Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Rogviler wrote:So far every time I've see a video with someone saying "deck-ull" they turn out to be from Canada.

Ask us about soldering, too!

(sodder, for Canadians; not sol-durr, or soldier, or however Johnny Foreigner pronounces it. )

Got mine yesterday. It arrived in a surprisingly nice faux-leather box with magnetic clasp. Cheap, but better than the loose-in-packing-peanuts that I was expecting. Biggest challenge was neither my Badger nor Paasche connectors would fit it. Fortunately I had a hose scavenged from some ancient comp...

Thanks for the review. I bought the same brush, same price, same seller, last week. Still waiting for it to arrive.
Good to know the gamble might pay off with a halfway-decent airbrush.

Will definitely note the fragile nozzle.

Okay, good to know. However, that starts bringing the price up. Might I be better off just getting something like THIS? Nice thing about your first choice is the tank. I've got a 5-gallon tank on mine, and I let it fill up, shut the power off, and airbrush in silence until I have to fill the tank a...

Used to make the mold, rather than the cast, corn starch can be useful for small stuff or quick one-offs:
Link (sorry, it's an instructable. Can't stand their formatting)

I know the topic is moving away from Krylon Fusion, but I've had good results with it. Decanting it for the airbrush, I thinned it a bit more with lacquer thinner and it sprayed smoothly over Dupli-color primer. It also mixes with other paints, or at least the alkyd paints I was using. results on a ...

What type of primer are you using? Some primers just don't get along with certain paints. How long are you letting the primer dry? I always wait a couple days unless my primer and paint are the same brand (or I know from experience that they get along). How heavily are you applying the metallic pain...

Yep, Tamiya tape rocks. I've used the slightly frosted Scotch tape as well, which can be cut very accurately and doesn't have as much adhesion as regular clear tape. Got some Parafilm on order from ebay. Something like 4" x 10' - likely more than I'll need in a lifetime. I look forward to tryin...

Wow, and...wow!:shock:

I'd fly that for a dollar!

Are those Michael's paints just regular craft acrylics? The pigments might be too large to make an effective transparent coat. I've used Future with Tamiya acrylics as well as various inks. What are you painting? If you're trying to tint clear parts, then I wouldn't use paint, no matter how thinned,...

eeun, can you get the Cricut deep cut blade and try again? According to the website, the deep cut blade is good for "material up to 1.5 mm thick. Use it for chipboard, wood veneer, magnet sheets, vinyl, and much more!" It doesn't mention is the cuts will be straight, however :8) It's sold...

I promised I'd document my testing of the Cricut Expression when it arrived. For those who want to skip the sordid details, it's not a good styrene cutter. Here we go: the cutter itself The Cricut Expression is a die cutting machine. It has a small blade attached to the moving head, and the blade fr...

The Chopper is also really handy with positioning jigs if you need to cut out several parts the same size/angle.

Used mine recently to cut out about two dozen approx. 2mm trapezoids to use as Gundam greeblies. Just flipped the plastic over with each cut to make the shape.

I started out thinning my Tamiya with methyl hydrate. No problems at all. Switched over to isopropyl only because I ran out of the former. One works as well as the other. Beware that some acrylics (Createx, and some but not all "craft" paints) will turn into a horrible gelatinous goop if y...

Lacquer thinner will dissolve enamels very effectively. If you haven't used it to clean the airbrush before, it may have loosened older paint stuck inside the airbrush, and not had time to completely dissolve it. It's a lot more aggressive than mineral spirits or alcohol. Lacquer will also dissolve ...

For the final flat coat I use Testors Dullcote from the bottle, cut 50-50 with lacquer thinner and airbrushed on in light coats, I've used the spraycan in the past but find it hard to control. Seconded. I've had very good results with light coats of a dullcoat/lacquer mix. The spray can is okay, bu...

Something that dries clear like a white glue for wood or paper will work well.

Superglues can cause frosting on clear parts, and anything solvent based can, as you predicted, damage the paint as well as the clear parts.

I've used the regular Createx paints with okay results. I do find them harder to work with than conventional acrylic model paints and have pretty much abandoned mine. The pigments are a bit thicker than dedicated model paints as well. I thinned them with Future Floor Acrylic, about 4 parts paint to ...

I like to shoot lots of different colors, then overspray the whole thing with a single thin transparent shade of grey to tie it all together. This turns into This. I've always done it the other way, and sprayed panel shades on top of the base coat. I like your way better! How do you mix your transp...

On a canvas, you might have a blob of oil paint a quarter of an inch think - possibly more depending on the enthusiasm of the artist and the style of painting. So yes, it can take ages to dry. There's Japan drier to accelerate the drying process, but I've not heard of model builders needing to use i...

I've used Goo-Gone and a toothbrush on ABS computer cases before, with good results. Should in theory work just as well on Styrene. Didn't eliminate it 100%, but should give you enough removal for a re-prime without getting bleed-through (hopefully!) It won't harm the plastic at all, and a good soap...

Testors Dullcoat over Future works fine. The only important thing to note, and this is from experience*, is to make sure any coat is cured before applying a dissimilar top coat. I now give my Future several days to cure before I'd cover it with dullcoat. Likewise, with anything except acrylics, I gi...

Micro-Weld rocks. I'm attempting to get my model building reasonably non-toxic, and Micro-Weld was a great find. Smells like oranges. The only disadvantages are I find it leaves the plastic at the seam a touch softer than with, say, Testor's Liquid Cement, and it won't work over painted plastics. Se...

Do a lot of testing first. Trust me on this. I'm on my third attempt at painting a Bandai 1/144 Gerbera Tetra a transparent red over silver and gold, and I'm likely going to have to strip it again. The first attempt used humbrol aluminum as the base coat, and Testors metallic red, and in attempt #2,...

Sweet. I suppose you could use the same technique with any two dissimilar paints (acrylic over enamel/alkyd). Reminds me of antiquing method my mom used during the big home-ceramics craft thing in the 70s. She painted up the whatever-it-was-this-week, had it fired, then used black or brown enamels o...

You could probably get all the information you need for a Dagobah diorama from the amazing one Fichtenfoo recently completed: linky.

I really don't understand the "OOB is Boring" sentiment. If it goes together quickly, then spend more time on finishing. Construction is only half the process. A variety is what keeps my interest in the hobby strong, and I don't find an OOB easier than a scratch or bash, or vice versa. Eac...

It's good for simple shapes, but unfortunately I don't think Aves is the best option for making more complicated molds. That said, I just used some of my wife's oil-based skin stuff for squishing Aves between two plastic parts. Feels like mineral oil, but more expensive. ;) I needed to make an eyepi...

I've tried some pearl-finish nail polish, thinned with lacquer thinner. It was had a blue tint, but thinned out enough and sprayed over black it just left this nice blue/green/purple glow depending on the angle. Applying several coats of Future once it cured gave it a nice shine. Other polishes I've...