Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Use Legos or corrugated cardboard to build a jig to hold things at the proper angle until the glue dries.

Regardless of what tools you use, put masking tape around the tube to protect it. The tape will also help you keep your saw or knife from straying off target.

As long as it has enough "pull", it doesn't really matter where it is. Put it wherever is convenient for your work area layout.

Pour your first half, let cure. Take a cheap disposable paint brush and paint the exposed surface of the mold where it will mate to the second mold half with vaseline. DON'T make it thick or goopy - it should just be a thin film kind of coating, and don't get any on the exposed surface area of the p...

Humidity depends more on how much it rained and how recently. If you've had a few dry days in a row, humidity isn't an issue.

97 is really hot for spray painting. Generally, you want something in the mid 70's, low 80's tops. Do your painting earlier in the mornings or later in the evenings instead of high noon.

It was fairly thin and flat - I managed to use just Tap hot water and it straightened right out! Problem solved! For now. I'm guessing that if it's a thicker piece, then hotter water? I'm afraid to use a hair dryer on these things, as I've actually ruined a piece that way once before. Hair dryer is...

What piece is it and how much does it need to flex? Dimensions, thickness? You might be able to just warm it with a hair dryer to get it back into shape.

That's almost exactly the size I made mine. My shop vac is 3HP and does fine for making my container top halves - 1" high, 2" wide, 9" long - using .040 thick sheet.

How big is the vac surface area? How big are the parts you're trying to make? What thickness plastic are you using? It all figures in. There's no definitive answer. Start as small as possible and do tests. Keep the receipt so you can return it for a bigger one until you get to one that works for you.

It also depends on how accessible a given spot is after the related parts are assembled. Everything is a judgment call.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8481/819 ... 5d48_o.jpg

Battery or power supply? If battery, it's possible the two circuits together are at their upper limit of the battery's V and mA capacity and now that you've been testing it for a bit, the battery is starting to die and the circuits are sensitive to the slight drop in battery strength and can't pull ...

You always want to use as little voltage as possible, for safety more than any other reason, but there's no minimum or maximum - it depends on the lighting you're doing for that individual build. Just approach it logically. Work out the different kinds of lighting you're installing and what each nee...

Kitchen cutting boards like that are made of HDPE - high density polyethylene - which is that shiny kind of plastic that some kids toys are made out of. As such, it has a heavier "oil" element to it that doesn't play well with glues, not even CA. You need to treat it with a cleaner of some...

All of the above. It depends how much space you have inside a given kit, what kind of lighting you're using, length of fibers, etc.

You're on your own. Depends on the size of the part, amount of flex you're trying to correct, how hot you get it to un-flex it to start with, what kind of resin was used, how old or new the part is (how long it's been cured in the distorted state) - too many variables to even guess at something like...

Can you build a jig to hold the part after you flex it back into shape? What's probably happening is that it's not flexing/stretching enough to counteract the way it's molded so as it cools, it shrinks/flexes back to its original state. Making a jig will force it not to flex as it cools.

Vac success also depends how hot you can get the plastic, which in turn dictates how fast it will soften, how strong your vac source is, the size and shape of the master form, how tightly you can fit the vac sheet over the form and onto the table, how fast can you get the plastic from heat source to...

I use Krylon Clear Gloss. Use clothes pins to clip the sheet to a piece of cardboard and spray from about half an arm's length. Just mist it over the sheet. Let sit for a few minutes and go a second or third time if necessary. Don't worry if it's not totally smooth because you're going to be dullcot...

And you do still need to use a clear coat. The problem you had with clear coat with ink jet wasn't the clear coat, it was the ink. What probably happened was that you put the clear on too thick, or too soon after printing, or maybe both, and it softened the ink, right? Go with a few lighter coats on...

And you do still need to use a clear coat. The problem you had with clear coat with ink jet wasn't the clear coat, it was the ink. What probably happened was that you put the clear on too thick, or too soon after printing, or maybe both, and it softened the ink, right? Go with a few lighter coats on...

I've been ordering from decalpaper.com and haven't had a problem. Their laser decal paper have tissue on each sheet to keep them separate. Tear off the tissue sheet before you put it in the printer.

What kit is it and how much do you need? If you send me the parts, I could pour some resin into them. That might be enough to do it.

Why are you using two 1/4" sheets instead of one 1/2" sheet? Seems like creating work for no reason.

Like Tank said, it's not a matter of "can't", it's a matter of wanting to do it correctly for the scale. AMT didn't care about that, PL does.

If you're careful, you don't even need solvent. Depending on how thick the plastic is, you can warm up the sticker with a hair dryer. The heat softens the glue just enough to be able to slowly peel the sticker off.

We all build for the fun of building. but I want to build something that I know I built the best, in the best way and from the bottom up. not a kit or a scratch of something there is no kit for. something original. See, that's all relative. My "best" 10 years ago is only average by what I...

For those who weren't there, 1-0 paid tribute to Zog at Iron Modeler at WF. Anyone happen to have video of it?