I'm working on a project, and I was hoping some of the kitbashers around here could help. I'm kitbashing a miniature Death Star for use in the Star Wars RPG I'm running. I've got an 8" plastic sphere as a base, and eventually I'm going to have to draw "latitude" and "longitude" lines on it (for paint masking purposes).

The problem is that I'm having trouble thinking of a way to draw nice, even lines around a sphere. Does anyone have any suggestions about drawing lines on a sphere so they aren't all cockeyed? Thanks in advance for any help...

Going freehand is never going to work if you want nice, straight lines. On other shapes I'd recommend masking tape, but it'll follow the curvature of the sphere as you apply it, and getting straight lines with tape something like that is going to be just about the maddeningest task in the history of hobbycraft.

Only thing I can really think of off the top of my head that has a shot at success would be mounting the sphere in a lathe or something of the like, and drawing on the lines as you rotate the sphere.

You could try seeking out various diameters of cylindrical shapes (vases, oatmeal container, etc), then set the sphere into them, and trace around the openings. It might take some searching to find enough variety of sizes, in the right proportions.

Alternately, you might check out the stitchery department of your local craft store. They have rings designed for stretching the fabric for needlework projects, that come in a variety of sizes. That might suit your purpose as well... and if you're feeling particularly crafty, you could buy them, use them, then return them...

Thanks for the suggestions. I like the lathe idea, but not sure how I'd implement it. My sphere actually consists of two separate hemispheres (cheap plastic lamp shades) that i'm going to join together after painting. I like the craft hoop idea, and I've got some hose clamps lying around that might fit the bill...

take a large piece of firm paper, like posterboard, and draw a large circle on it that matches the diameter of the globe, use a compass. then draw concentric rings inside the circle with a compass with each as far apart from the last as you need for the lines on the globe. basically, you are drawing a large bullseye, now starting with the smallest center circle, carefully cut it out and lay it on the globe ( like the globe was wearing it as a hat, lol) , you should now have an outline you can draw around. then cut out the next circle in the "bullseye" and repeat until you have all the lines you need.

Great idea. I don't have that many horizontal lines to draw, so this sounds perfect...

The only problem with this one is that, if you want the rings to be at regular 'altitudes' (such as, 1 inch above the equator, 2 inches, 3 inches, etc), you can't make circles with diameters of 9/10 of the sphere, 8/10, 7/10, 6/10, etc., since the curvature of the sphere will make the rings sit very close together at the poles, with big gaps near the equator.

To solve this, you'll either need to do some pretty heavy trigonometry, or use your eye and your instincts... make the outermost rings VERY close to the diameter of the sphere, with the increment getting bigger as you get towards the center.

Example:

Edge of the sphere --> (.(..(....(.......(.............(

yeah, i forgot about the curvature part, sorry, the theorry is still sound, but you have to kinda eye it to make the lines the right distance

you could use a pen striping kit like you would use for a car. lay it out how you will, and it gives you the lines without worry of drawing them.