Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I am mostly having difficulty with the new site setup- the colors are hard for me to see well and the navigation not as easy for me as with the original site. (I have been told there will be an option to allow people adjust the color theme eventually) Glad I'm not the only one, I do not like this n...

Thanks for the replies so far guys too.

Got a link for Greenleaf?? A lighthouse has been on my "wish" list for awhile now. Was looking at a complete scratch. But if there is a kit... So, when they say 1/2" and 1", they mean 1/24, and 1/12 scale?? Here's the link mate: http://shop.greenleafdollhouses.com/Greenleaf.html...

Greenleaf dollhouses just released 2 lighthouse kits, 1/2" scale and 1" scale. Check them out, some of you might like them. These are laser cut wood kits, very nice. It would be very hard to install an actual rotating light in the kit. I thought of a ramping circuit to simulate the rotatin...

Once you try wet sanding you will hate dry sanding. You will only dry sand when you basolutely have to.

To clarify my prior post, I did pre-sand the bits of plastic before trying the polyurethane glue, It just doesn't seem to stick to styrene. I'm surprised the contact cement failed. I used LePage's 'Green' non-toxic contact cement on a foam USS Voyager to glue thin styrene sheet accent panels, they'r...

I tried gluing 2 pieces of styrene with polyurethane glue (gorilla glue) just for fun, and it didn't work. The foaming seemed to hold the pieces together, but they broke apart at the first touch.

On 'Furniture to Go' Joe and Ed used thinned down wood filler to smooth the surface of mahogany for a French Polish. It turned out like glass, and mahogany has a very open grain despite being a hard wood. I think Gibson use about a million coats of lacquor on their guitars.

I have an almost full bottle of Future that, while in a box, turned into what looks like a bottle of pee.

I buy clamps at Harbor Freight, the BEST I've seen for model making is a suction cup base vise. You can get a Panavise at Micro Mark for 40 or more bucks, mine was 14 bones. The only reason I can see shelling out for a tool maker's vise is for milling, done a lot of research since getting my mill. F...

Cornmeal won't go mushy, gives cornbread it's texture. I am thinking that since cornmeal is finer than salt it could be used in combination for a varied effect. Then use coarse ground salt for an even more varied effect. Dammit Bab you've got me thinking, a very dangerous thing these days, by using ...

I don't collect anything I see, but tend to stock up on things I'm using for a recent project. In fact I seem to be trying to come up with the weirdest source of material I can find. Must be Joe Brown's influence. The stand for the Time Machine is the tube container from a chest tube, and LP trays a...

You know I just noticed that yesterday at WalMart of all places, in the auto paint area, there was one from Rustoleum, and one from Krylon. I'm guessing it's the right stuff, though with the rough finish it might look out of scale. Thanks a lot for all the replies and info guys. It was cheap so I'll...

Thanks for the replies guys, if I can't find it here the main point was that it should be 'considerably darker than primer grey'.

I could get liquid mask at WalMart in Canada, didn't bring any with me last time I was there, they can get real antsy about transporting chemicals accross the border. Can't get it here, something about kids sniffing it cause of the ammonia. What, kids never heard of Windex?

I have it from a reliable source that Nostromo (the filming miniature-all 8 feet of it) was painted with zinc plate primer-not grey primer as often reported. I Googled it, and found essentially nothing. Is this a British thing, apparently it's an automotive primer. If it is Brit, does anyone know wh...

Checking Ken's work, I remembered that Evergreen (possibly so does Plastruct but never checked) has slats of styrene in all number of widths. Those would be perfect for that kind of job. You'd only have to cut to length. And believe me, that type of job is big enough without having to make your own ...

Frank is a tres kewel guy. Very helpful. Also great for mini mills, which he also covers. For getting set up this place is da bomb!: http://www.littlemachineshop.com/default.php Go to the learning center, there's info on stuff that goes with mills and lathes, and what it acutally does, so you can mo...

Harbor Freight's a decent enough company but you do get what you pay for. Mini-lathe has varous reviews. Dude, the lathe Frank owns is made by Sieg, his is from Grizzly IIRC, but it's the exact same machine sold by Harbor Freight. It's a Sieg C-2, though Frank recently upgraded to a larger Sieg.

Is the skeleton some material such as wood, or metal? Cause otherwise why use superglue at all? Liquid cement such as Ambroid, Tenax, or even Testors will bury ANY CA on styrene no ifs, ands or buts. I even prefer tube glue for certain things. I use CA only when absolutely necessary.

I tried rubbing alcohol, disaster. The paint curdled, turned into lumps. I'll hafta try Future too, I love that stuff.

Also interested in this, got a new kit that needs a bit of straightening here and there.

Plastruct's stuff should have the chemical on the label. I think they have something like 4 different types, and I don't recall any of them being methylene chloride.

Am I suuposed to be seeing something? Cause I aint at this point.

Yep, I get on the horn to Sony to replace the piece. I'm guessing no way the repair it scar free. Since it's a store display it could be lexan, very tough to work with.

While I prefer Evergreen you get a lot more Plastruct for the dosh. Evergreen cuts easier but my money goes to Plastruct. It's simply far less expensive.

I have a Silentaire Scorpion 1 and could not be happier with it. Used it with double and single action brushes. Quiet? You can talk over it easily, I could hear the TV in another room with it running, and it never woke up Dougal-the-Pooh while he was sleeping the same room, actually on the floor dir...

Sounds like you might have answered your own question Bro. I'm definitely not taking Dremel to kit. The simulated damage in the pics of the built kit is more than good enough for me.

Gotta go with ambroid or Tennax also. They seem to be pretty much the same in use, though Ambroid smells more. I've trial glued (welded more like) lots of different types of plastic w/o probs. Though I've heard some of the plastics toys are made from can be a bugger to paint.

As far as those probs go, I don't see a lot diffeernt on the Micro Mark saw. In fact the vise hold down looks pretty well identical. Though on the other side. Like I aid, I got mine for 17 bones, A can buy one helluva protractor for the difference.