Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Hey it's 1/650 scale, the same as my EE.

Sweet. Are the nacelles on that ship both the same? If they are there's no need to make two of them if you're going to cast it. A ship like that is easier to cast in seperate sections than all in one piece.

Usually you wouldn't paint or decal a master before molding as the edges of the decals and masked painted area's will show up in the mold, and then in the eventual casting. Also, depending on what the model is you don't want to build it up and glue it together as it will make your molding process a ...

I tried the venturi pump and didn't have much luck with it, I don't think it ever got enough of a vacuum to do anything. If I ever have to make a large mold where I'll pour the silicone in to fill a void between a master and mothermold I'll have to invest in a nice vacuum pump.

Try the Moldmax 30 and put a super thin brush on coat, almost transparent and let that set up, then brush on a second coat. After that you can pour it on and it should be just fine. I've molded super tiny detailed parts with lots of undercuts that way without one single bubble. http://sovereignrepli...

Brush on the first coat of silicone and let it half way set up, then pour on the other coats until the mold is as thick as you want, and pour the rubber from about 2 feet high making a thin stream. For resin use a slower setting mixture like Smoothcast 310 from Smoothon. It takes over an hour to set...

Here's how I did mine. You have to cut a notch in each side of the mold that the object can rest on so it's not touching the surface of the mold so the resin can flow around it. Here's how I did it with my pylon's, there's hollow brass channel in each pylon to run wiring, and two brass rods embedded...

Use a thickening agent to make the silicone brushable, start with a super thin coat then use thicker coats to get it about 1/2" thick. Then cover it with a plaster jacket reinforced with burlap strips, making sure to key the silicone before covering the rubber with plaster. That saves on rubber...

I just bought a sheet of 1/2" plexi 30" x 20" and it was $80 just to give you an idea.

Moldmax 30 is what I use, it's a 10:1 ratio mix. It replicates the tiniest detail, check their site for local distributors.

Thank you. First I started by masking off the windows on the smooth hull. http://sovereignreplicas.com/wndws1.jpg Then putting 3 coats of Mr.Surfacer 1200 (or any fine primer, thin coats are best)over the masks with an airbrush, letting it dry for 24 hours and removing them leaving perfect indentati...

I use bondo for sculpting and skinning. I use the two part mixture to cover two part polyurethane foam, I've never had any issues with bondo eating away the styrene or the foam. My suggestion would be to mix the bondo a little cooler than what's recommended. Not so much catalyst. It's cheap, sets up...

D'oh! I just saw that it's a straight cut you're trying to do. Score and snap, forget the circular saw.

A band saw or table saw is the best, scoring it and snapping it won't work though. But in a pinch the circular saw will work, and like Loachnut said use the finest blade you can find.

Try to cut it as fast as you can because it'll melt if you leave the blade in one spot too long.

I saw this thread not too long ago so I decided to order some of this stuff. It's the best primer I've ever seen. It truly will fill in unwanted scratches but leave surface detail intact, how it does it I have no idea. You can also put it on just about as thick as you want but when it dries it leave...

You're welcome.

Actually I've never used them. I've used the Model Master paints before I switched to auto paint, but that's about it.

Nothing

Stingray, if you're in OKC go out to Regal plastics on Reno near Morgan road. You can also buy styrene there in the 5 foot sheets, that'll last you awhile. That's where I got the glue and applicator bottles.

Good advice Owen, I didn't know that.

Any place that sells plexiglass, but not places like Home Depot etc. Plexiglass shops. You can also get the glue there.

Look under Acrylic supply in the phone book.

You can also lightly score it with a X-acto knife and bend it along where you scored it, be careful though or it'll snap in two. Another trick if you want to bend a piece around the model is to glue one end of it down, then slowly lay it on the model and glue as you go until you get to the other sid...

In case no one has mentioned these before, this is what I find works the best for acrylic and styrene. The applicator bottle is the key, you line up your piece on the model first, then use the needle tip and squeeze just a little on the joint, the glue will run under the piece and bond in about 10 s...

Here's the Delta: http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=BS-100&go=1010264 It's small enough it could go under the bed when not in use. You can get a much smaller saw from Proxxon, but it is also much more expensive. I used the saw last night to cut a 1" section / slice out of ...