Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Nice job! I like the removable turret, and all the interior details.

You can start as Ken Lilly suggests, clam it between two pieces of sacrificial plastic, (old CD cases would work fine), and drill thru. Start out too small, then open the holes up with needle files. This will cut away any dimpling along the edges, and allow you to refine the position and shape of th...

I can't really compare them, I've never used the Badger compressor. But I have used the Iwata compressors, and they work really well. IIRC they have an in-line moisture trap available too.

You could carve it out of foam or Renshape.

Alas. Well, it will still be there when you get the time, and I'll still be watching.

This is cool. I've always wanted to see someone build this. Have you gotten anything more done?

What a great project! This will be wonderful to watch as it comes together. Love the screed you made for your primary hull master.

Are you doing this to practice casting? It isn't my intent to be snarky, it just seems a tedious and expensive way to avoid using Grandt Line rivets.

I was going to suggest stopping by a model train shop, but it sounds like you've done that. Did you find what you needed?

That first image is from Square Models, Sean Sides' website.

Aluminum foil will work alright in this case. Bare Metal Foil has the advantage of conforming to curves better. On the Defender, if you're using it for the headlights, those are mostly flat pieces, no curves to worry about.

I used to buy fuel filter screen from the auto parts store.

I just add salt a little bit at a time. A few drops of water, a little salt. A few more drops of water, a little more salt, etc.

Neat design. looks like you've got a lot of clean-up work ahead of you.

Some sort of color modulation. There are all kinds of ways to do this, preshading, post fading, panel masking. They can all be used to break up large, flat surfaces. A quick example is in this week's reader's gallery, where Fred Smith uses panel shading to break up his Romulan Warbird: http://www.st...

Kylwell's method is The Way To Go. Guitar strings, even when annealed, can only flex so much, and tend to want to go back to their original shape. Wrapping fine solder around a mandrel or another piece of solder gives you a very flexible, realistic looking hose. It can be further shaped to drape con...

Kylwell wrote:Dammit, where the hell is the "Like" button...

Personally, I'd start with Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon The Deep, the chrome tropical fish ship (Out Of Band II). I never cared for that painting. It doesn't match the description of the Out Of Band II from the story. I don't know if Boris never read the book, or just decided to go his own direction ...

Yes.

I've used enamels over Future without a problem. It doesn't work as well as oils, or look as good. But it does work.

Parafilm is excellent for masking over complex shapes, and for odd contours. I've never used masking film. Everything I've heard about it sounds like it's messy to use and clean up, and there's nothing it can do that Parafilm can't do better. For everything else I use Tamiya tape. I've heard that so...

Holy cow, that's amazing!

I think for this type of project, you have to start one step earlier: You have to be obsessed with the design. If you are planning to spend months or more on a single model, you don't want to get burned out half way through and move on to something else. That has ruined more than one project for me....

Much better pictures, thanks. Rocketeer's suggestions are good. Especially adding ribs in the ring between the kit parts and the copper tubes.

I think I know what you are saying. You want to build the best model you have ever built. A scratchbuild of your own design. One that uses all of your skills, pushes every limit. All techniques will be explored, working with plastic, resin casting, vacuforming, photoetch, machining, Excellent painti...

Kylwell: Can you tell me more about the sponge technique? I thought about using a thin glaze, but but the result would be transparent and unnatural. 1. Base with rust-colored paint, then add mask (whether salt, liquid mask, or other technique) 2. Add pale brown/beige, then remove masks 3. Wash with...

That's one of the big differences between using spray cans and an airbrush. Spray cans give you a nice, even, opaque coat, even if that's not what you want. With an airbrush you can apply just exactly as much paint as needed, even if it's only a tiny bit. But they take a lot more practice. I'm not s...

Are you using an airbrush?

Since it is two different colors, a clear coat ought not effect the pattern. You can test it out easily enough by spraying a little stripe of each color onto a scrap piece of plastic, then hitting that with whatever clear coat you wish to try.

If you have styrene stock, cut them out with a compass.