Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

This is really an advanced scratchbuilding topic, but I use superglue almost exclusively, precisely because it doesn't have good sheer strength, and because it takes several seconds to cure. Because alignment is usually so critical, especially with the much smaller scale of the projects I pursue, if...

Nobody starts off scratchbuilding feeling great. Trust me, I know. But the thing to remember is that with every project, you learn something new. It's a process. Another thing to remember is that you don't give up just because you run into difficulty. Difficulty is an important part of the learning...

You can also use PVA white glue, like Elmers. It sounds like it wouldn't be permanent, but at that scale, the glue has a remarkable amount of strength. Plus it dries translucent. The way you use it is to smear some over the windows you're trying to fill, wipe the excess away gently with a wet rag, ...

Your timing is pretty good. Easter is coming. Another good source for engine bells are plastic Easter eggs. Unfortunately, there is no associated Engine/fuel-turbine section and its associated piping, but that can either be hidden and/or implied inside the main body of the ship.

I've made 1/1400 and 1/2500 PE figures (less than 1mm long and less than 0.25 mm wide) with the Press N' Peel and an iron - which produces less than great results. Sub millimeter resolution is not the problem. The main issues with the toner transfer method are getting large areas of toner to stick ...

I won't repeat what's been extensively researched, but my take on DIY photo-etch, is the most critical aspect is getting good resolution of the imprint of the acid-resist on the blank. The pasta-machine laminator is only poor resolution. The slightly better motorized laminator is better. But for sub...

I had to go back to my first encounter with a Hovertank, namely, _Hammer's_Slammers_ by David Drake. As a former military man, I believe he thought the entire weapon system through, so it all works. Drake solves the recoil problem using two "technologies." First, he eliminates the recoil e...

The armor & larger scale A/C modelers also swear by punch and die sets for making rivet heads. The punch out a series of very small discs and apply them as needed. Couple of swipes with a high number sandpaper, and the discs become rounded.

For rivets, look at Futch's handy home made rivet-tool: http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog1.html http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog2.html http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog3.html http://futchfactor.com/rivettool/prog4.html Goodness, I have a finish nail setting tool that has this same prof...

Last Christmas Coke had the nice spherical ornament cokes. As the holidays near--be on the lookout for a repeat. Definitely check out the craft supply stores, Michael's and A.C. Moore during the holidays. Lots of folks like making their own ornaments, or putting some sentimental item inside a clear...

Hi there. I was just wondering if anyone out there is able to do consistent quality vaccuum-forming? I'd be looking to have some clear canopies done as a small run. Please don't hesitate to PM me if you're able to offer this service. Thanks in advance! Truth be told, making your own Vac-former is n...

I've been hoping for years that Plastruct (or Evergreen) would come out with some larger styrene tubing sizes but they still haven't, and that's really weird. Plastruct has lotsa big "But Rate" tubing but still no styrene larger than 3/8" diameter, as far as I can see. :? Maybe their...

If you want to do a quick & dirty model of something, google's sketchup is fairly intuitive, or at the very least, the learning curve is not bad. Its fairly good if what you are 'drawing' is made up of objects similar to pre-k building blocks. I even managed to take an existing mesh of the TOS E...

Or should I say Wings & Blender since the two programs actually compliment each other in features vs. ease of use. FYI, my goals with working with meshes are two fold. 1. I want to generate accurate (model) construction blueprints. While some of the 'flat' material available on the interest are ...

So I've had a short amount of time to play with both Blender and Wings. Haven't really tried to do to much with Wings vs. Blender, but I can say this, Blender comes up quickly, and loads (nay imports) files very quickly without nary a complaint. Wings takes a very long time to load a mesh/es and its...

While checking out Cardmodels.net I found an article on using Rhino to make a 3D design that can be printed. I'm not yet ready to start making paper models, but the principals & software involved are very useful in scratchbuilding out of plastic card. One cool program mentioned is Wings3d . It'...