Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I was mistaken- this machine is not the Taiwanese Unimat 3/4, but Sieg product from China:
http://www.siegind.com/products_detail/ ... cb59f.html
Still, there are darn few new tabletop lathes available these days.

It looks like Grizzly is now selling the Poseidon Unimat-3/Unimat-4 clone: http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x-6-Micro-Metal-Lathe/G0745 Unimat-3s are nice machines, and I haven't heard anything really bad about the Poseidon. This is bigger than a Unimat DB/SL. but still small enough to pick up with...

I have a variable speed cordless and find it a lot more useful than the single speed with a cord. Mostly because you can slow it down to actually work on plastic and wood. One accessory I really like is the drill chuck. Any size drill bit can be held, not just ones that fit the collets.

Clamps, clamps and more clamps. You can never have too many clamps. For the PVC, I use a hose clamp as a cutting guide for a guaranteed straight cut. For close enough cuts, the PVC cutters work well: http://www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-Ratcheting-PVC-Cutter-T012-X/202351847 If you don't have a dec...

It depends on the size you need. Glencoe and Lindberg space station kits are available, and for larger diameters you can piece some together with ABS plumbing fittings and electrical sweeps. I am always looking for this shape and very seldom find one.

Yep, kinda cancels it out but a remnant is still present.

R8 tooling is common as fleas. Micromark mills and lathes are the standard Harbor Freight/Grizzly ChiCom machines built by Sieg, but with some very useful tweaks. I was just about to buy the Micromark mini lathe when an Atlas 618 with a lot of tooling showed up locally for about the same price. Twea...

Looks pretty darn good to me! Did you lose some aztec decals? If so, just get some more and continue. Or teat the blank areas as repaired or repainted hull sections, or park some mysterious equipment there. As I said, looks good so far to my uncritical and unquestioning eye.

For trusses, screens and ladder patterns the little metal earth laser cut kits are a cheap source:
http://www.fascinations.com/metalearth/viewall
as low as 3.00US each in lots on eBay...

Grandt Line makes round, domed, conical, hex and square rivets and nuts for model railroads. There's also a set of N scale "under car details" that has a lot of good stuff as well. In a pinch, straight pins make nice rivet heads.

Here's the one I use: https://www.interstateplastics.com/Hyde-Plastic-Cutter-Accessories-MSCEAHYDEHVYDUTYCUTTER.php?&src=adwordspla&utm_source=adwordsfroogle&utm_campaign=adwordsfroogle&utm_medium=na&utm_content=Plastic+Accessories-MSCEAHYDEHVYDUTYCUTTER&gclid=CjwKEAjwi6OeBRC...

There is a very detailed thread on building your own steam shovel at a railroad site: http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=693.0 Lots of interesting use of materials, crafty rivet techniques and a lot of other useful information model railroad guys are so good at. Well worth spending an ho...

Just like styrene, score and snap. Or score all the way through. A plexiglas cutter blade works well.

Good sharp scissors have always worked for me. Sometimes a brand new X-Acto knife.

I like the way clear mirror cabochons from the bead or craft store look- very shiny and reflective, especially behind a lens. Here are some on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/RHINESTONE-GEMS-ROUND-CLEAR-CRYSTAL-Acrylic-Smooth-Cabochon-Flat-Back-/220991647435?pt=US_Loose_Beads&var=520077761808&...

In my incessant scavenging, I've been running across some styrene faced foamcore- usually used for signage for conferences, conventions, etc. I tracked down a manufacturer at: http://www.ultraboard.com/ultraboard/specs/ This could be a useful material for those who like to build BIG- I was thinking ...

A cut-off wheel on a Dremel makes guitar strings easy to cut, and just bend them to smaller radius than the final one you need. Small to tiny extension springs work great, and better if slipped over a length of solder, copper or annealed iron wire. Same with de-soldering braid for woven looking hoses.

Seems like an expensive way to do it, unless you found some on the street. Plaster , Durhams water putty, gorilla polyurethane glue and old bearings, nuts and bolts have worked well for me in weighting stands. Are you looking for rigidity or just plain road hugging weight?

I saw some of these little metal kits in a tourist trap gift shop, and they are inexpensive with some good and useable etched/laser cut metal parts:
http://www.fascinations.com/metalearth/viewall
Just a suggestion, but another source for tiny metal bits.

JB weld is darn expensive- I'd just use a construction adhesive in a caulking gun over some marine potion. I've never seen a "liquid nails" joint come apart from exposure alone. Seal the thing once it is together to add a some protection to the joints. Just my 2 cents.

MDF should work OK, and it is cheap, works with standard shop tools and is available just about everywhere. There are also bendable varieties if you need to bend a part. Otherwise, just laminate it up. Just a suggestion!

I like the tube glue in Heller "paint and glue included" kits, and the glue that comes with some Japanese kits. I'm all out of those and miss them. The mustard oil in Testors to discourage glue sniffing seems to make it work less well. Maybe Hobby Link japan could fix you up with some of t...

Are you near any Amish? They usually have stores that are mostly by and for their community, but they are more than happy to sell stuff to you. Lamp oil may be in a 5 gallon bucket. A really good lighting store might have some too.

Instead of a paint stirrer I just use a 99 cent latte whippper from Ikea. I build stuff so slowly that all of my paint is ancient. I even still have some Pactra in the square bottles with a drip molded in.

I just use "scratch filling primer" from the auto parts store. For the thinner variety, try "sandable primer". Nice thing is it comes in red, white and black.

Oven cleaner should get it off, even if it's plated. If not, can you just paint over it?

Tiddlywinks!

Elmers glue for anything up to about 1/4 inch, and once it's dry, a drop of clear enamel for gloss. And it's easy. Once the model is painted, get a drop of glue on the end of a toothpick and twirl it into the opening and move on to the next one. Let it dry thoroughly- maybe a couple of days until th...

I use TAP acrylic cement- about 13.00/pint. The same sort of thing is available from any plastics distributor.
http://www.tapplastics.com/product/repa ... cement/130

Here is a good short piece on some steampunk art made from trash:
http://news.discovery.com/earth/steampu ... 121121.htm
some cool designs and good use of found parts. And a lot of brass colored paint.