint or varnish is dry to the touch. This doesn't necessarily mean the paint can be re-coated, as solvent may be trapped underneath the film and it’s useful to check if both dry and re-coat times are quoted for the product being used.

SWMBO
pr Swimbo.
Acronym for She Who Must Be Obeyed, a...erm...respectful reference to The Beloved, The Other Half, Light of My Life. The wife or partner who, in her most magnificent benevolence, tolerates our hobby and allows us the opportunity to...er....play.

(Is that alright, Dear?)
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