Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Hi folks, I'm about to assemble my first lighted model. It uses a number of 3-5mm round lensed LEDs, poking out of holes countersunk from the inside of the model. I expect I should do the electronics, build the subassemblies, then paint them, then connect the wires between the subassemblies, then gl...

If there are 2V blue LEDs out there, they are odd beasties indeed. All the whites, blues, etc. I've seen are in the 3V range. Even if you managed to find some, I wouldn't necessarily rely on being able to find more of them again in the future. :) Unless somebody's gone and changed physics on me, a ...

In case there's interest, here's the latest on my airbrush project. Step 3: The spray booth! I just scored a bilge blower (ignition-proof boating fan) for $28 and an AC to DC power adapter for the fan for $25 on The Web-Shopping Site We Do Not Name. I figure spending a few extra dollars to make sure...

If you can put the compressor in another room and run some tubing or longer hose you may be OK with it. I bought a Senco 1010 a few years ago, it's not too loud, and easily portable. And if I get a brad nailer, I can use it for tools! Terry, My basement is all one big room, but I was thinking of bu...

Hi all, This is a progress report on a first-timer's airbrush setup. I've posted questions on compressors here before, and this is the result. Images are at http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/jgoldader/airbrush%20setup/ Equipment: Badger 360 (from the Badger garage sale) $76 Cheap compressor an...

Hi folks, Okay, here's how it worked out. I ended up buying a 5-gallon air tank (max 125 psi) and small compressor (120 psi) today. All I need is to get a regulator & moisture trap, and I'm in business. Total expense to this point: $71. Even with a regulator, I should be able to stay below $100....

You're welcome, glad I could help. If you're looking for a new airbrush, check out the Badger garage sale at their website, they've had some really good deals available. Ken That's where I got mine! FWIW, in reading up on using scuba tanks for airbrushing, a new wrinkle appeared: it may not be poss...

Ken, I had a friend who's retiring from work offer me a scuba tank. Is that something that could be filled with CO2 or N2? (Why use CO2 instead of nitrogen anyway? Any idea? N2 is non-reactive, and certainly not poisonous, since it's 80% of the air we already breathe.) I just thought getting the fit...

Hi folks,

I'm shopping for my first compressor, and am wondering if it's possible to retrofit a tank onto a tankless compressor at some later time. I'm looking at getting the Paasche D500SR, which is $119 at Dixie Art, and maybe adding a tank later.

Can this be done?

Thanks!
Jeff

Hi all, Does anybody have anything good or bad to say about the Testors Blue Ice mini-compressor, especially as compared to the Iwata Silver Jet (which, I know, has its own thread right now, but with only one response)? I am new at airbrushing; I've got a Badger 360 on order, and am looking to get a...

Well, now I've done it. I ordered a Badger 360 from the Garage Sale this morning (the price was good, the shipping was sorta high, but what're you gonna do?). Anyway, if my wife doesn't find out, I might just live through it! 8-[ IIRC, there was an ad several years ago in FSM selling what looked lik...

I've recently vacuformed a high-gain antenna for a model of a satellite. I bought a few elliptical domes from Plastruct, and am using them for forms. The domes are cheap, a few dollars each, and I cobbled together the vacuform box out of leftover bits of wood from the basement. The heat gun was $18 ...

Aves, Blessed Among Fillers, has in the past graced the union of styrene to styrene. But has the Greatest of Fillers been known to bless the union of HDPE and styrene? Assuming the surfaces are roughed up first, of course.

Jeff

Joseph,

The Future worked perfectly, and the decals went on without a hitch. Many thanks!

Jeff

Howdy-- I've got two 15-year-old Monogram decals, on what looks to be thick, glossy film. They are for the First Lunar Landing model. I'm refurbishing the lunar module (which I built 15 years ago...) and am finally going to add those decals. The decals are in very good shape, not yellowed or anythin...

I had the chance to try it out, and it worked perfectly! Thanks! Any chance a moderator might want to add the link to one of the sticky threads? It is a simple answer to an oft-asked problem. Jeff Toss a standard 1N4148 signal diode across R2 to shorten the ON time Basic circuit is here -> http://ww...

I've used All Electronics (www.allelectronics.com) a few times with good results. They send a hardcopy catalog occasionally, it's always fun to look through.

Jeff

SCC-7107 USS Atlantis wrote: Toss a standard 1N4148 signal diode across R2 to shorten the ON time

Basic circuit is here -> http://www.citlink.net/~starwinddesign/ ... 0timer.jpg

Atlantis

That sounds just like what I was after. I'll give it a go--thanks!

Jeff

Howdy folks, I have a newbie-lighting question here. I successfully built my first 555-based LED blinker today. Using R1=10K ohms and R2=1M ohms with a 1 microfarad capacitor, I got an LED blinking at a little less than 1Hz with a 50% on/50% off. I'd rather have the thing blinking at that frequency,...

Howdy all, I'm going to start on my first lighted kit, and am really stymied on how I can attach the model to a brass rod with wiring running through it. And not just this particular kit, but any hollow model to a brass rod. How do you make an "insert" or whatever for the inside of the mod...

Howdy, 'Tis the season for finding cheap LEDs for model lighting, cunningly disguised as holiday lights. In addition to the usual AC powered strings of LEDs, my local Target had $5 sets of ~15 miniature LEDs, in white and mixed R/G/B/Y (about 4 of each LED per strand on the mixed color sets). Each L...

Hi. I have had the same tub of Aves for over a year, and I have not experienced this. I do "knead" my part B once in a while, though (into a ball), and then I put it back in the tub with the lid on tight. I find it keeps it soft, flexible, and easier to use. I have never mixed mine with a...

Howdy all, I bought one of the Aves sampler packs from the SSM store. The sculpt worked wonders, I'm never going back to the various red & green putties. Here's my trouble. I used the sculpt to feather in a large area where two parts join. The first result was pretty good, but there were some sc...