We have two new products that we debuted at IPMS in Phoenix this past month.
MPD0062 Russian Shop Signs are scaled to work with 1/35 scale vignettes but will also work with larger and smaller scales. The signs come complete with laser cut brackets to allow some signs to stand off of the building fronts. The signs are appropriate for scenes set in large cities or small towns. Not the usual propoganda images but commercial store fronts.

MPD4807 Laser Etched Cobblestone Sheets for 1/48 scale vignettes. The set includes three different patterns of cobbles etched into high quality art paper, ideal for staining and dry brushing. The thin sheets are similar to our laser etched zimmerit in that you can apply them to your carved foam base and create battle damage and disrepair by simply cutting through the sheet into the substrate. Each sheet is 5.75" x 7.75", large enough to accommodate any tank kit, or to cut and use with smaller vehicles.
More information about both of these products can be found on our website:
www.monroeperdu.com

I really like the laser etch items, how thick is the cardstock ?

Hi Gordy,

The cardstock is about .10 thick.
Probably not as thick as a typical business card.

Mike

After thinking a bit about it, also with the Reality in Scale release in mind.
Doesnt this lasercut cobblestones looks a bit to perferct?
Also I would prefer not to have a totally flat upper surface due to the uneven surfaces on the stones, not perfect laying, some stones sinking a bit over time and the small slope built up to make the water run to the gutters?

As a sidenote, my grandfathers proffession was to lay cobblestones in the early 1900.

Cheers
Janne Nilsson

Hi Janne,

Your concerns are addressed by the material we've chosen for our product. The paper is pliable and can be contoured to either slope to each side of a road, or to slope into the middle to form a shallow channel for water to collect. The reference photos included with our sheets present different conditions of cobblestones and in fact, one image shows the stones being laid, very evenly and level.

Hopefully, the closeup photo on our website shows the uneven surface of old stones on sheet "C".
If you would like to depict some stones misaligned and missing, you need only to cut the paper with a hobby blade and make the adjustments in the base you put the paper on.

The base can be a cast and sanded slab of plaster, or a shaped piece of foam to show some irregularities.

Of course, you can apply the paper to a flat wooden base and it can be cut to fit around sidewalks. Our laser cut storm drains and tree surrounds can also be incorporated into the sheets.

This is the first set of stonework patterns and bricks, wood planking, plaster and block sheets are being worked on now.

Hope this helps.
Mike

Thanks for replying, Mike!

I agree that the pictures on the website gives a different view of the sheets. They does not look so perfect as on the pictures above.

Is a 1/35 set scheduled as well?

Cheers
Janne Nilsson

Hi Janne,

We can do sheets in 1/35 and other scales, no problem. We started with 1/48 scale because the smaller scale really uses the laser to its best advantage. There are a large number of resin, plaster and plastic street sheets in 1/35 available in the market place and we preferred to exploit the finesse of the laser etch in a scale that is much harder to produce by carving/scribing the traditonal way.

We look at all of our products this way, i.e. Is this the best method for producing an item?
Does it bring something unique to the market that can't be done by another method to a similar level of quality or cost?
Is the subject matter unique in the market place?

We have done sheets as prototypes in 1/72 scale and at the moment, we are trying to answer the question of whether any amount of etched relief in a sheet would be visible in real life, or would it be better to produce printed sheets that can be weathered if desired and therefore would be more accurate to scale.

The 1/72 scale sheets look great, but may be seen as just a gimmick considering the scale.

Thanks for letting me ramble.
Mike
www.monroeperdu.com