Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Just wunderin'.

I have Bandai's 1/35 Batmobile (Batman Forever) which lights up with a single blue LED. I plan to enter this in contests, so I'd like to have the LED on for at least three hours during judging, preferably about six in total over the duration of each contest. It's powered by three 1.5 V watch batteri...

Thanks for the input guys. Suggestions on what adhesive to use to attach the foil?

(Who thinks of this stuff anyway? What's the thought process?
"Hmm...exhaust discolouration.....EGGS...yeah, that'll do it!)

Does anyone know how to discolour foil using crushed eggshells? It's a method used to replicate burnished or discoloured metal on things such as aircraft exhaust cans. From what I understand, regular cooking foil is placed in a pot of boiling water with crushed egg shells, the time it's left in affe...

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering how many of you paint parts while they're still on the sprues. I've heard this recommended many times, but to me it makes no sense because: -it's a lot easier to remove mold parting lines off the sprue -paint needs to be scraped away to ensure a good bond (especi...

I've never had a problem with Pine Sol softening styrene. I don't leave parts in for longer than a few hours and it seems to remove 95-100% of the paint. What remains can be taken care of with a little Easy Off. Very little mess. I keep the Pine Sol in a container and have re-used it for years. Sugg...

I've been experiencing blow-back with my Badger 200 airbrush (ie, bubbles in the paint cup with nothing coming out the nozzle), and I can't figure out why. I performed my usual trouble-shooting attempts: -tore it down, thoroughly cleaned all parts with laquer (except teflon ring and o-ring) -checked...

Hi HWR,

If you get access to a computer that allows you to view pics, www.codyscoop.com has some good photos of the Bandai build. As for a cop car, the Revell "American Heroes" (?) kit has a 1/32 Malibu that could be right up your alley.

Can automotive laquer be sprayed (with spray can) over Tamiya white or gray primer?

I ended up doing it in a very dark gray, drybrushed in a lighter shade. Came out nice, IMHO.

Yeah, it's hard to explain the effect I want to achieve if I do it in blue. Y'know how for example a black aircraft such as a stealth can take on a slight bluish tone when viewed from a distance, due to atmospheric interference such as haze? That's what I'm thinking of. I realize it would pretty muc...

I just got the new Bandai "Batmobile" on the weekend. Desite being 1/35 scale (I would have preferred 1/24 or 1/25) the detail is teriffic and the fit is outstanding! I'm thinking of painting it a very dark blue, almost black. I've been toying with the idea of preshading it. Think I should?

BTW, thanks for the offer Andrew!

Thanks all for the info, much appreciated. Kylwell, that looks like what I need! Funny enough, I was at the Ottawa show yesterday (anyone else go?) and stumbled across two sheets of 1/2" Roman lettering. After I order the set recommended here I should be good to go

Anyone know where I can find 1/2" high WHITE letters and numbers, in a Times New Roman style, or something similar? In this case I'm not looking for a modern type of font. I'd prefer rub-on, although if I have to I'll use decals. I've checked Chartpak, Letraset and Woodland Scenics but they don...

I'm currently working on a large (1/25 or G Scale) steam engine for a BTTF III scene. I've airbrushed it all in Testors Interior Black (actually a VERY dark gray) to start, to cover the primer and fill the areas that'll be in shadow. It looks like one big black mass at the moment. Since I've never w...

I'm faced with the rather daunting (to me) task of having to apply the "red" pinstriping on the 1966 TV Batmobile. I've thought of using tape but there are a lot of tight curves that will be a problem. Any suggestions? If paint is suggested what should I use to apply it to get a clean edge?

Anyone tried Kneadatite? How's it compare to Magicsculp?

Thanks Jack, I'll give it a try. I always hold my breath when I open a kit containing clear vacuform parts and hope they're not too bad. Hopefully this will alleviate my concerns.

I have found almost invariably that any vacuform clear parts I get in garage kits is distorted i.e.; seems to have a cloudy look in spots. Is there any way to fix this, other than trying to make new ones? I presume it's a fairly common occurence.

Chevy, hope this doesn't discourage you too much. I'd consider a vinyl kit somewhat ambitious for a first model, but that's just my opinion. I think you'll find that these hurdles are great teachers and you'll quickly learn from them. There's a ton of talent on this site and by asking questions as y...

Help! I need to make some decals. Actually, I have a sheet of stickers that I want to clean up, change the colour slightly and copy into decals using my computer. I have a colour printer/scanner/copier (an HP PSC 2170) but I'm a newbie to all this so I don't know what to do or if I can do it on my s...

Bert, as I'm not the one doing it this will be easy for me to suggest. But.. If you weigh the time it's taking to buff, sand, re-coat etc. etc. I wonder if it wouldn't take just as much time to reprime (if you did) and re-paint the whole thing. Yeah it's a pain, but that way you'll get an even finis...

Eagle wrote: I just whacked on three light coats of acrylic varnish from a home improvement store. Sound as a pound!

Great, I'll test it on a scrap first. Thanks.

Eagle, did you coat the decals with anything before putting them in water? This thread is very timely as I printed off some decals last night on my HP psc 2170. I need to treat them as I know they will run (smeared it easily with a dry finger). Any suggestions on what to use? I have an airbrush.

Pro: I think you could conceivably do it with two power sources. As Lightsheet can be cut to just about any shape, you could probably trim it to the shape of a lens on each side with the connectors facing the bridge of the nose, run the leads to the power source(s) concealed in a baseball cap, for e...

Does the digikey catalogue have pics? I'm not familiar enough with this stuff to know exactly what it is I need by description alone.

Anyone know a good source for teeny tiny LED's (white or clear and red). I'm talkin' a mm or two in diameter. Do they make them that small?

As mentioned, drilling and gluing is the easiest way. If you're going to paint the branch, adding roots at the base using Milliput or another putty beforehand will make it that much more realistic. Look at real trees to get an idea of how it should look.

I just decaled a rock recently, never done that before. It's actually a piece of rail road ballast which I've attached a brass plaque to for my BTTF III diorama.