Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I use a couple of thin metal rulers as a folding tool for photo etch. :wink: #-o Why didn't I think of that? All this time I've been struggling trying to fold photoetch using chopsticks. :P .. and believe me... trying to use chopsticks while wearing these http://www.geekstuff4u.com/thanko-usb-warme...

Perhaps some consideration should be put into making joints replacable (e.g. like in Revoltech figures)?

If you're trying to resize an existing model or drawing to another scale, then it's easiest understand what you're doing by breaking it down into two steps. Given a model or drawing of scale "A", determine the size of the "real" article. Once you have this value, you can compute ...

Four words for you: "Konga, a Mulher-Gorila". Do you know this carnival side-show illusion? The woman who turns into a gorilla? It's done with mirrors. If you angle it correctly, you can have the F-14 in one "box" and the "flame" in another, with a black background, li...

Aside from the ink beading up on the surface and rubbing off, another problem you'll likely see is the colours shifting in weird ways. That's what I remember seeing whenever someone tried to print on ID badge inserts that were to be laminated. When printed, the colours wouldn't match what you'd get ...

Okay, I put a saucepan with water on the stove, put the spraycan in it and turned on the flame... now what?
Hrm... I'm sort'a in a hurry so I'll put it on High for now...
...
waitiminit... If I use one of those turkey deep-fryer thingies... that'll get 'er done in no time flat!

Davey (Rocketeer, I seriously considered building several circular bulkheads to do the wraparound trick. Unfortunately, I want a thicker hull than .01 sheet; I like to play with my models, and I could probably put my finger through .01) You don't have to leave it just one layer... As he stated, do ...

Now if only one could do a "reverse-transform" of "tilt-shift"...
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11 ... otography/

Have you tried "plunge forming" (aka "heat-n-mash") a go? Used to do that to make canopies and various small plastic parts (e.g. wheel pants, cowl blisters, etc.) for "peanut-scale" (12"~13" wingspan) model aeroplanes. Somewhat crude method but works OK. http:...

Here's an analogy - not a very good one, but hopefully you will get the idea... Think of the current in a circuit as cards driving down a road. The battery can supply a large number of cars coming out one after the other as quickly as possible. The LED is a small bridge in the road. If the cars com...

I wonder how it compares to this: http://www.makerbot.com/

Has anyone ever tried turning a foam shape on a lathe? I want to make a round fuselage shape like the space ark or Mercury 9. Perhaps you could use hot-wire cutter and rig similar to is described in article titled "How To Make Your Own Custom Foam Nosecones" http://www.apogeerockets.com/e...

Anybody try any of these items out?
http://www.meritline.com/27-pieces-magi ... 34424.aspx
http://www.meritline.com/164pcs-diy-ass ... 40164.aspx

How about running in a VM (virtual machine -- basically run an emulator) ? If your version of Win7 qualifies (when announced, it was originally it was limited to Win7 Professional and Win7 Ultimate only, but it seems that they extended it to include Win7 Home Premium) to use "XP Mode" VM (...

You want afforadble?
http://www.makerbot.com/

Of course if you want pointy-looking aircraft then why not XB-70? http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?166110-Historical-Aircaft-XB-70-Valkyrie. Okay, the nose might be too "pointy" for your usage, but perhaps the cockpit "tub" could be used? Come to think of it......

Basically you want the pylons to be "flat" with respect to direction of travel -- meaning that as seen directly from front or directly from back, the leading edge and trailing edges of the pylons should be parallel. For dihederal wings, the leading edge will meet the saucer at a point high...

Aside from vacuform, have you considered possiblity of paper-mache style of fabrication?

An additional wrench in the works is that I only have one hand, so using string is pretty much out of the question since I can't really tie it. I have been able to use weights, bottles, etc. to get some of the pieces into a stable position for glueing, but some of them are just too awkward. What ab...

They are not obscenely warped, but enough that they don't fit together properly. Most of the pieces are for the scaffolding framework on the launch pad, so clamping them would not work. Super glue has worked pretty well so far, but there are some areas that will take more stress and I am afraid the...

Yep.... I too have a pile of the clear CD cases -- all with the hinge part broken (they pretty much fail in the same place too). Have been saving them because they looked like useful material for scratchbuilding.

http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/vie ... hp?t=83633
Perhaps the site referenced doesn't actually give actual details of construction, but does give some ideas regarding transformation.

Speaking of batteries and discharge rate... I recall how hot standard AA batteries got when running one of those mini-4WD cars (like the ones from Tamiya) for a minute or two when using one of those high-RPM motors (the ones with the heatsink). Not brave enough to see what it would be like with Lipo...

ajmadison wrote:BTW, another good plastic polish is in your bathroom. Toothpaste!

Not only does it leave it gleaming white, you've got a minty-fresh scent!

Nem Via (who posts here) built a TMP drydock from scratch last year (or finished it, rather). You can see his WIP pics and notes here . Scroll down the tags to "sttmpproject" and "sttmpprojectptii". His is 1:350, to go with his PL Enterprise, but the mechanics should be similar ...

Google search of images http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=spaceduck&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&start=0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . oh, wait... that was for "spaceduck" not "spacedock"... nevermi...

Not sure if the papercraft might be of interest at:
http://aliens.humlak.cz/
(Look under the "BONUS MODELS" section.
If the menu doesn't show up, try clicking on the "BANNER MENU" item on the right-hand-side)

Yep, that's what they're referring to. The plugs and sockets are available in either stereo or mono, and come in various sizes. I've seen these plugs and sockets available at stores like Radio Shack and similar stores. You should also be able to also find various power connectors of different types ...

How 'bout Lego? If it worked for Shoji Kawamori, didn't it? (referring to TV interview in which he demonstrated how used a Lego prototype to work out details of the VF-25 mecha from "Macross Frontier") BTW does anybody else remember a book from the late 1970s or early 1980s which had illus...

Simple. Go put on several layers of clothing, then stand in a sauna with the heat turned on high.
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Oh, wait... You asked for inspiration, not perspiration... never mind then.