Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

As Darkov states, the article on lighting the "D" with fluorescent lights was only done like that because back then there were only red, green and yellow LEDs. With white and blue LEDs as we have today, and running them with proper resistors, they can theoretically last forever, which is ...

Good call!

On Forgotten Stars, our budget consisted of the money in our accounts minus our bills, so it was VERY small. I had the task of creating walls at a low cost, but believable. Out flats were framed with 1X2's which are VERY inexpensive and skinned with luan. I had to create catacomb walls and wood plan...

MF, I have a circuit that makes a great strobe pulse utilizing the 555 (actually the 556 which is 2 555's in one package). I can shoot it to you if you want.

Scottie

Pack the goggles with Fiberfil and backlight an LED behind (the Fiberfil scatters the light for a soft glow).

Then you have the problem with trying to see, unless you make the goggles sit just above eye-slits for proper vision.

Scottie

Was the light distribution uneven, or not bright enough Thomas? :) Not even enough, even with several layers of wax paper layered on top of 12 superbright blue LEDs. I found that for lighting large warp engines, CCFLs give the best result. Try using Fiberfill (pillow stuffing). A one-pound bag usua...

Bottom line: WAL WARTS SUCK, period. I have yet to find a regulated one and have yet to find one that comes close to their listed output voltage. Bottomest line: I see a lot of guessing and whatnot here. BUY A DMM, PERIOD. You can get them super cheap just about anywhere. Then there is no doubt. Sco...

Yup!

Scottie

You will still need a conductor for touch switches. The switch you referenced from RS is doable. You can pull the red "button" off the top. Ought to be able to hide that....

Scottie

I've NEVER found the 99% stuff. All I've found is the 90% and it's works fine.

Scottie

Or, go to your local music shop and get a set of guitar strings....

Scottie

Ummm, why would you get a 60V adaptor? And why AC? I've never seen miniature bulbs rated for AC. If need be (since LED's appear out of the question), I suggest you wire your bulbs in parallel. Of course since you have bulbs with two different voltage ratings, it will become complicated to get each b...

Depends on how they are hooked-up. I would trash the 19th century technology (bulbs) and get LED's. Also, check the voltage coming off the wall wart. If it's a cheap one, you probably have more than 12V coming off of it.

Scottie

Welcome from Chesapeake! I've done fabric simulations by dipping toilet paper in a VERY thinned down latex and let it dry on a piece of glass or mirror.

Scottie

There's nothing quick and dirty about electronics, but try this site if you want to learn the basics:

http://library.thinkquest.org/16497/

Scottie

So, if I understand... Durham's Rock-Hard water putty is better to use than Hydrocal? I can get both, not in very great quanities... so either of these products would work then. No, it isn't. I've used it, but never as a mold. I've only used it in final castings and even then it's only when I need ...

For someone with no experience or understanding of electrical work? Better off to avoid it? Sorry, in a word, yes. If you ARE quick to pick stuff up and have a good understanding of Jr. High science, I suggest getting a book in electrical theory. Specifically DC and AC theory. Otherwise a semester ...

If you want to paint it, put an acrylic or latex primer down first. On some of my large sections, I thinned down housepaint, and sprayed that on. Solvent based paint will attack foam. I just used a Krylon product called H2O. It's a latex based spray paint [soap and water clean-up]. Stuff is awesome...

Estes-Cox is using EPP foam for all their new airplane wings and fuselage parts. . Smart move, using EPP. It's very durable. You see what I'm up against? Don't you love it, the challenges? Don't know where to go from here. Perhaps some sort of ink. I guess pre-coloring the part and detailing with [...

This may break your "final finish" rule, but I ahve a friend that painted a wing by first spraying a light coat of Super 77 adhesive, then, I believe enamel. Kinda orange peel-like, but it worked.

Scottie

If the latex doesn't work, try a 50/50 mix of liquid latex (not Mold Builder) and acrylic paint. This is what I use for stubborn surfaces. If that doesn't do the trick, then I'd get checked out after using that Chinese paint....

Scottie

Well, we can do this together! I'm sculpting a 1/6 scale Eastern Island head from the stuff for a client. I just picked up Krylon's H2O. It's a latex paint in a spraycan. Looks a bit different from the typical housepaint.

Scottie

A utility room? What's in the utility room? Washer, dryer, water heater? Might want to think twice if you have anything with a hot coil or flame in use...

BOOM!

Scottie

I did not solder. I used a wire wrap tool for all of the connections. The whole thing is bizzare. Any suggestions on how to fix it? Well, that brings me to believe you have a broken connection. If it were power, your other LED wouldn't operate (as well as your CMOS chip). Short of cracking it open ...

I'm 99.999999% certain it's not a power issue. I'm equally certain you have a bad connection. Did you solder all the joints?

Scottie

I know very little about casting, but could plaster be sealed with CA glue? Z0mBe Unknown, but I wouldn't try it. Plaster works in molds, because of its absorbsive qualities. It may just absorb the CA before it could create a barrier. Again, if you have to go to the trouble of radical experimenting...

Pics and complete specs!

Scottie

Smaller, actually, but they are surface mount (SMT). www.digikey.com is the best resource for anything you want electronic (and i DO mean ANYTHING). Order their catalog, it's only 2" thick. Scottie I strongly second that! I've been using Digikey since they first started! (1976 or so - their ca...

SACRILEGE! HERESY!

You will burn in the bad place HERETICS!

Scottie

But I DO hear it makes a dandy ice cream topping!

What is a good way to seal plaster for use in molds? I tried Killz but that failed. Not only did it not seal the plaster, it made it softer and brittle. I tried vaselin thinned down with alcohol, but that also failed. Suggestions? Green soap, a floor paste wax compound, petroleum jelly or liquid di...