Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Hi all, I have been using Apple Barrel paints thinned with Future and Windex exclusively for airbrushing since I started last year. Until a few days ago, I had great results. I was painting a Klingon ship with a green mix of many colors; the mix matched what I wanted perfectly. The first coats went ...

If water-based markers are okay, then perhaps the "washable" ink pens made for kids would work. They generally come in sets with many different colors, so you'd be able to get a variety of effects. Crayola makes some.

Jeff

I'm new to many aspects of modeling. I decided to get serious about it and am diving head first, but I think I jumped the gun on buying a few things. After doing some research I read 30 PSI and lower is best for airbrushing models. I purchased a 40 PSI compressor yesterday. Is that too much? Also, ...

Hello all, I've had great luck airbrushing Apple Barrel acrylics using all the tips here. But how do you deal with the stuff for plain old brushing? I suspect I'd have to use a pipette or something to remove some from the bottle, then put it into another container and thin it with... what? Future &a...

Thanks, everybody, for the great ideas--I'll definitely try them!

Jeff

Have you tried looking for some ABS pipe from a home center or plumbing supply? Ayup. It's the "almost, but not quite right" problem. I did find a wooden dowel that's the right size a few minutes ago at the local Home Depot, so I'll sand/prime/sand/prime and use that. But I'd still really...

Hi all, I'm trying to wrap 0.01" styrene sheet around a plastic form (not styrene--made out of the ends of two soft plastic medicine bottles butted together and glued) to make a cylinder, and having little luck. I can't get the wrap tight, it looks terrible, the solvent melts through, etc. The ...

Just wanted to thank those who are contributing to this thread. Thanks!

Jeff

Tetsujin, I know there's a sticky thread for microcontroller projects. Are there any links to references that you could post to that thread? A sort of "how-to," or "how to get started?" About all I know is that I'd need an interface board and software for programming the PIC, and...

You know you could buy five of those PICs separately for less than the cost of the magazine, right? I don't know if the chip could be extracted and reprogrammed - it's possible... but bear in mind that it is possible to code-protect PICs such that they can't be reprogrammed - if it works it could b...

Hi all, In case you haven't seen/heard of it, the October issue of Esquire magazine is available with an electronic ink cover, which is apparently controlled by a 12F629 PIC microcontroller. The datasheet for said PIC says it can control LEDs, and has an on-board counter. Anybody have any ideas on w...

I've used gallons of the stuff for propmaking. It is polyester and requires trial and error to mix the resin and catalyst (usually MEK). I don't recommend it for clear parts; it is great for strong parts when used with glass cloth. Oh, and use outside with rubber or nitrate gloves as the fumes will...

Howdy, Well, I tore one of the lights apart. A yellow LED was attached via ~1mm leads to a small IC on a tiny PC board. Three button cells were provided, giving, I suppose, 4.5V of power. I removed the yellow LED (sorta grabbed & twisted with a needlenose pliers) and it came off, leaving a littl...

Hi all, While scrounging through the local "Five Below" today, I found flickering tea candle LED lights for $1 each! They were near the incense and lava lamp-style lamps. These are great for randomly flickering lights (fires, etc.) and at $1 each, how can you go wrong? Here is a page showi...

soldering has it's place, I guess but for me, wirewrapping is the way to go. With just a few minutes of practice, you can be an expert at solid, very reliable connections. And if you screw up, you can can easily disconnect without the danger of overheating/damaging anything. Pat, I bought a wrappin...

Thanks for your explanaton jgoldader.... You're very welcome, Belkin321. I learned it by doing it. I bit the bullet and bought a solderless breadboard and a bunch of jumper wires, a handful of LEDs, a few resistors, a 555 chip, and a capacitor or two. My initial cost was about $45. Put a couple of ...

What is the best way to wire leds for models, in series or parallel? Thanks It depends (doesn't it always?). From my perspective, if you've got a few LEDs and want to have the same total brightness, you're going to use the same amount of power: P=IV, where P is power, I is current, and V is voltage...

Hi all, I'm going to be doing a heavily-weathered model, lots of washes and such. The washes will be going over Krylon primer and acrylic paints, all sealed with Future before applying the washes. I would like to use water-based washes. They seem the easiest to manage, and easily removed if the resu...

It works! It actually works! I finished the connections tonight, and it worked like a charm.

I'll post a full report to the Bench tomorrow, but now I'm just gonna relax. Earned it, I have.

Thanks again to everybody for your help & encouragement!

Jeff

Is the 1/32" in the Dremel drill set small enough? I know Home Depot carries those.

Jeff

Okay, I managed to solve my own problem. I ended up ditching the stereo minijack I was going to use for power and will use a pair of 8-pin IC sockets, one in a rod coming up from the base, the other epoxied into the D-7 hull. This gives me four wire pairs, that's plenty for the project. I will power...

How many LEDs are you blinkifying and what colors are they? Sometimes the simplest approach is using one self blinking LED in series with a couple of other LEDs and the SB LED blinks all of 'em. What color are the 3 non-blinking LEDs? Some LEDs are low enough in voltage needs that you can put 3 in ...

Hi folks, I'm trying to light a PL Klingon D-7. The lighting consists of two parts: a) blinkers (w/ 555 blinker circuit board that will live in the base) and b) three sets of always-on LEDs that will be wired in parallel with dropping resistors selected to make sure the resistances match. I'll be us...

I was at Target yesterday, and in their back-to-school section, I found very nice little paint stands. They would be perfect for holding small pieces for painting. They are little plastic cubes, about 1 inch on a side, with a piece of stiff braided wire coming out of one face and extending maybe 3 i...

Hi all,

The non-"glossy" Apple Barrel acrylics are on sale 2 for $1 at Michael's this week. I bought $7 worth today

Jeff

Guys? Try a white plastic soda straw with a BLUE LED in each end. Depending on how the LED 'throws' or focusses the light, you cn get a nice even tubular glow. Works for me... with a little tweeking. :8) I looked all over the place, every craft store in sight plus a Target, and couldn't find a clea...

Has anybody experimented with taking a clear acrylic rod, maybe 1/2" diameter, sanding down one edge until it's a sort of long cylinder that's letter D shape in cross section, then drilling out the ends and putting LEDs in them? That might be good for lighting up engines. My gut tells me the ro...

Hi all, I've posted here several times over the last couple of months with questions about starting out airbrushing. Well, I'm finally ready to give it a go. Today, I finished the spray booth. The booth itself was made of 1/4" MDF, screwed to pine stripping on the inside edges for strength. The...

I love LEDs for lighting projects and the new high brightness ones are spectacular. I even found an announcement today about PASTEL colored leds. Yes, now you can get pink, purple and turquoise LEDs in 5mm 20mA. Check out Lumex Inc. Welcome to the golden age of LED lighting everyone! -John C. "...

Thanks all for your suggestions! Don, what I'm leaning towards now is one coat of the base color before assembly to make sure I get the area area around the LEDs, then assembly, then masking using tape as you suggested (I bought a cheap set of punches from AC Moore) and then the final coat. Thanks a...