Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

What I've done in similar situations is cut narrow strips of lead foil, then wrap them around the rod, using super glue to hold everything together. Overlap the ends of the strip, then do a bit of filing to smooth out the overlap.

If you want a larger diameter, just wrap around again.

Just a small update: I decided to go with hemispheres, and the magnetic effector-thingies from the Dick Tracy Space Coupe kit were perfect.

DeltaVee wrote:Thanks, Rocketeer,
And then you use turpentine to wipe off the excess?

There's not much excess; I do it more as a "pin wash" with wash applied only exactly where I want it. If there's too much, I pull it off (before it's dry) with a brush dampened with thinner.

I thin oil washes with odorless turpentine. If you use linseed oil you don't really get a wash, you get a glaze. I don't usually even mix up a "batch" of wash; I put a blob of oil paint (usually either Burnt Umber or Burnt Sienna) on a file card, then dip a brush in thinner, then dab at th...

Thanks for all the suggestions!

The fishing floats are a liiiiiittttle too big, and the Plastruct spheres a bit too thick--but I suppose I could vac-form something over a Plastruct hemisphere if I needed to. I was hoping for something ready-made, though.

Anybody got a good source for hollow styrene spheres in the 3/8 to 1/2 inch range? I need a couple for a Land Ironclad project I'm gathering parts for. I looked at fishing floats, but they're too big. Ideally, one of you guys would say, "Oh, yeah, they make those for Gundams. You need to order ...

A couple things come to mind. The way Ed "Big Daddy" Roth did all his wild show cars was to build a mockup out of wood, wadded newspapers, and plaster, then fiberglass over that, then knock out the plaster stuff with a big hammer. (That is, he built a male mold.) The fiberglass shell becam...

Tamiya rattlecans are the paint God would make if he were in the paint business. That said, I did have problems with the gloss clear attacking decals on a Rambler model I built. It seemed to soften and shrink them. I finally (fourth try) applied the first couple coats very lightly, then the later on...

Callandor wrote:An additional wrench in the works is that I only have one hand...

You just keep making it tougher and tougher; next you'll be wanting to do it underwater!

Can you call in your wife or kid to daub glue on things while you hold them? Sometimes I have to do that.

Tenax 7-R dries quick.

Uh... That's because NONE of those formats are photo files. It's called PHOTObucket for a reason. For other types of files, you will need a different service. This thread, on my second-favorite message board, has some recommendations for file-sharing sites. IANAL, YMMV, etc. http://boards.straightd...

I use Tamiya grey and white primers in rattlecans. Goes on real fine, doesn't obscure detail, no airbrush cleanup. The grey covers well, the white not so well--but better than most white primers. By far the best rattlecan primers I've used. That said, they don't fill very well either; but I can live...

For extremely tight curves (zero radius) in light material, (say, wood up to maybe 1/4 inch thick) get a scroll saw. For not-so-tight curves (down to perhaps 1/2 inch radius) in heavier materials, get a band saw. I own a band saw, and I use it a lot for carpentry-type projects. For modeling, not so ...

Chrome plating on models consists of three layers: a clear coat of conductive paint; a layer of aluminum; and a final layer of clearcoat to protect the aluminum. Obviously, the 409 removed the final clearcoat and the layer of aluminum; did it remove the first layer of clear conductive paint, too? I ...

Cut plastic sheet to shape, scribe appropriate lines, cover with Bare-Metal foil, paint with Tamiya clear blue and Smoke mixed about half-and-half, add dark wash in scribed lines? I've never done it, but that'd be my first try.

The tamiya pure white left a nice finish but it looks like a semi-gloss white in most of the areas. It looks shiney in light with some areas glossier than others, maybe more paint got onto the glossier parts. I think the decal will be ok on there however, adding a clear coat of some kind brushed on...

Finally, another trick I use for creating circles in the 7mm to 1.5 cm range is to take a section of tubing the right diameter and glue it "edge on" to your plasticard. Roughly cut the plasticard around the tubing. Then spin with your fingers, the tubing & the rough polygonal shape ag...

Stu Pidasso wrote:

Rocketeer wrote:I've done it to cut a skeleton's jaw away from the rest of the skull. Worked great.

I bet you're great at parties...

Hardly. Imagine the dullest imaginable person, then multiply by 1.5, and you're getting close to the black hole of dullness that is Rocketeer.

Well, there are two advantages to this method over a saw: One, the kerf is very narrow, and two, you can change directions with no trouble at all. It's not the do-all, end-all of cutting methods, but there certainly are places where it's the best choice.

I've done it to cut a skeleton's jaw away from the rest of the skull. Worked great. The skeleton was styrene and I used ordinary cotton thread. I was a bit surprised--you get to sawing away, and the friction melts the plastic; makes a very narrow cut.

I've never worked with Aves, but from what I've heard it ought to do fine. Milliput's hardening time depends on ambient temperature; after about half an hour, it's cured enough to peel away the plastic sheets, but flexible enough to be formed into a cape. After about an hour, it's not workable any m...

Put a blob of Milliput between two sheets of clear flexible plastic (like a big ziploc bag). Roll it out with a rolling pin until it's maybe 0.040 thick. Wait half an hour or so until the putty is partially set; peel off the plastic; cut to shape. Attach to the figure's shoulders with superglue or p...

I've had bad experiences with Testors clear yellowing, but that was long ago, and they may have changed their formulation since. Because of that, I got leery of Testors, and I've been using a lot of Tamiya clear lately; it does not seem to yellow. On a model car I built four years there's no sign of...

I've used it over Tamiya gloss black spray paint successfully--doesn't necessarily have to be Alclad's black basecoat.

I would be inclined to start with a rectangular section, cut it down to a triangular section using my bandsaw, then clean up the saw marks using 120-grit sandpaper glued to a big flat board (or maybe 220 grit wet). The bandsaw's a great tool for roughing out shapes.

Chacal wrote:For that size, you may be better off with tubing anyway, because tubing (in any convex shape) bends/sags less per unit of length than a solid with the same shape (really) under the same load.

I think you meant to say that tubing sags less than a solid rod of the same weight.

Kylwell wrote:Hit a good train store, they're have corrugated metal sheets in a variety of sizes/scales.

www.walthers.com is probably the definitive train stuff supplier on the Internet. Go run a search there; I'm sure you'll find something useable.

Usually you build the basic ground shape out of some kind of putty (I've used Milliput for a small dio, but usually use Celluclay for larger--I've also heard of using modelling clay (plasticine), then coating with white glue), then coat the whole thing with thinned white glue and sprinkle on ground ...

I don't like to build straight out of the box--I prefer to put my own spin on things. OOB stands for Omigod Overly Boring.

Chacal wrote:...not to mention the gentler burns when handling the plastic, compared to the ones gotten by touching glowing hot glass.

Yeah, the burns are inevitable; you might as well try to minimize them.