Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I have a somewhat convoluted work process. I do have training in design, so sketching should be easy for me, but I prefer to daydream my shapes—I can kinda get a feel for the spatial relations, the different aspects of as model better than sketching a few views. Then I translate the ideas to a 3D pr...

If I was building, I'd go with plastic christmas tree ornaments (down in my neck of the woods they come in metric sizes, all the way up to 200 and some millimeters—metallized, varnish-coated, polypropylene blow-molded spheres—the coatings come off easily). in the US(?) there's bound to be those in i...

For all that's holy, don't google it.

Thanks everyone, they were are all helpful but I thnk the rocketry one looks to be the easiest with the ability to generate the template Although I did happen to come across this http://jm.davalan.org/calc/cone/index-en.html which gave me different value than what I got here for the same inputs htt...

If you have to mix epoxy adhesives, PE containers are your friends.

You might not even need a mini butane torch: an ol' cigarette lighter oughta do it.

And if you are going to use them to hold two parts together, make sure their polarities align properly, or better, use one magnet in one part and a steel plate, rod, pin or whatever in the other part, this way you don't have to worry about polarity.

Neodymium magnet tips: #1 - keep your fingers clear of big Nd magnets. They pinch and it hurts like a mother. #2 - don't let them hit one another strongly because it can nick the chrome layer covering them and they may oxidize (turning into a crumbly, weak gray dust). #3 - glue them with epoxy, and ...

I think you may get good results with minimal fuss by using plaster strips (you know, the plaster-suffused gauze strips used by doctors to make a plaster cast for a broken leg or whatever). Resin is likely to degrade the ballon's latex, any pourable mold making medium will just make the balloon floa...

tetsujin wrote:Places to buy large tubing in metric sizes

Hmmm… Europe?

Did I get it right?

I have had wonderful results by coating balsa with resin. Just apply thin resin over the wood and it'll wick it up. Wait, reapply. Wait repeat for as long as you need (basically when the resin does not penetrate anymore). Sand. Reapply resin. Sand with finer grit. Prime. Once it is done, it is just ...

Hah! Just found this story about a fellow countryman who does indeed collect stuff for scratchbuilding. Enterprise@MakeBlog

One thing I might do if I ever find myself in your situation would be to try sculpting the sand with clay, adding footprints and whatever needs to be there, then applying a thin layer of glue and sprinkling a mix of different color plastic sanded leftovers (I don't think there's a word for it: you s...

Micro balloons are tiny glass "bubbles" which are used to add volume to resin, without adding weight. You can find them pretty much anywhere that sells resin/fiberglass supplies.

Yes, Naoto! That's exactly it. I mentioned the "mulher gorila" bit because Arthur is from Rio and there was this particular 'woman into a gorilla' sideshow act in an amusement park in here. He'd probably know that.

Try a bottle of brush-on Dullcote. Put a layer on a piece of clear sheet, let it start to dry. Before it's fully dry but not while fully wet - somewhere in that "gel" range - lightly touch a sponge to it to create an "orange peel" texture. With luck, it should look the way you n...

Four words for you: "Konga, a Mulher-Gorila". Do you know this carnival side-show illusion? The woman who turns into a gorilla? It's done with mirrors. If you angle it correctly, you can have the F-14 in one "box" and the "flame" in another, with a black background, lit...

CD-RW and DVD-RW discs. When they poop out—and they will—it is possible to peel the shiny stuff from the plastic disc. You need a pretty strong adhesive tape to pull it away and an X-Acto knife to start the peeling, but it is a thing of beauty! It may come off in smallish bits, but we are scale mode...

grabula wrote:I'm trying to locate a place to purchase smallish plastic/styrene spheres. I'm looking for smaller sizes, 2-30mm in size, anyone know something like this?

is it 2mm to 30mm, 2mm to 3mm or 20mm to 30mm?

I've been rereading the posts in here, and I want to add: If you can't get a piece of insulation foam, or you don't want to buy a whole 8'x4' slab of it because you only need a tiny piece, the canned foam thing is the way to go: pour a bit of the foam inside a container (old tupperware, cardboard bo...

AbsoluteSciFi wrote:Just checking in to see how this thread has grown... and it occurred to me that ANY scratchbuilder of spaceships collects something! It happens to be a prerequisite of being that kind of modeler...

What do you mean by "that kind of modeler"?

Chacal wrote:I have just taken the Phillips screwdriver to an old cheapie 35mm camera we had lying about -- we haven't used it since at least 2003. Gears! Lenses! Itty-bitty electric motors! Greeblies galore! Huzzah!

Found an old, non-functioning 1990 JVC VHS-C Camcorder. I'll let you guys know...

Have you taken the turntable apart? Does it have gears, belts?

I have just taken the Phillips screwdriver to an old cheapie 35mm camera we had lying about -- we haven't used it since at least 2003. Gears! Lenses! Itty-bitty electric motors! Greeblies galore! Huzzah!

Stu Pidasso wrote:

Airdave wrote:I Hate F*&%!# Super Glue!!!!

So stop F*&%!#ing it!

Once you start, it's difficult to get away from.

bluesman wrote:The beauty of the blue and pink foam is that it is light, cheap and easily carvable or sculptable.

No. The true beauty of pink and blue foam is that you know, at a glance, if it is a boy's foam or a girl's foam.

Recently I had to rummage through some of my "stuff boxes" and it hit me: why don't I take a photo of the contents of each of my boxes and store the pics on my computer, so I can do 'virtual rummaging'. It seems obvious now, but when some of those boxes were packed digital cameras were a d...

You could try to sneak the CR2032 into the base, or rather make it the base using two support pins for the model — one comes from the top [+] the other around the rim [-].

Kylwell wrote:It's also the time of year to by Christmas ornaments on sale. Generally speaking, anything label 'outdoors' or 'unbreakable' are styrene.

Though, in my experience, styrene and 'unbreakable' ain't synonyms.

I'm sure it's the engineer in me, but when scratchbuilding S.F. subjects I always (I mean always) try to think through what it is that the "greeblie" is supposed to do and how it is supposed to work. If it doesn't have a purpose, it doesn't get added... Biiig can of worms there, buddy. Ma...