Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Neither is easy. My guess, and it's just that ....a guess, is that you may find that decaling may be just a wee bit easier because when your finished laying down the decal you can instantly see your results. With the masking your going to pray to the Gods that there was no paint leak under the masks...

Ambitious little build there.

Kylwell wrote:Future does have a shelf life of sorts. It will thicken over time but a dash of water will fix it.

I'm guessing I purchased it about two years back. I'm up for giving it a whirl with a little water thrown into the mix. Kylwell thanks for the suggestion...sounds....sound.

tetsujin wrote:
One simple thing I'd suggest with this kit: the plastic for the hull is pretty thick. Before you go trying to cut out windows, thin it down a bit (from the inside, of course.)

Absolutely outstanding advice! Smart indeed.

Picked up the Epoxy Paste recently and I have to say I like the slow self leveling action it takes on as it soothes itself out. Very neat stuff indeed.
On an unrelated Aves subject....unlike the Aves will Bondo Spot Putty crack over time like other putty's?

Never used the Testors before but I usually AB Future over the decals first to seal them in. Afterwards the dull coat (used to use Tamiya Flat in the rattle can ....now use Model Masters Clear Flat Acryl 4636 airbrushed on) is fantastic to knock down the sheen and pull everything together.

LT. Z I'm thinking your right here. I may have completely been over confident and sprayed at too high a PSI. It's really the only thing I can think of at the moment. Funny you mentioned a few more mist coats because I haven't touched the plane since and have been contemplating doing exactly that for...

Practice, practice, practice. Get your self a solderless breadboard, some LED's, resistors, appropriate wire, a battery clip and battery's to fit, wire cutters, some alligator clips and go to town! You'll need a little help figuring out resistance values so use this handy website. http://led.linear1...

More info here. Is the whole model primed too thick or is it thick in spots only? If it's thick in spots you can use an old brush and lacquer thinner to remove the thickened areas of primer. Brush it on and wipe off. You should know that this is slow and tedious process before you start. Can take da...

I've dealt with JBot in the past and had no problems. Jim was courteous and responded to my e-mails in prompt time. No complaints. Can't speak for realspacemodels.com though.

Tony Agustin wrote:Usually I get the best ideas when I'm not intentionally seeking them. Usually a good long quiet walk will shake out those miraculous visions hiding in your head.

I do find a few beers or glass of wine and talking to myself releases the Kracken.

My God that is so small! Why?

Simple. Go put on several layers of clothing, then stand in a sauna with the heat turned on high. . Oh, wait... You asked for inspiration, not perspiration... never mind then. Actually that's not a bad idea. North American Indians have "Smoke Outs" and they would meet their animal spirit ...

Anybody have this happen to them before? I AB Future to the wings and fuselage of a WWII aircraft and when it dried it had a very bumpy texture to it. It was almost as if the Future didn't level out during the setting process that it usually does when it dries. Temperatures have been mild so I don't...

A quick tip with the oil paints. Place a small amount of the paint color your using on cardboard and let it sit a day or two first. In doing this the oils in the paint can wick out. Afterwards you can scrape up the paint and mix it into Turpenoid/turpentine. Wicking out the oil helps the wash dry fa...

Joseph Osborn wrote:There is another paint, similar to Alclad Chrome, called Spaz-Stik or something like that.

Anything called Spaz-Stik sounds dangerous to me. I will shun it!

aussie muscle wrote:

tonyG2 wrote:Agreed. Get both..

+1

+2

scratchy wrote:I have the Dremel Multipro with variable speed adjustment. I have this one mounted to the drill press accessory, and use it as a lathe for small details with a mandril bit.

So that's how you make all your magic happen. Clever and very sneaky Scratchy!

aussie muscle wrote:don't forget ear protection, cutting metal is noisy.

Andrew Gorman wrote:Any side load and they will disintegrate on you, but make a nice cut...

...in your face as it becomes shrapnel!!

Eye protection too.....nothing hurts more then eyes son. Ever get a glance at Rosanne Barr. I rest my case.

For one LED it looks fine. Why don't you skip the battery's all together and go with a 9v wall wart instead. Connect up to a jack inside the model and use the plug when needed. This way you don't have to fumble with creating access to your battery. Just make sure your jack and plug are the same size...

Paint all the windows black....power outage.

How long of a strip do you need? Something like this might work:
Experimenter's kit #2504....a little bit down the page. Mr. Girven found this site a few years back and figure I'd save it for something in the future. Perhaps that day has come?
http://www.microstru.com/Experimenter-Kits.html

nickymaude....second circuit from the bottom. $15.25. Check out the other lighting effects too (they have Nav. lights) pre-made and all affordable.
http://www.ngineering.com/lighting%20ef ... hicles.htm

I certainly don't speak for everyone else, but I like my models to be strong and resilient. If I'm putting lighting components inside, I want them secured in there with epoxy so there's no chance of them breaking loose. I leave my fibers sticking out a good inch or so and I have no trouble painting...

Midgets then? Peter Dinklage though will be tough to get.

I'm going to suggest a guess and maybe someone else with more knowledge then I, which is most people, can correct me if I'm wrong. Try wiping the model down with a cotton ball and 90% rubbing alcohol before assembly or painting. This should help break down any mold release and clean the plastic up m...

Hire dwarfs to paint them.

is that why some decals crinkle when sprayed with a gloss-coat sealer? Steve No, they crinkle because the chemical composition in most clear coats like Tamiya Clear Gloss is made mostly of acetone....nail polish remover....it kills decals. That's why Future is applied over the decals as a gloss coa...

Halcyon those look sweet.....nice work. You know as I recall years ago there was a thread on what color white was on an X-wing. Someone actually researched it and found out that the guys at ILM used Polyscales' Reefer White as the base coat. Jesus it was the mid-seventies, you think they could have ...

Like Scott said a primer coat will reveal surface imperfections during the construction stage of your build. That's the time to go over everything with a close eye and correct issues that can mar your finish coats. Not everyone does it, and that's OK, but the people that do....well their models in m...