Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Thanks! That is great information. I've been a tangential train guy for a while, but am getting more interested in the very early 19th Century.

Southwest forests, is that a recipe for a"Russian Iron" finish?

I've been using wood for models lately, and I am enough of a hippie to really enjoy sweeping my scraps into the compost instead of the trash. Your fighter looks sharp!

Both of those are classic methods, and a lot easier than trying to position glue soaked tissue!

Check out craft punches for scrapbookers. Conductors punches might be too small, but worth a look. paper that size usually looks just fine, or you could use very thin styrene.
http://www.dickblick.com/items/58923-1004/

It does take a long time to dry, and stinks to high heaven. If you really want to cheap out, PVC primer makes a pretty good if stinky styrene cement/solvent. and it doesn't have to be purple- it comes in clear too.

My best advice is find a subject you REALLY want to make. If you really want it, it will give you incentive to get through the difficult parts.

There are a lot of good and simple plans at:
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/index.php
There are a few Guillows rocketships hiding in there.

Paper models can be a good source for plans if you need them, but most scratchbuilding is making something look like something other than what you started with. It's not art, just drafting. I'm using wood more and more these days, and am enough of a hippie to really enjoy putting my scraps in the co...

CA usually has no shear strength, so lever something into the joint and give it a pop. Or just drop it on the floor.

An interesting thread (that I have not read all of) on building a 3-d printed kit of the WWII Woomera bomber. If it's the wave of the future, it's best to be prepared. According to modelingmadness, the kit is available for purchase.
http://www.aussiemodeller.com.au/forum/ ... =8&t=11372

Best work benches I've ever had were industrial packing tables. Super sturdy with laminate tops:
http://www.uline.com/BL_3853/Industrial-Packing-Tables
If I had the space I'd buy another right now.

And piano strings are thicker yet.

Or just open it up, find out what the original battery specs were and find a generic replacement. They are easy to find- just check ebay.

Before you mold it, thicken up the master on the inside.

For headlights I like acrylic cabochons from the bead store- very shiny, have a lens effect and available in a lot of sizes. First source i found on the interwebs: http://www.wiinoshop.com/products/5mm-half-round-silver-chrome-flat-back-acrylic-cabochon-nail-art-15-pcs Whoops... Looked at the pictur...

I haven't done it myself, but photo etch seems to be the ticket.

For hand drilling I've been using a 3/8" drill chuck as a pin vise- much larger and easier to hold. If it is not a REALLY good chuck. a mini drill bit adapter will make any chuck work with 60-80 size bits. http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/metalworking-tools/vises/pin-vises/mini-drill-chuck-1-8...

For me, the Sheperd Paine diorama sheets in Monogram models were a great kick in the pants to do better. There are some scattered around the web at: http://www.sheperdpaine.com/monogram/index.htm http://www.revell-monogram.com/community/dioramas/index.html And: http://sheperdpaine.atspace.com/ Anoth...

5.00 each-
http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3371.html

If you don't have a soldering iron, get one! For tiny surface mount bits you don't need a good one. Hit up the Radio Shack going out of business sale amd [racyice. practice, practice!

Find a model rocket "shroud calculator" and you are in business.

First, don't scrap the hull- fill the botched holes with some sprue or rod! A pair if dividers can really save you here, even if they are improvised from a compass. Also, a hole in a curved surface is not going to act like a hole on a flat one- https://books.google.com/books?id=OjJLAAAAMAAJ&pg=P...

Before you start cutting glue in a lot of reinforcement on the inside- thick pieces of sprue at the base of the fins, discs every 1/2 inch or so on round sections- I use poker chips, tiddly winks and car wheels. Where that doesn't work just make a Hong Kong bamboo scaffold of sprue on the inside. Th...

I tripped over this little saw on the internet: http://www.banggood.com/DIY-Mini-Table-Saw-Handmade-Woodworking-Model-Saw-With-Ruler-p-959473.html?currency=USD&refreshTmp=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_content=saul&utm_campaign=Industrial-us&gclid=CjwKEAiAgfymBRC...

This is another case of you get what you pay for. The dollar store/walmart packs are cheap but set up hard as iron and brittle as glass with no time to to adjust the fit. The better stuff from a hobby oriented shop is a LOT better, but will be no good in a year at three times the price. Think throug...

At the local bead store I found a really nice hole punch: http://www.amazon.com/1-5-2mm-Double-Hole-Punch/dp/B00BXBJNXA/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1420943394&sr=8-15&keywords=beadsmith+hole+punch It only does round 1.5 mm and 2mm holes, but has a throat 4mm high by 22mm long. This means tha...

From bitter personal experience, melting a hole in styrene is NOT a way to get a clean hole. Poking around I did find some square leather or conductors' type punches: http://www.amazon.com/Square-Hole-Punch-Pliers-1-5mm/dp/B003JIMQIY\ Maybe use the tooling from these to square off a drilled round ho...

Industry would use a broach to make holes like that, but a quick search didn't turn up any that small. You are probably stuck with drilling a 1mm hoke and squaring yup the corners, either with a new X-Acto blade or a file you have ground down to size. A tiny square file could probably be modified in...

Tiny it is, and tiny can be good. The Unimat DB/SL is around a 4X5. In "The Amateurs' Lathe by Mr. Sparey he points out that the the difference between a professional machine and an amateur machine is that the amateurs' is ALWAYS being stretched to the limits of its' capacity. I'd love to have ...