Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I just sharpen the end of a K&S brass tube and punch the hole or piece I need.
You can sharpen to the inside, or outside edge, then drill a dowel or block of wood
to make a "T" handle. I have a whole series of them I keep in the drawer.

The fact that polyurethane resin is mostly oderless makes it deceptive in regards to the fumes it gives off. I learned years ago, that if I did casting work in the garage and did not ventilate, I would get a huge headache at the base of my scull and back of the head. I now vent the casting pot throu...

Good gosh, I had one project that I sanded, filled, sanded, filled, sanded, primed, sanded, filled, sanded primed sanded, then when I was happy with it, I checked the referance photos. At that point I realized I needed to add to angled supports, and nine service ladder rungs. So I sanded the primer ...

sleepymarine wrote:I'm wondering how the frosted tube approach above would look if one were to illuminate it with a quickly, but randomly flashing LED...

Sort of like the tin robot with the plastic machine gun and the blinking light?

How about taking a photo of the afterburner and copy and pasting it
in a band across the page, then cutting it out and rolling a tube or cone?
You could place it into the tail of the aircraft and then see if it works or not.

Sounds like a simplified "light organ" plugged into a speaker out put of computer.

Perhaps something like this...
http://blog.makezine.com/2011/10/27/sou ... ght-organ/

The issue I see, seems to be that the wheel and tire are one piece in some fashion. How will you separate the tire form the wheel to make your molds? http://static.rcgroups.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.gif If you calculate the cubic volume of your tires, you can then calculate the number of ou...

Darthsideous wrote:Do you use micro mark products Umi?

No, I typically don't buy such small quantities.
Polytek 74-30 is what I am using, I wait a week for molds to cure before pouring.

Interesting, I use no mold release and talc...
But then I am using a Polytek polyurethane.
Of course we are also trying for that chewed up look on tugboats.



http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachme ... id=4326501

Put it out in the cold garage...

There are these printers based on the Makerbot. Like the makerbot, there is only one print head, and models need to be self supporting, or cut into sections that can be printed in one pass. Note the stair stepped terracing of some areas of demo models. The resolution at this price is still pretty co...

LEGO.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX1cO2XhMrg

You'll have to "slide" a layer of resin down the side of the mold, then work the bottom with your toothpick to remove the deep air bubbles. Once that is done you can then fill the mold. Filling the mold can be down with a small syringe to put the resin in deep and force material up from th...

The mold release you used is for conditioning the mold to let go of cast parts. It is not meant to prevent a second pour from sticking to the first half. Petroleum jelly, or wax would have been a good release for mold halves. You will have to carfully cut the mold apart. You can still create "k...

The article is right here...

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/fh_pe.htm

I have used it myself a few times..

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447591

Stair railing and safety railings here...
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=957675

You need to hunt down some 1.5" PVC pipe.
The outside diameter should be 1.875".
However, it is not a common size for plumbing.

Last year, I searched every Home store in the area for Owens Corning styrene insulstion. None was to be found anywhere. I called Owens Corning and asked where I could buy it, and they told me to go to Home Depot.... :roll: I told them that I had checked all the local Home Depot stores, and that none...

Just google a drill bit chart...

http://www.csgnetwork.com/drillsizeconvert.html

http://www.championscrew.com/form_tap_drill.htm

You need to take a thin stick, stiff enough to work through each of the
engines and baffles and work the air bubbles out, and the resin in.
I do that with some of the thin water tight doors, where there is a
0.015 gap between the door and frame.



.

FX models has been running a 3d rapid prototype machine, and is
now offering printing services. They are supposed to be working up
a new web page, Could be worth a call.

http://www.fxmodels.com/SST612.shtml

You could probably make a good go of it if you understand the components.
I wouldn't mill styrene though, it would be a melty nightmare.
Consider milling Polyurethane, like renshape, or a tooling foam.

And don't forget the vacuum system. You won't want that dust everywhere.

I think the car and the tie interceptor, pictured, are deceptive. The machine only has a single deposition head. So it can only print one material, starting from your base plate to the top of your model. The advanced machines use a support material that bridges gaps and spaces. If you are printing t...

Both people are of the mind that stepper motors and programming are simple things to accomplish. Casey's self built CNC carriage worked out really well. I never got to see it run before Techshop closed. Macona's only critique of it was, "technically the dremel bearings are not designed for late...

One of my friends, Casey built one, or one of the DIY, or instructables versions.
Another friend, Macona modded a harbor freight mill for CNC, but Macona thinks building machines is a hobby...

I stopped by a friends house the other day,... He's building a laser cutter... :shock: I hope I get to use when it's finished. . . Very cool. What is he using for a laser? He mentioned a laser tube, but he was currently working on the carriages. Looked like he had the x and y axis mounted though.

I stopped by a friends house the other day,... He's building a laser cutter...



I hope I get to use when it's finished.

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The chopper if they are small diameter plastic tubing.

For metal, I have the Harbor Freight cut off saw with a cutting disc mounted.

http://www.harborfreight.com/bench-top- ... 42307.html

http://www.micromark.com/Cut-Off-Wheels ... .html.html

I have one, I have mixed feelings about it. Yes, it does make nice thin pieces of styrene.... even used it for my scratch star destroyer. However, I now have to replace the fiber board that it's mounted to. In time and with use, the razor blade will chop a nice deep rut into the board, rendering it...

With the barrel detached, I would be concerned with how thin the top of the gun body is, at the overhang where the gun barrel attaches. Thin is acutally more difficult to cast properly, than the bolt nubs. How thin is that shelf at 1/6th scale? With a Silicone RTV, the mold should be flexable enough...

The pins would mold fine, however, the nubs on the end would be
excellent air bubble traps. If you are vacuum, or pressure casting, it
shouldn't be a difficult piece to cast and fill the voids...
Just don't make the barrel, or any recesses too deep.

How big is this at 1/6th scale?