Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

What is the wiring diagram of, say, a phillips or GE string of LED lights? Is there any resistor in there? I know the leds are running on AC, not DC, as when you swing a lit string around, you get a "wagon Wheel" effect due to the leds flashing at 60Hz. Is it simply all in series being fed...

After decalling 3.75 of my 5 trek bashes I am working on, I have to say that future works great! If you put it on too thick, it leaves jagged edges, but micro set dissolves this. Also, micro-set and -sol need a little longer to work.

Thanks for the tip!

Gonzo

Ooops!

I knew I missed one after going the DLM, Madman, and VOODOO routes!

Hello All,


I figured I had to build at least one of my original run of 1/1000 E's as the Enterprise and light it. I have looked all over, and no one has the rotating bussards in stock. Does anyone know a retailer who might have it? Or can you point me to a circuit diagram somewhere?


Thanks,

Gonzo

Thanks! I'll look for that, and try the future too. Love your sig! That is one of my alltime favorite movies! Trivia - not only is it considered the first movie to show a saucer shaped craft, it is the first Sci-fi movie to be completely in color. I did not know it was in color 'till I saw it in '76...

Hello All, I have no LHS, The nearest one is a damn HobbyTown USA, and if corporate doesn't say you carry it, you don't, so no microscale products. I am in the middle of 5 models, and 4 of them are at the decal stage, and the little custom decals I bought online are tearing left and right. I was won...

Go to a dollar store or I-love-china-more-than-AmericaMart and get a cheapie can to practice with. You will need to find the happy medium of distance from target VS application rate. The farther you are, the worse the peel gets as the paint that is in aerosol form will actually start to dry the seco...

Ooops! Instead of putting the whole link in my post, I made the word "This" the link. I was asking about The Castin' Craft "Easycast" polyester at Michael's. Thanks for all the info though! When I get into it, I will be in my garage where I have an exhaust fan from an old paint s...

Hey All, Looking to get into casting, mostly for lighting parts. I have read that you need to use pressure to get crystal clear parts. I'm looking to make light guides at first, so crystal is what I want. I found this at Michael's(a craft store here in the US) and it does not require pressure. At le...

Don, Please let us know how the soldering goes, and if the gun kills them with heat. They look like they may be SMD(surface mount device) so solder paste may be the way to go instead of the usual "wire" solder. Back in the day I would always get a cold joint or a dead component because of ...

Maybe I am missing something, but none of my web searches bears fruit.
I was wondering if anyone knew of LED's with a 180 degree viewing angle?
Or would that be 90? Meaning, it looks as bright from the side as from the front.

Thanks Don!

I have everything but the airbrush, and that is top o' the list of things to buy.

I know about files, for the venator the windows are real close together on the tower so I will probably just cut a slot. I was talking more along the lines of Square fibre or something like that. I wonder if I can shave sideglow fibre and still have it work. I could shave a section flat, glue it in ...

Hey All,

I am lighting a Venator SD , and it has quite a few square windows on the towers. I'd like to keep them square when I light it, not just drill round holes. Any ideas as how to do this?

Thanks!

Gonzo

Thanks guys! I wasn't sure if that would give the fuzzy edge I am looking for.
I may try graphite. I have a buttload around here for lock lubricant from my days in autoparts....

Hey All,

I did a search and cannot seem to find my answer.

I am doing 2 Y-wings. I don't own an airbrush. I want to blacken the torpedo tube reliefs on the bottom of the cockpit, but would like to get that "Fuzzy edge" look. Is this impossible without an airbrush?

Found these while looking for other info.

The calculator makes it Soooooooo easy!

http://ledcalc.com/#calc

And the tutorial isn't bad either.

http://www.theledlight.com/ledcircuits.html

Wow, Thanks for all the replies! I forgot about Harbor freight, there's one in front of pot mills. My wife is a Starbuck's manager up there, so I'm sending her by on her break today. I didn't get a chance to go myself, I'm in indentured servitude to my inlaws to build them a deck, and spent most of ...

Hey all, Here it is Saturday morning, and i just broke my last fiber optic sized drill bit. And that one was from my DS9 kit. There is no LHS worth a damn here in Fredericksburg, and Lowes doesn't carry bits that small. I don't want to pause in my construction to wait a week for micromark to deliver...

Or for interiors.Why use a hundred leds in your 1/350 ship when just a few will do?

Yeah, eye damaging bright is not an exaggeration. I have a lightsaber from ultrasabers.com that uses a Luxeon LED. My particular one is a tri color one,(RGB), but they come in all sorts of colors. With the blade off it will light a dark room no problem. looking directly at it hurts more than the sun...

I found these sunny white leds while looking for lights for my model railroad. In this picture, the left loco has a regular white led, the center has a sunny white led and the right has a yellow led. Go to richmondcontrols.com and click on "LEDS" on the left side. http://www.richmondcontro...

Johnny, By Wally World, do you mean wall mart? or is there really a store named after the amusement park in Vacation? If you mean wall mart, you are in luck. I have done a few PL E's ,and D-7's with this rattlecan stuff they sell. I don't have the name in front of me, but it is a blue can, and the c...

As the big dog said, it's probably flash. But, you can still do it. I assume you have a DA airbrush, and not an SA?You need to be able to regulate paint flow as well as airflow. Go get a few ping pong balls, and cut them in half. No, you won't be able to see your results well, but it will still allo...

I have humidors scattered around the house, they stay more stable at the 70% cigars like if I keep the house at say 65%. My spare bedroom is my space, and i can keep it drier in there. The intermediate blue that is drying too fast is flat. I'm trying to detail some impulse engines on a Connie, and i...

Damn, I never thought of the nut trick! Like a shaker ball in a spray can! I have plenty of nuts laying around from my days in R/C.


Thanks!

Gonzo out.

Okay, I tried the search feature, and as usual, nothing came up that was helpful. I have been using mainly Testor's paints all these years, and just now bought some Model Master green and blue for some Trek bashes I am doing. Is it normal for these paints to be real thin, and require more coats than...

So let me get this straight..... I should always prime my models? :D I have never had a problem like this before. But I guess the large surface area of the 1/350 PL NX-01 brought it out. How long should I let Testor's spray enamel dry before I Future it? A week? Longer? AAARRGGHHH, I want instant gr...

I spoke too soon in another post about having no problems. I went to lay down my first layer of panelling today, before heading out to work. When I peeled up the Latex, the paint came with it. Where the paint stayed, it had my brushmarks from the Latex in it. I went to the saucers, that I have not l...