Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Basically blues, but that will depend on which color will "key". Basically anything close to that color will not show, so give yourself a bit of latitude (that's why there were no "blue' X-Wing squadron onscreen) and stick to grays, reds and yellows/oranges. Greens are a bit too close...

Is the 'spine' going to be some 16 inches long (or thereabouts), right? 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. Under extreme load, however, tubes c...

Is the section triangular of more trapezoidal?

The leg has a constant section or does it thin down toward the ankle?

Is the 'triangular' (trapezoidal) section self-similar all the way (do the internal angles remain the same throughout)?

Because it would be madness! MADNESS I say! MADNESS!!

Are you supposed to apply pressure to the silicone as it cures? I was under the impression one would pressure cast the resin, and put the silicone RTV in a vacuum prior to laying it onto the mold box, then leaving it be until cured.

First of all, glue the canopy back together. After that, depending on your skills you can: a) smash mold (thermoform) a new one over the original; b) make an RTV mold and a resin copy; c) use it as a template to build a new one from flat clear plastic (as all X-Wing cockpit 'glass' panels are flat, ...

Black velvet. A thin strip of black velvet folded over itself and glued to the inside lip, protruding enough to push against the other side when closed.

Resin/RTV ain't cheap, but starting with some small, no-pressure (I mean no pressure to get it right, not anything about pressure-casting) one-part moldable greeblie is a great way of getting acquainted with the process. It pays to hone your skills before you attempt to cast a foot-long, highly-deta...

What we need is a good slide rule (not a circular one) in which we could take the model/blueprint measurements directly and read the scale-converted values right there. Hmmmm. [runs to the patent office]

Sylafari wrote:The bed is indeed huge about i dunno i'm estimating but about 2 meters by 1 meter

Aha! Just the right size for a British secret agent.

The important thing to consider is that even if you can get accurate blueprints from the site's illustration (the outlines are thick enough to be more than a yard thick in scale), and build a model perfectly accurate to those blueprints, the model itself may feel kinda wonky in the flesh, because al...

Maybe put the light at the bottom and have a mirror at the top? Or at least have a mirror at the bottom to bounce more light back up the tunnel/rod. I second that. It allows for a bigger 'bulb' (in both physical size and power consumption) and avoids the 'wire up the rod' problem. For a whole foot ...

Olfa has'em, for one.

Funny, huh?

Instead of racking our brains with slip rings and power transmission, why not have the rotating section's lights powered by a battery? An inconspicuous battery compartment 'hatch' should be easier to make than a slip ring. Or... Put the LEDs on the stationary portion, with focusing lenses shining th...

Around these parts, the process is known as 'mushrooming' the fiber. The best, most reliable heat source is indeed a cigarette lighter. Yes, you can use any heat source, but lighters are superior because they can be put off easily (try that with a soldering iron!) and the flame can be controlled wit...

Plastic fibers can be cut individually with a very sharp XActo on a flat hard surface (glass is nice), but the best optical results are achieved by using hot knives (thing XActo blade on a soldering iron).

TREKKRIFFIC wrote:Try shooting it into the crack with a hypodermic syringe...

I've tried using my 'hypodermic needle', but alcohol softened the needle. I pushed the plunger too soon anyway, so it just dripped on the floor...

i'm looking for some thing that is glass clear. i'm planning to see rooms that i'm building on the other side. for example i want to cast the bridge section clear so that you can see the bridge i'm building through the dome.plus many other ideas. Maybe for that specific purpose it would be best to ...

And a good way to make the X-Wing disappear into the murk is to add the murk in layers, pigmenting it more the deeper it lays. Mix a first (bottom) layer with a dark pigment (which will make the 'water' more opaque) and some dye (brown, green, black — it'll depend on the kind of 'water' you want). G...

Mechanical means: wires, screws... A few plastics (almost all of the ones used in deodorant and food containers) are notoriously 'ungluable'. Some will accept forms of hot-melt glue, some not even that. If you can add wires looped through the part (like a shirt button) and attach those wires to the ...

You gotta make sure the mirror ball motor can spin the model. Mirror balls are unbelievably light for their size (a big styrofoam ball with mirrors glued onto it), and place almost no load to the motor. The 16" ball probably weighs less than 1/10 of the Big Refit 'E'. I'd suggest finding the mo...

There's a 'feathery' look to them. I mean you get a feather (maybe from an old feather duster), ruffle it up, snip a few of the barbs, paint it green and add some flaked green-dyed sawdust to the wet paint, you might get something close to it.

You can cleave Mr. Bond in twain with that! (Even if he talks)

This is one of those things that can only be settled by practical experiments.

How heavy will the rest of the AT-AT be? That's the important question, which will define what material to use for the legs. If I had to do it, I'd use aluminum profiles (square tubes, L beams etc. — which are easy to find and cheap down here) epoxy glued and riveted together (pop rivets to hold whi...

Labware glass tubing? It bends nicely with a torch and some blowing to keep it from collapsing. Then you paint it.

Get the wires inside the pipe beforehand, add other stuff, like thick nylon monofilament until the whole tube is 'packed' with parallel strands. Then gently heat and bend it, leaving the 'filler' inside to keep it from collapsing.

I didn't get the question. That's the essence of the effect: slower than "X", flicker. Faster than "X" smooth motion. The only 'in between' is at speeds in which some folk see blinky, while other folk see smoothy.

Not in Southern California and at least not with blue/pink foam, or anything similar. The blue and pink foam that I have I got from a friend back in Astronomy; they bought several sheets to insulate some electronics, and they were "imported" from out of state. How do houses keep the cool ...