Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Are the 9V and 12 V power suplies different? If they are the 12V supply is pulsed DC. Somewhere on it you'll see a symbol that looks like a dashed line.

Epoxy

Is that like an acrylic modeling paste or a gel medium?

http://www.liquitex.com/modelingpaste/

I know a couple of people who say they like it but I've never seen them use it.

Mike

Are you really going after a patent? Last time I checked you could expect legal fees in the $5000 range.

Superclean

This is from eleven years ago but it's still the best review of paint and chrome strippers.

http://www.bonediggers.com/1-3/strip/strip.html

Thanks

Thanks Everyone!

Mike

Where can I buy lamp oil locally? I use it to remove stickers from plastic. It is far more effective and was less expensive than Goo Gone. Hardware stores and Walmart sold it at affordable prices. Now I can only find it at Michaels in small bottles at high prices. Amazon sells it but I'd prefer buyi...

Whatever you do try testing the silicone on the pour stubs you cut off before using it on a part.

Mike

You could tack them in place with a bit of CA then back them with epoxy for strength.

You can cement vinyl with epoxy or CA. Enamel paint will attack vinyl. You can prime vinyl with Mr. Surfacer, Future or most car primers. Paint it with acrylics or acrylic lacquer. If you must use an enamel, put down a good barrier coat of Future first but this might not work. When in doubt test fir...

I buy packs of 3M wet/dry sandpaper from Walmart or Home Depot. When you say "stock up" how much do you want to buy?

If you're starting out you might be better off buying a book because it will go into greater detail and have illustrations. Attending local model club meetings might be even more helpful.

Mike

To prime I airbrush with Mr. Surfacer thinned with Mr. Thinner. However there's a case against priming. One of the most talented and productive aircraft modelers around here doesn't prime. When he's finished airbrushing a model he shoots whatever paint he has left along the seams and problem areas o...

Hi Scotaidh,

The links to he pdfs worked OK for me. I' running the current version of Firefox on an old Widows machine. Right Click, Save Lin As... worked fine.

If you still have trouble, I could email the pdfs or html versions I downloaded a long time ago.

Mike

Could you put the original articles on the main SSM site?

I've never used it but some masking compounds will lift acrylic paint.

Use the recommended thinner and thin it as thin as milk or skim milk.

Thanks robiwon, I thought about cutting the windows form a larger sheet that was already coated with Future but I'm such a clumsy modeler the windows would need to be polished out again before I finished. For people who haven't seen it yet, here's Swanny Models Complete Future. http://www.swannysmod...

I use a similar method for canopies. Pulling the canopy out of the Future dip I keep it oriented so the excess Future runs to a low point and carefully blot it off with a paper coffee filter or two. Coffee filters are less absorbent than paper towels but they have less lint. I place the part on a ne...

A month or two ago a member of the Louisville model club brought a Phlatformer to a meeting. At least I think it was a Phlatformer. He painted it as Phantomformer with F-4 nose-art. It looked like a quality product with a mechanism keeping the hot plastic aligned with the vacuum area so you can slam...

Acetone

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0004.html

Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0359.html

Am I reading this right?

Mike

If you want to use lacquer, Mark S. Gustavson and Robert A.Wick have a great guide here:

http://user.xmission.com/~msgsl/GSL/doc ... hicles.pdf

Mike

Hi MillenniumFalsehood, A regular R/C servo, not a digital servo, has three wires coming out of it power, ground and the control line. The arrangement of the wires varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The control line carries a series of pulses from the receiver or microcontroller to the servo....

You can buy liquid masking compounds in art supply stores and some hobby shops. Any of them should be safe for LEDs. You need to be careful if you use them on paint. Some of them will attack acrylic paint.

Mike

Hey JIPI,

Those are all the same link.

All I get is a page with a single image on it.

I've never tried it but there's also the sludge wash.

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Weathering.html

Mike

Hi chiver, I've used portable air tanks for over a decade. Usually a 5 or 8 gallon tank filled to about 100 psi has enough air to paint a small or medium sized model and clean the airbrush spraying at about 12 to 15 psi. If you buy a tank you'll probably want to pick up some quick disconnects and an...

Hi motivateon,

What are you using it for?

If you airbrush Mr. Surfacer thinned with lacquer thinner, it's no better than any other good primer. If you thin Mr. Surfacer with Mr. Thinner it will not etch plastic and cause ghosting. This makes it better than other primers. I've never tried it myself but a dealer who sells it says he thins it ...