Suggestions for using fire

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:10 am

i want to create a burning tank effect, so i'm going to light a tank on fire. I thought i would use my all metal FT17 i bought a few years ago, since it's all metal and can't really get hurt from the fire, except for a bit of paint scorching, which is fine.

What is the best (ie safest) way to go abou this?...ie what is the best substance to burn?...alcohol, cooking oil etc

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 6:41 am

Alcohol has a blue flame and high flash point. Gas has the right color but has an even higher flash point. The safest thing to use would be Sterno . The flame is in between blue/ orange. You can scoop it out of the can and place the jelly were you want and torch it.

Ruger · Post by **Ruger** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:31 am

Are you looking for the actual fire, or to get the burnt effect?

If you're going to be photgraphing the flames, I recommend trying several things out first, minus the tank, to see how they show up in pictures.

If you're looking for the burnt effect, you want something that will burn slow and steady, no flash/flare. Alcohol burns pretty cool, so you may not get much effect. Gasoline is a bit on the dangerous side. Diesel is better, but can be harder to get lit. Many people recommend 4 parts diesel to one part gas for easier lighting, I find I can get most things lit with a propane torch. Cooking oil, while harder to light, produces plenty of black sooty smoke, which is good for giving things the burnt look.

Maybe a little more info about what you're trying to achieve would be helpful, but if I were going for a completely burnt out tank look, I'd probably hit it with the propane torch to remove all non metal parts (make sure you want them all gone, but the propane torch is easy to control, allowing you to heat one area while leaving others relatively untouched), and maybe soften some metal areas for deforming, then finish over a candle fed with vegetable oil for a good sooty, black coat.

Of course, your results may vary...

MV

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:48 am

i am looking to actually set it alight, to look like a burning tank. Cooking oil was my first choice because i would like a black smoke to be produced as well. Can it be lit with a match or would i need something hotter?

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:40 am

aferguson wrote:i am looking to actually set it alight, to look like a burning tank. Cooking oil was my first choice because i would like a black smoke to be produced as well. Can it be lit with a match or would i need something hotter?

You need a real hot flame to catch the oil on fire. What ever substance you chose . You can get the black smoke from an old bicycle tube and put it on the flame . You can get these for free at the local bike shop

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:53 am

i've just been experimenting with styrene sprue. Easy to light, makes a nice black smoke, orange flame, easy to extinguish and control too. The underside of the FT-17 tank is hollow, so i can stick the sprue inside it from the bottom and the flame and smoke will seep through the cracks. Leaves a messy residue but that will be underneath and inside the tank, so no biggy. I have tons of sprue on hand, so this seems like a good candidate at the moment...

conteaddict · Post by **conteaddict** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:30 am

I dont know but, you could ask the webmaster from conte collectibles site because he has done many dioramas with explosions and buring tanks for advice.

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:40 am

jeezz,

all this work and no internet pics

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:14 pm

this is working pretty well, for producing smoke. I light a 1 1/2 inch piece of sprue, chuck it inside the tank and within a few seconds lots of black smoke is pouring out from underneath, around the hatches and turret ring. Fumes are a bit heady but i imagine they are on a real burning tank too.

I don't see any practical way of getting an open flame, other than underneath the tank, as any open flame on top of the tank will wreck the paint job, which i really don't want to do. So i guess i'll have to stick with the smoke pouring out/fire underneath effect. Which is still pretty cool and does absolutely no damage to the model.

I know there is a way of setting something on fire, without actually burning it (ie a liquid layer insulates the thing from the fire) but i can't find any info on that at the moment. That would be a pretty cool way of simulating a molotov cocktail thrown on a tank,without actually setting the tank model on fire..

smittyrob64 · Post by **smittyrob64** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:47 pm

As kids we always used to stick masking tape onto the model and light that which created lots of nice black smoke as well. Electrical tape works great too. Just stick it in a non conspicuous location.

ostketten · Post by **ostketten** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 6:20 pm

Baah... we don't need no stinking sterno... pour some diesel fuel under that puppy and light it with a flare... then stand back..

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:00 pm

masking tape? Surely the models melted?

Black_Dragon_One · Post by **Black_Dragon_One** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 1:28 am

try this i think it look way better..

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=9zqrKURPQtc

smittyrob64 · Post by **smittyrob64** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:40 pm

masking tape? Surely the models melted?

They sure did