Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I've found that using Naptha as a wash thinner will make all brands of plastic shatter if it sits on it too long. Bandai kits are especially prone to this cracking, and not just from naptha as I've seen the Tamiya spray cans do it as well. Their sprays are about the hottest paints out there, they'll...

I know it's late, but about the brown looing grey decals: My guess is that the reason they come out brown is because the printer is "building" the grey out of all four colors using the four color process. Without white behind them, the inks don't get the required reflectivity, causing them...

Oops, double post. Slow server got me!

Erin
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Question #1- Future isn't better or worse than enamel, it's just different. The key is to use a different type of clear than what you intend to do the wash with so that when you wipe it with thinner to remove the wash it won't remove the paint underneath. If you intend to do a wash using any lacquer...

Just roll an xacto blade on it until it gets a good groove in it, then snap it off like styrene.

Erin
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The same thing Mike linked to, only ready made and hardened for metals, and come in different sizes. Do a google or ebay search for beading tools and they should pop up.

Like this one: link

Erin
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Jeweler's beading tool is what I use. No better, or easier way to make rivets. I also use a pounce wheel when doing lots of them on wings and hulls.

Erin
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Carefully scrape it off with a knife? Other than that, I don't know. Kinda hard to strip one color and not the other once dry.

Erin
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Winn Dixie has it down here in Tampa, so probably there as well. When I went looking it for it they were the only grocery store I found it at, and I tried all of them.
A local janitor supply house had it, too, so if you can't find it, look em up in the yella pages.

Erin
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Another route you can go is floating the decals on with Future. So, what you do is put 2 or 3 thin coats of future on with your airbrush, let it dry overnight. Next day you decal. Cut out the decal as normal, dip in water for 5 seconds, let it sit on the table. Make a small puddle of future on the m...

Solvaset is the hottest one of all the setters, so in my toolbox it's the last resort chemical. Also, once you've put your decal set onto the decal you shouldn't ever touch it, let the chems do their thing and make it lay down on it's own. Apply the decal to where you want it's final resting spot to...

The new inline filters are plastic? Hunh! Mine were metal mesh. Interesting...

Erin
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I'm impatient, so I use naptha thinned oils over future for my washes. Naptha dries in minutes, leaving a nice layer of oils. It tends to weaken and even crack bare plastic, though, so a good coverage with future is essential. I put down at least 4 layers of future before washing; I've screwed up to...

I don't filter anything anymore either, no reason to. If a bottle of paint gets chunky on me now I just toss it, it ain't worth the aggravation. I mainly use Testors MM and Floquil lacquers, and both brands get a certain scent to them when they're no good. When they get that smell, I toss em because...

You could just buy the filter made by Badger; http://www.badgerairbrush.com/access2.htm (Scroll down the page, it's almost at the bottom). Basically it's a tube made of screen that fits over the siphon tube and goes into the bottle. I've used one in the past and found it to be a double edged sword. ...

I'd eliminate the primer. Styrene kits don't really need primer unless you've done a ton of filling of seams, and even then I usually don't prime unless it's dark plastic and the base coat is a light color. Primer is made to fill scratches, so it's a good bet it'll fill panel lines as well. Go ahead...

Well thank ya! But seriously, I've had the first one and now the second and they don't even compare. I gave the first one to Pat, and he fixed it and it still works, but if you get the second one you won't have to fix it!

Enjoy, it really is a great tool!

Erin
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Get the Chopper II. The masonite that the first one and the bigger Chopper III is made of allows for the screws to eventually wear the holes out and it all becomes loose. It's a decent enough tool, but the Chopper II is much much nicer, and a whole bunch more solid.

Erin
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Hmm, I'll have to get a bottle and try it...

Erin
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I dunno, I just kinda eyeball it. You don't need much retarder. Gunze paints can be thinned out big time before they become useless, that's part of the reason I like them. If you're doing a big job using lots of paint, make sure you continually stir it up to keep it in solution. I've noticed that it...

I've used it. It's basically the same stuff as Mr. Surfacer. Don't use lacquer thinner in it though, you'll get spider webbing. I use Mr. Thinner and Mr. Retarder to thin it, so far I haven't found anything else that works without causing the webbing. It's like shooting silly string!

Erin
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http://codyscoop.com/

Erin
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I recently devised a way to hide the knockout pin marks that works great for mecha. Turn em into screw heads! A simple swipe of the scriber (I use a graver) to engrave one line across te circle and tada! it's a screw head.

Erin
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So you just felt you'd start another thread instead of bumping that other one. Dude, you really should read the rules of these forums. Use the other thread.

Erin
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Read the thread about this very technique, it's 10 threads below this one.

Erin
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DO NOT spray the latex through your airbrush! It'll be a nightmare to clean, and I doubt the super thinned paint would dry correctly anyway. Even if it did, it wouldn't stick to the plastic. Even dry, if you touch it it will come right off. Latex is designed for pourous or semi pourous surfaces. Yer...

Send it back to Badger with a note telling them what it's doing and they'll fix it for free. The problem is the rear seal that is buried in the body, it's worn out and can only be replaced by Badger. My 200 did the same thing until they replaced the seal; once fixed, no more pulsing. I drop off all ...

I use SmoothOn's 220 or 202 clears, so I can help some. First off, make sure you mix it correctly, it's a 90-100 mix, not 100-100. If it isn't mixed as close as possible to 90-100, it'll come out sticky and useless. It has the ratios right on the cans, ask me and Blap how we know.... Don't wrap elec...

When I was building the two Minbari Cruiser vac kits I built, I filled them with the foam from Home Depot (I guess it was Great Stuff, red can, yellow lettering). ANYWAY, yes, it will over expand if too much is put in, but there's a way to stop this problem. The foam sets by absorbing water from air...

I've tried to thin Mr Surfacer with just about everything and only Mr Thinner works correctly. I've also discovered that the best way to get rid of the cobwebbing is to use the Mr. Retarder to keep the paint from drying before it hits the model. 50% paint, 25%Mr. Retarder, 25% Mr. Thinner is my rati...