Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I'll typically test on an unseen area. If Tenax or ProWeld affect it, it's ABS or styrene. If CA grabs hold it's acrylic. If neither affect it go with a hot primer or adhesion promoter and hope. That's a good idea. I don't yet have enough experience with adhesion promoter to say that if you use it ...

Considering the unknown composition of the plastic, it might be good to first coat it with some of the "Adhesion Promoter" sold with the spray paint at stores such as AutoZone or Pep Boys.

Qapla'

SSB

Or you can drill the hole out, clamp the sheet between two sacrificial holders, drill through all three at once. The holders will help to keep the material from climbing up the bit. This is essentially the idea I had myself. It is likely the one I'll try first, as I have more than one sheet of appr...

I have some fairly thin brass sheet (not paper thin, but pretty thin nonetheless -- maybe .010 to .020 at most). I want to cut openings in the stuff without warping the sheet overall. The openings wouldn't be smaller than what a 16th-inch drill bit would make, and most would be much larger. What's t...

I stumbled across this page chock-full of mostly painting-related ideas while searching for something else. Some of these will be old hat to many of us, and some might not work as easily in practice as the page makes it sound, but some were brand-new to me, are quite intriguing and seem promising. O...

Stu Pidasso wrote:FIRE

Points for efficacy, but aegrescit medendo.

Qapla'

SSB

Thanks, guys. I was able to fix the brush she wanted to use with a soaking for a few hours in Superclean.

Qapla'

SSB

My wife uses loads of Apple Barrel-type craft paint for her various crafts. While she is an excellent artist ( far better than I am with traditional media, without question), she is not very careful with her brushes. Some of those she really likes have thick, dry paint clogging the bristles. Will Te...

Talking to one of the RC guys at the local Hobbytown yesterday -- and my best Google-fu -- has me convinced that RC aircraft spinners don't exist at the size I need. However, the head of the machine shop here at work offered to turn aluminum stock on a lathe to make the parts I need for that end of ...

Okay -- both of these replies echo much of what I had guessed would be true. What I'm trying to create here are the engine finials for the N1 Naboo Starfighter -- sized for the Hasbro version, so the finials alone should be about five inches long. The toy comes with finials that are way too short by...

Okay, that was what I always thought and the way I always worked, but I had seen some people who appeared to have made it work. Sometimes it can be a little inconvenient to have to remove primer, but I guess I'll keep doing it. Thanks for the replies!

Qapla'

SSB

I have one of those projects where success requires a "found item" in the proper shape. It has taken me nearly 15 years, but I've finally found said item. Problem is, the piece I found is made of clear styrene. Naturally, it isn't perfect as-is. For one thing, it has a couple of "fins...

I see builds sometimes where it appears people have added parts to a kit they've already primed, and sometimes read accounts that seem to indicate some glues will adhere to primer, but I had always presumed it would not. I'm reasonably sure regular model cement wouldn't work, but what about CA and/o...

I'm gearing up, so help me, to start serious work on the AMT 1/420 Defiant . I know I won't be satisfied with this one without lighting it, but I really know nothing about where to get what I need, how to determine what I need in the first place, and what to do with it. I do have a friend who would ...

Been a while since anyone posted to this thread, but I didn't see this particular topic covered. Has anyone used one of the Tektronix (now Xerox) Phaser or ColorQube laser printers that uses NOT toner but "solid ink" — essentially blocks of wax similar to a crayon? If so, can you use the s...

Make a "rubbing" of the existing panel lines. Place a sheet of tracing paper over the area you wish to duplicate and rub the area with a soft pencil held sidewise or a piece of pastel chalk. Refine the line with a French curve if necessary, then stick the paper to a sheet of 0.020 in. sty...

Well, I've searched several different sets of terms and haven't found anything promising on this (more general terms yielded lots of results, but the threads were certainly not specific to the subject and I don't have time to wade through 35 threads for what is likely a passing mention). So, what's ...

I prefer the cordless 8220 12v. Have the torque for low speed work but can chew the hell out of things if need be. Save yourself some hassle and buy a second battery. On my way into work I stopped at Lowe's and hemmed and hawed a couple of minutes over the Micro versus the 8220. My hands are fairly...

I have the rare opportunity to get something I would like to have as a Christmas gift but which my wife has also spoken of wanting — a Dremel. I would, of course, use it as a model-building tool, with general household use as well. My wife does various craft projects and makes jewelry, usually with ...

Hey guys ... Sometimes I need to cut small materials on my small hobby-size miter boxes. Another project I have going requires me to make straight cuts in PVC pipe -- I do have a larger hardware-store-type miter box as well. Anyone have any tricks on how to hold the materials in place in the box so ...

Very helpful and good catch. Is there anything in injection plastic, resin or vinyl models that is polypropylene or polyethylene? Says it won't work for those. Some toys are made with these types of plastic. Many are reporting success by applying an adhesion promoter spray (from an auto parts store...

Just wanted to point out that the JB Weld site has a FAQ with some useful information (see http://www.jbweld.com/faqs/ ). One point it makes (rather strongly) regards the use of surface cleaners prior to use, stating "We recommend using acetone or lacquer thinner. In the absence of these two, s...

What I typically do is print on paper and then apply a thin coat of white glue to the plastic (or the paper), place the paper on the plastic and let it dry. Then you can cut the plastic and soak the cut pieces in lukewarm soapy water, which will make the glue release.

Qapla'

SSB

Okay; thanks for the reply. I seem to have a knack for asking tough to answer questions.

I waited another couple of hours, and decided to go ahead and wet-sand. Seemed to work well and stay where I wanted it to be and yet sand away fairly easily where I didn't.

Qapla'

SSB

I used JB Weld on a styrene model about eight hours ago, both for its iron grip and, at the same time, as a filler for a few seams. I smoothed it with wax paper, so it isn't very thick. I've noticed before that if it gets a full 24 hours to cure, it can be similar to sanding CA — hard as a rock and ...

I use a few pieces of flat steel I got from the machine shop here at work -- some are smaller but thicker and relatively heavy, and one or two are thinner (between an eighth- and a quarter-inch) but with much more surface area. Some of these also make good pieces to use for evenly distributing clamp...

Have you looked at knitting/crochet needles? I took a look at some yesterday at Wal-Mart, whjich was the only place I got to try this weekend. The ones I saw there were much too small and didn't appear to taper, but that doesn't mean that larger ones can't be found and that none of them taper. What...

I've used these in the past, and I usually sand the printed areas at least partially, always presuming that not doing so would be like trying to glue painted parts. I also try to buy signs with less printing overall. For those out there who use these signs, have you tried gluing without removing the...

Anyone know of a source for this sort of thing — in a material that will take glue and paint? I want to modify a couple of Republic Gunships — one the Hasbro toy, and the other the little Revell kit. I need to make the the little ball guns that swing out from the interior to either side and have a c...

One of the things I'm working on are replacement engine "cans" for a 1/24(ish) X-wing. I know the original studio models used the cans from a 1/32 F-4 Phantom model, but those kits are too expensive for one thing (especially as I'd need two such kits), and I'm not sure they would actually ...