Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Well, I can't seem to get Imjur to work in any of my browsers, no matter what I try. So unable to log on there, I'll try this. Right now I'm scribing 3 out 8 x-plane models that I'm scribing or re-scribing. I looked at what was spread out before me this am and thought, a photo is worth a bunch o' wo...

I started using a Mr Scriber, blue handle. Nicest scriber I've ever used, lovely clean lines pared right out of the plastic, no cleanup required. Used it for about a month, just picked it up again for another model, and the hooked little scribing tip was gone. Can't find it anywhere. The tip was jus...

I gave up on Bare Metal Foil a long time ago. It's not what it was a decade or so ago. These days, it's thin and usually old in the hobby shop and won't adhere well and if its wrinkled the largest piece you can cut has to be smaller than the slightest wrinkle, where it will tear. It's very difficult...

Recently picked up a great scribing tool. Chose this site at random just for an example. This is the whole set but you can buy individually: https://www.premiumhobbies.co.uk/scribers/mrp-mr-scriber-complete-set I've only got the black/narrow one right now. It's the best thing I've ever used for scri...

I use Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic for ovecroating old or fragile or home printed decals. Whatever you use for overcoating, make sure you test it on a scrap piece of your decal as some decal coating products may react badly to some decal chemistries. Also, given the crudity of many old (and even new...

Just going through some of my old files on the computer, and re-discovered this one from a few years back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRnKEwsQSaQ&list=RDCMUC9UUZIFvHRQPfDoCP-bTB7A&index=8 A great panel line primer from the great Paul Budzik. As he says, panel lines are completely subjec...

CA is one of my go-to's. Use thick, don't use an accelerator, as that actually weakens the CS, and don't use talk or baking soda as a thickener/accelerator, as both, after about 20 years, start to dissolve. You have a couple of hours after the CA is dry to sand and scribe, otherwise, as others have ...

There is a brilliant, step-by-step tutorial here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSbSjuB ... HxZBAxFuy-

It's also a tremendous amount of fun. Cheers!

A couple of photos, mostly old from an old Photobucket album I'd made about etching. This is what my artwork looks like: https://imgur.com/0ZyTTdp I always do two sided artwork, which is why I want the parts to etch evenly from both sides. To register the parts, I drill as small holes as I can from ...

You've got me stumped on the coppery finish on the etched side. Both sides of my etch looks pretty much the same, anything ranging from brilliant brass to blackish tarnish. Ah! - I'm going to guess that it's because one side was close to the side or bottom of the etching container. The two sides of ...

I don't know exactly what you're describing there, but if you're saying that you're leaving the metal for a longer time in a weaker solution, you don't want to do that. When I etch, the weaker the solution gets, the longer it takes to etch through, and the resulting etch itself isn't of the crispest...

I'm editing this one to put the most important bit from the end, at the beginning as well, as it's really a long and boring post: Two years a chem major and I can guarantee that nothing you use to strip paints will be safe for your skin, eyes, or lungs, let alone children or pets. Always wear protec...

Dettol is just a disinfectant - it might strip some acrylics but I wouldn't expect too much. To repeat, I used it on some of my auto models dating from the 60s, painted with Testors bottle and spray enamels, and it worked for me. I discovered it by searching the 'Net for paint remover suggestions a...

I've always used Easy-Off. You need to apply it somewhere well ventilated, preferably outside, and let the model sit for a few hours if it's a water-based paint, possibly a few days with re-coats if it's an enamel. Last year I stripped some of my AMT cars from the '60s. It took several coats and a c...

Good Lord, Shaw! - welcome back! A couple years ago, I thought sf modellers had lost you forever. An amazing project, an amazing modeller, and an amazing inspiration. Just stumbled across this thread by accident, a bright spot in a bleak week. Thanks!

Back when Hobbytalk was still... well, it still exists but only in a kind of terminal coma - Gary Kerr had a thread where he was providing a lot of information on the colors of the E. This was the thread: http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/99-science-fiction-modeling/512354-new-information-original-nacel...

Got my order today! At last!! So everyone who are always complaining about how long it takes to get garage kits or parts, take note of how much time has passed here. MBS only stocks a small portion of Plastruct catalogue. Everything else is special order and they only do special orders from the US o...

Well, Model Builders Supply does stock some Plastruct, maybe about 1/3 of their catalogue. In theory. As far as plastic hemispheres go, all they have in stock are the clear ones. The solid ones are special order only. So I emailed back about how to make a special order. Three times. So far no reply ...

Brilliant! It's like the clock has turned back to the 1980s. I see many of the things I'm after listed here. Just have to find my list and see how much of what's on it I can track down. And see if/what their minimum orders might be.
Thanks again!

Wow, that was fast! You responded before I'd even finished correcting my spelling mistakes. Thanks! I'll check them out right away!

Years ago, when people built things, Plastruct parts were dead easy to find here locally. Recently went searching for half a dozen marble sized Plastruct half spheres (the most basic Plastruct part ever?) and cannot find them anywhere. The only Plastruct distributer in Canada seems to be Walthers. W...

Here's how I do two-sided etch: http://s1004.photobucket.com/user/jkirkphotos/library/Photoetching%20at%20Home?sort=9&page=1 Some of my other albums have other examples, such as artwork: http://s1004.photobucket.com/user/jkirkphotos/library/Galactica%20TOS%20Etch%20Artwork?sort=3&page=1 to f...

Starseeker...what you're describing is a different beast with multiple LED's behind a plastic light diffuser of some sort. The LED product in this thread is a single LED applied to the edge of a special formulation of acrylic that produces an even glow throughout the miniature panel. I know. Just s...

If those sizes aren't right for you, you could also make your own. Lee Valley sells the diffusers in 3/4" x 36" lengths (frosted or opal, opal is best for things like the 1701 nacelles) item #s 00u42.32, 00u42.52 and 00u42.72. (the difference is their shape). $3.20 each. If you look for &q...