Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

looking for some advice on getting decals to stick better. im working on a nebula and i had 2 lifeboats come of, compleatly ruining them. and that they are numbered makes replacing them hard. ive followed the directions, even use Micro sol on them. is there somthing out there that is an adhesive en...

Try painting them ALL with Liquitex iridescent silver. When that's dry, pick out the 'window' you want unlit and drop a bit of Tamiya Clear Smoke.... even the unlit windows aren't just black holes. Other clear colours can be used on individual windows to indicate different lighting conditions inside...

Very thin fibres can be affected by the heat generated by the curing CA. This can vary from destroying the outer layer (which is what keeps the light within the fibre) down to melting the thing completely.

Any acrylic-based 'lacquer' should work. Personally, I have used both Humbrol and Citadel varnishes. Just don't try to do it in one sweep - your ink will run. Don't spray directly on the sheet, but 'mist' it over the sheet in several passes, letting each coat dry. I print a section of scrap text on ...

Plasti-Kote's GM7173 is General Motors Silver Sand Gray. This is an iridescent paint which means its appearance changes with light conditions - are you really trying to paint an Andromeda ?? If they say that 1004 has been superceded by 7173 then I'm afraid that you're out of luck for a perfect match...

Try a few drops of midnight blue or even black. Add drops one or two a time, stir and test. Make sure you use the same brand (or at least type) of paint.

It works, but don't try to do it in one coat. Experiment plenty.

It could also be the paint mix being too thick. Or moisture - a pressure regulator with a moisture trap fixes this.

But more likely it is a combination of all the problems in the above posts.

Don't be tempted to use too much force. If it won't shift, heat it a bit more.

Otherwise, you'll find that you'll suddenly have a model with more parts !

Thats great guys, cheers. I was just thinking about the nastyness of breathing in epoxy dust after reading the thread about resin. Is epoxy dust as bad? Does anyone know where i can get hold of some good wet n dry sanding sticks in the UK? Breathing anything not made up of a mix of nitrogen and oxy...

Absolutley! Even with acrylics (actually I think acylics are worse). And a mask of some form, at least to keep the paint form collecting in your nasal cavities and draining down the back of you throat. .... Or, indeed, covering the insides of your lungs with a nice coat of whatever color you're spr...

Lsutehall - Like Ter-or says, use your sanding sticks or wet&dry paper wet. Water doesn't affect cured milliput (the stuff will even set underwater!), so you can use as much water as you like. Water not only keeps the dust down, but acts as a cooling/cutting/lubricating agent, much in the same w...

Nail Varnish Remover - but I don't honestly know of its effect on vinyl. Why not just soak the model in hot water and flex it around the joints? This has worked for me. The CA is less flexible than the vinyl and should crack away. Also, CA doesn't stand up to heat terribly well, so that should work ...

No, I don't use water whilst actually mixing, but warm fingers really help. It wouldn't hurt to moisten your fingers, though. I do often use water as I actually apply it to the model - warm water helps here. A little water will make it a bit stickier and pliable. A lot more water will actually make ...

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough... Milliput can be brittle. It works well for certain seams, but not for places that would receive alot of weight and/or pressure, IMHO. Particularly for scultping... Kneadatite works better for me. You said it was good for milling... i'm very surprised by that. But we...

Some are big fans of two part epoxy like Milliput. Two part epoxy never gets hard enough for me, IMHO. Then you're not getting the mix right. Milliput, properly mixed, will set rock hard. I have successfully sculpted and filled with it for over 20 years. I have sanded, drilled and milled the result...

Future is a clear acylic floor polish. Future is the brand name. Crips, I used to remember what it's called in England & Australia (which may or may not help). It's called "Klear" in the UK & (I believe Australia). It is called "Klir" in France (in ENORMOUS bottles). To ...

Try http://www.hlj.com/ (HobbyLink Japan). If you search for "PARTS" scroll past all the cars and militaria and eventually you'll come to where they list Gundam, Patlabor, etc spare & customising parts.

These range from spare guns, heads and bodies through to joints and hinges.

If it's a small part and thin plastic, try borrowing a hair-drier from someone. Clamp a steal ruler (or something else straight and metal) to each side of the sheet to keep the bend straight. For really thick plastic you can use a hot-air paint stripping gun on minimum setting. But with this you nee...

Waste not want not.

I have parts in my 'treasure chest' older than my 25 year-old son. All unused parts always get dumped in there - no matter how useless they may appear to be.

So that's why...Okay one more question. I've already used future on this canopy that I've already used liquid latex. I'm guessing that the fogging is due to the ammonia in the liquid latex. How do I remove the fogging? Leo Limuaco Unless you used CA glue to attach the canopy. CA glue give off vapou...

I agree wich Badwrench, but leave the fibres loose (not glued) in position. That way you can still heat the end (to produce a lens) and either pull back or push through the fibre after you've done.

This may not be entirely down to not washing. May of these clear paints are quite fluid and if you paint on too much at once it tends to pool in one or two places. Much as I hate to admit it (being a confirmed hand-painter), clear paints are best applied in several very light sprayed coats. In cany ...

Coke doesn't exist in the UK? True - I missed it in the thread. But once you've seen what it does to paint, filler and sometimes even plastic you will never want to drink the stuff again! The biggest drawback with cola is that the stickiness is so darn pervasive it's hard to really get rid of all o...

And all of the above have used US trade names - and many of these products are not available in the UK. The 2 I've used are:- 1) Modelstrip. It is a caustic paste which strips just about any paint including chrome. Available from model shops about £3.80. 2) Persil "Power Spray". Mildly ca...

Before I switched to latex I used rubber cement. It works OK but be warned that the longer you leave it on the less likely it is to come off!

Latex works out cheaper and there is never a problem removing it.

Badger 150 (IL) Cost of Airbrush: Around 40 GBP nowadays Type (single, double): Double Is it more suitable for fine lines or broad coverage? Both - depending on tip/needle Paint head (internal or external mix): Internal Body construction (plastic, chrome plated brass, other): CrBrass with plastic ne...