Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Has anyone found a good rattle can equivalent to MM light grey? I find it to be a good color for a lot of Star Trek ships, but I rarely have the time to mess with any airbrush and Testors doesn't make a rattle can for light grey.

Is this how Future is now packaged? I can't seem to find the old stuff anymore. Has anyone used this one?

[url]https://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Pledge-F ... RPH4C/[url]

Has anyone tried this yet? I am really curious if it works on top of the decals. If anyone has tried it, can you post pictures?

Luckily, I have some extra decals to replace the one that got shifted, so I was able to get it off using a damp warm cloth. I was hoping I could salvage the original decal, but oh well.

What is the best way to remove decals which have dried without doing to much damage to the model and surrounding area? Is it possible to do so without damaging the decal so it can be repositioned? I am working on the 1701 refit and one of my decals shifted. It was dry before I noticed.

I have learned the hard way what happens when you don't test beforehand. It involved tears and language inappropriate for young viewers.

That would actually be great if it did. While the decals for the 1/1000 refit look good, they are too dark for my tastes. I was thinking about dulling them down a bit with a light coat of white anyways. I am probably going to get a can and do a few tests to see what I get.

I was looking through some youtube videos for tips on applying the decals on the refit Enterprise. One of the videos mentioned that they used Testor's White Lightning laquer and it looked really nice. He mentioned that it was transparent. Is that the case? If so, I was considering applying a coat on...

If a decal has been sitting for a day or two and I discover places where it is not quite laying down, is it beneficial to apply some more Micro Sol or is that just a fruitless gesture? I don't usually have more than an hour or two at a time to devote to model building, so I can't really apply multip...

What is the best way to get decals to fit down into grooves using microsol? I am working on a model with a bunch of grooves and grid lines. I am using Micro Set prior to placing the decal and Micro Sol after it is placed. I tried using a tissue to gently press the decal into the grooves, but the dec...

What is the best process for applying the large r2 decals that come w/ the 1/1000 refit? For example, micro set - decal - microsol, nothing - decal - micro set, etc. Also, do the r2 decals need to be coated w/ decal bonder?

Get some nail file boards (emmery boards?) from wal-mart and cut them to size. They work well for sanding. I found that as long as you are painting the surface in the end, you won't see any scratches from them.

1. Should I use Decal Bonder on old decals that have yellowed? Will the bonder lock in any of the yellow glue? 2. Is there a good way to loosen old decals that are stuck to the decal paper? I have some old decals that get stuck to the paper in places and cause the decals to rip. Should I just soak t...

I am needing some replacement decals for my Revell 1/144 Shuttle and both JBot and realspacemodels.com have some I could order. Has anyone ordered from them? What were your experiences?

I am working on a US Shuttle model and most of the model is bare plastic. I didn't prime it since it was already white. Will decals work better on the smooth plastic or over a coat of Future? I know you need a smooth finish to apply the decals, but I am not sure whether they would adhere better to t...

I am working on a model of the NASA shuttle and am having a hard time figuring out a good way to mask off around the nose of the shuttle for the grey tip, black stripe across the top of the nose, etc. Is there an easy way to mask off a straight line around a cone shaped object? I really don't want t...

I would actually recommend using charcoal. Grind down a charcoal pencil to get a nice powder. Brush it on, making sure to get it into all of the nooks and crannies. Then wipe off the excess with either a damp tissue (clean version) or a dry spongy makeup pad (dirty version). You can also use colored...

I often use MM florescent red on the back of clear parts with a clear red outer coat. Gives the appearance of a red glow for things like the Enterprise bussards.

The weird thing is that it is actually making the original coat of flat look LESS flat.

I am finishing up my AMT runabout and I brushed on some MM Acrylic flat coat onto some cement that has seaped out of a seam. The cement was very shiny and I wanted to dull it down. The flat coat I brushed on came out as more of a semigloss or satin. The subassemblies had already been sprayed with th...

I did not use any decal setting solution. The dull coat was MM acrylic airbrushed on. I will try a second coat and see if that helps.

I don't think the issue is air pockets. I have run into that issue before. This is a very even, very light frosting over the entire decal.

I applied the decals for my AMT Runabout and they came out a bit frosted. They are not bad, but noticable if you look close. I applied Future before and after applying them, followed by a dull coat. Any ideas why they look frosted?

Very helpful article. Thanks.

I put a coat of future on my AMT runabout and it beaded up like oil on water. It has leveled out a bit as it dries, but it is not smooth like it usually is. Anyone else experienced this? My base is MM Acrylic with charcoal pencil brushed into the panel lines and then wiped off. Ideas? Any good way t...

Also, what is a good window tint? I have not had good luck with the testor enamel stuff.

What is novus? I am not familiar with that product.

Is it possible to defog clear parts? I am working on the AMT DS9 runabout. I tried tinting the windows with some enamel window tint. The paint was a bit old and it came out looking pretty bad. I used some thinner to strip the paint off, but it fogged up the windows. Is there a way to undo the foggin...

That is how I work with models. The major downside is that you may have to sand off some of the paint to get a good weld between the pieces.

I usually spray some future over the decals before spraying my final clear coat. Apparently we don't have Future in Oz, renamed and reformulated, the semi gloss I used was from an aerosol, and I am thinking this may be the cause any more info would be appreciated I think Future is now called "...