Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

1.5 % to 2.5 % Talc added to clear urethane when casting makes an excellent light diffusing material

I would recommend looking at Smooth-On. Their SC-300 is a stellar choice for the first timer. They have small kits as well...$30-$40 plus shipping will get a decent amount of resin that will make quite a few small to med. sized pieces. I would also recommend their Mold Max 30 or 40 as a silicone of ...

When I was working with Fisher-Price , I had to do a lot of re-painting of production toys that were made from Polypropylene. The only way to get paint to reliably adhere was to sandblast the parts first. This created a rough surface for the paint to "grab" on to. Once this step was done ,...

The rubber typically used in spin casting is a sheet material. Much firmer than the silicone most guys use. I'm sure that you can find "RTV" rubber in a liquid form ... that's "Room Temperature Vulcanizing" silicone...AKA Mold-Max, GI-1000,etc. I would say standard silicone would...

Another thing to consider..the molds are heat vulcanized.
Lots of heat and pressure.

Look in to spin casting. Works for metal...I'm sure it would work for urethanes. Of course..if people were in the habit of testing the relief valves on their pressure pots..there wouldn't be so many "horror stories" of exploding pressure pots. To test safely.... fill the pot nearly full wi...

Unless you use a 2 piece female mold

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Polyfill
the stuff you put in pillows

works great

3M's methyl acrylate is the stuff

Others may chime in with different glues ( that may very well work ) but that's my go-to glue for difficult material bonding

IMHO....a rod will always be stronger....but...a tube will always be more rigid.

I believe what you are looking for is rigidity..if so..go with the brass tube.

you just did

FYI... the SR-1 kit is still available
The Mako is being cast and will be available as soon as I can get some decals run. ( Al Wong is currently working up the artwork for decals )

The 1:350 SR-2 is still an on-going project I'm hoping to have available before end of the year ( stay tuned for more )

Ooops...double post

A solution dicovered through trial and error....lots of error... :oops: But, I know from experience....it works ! Step 1... apply a light coating of vaseline cut with Mineral Spirits to both the mold cavity as well as the master. Step 2 .... insert the master back into the mold cavity. ( wipe away e...

Have you considered using urethane sign board ?
You might be able to score some decent sized pieces from your local sign maker/shop.

It's really east to work and finish.

FYI...urethane works real well with fiberglass....no polyester fumes to deal with.

Polyfill ( pillow stuffing material ) will spread the light quite nicely

How big will it be ?
Length/Width ???

That design looks like a great candidate for vac-forming !

If anyone can help with a few screen grabs of the Normandy SR-2 Hanger area I would be most appreciative of your sharing same with me

I'm looking for a complete walk-around...sides, ceiling and floor

Thanks in advance !

Best vac material I've found is an Aluminum Filled Epoxy from Huntsman Chemicals. Not cheap...but...rock hard and Uber-durable with a stellar surface I pour the Epoxy just as you might for an open back mold...let the Epoxy cure...then ( and this is where experience pays off ) I drill very small hole...

Smooth-on SC-300 ( fast ) or 305 (slower )
Easy 1 to 1 ratio
Not brittle like polyester resins

They sell a sample kit... believe it's 2 quarts of resin total.
Costs around $30.00

Good stuff !

irishtrek wrote:Or why not add the future to what's going into the mold???

If there is any water in the Future...you will get foamed resin.

That would be a safer approach. The dragon skin is pretty floppy...it was designed for animatronics skin...but, if you make the blocks of silicone kinda large...there should be few issues. You will have to be careful when clamping the mold halves together....the silicone will be quite easy to distor...

You will ( most likely ) have cure issues even with a barrier coat of vaseline....platinum cure silicones are very touchy that way.

But, and this is a biggie...are they both tin cure silicones ? I believe that Dragon Skin is a platinum cure silicone. As such, it will not cure against a tin cure silicone ( I believe that OooMoo is a tin cure ) If I'm wrong, and they're both tin or platinum....disregard this message and ford on !

Mineral spirits is the solvent of choice when thinning vaselene

Wow...thanks Steve !

Say, what's the next project ???????