Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

When I worked at the model shop for Kenner, and we had to do detail cut work on thin brass or aluminum, we used spray mount and mounted it to a piece of scrap styrene. We then used a jeweler's saw with the superfine blades to do the cut works. The secret to using a saw like that is to keep it as per...

Thank you all. I tried a lot of your suggestions, but I think I permanently killed her. :( So, I got a new one to replace her. Same type, so I don't have to get all new equipment, but brand spankin' new. In addition, I'm not a complete neophyte this time so hopefully I'll be better to this one and ...

The problem with going tiny on the needle for your paint line thickness isn't the needle size, but the paint viscosity. A 1.5 mm needle is designed for nail polishes or water dyes. The Grex will do a nice fine line at a larger needle size with enamel and acrylic flats. I am sorry but I am going to ...

I've been using Airbrushes both for hobby and commercial illustration purposes for well over 30 years. If you are looking to spend the kind of money that they charge for that Grex I'd recommend getting a Harder & Steenbeck Infinity. I replaced all of my regular double action AB with these two ye...

I know that you may not want to use other's products, but these are outstanding... I always keep a stock of them in my spare parts.

https://www.walthers.com/exec/search?qu ... ts&x=0&y=0

Okay so what I would have done is put a nice light coat of white or very light grey primer over the black. Next time consider putting your main light blocking coat on the inside of the model and then only spot blocking on the outside of the model. Besides, a good opaque light primer on the outside s...

Okay couple of things. First is did you use a light colored or white primer as your base layer? If not it could take a lot of your color to get an even full coverage coat. Second- What Kywell said. When I have a large job or a job that will require painting a lot of parts with the same color go with...

If you are just picking out small details, then go with a gold paint pen by Prismacolor. They are super bright gold with very fine pigment. Just make sure to apply it AFTER all the other weathering and clear coats are applied. If you want to Airbrush the color just use Alclad. They now have an acryl...

If the mask is at all tacky then this might be the answer http://www.cutting-mats.net/rubber-cement-glue-4114.html?cmp=googleproducts&kw=rubber-cement-glue-4114&utm_source=rubber-cement-glue-4114&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=googleproducts&gclid=CMiVlJaEwL0CFRQS7AodQ...

You could also just buy a jar of Model Masters Insignia white and airbrush that...

It's the Fix-It line from Aves.

Kylwell wrote:Aves. Can be polished to a glass finish, machined, sculpted, etc.

You can also get a version of Aves with aluminum powder in it for added strength if you need to machine the cured putty.

I bought this setup about 3 months ago. They are both Harder and Steenback Infinity. They absolutle ROCK! Easy to break down and with the smallest tip I can get a consistant line under 1mm wide. For an air source I use a CO2 tank. Been using it for 30 years. No noise at all, the gas is dry as a bone...

This stuff is the way to go: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lead-Wire/741425.uts Yeah it's lead but if it is sealed with primer your fine. if your worried about handling it then use gloves. It comes in various widths and bends very easily. You can also flatten out short sections to make flexible str...

When my daughter did her Refit in 1/1000 she rooted around my spare figure bases and found a wood Vase base I got off eBay that fit the kit base perfectly. So she painted the base semi gloss black and then glued it to the wood base.

Refit

If I am looking for extreme precision with a template I put small sections of double sided tape on the side facing the plastic. This will keep the template from moving when you scribe. I do the same on a ruler when I scribe straight lines. For curved lines I'd invest in a set of French curves.

You could try covering the the tip with aluminum foil I'd put duct tape over the hole. They types of substances need an anaerobic environment if you put it in a container just a little bit of air will cause it to get a thick skin... Then every time you expose it again you give it more fresh air to s...

I always recommend testing. I had the Testors Model Car gloss totally orange peel a metal figure painted with enamels (Knight Models Ironman) two weeks before Wonderfest. Of course I did not adhere to my own advise because I was in a hurry. That spray clear was seriously hot. I watched it crinkle ri...

Here are several things to try. Remove the needle and tip. There are a series of holes in the nozzle. unscrew the tip of the nozzle and hold the nozzle up to the light. Make sure none of those holes are clogged. There are also two holes in the body were the nozzle threads are located. Make sure thos...

Lonnie, I have to agree that the best route is a "keyed" two part mold. The problem with "jeweler's cut" molds is they can (with little effort) slip and get out of register. I used to use jeweler's cut molds all the time in my jewelry business, but towards the end we switched to ...

I was actually going to get block of wood or foam and carve the model out. Then once i have it done, mold it and duplicate with epoxy. as u can see the ship is very basic: http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/9674/vaygrbattlecruiser580x3.jpg Just remember a couple of things. If you plan to put this in ...

Here are a couple of articles from the site to give you an idea of techniques for building. http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/promat.htm http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/my_scratch.htm http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/my_scratch.htm Many more useful articles here: http://www.starshipmodeler....

You will want a mini pipe cutter for tubing. both of those will smash the ends flat on tubing.

This year the had the Paste in tubes at WF. I bought both types.

Here is one more great example.

http://coolminiornot.com/pics/pics5/img ... caae78.jpg

If you go to Coolminiornot.com look up the painting articles there used to be a great one that showed how to paint flames etc...

I have several hundred of them and what I do is mix a thinner for them with 60% water, 20% W&N Blending Medium (retarder) and 20% alcohol (91% solution). As Terry mention they are designed to be thinned and used as a glaze to build up color. However, they can be thinned just enough to get covera...

I'd start with a dark metallic coat. Let it cure a few days then give it a good blue/ black wash with oils and turps. Let that cure a few days and then start dry-brushing silver back in to mimic the highlighted (read worn) areas where the original metal is coming through.

Mark

It depends if you use a curing box (i.e. a 60w bulb in a wood or cardboard box) you can accelerate the cure by about 50%.

I do this frequently and get get oil paints to set overnight.

Just make sure the bulb is not right by the model.

If it's tons of pin hole Mr. Surfacer is the best. You can paint it on and it'll fill many of the pinholes For seam filling I use Aves regular putty. Push the soft putty into the seam and then smooth it with a small flat brush and alcoho. If you are coming to Wonderfest this year TER-OR, Joe Brown a...

I don't know how much help this will be but I have successfully created multiple custom size flanges using a lathe. There are several methods that can be used. So if you know someone that has one available I'd look at that as a possibility...


Mark