this is the way i make them

First up the material used is 0.1mm brass sheet this isn't the norm but you will need to guage the thickness for your own needs



the bigger the hatches/door the thicker the sheet and tube/rod the thickness of the former (rod/tube) depends on the size of the original

next is to measure the hinge to be replaced



then look at the original and see what it looks like and what type your going to build (this one has a 3 position hinge similar to a door hinge)




measure the hinge and transfer it to the brass sheet and cut out the strip you'll need two strips for one hinge







fold the strip around your rod/tube and clamp firmly with pliers creating the nice round
tube







More to follow

once you have the basic shape put it in a helping hand and carefully solder the edges together to stop it coming apart(don't go to far up or you'll solder the rod/tube to the hinge Not good)




clean of any remaining solder so it's nice and flat and pop it in a vice (i use ally angle as it keeps a nice sharp edge)



remove the rod/tube and mark up the hinge to look how you want it then carefully dremel/file out the waste clean of the burr and re-try the rod/tube




now you have one hinge side follow the same steps for the other side and align the two parts and mark off the waste on the other side and cut out the same as the first. try it with the other side and see if it fits a bit of careful fileing dremaelling and alls good to go fit the rod/tube to the two parts and now you have your own scale hinge






some of my hinges on my tanks

Damn nice work! I dont think my hands are steady enough for that kind of work though ..lol

Very nice excellent job
Thank You AFV
i don't think i can even see that small but i'll have to give it a try i have to make some hinges for my T-34
Thanks again this will be very helpful

Greg

My Pleasure Greg
if you need any more info just shout

Damn glad there are a plethora of dollhouse hinges on eBay at my disposal.

I'd go crazy if I had to build my own like that, let alone have them turn out so nice as yours do.










~ Jeff

cheers jeff
the only reason i did my own was i got totally fed up
buying what i thought were brass hinges only to find out they were a brass effect job
yes they are very tedious especially the 1mm ones

You mean you had "fake" brass hinges? I haven't had that experience yet. How did you find out? During soldering them?










~ Jeff

yeah cutting them to size was the give away and then soldering was a real .........pain

i know you can buy them Panther F but i like to build as much as i can on my own i enjoy building parts as much as i enjoy painting the tanks
makes it more interesting and challenging for me

same here Greg
just makes that build just a little bit more "yours"

Yeah, same here. But there is a limit to what I will build just because I can and buy because I know I should. Time limits me because I don't want to spend more than 3 years on a build. Hinges are a bit of an extreme but to others it isn't.

Also, my cringe factor is much different than most people. I want it to be perfect in MY eyes, not someone else's. So my expectations are much higher at the same time too.

You get that way when you build mostly Tamiya tanks and not strictly OOB either.

It's not a debate but an opinion. And a choice.









~ Jeff

i see what you mean but i haven't tried to make one yet so i may have to buy some if i'm not as good as AFV432 ...lol
we will have to see

And that's why I'll never make one when AFV432 is around to show us all how to. I went to the Hobby Store and on eBay for my Sherman M4A1E8 build. It took 3 specially sized hinges to make the rear shelf fold. It never would have been a success without buying them.

But I do enjoy seeing things like this. It does amaze me and gives me ideas as well.










~ Jeff