Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Very nice mock up, but I might impart a few things I learned when I went from paper-based modeling to plastic/multimedia modeling. First, the plastic, or lexan sheets, or extruded PVC, all has its own considerations for joining seams, and attaching. Glues, epoxies, welding solvents, cements... all h...

Medium to work with... hum... I like foam. But in the studio model of the Bird of Prey, they used acrylic sheets for the main structure, and the base of the wings and main body. the original Klingon D7s had a resin hull. They were designed to look very different. Point is, to decide what to use as a...

I think his (Mr. Badwrench) point is that sticking to one philosophy is very hard to do when everyone (as you illustrate) has different ideas.

5) Baking Soda What's the baking soda for? Makes a cake rise, silly! No really, it absorbs odors when I fart! Ok, ok- I almost exclusively use super glue for my builds, on everything. CA, as you know, is acidic in nature. Baking soda is alkaline. Not only is baking soda a good cure for the superglu...

I have been scratching for about 15+ years, and have not changed but a few things in that amount of time. I started with the pencil, and it all got crazy. My list so far: 1) Pencil 2) X-Acto with #11 blades 3) sanding sticks, from Sally's 4) SuperGlue 5) Baking Soda 6) Micro Files of various sizes 7...

Detail is an additive process in most model building processes, being something that is put on to a model... but if you are sculpting something from plaster, or making a relief somehow, the detail is inside the shape. It really depends on how you going about the build. If you are working foam or woo...

I should warn you about some of the effects of the vinyl dye: first, it seeps into the plastic because it contains a solvent, that solvent will make the plastic soft, and in the case of thinner and less rigid plastics, such as model grade styrene, this could mean your wings begin to droop. Second, i...

yeah, there's no undercut, it's just a detail on a surface that's too detailed to rebuild. What clay would be best, would sculpey work? I haven't gotten any resin yet, this is on a kit for the future so it's not something I'll be doing for a bit. What's a good resin for just a small detail part Smo...

Has anyone ever tried turning a foam shape on a lathe? I want to make a round fuselage shape like the space ark or Mercury 9. I have done this with great success. The trick with turning the blue or pink foam on a lathe is to run a bolt or screw through the piece of foam, and chuck that up. The even...

On the finer grades of sandpaper & polishing film, working wet will be your saving grace. Change the water out between grits, especially on the coarser grades. I usually polish to about 10,000 and then dip in Future to cover the last shreds of micro-scrapes. Using a grit over 2000 will help onl...

Has anyone ever tried turning a foam shape on a lathe? I want to make a round fuselage shape like the space ark or Mercury 9. What I have seen is someone taking a block of foam and wedging it between two blocks of wood, drilled holes into the wood @ center, then simply turned it by hand to sand the...

Here is a picture of me scribing lines, and this is literally all I use to get the job done.

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad27 ... erm-40.jpg

It is possible to scribe paint as well as plastic, but unless you are of very steady hand and well practiced, I would not recommend it. When I scribe paint, it is for very small jobs, where the scale of the panel lines is so small the plastic scribe is too small. for this technique I put several lay...

Fiberglass: polyester resin, is good for several things, casting is one of them... if you understand how to use it. If it is tiny detail you need, paint the mold with several layers or resin, then use the fiberglass to "embed" it into the walls of your casting then put a coat down then som...

Even thought I use CA religiously, I stock a can of MEK in my arsenal, I am not even sure why... MEK is industrial stuff, if you decide to use it in quantity, you definitely want to be outside, and have a fan blowing (still outside). It is an Acrylic solvent, and it will work on most plastics, but n...

Parts that small I dip in alcohol, and then touch a "dot" of CA on a push pin and place it on the area that I intend the piece to go, then place the piece there. Things that small have to be placed by stabbing them with a very sharp knife. Another method is to squirt a dot onto a smooth wo...

I just got back from Sally's, the beauty supply store... got some of those really cool long lashes... Not Really. I did pick up some powdered acrylic. This stuff is neat, you add the emulsifier, and you can mix the powder in as thick as you like, but I just followed the directions and got a nice thi...

Instead of throwing away the covers to your rattle cans.... turn them into paint brush holders. I did it by cutting out a notch, across from each other, on the cover. These notches will allow you to lay a paint brush across the cover and out of harms way while you are using it. So while I am brushi...

@Greasyspoon Thank you for posting that- I have looked in vain for that tutorial, not knowing what happened to lyzrdstomp, and John. I believe it is one of the first things I have seen that closely represents what I do: find ordinary objects and incorporate them into my builds in a not-so-obvious w...

OK. This is a subject that I pride myself on because I am in the same boat as you, darthviper107, you need parts or detail "greeblies" but don't have any kits to pull from. Every modeler had to start somewhere, and in the beginning we have next to nothing. Creating machinery and technical ...

Welcome! This is a great forum to gain info on how to do the basics! You will find just about anything on any level of your build! Here is my first totally scratched (and finished) model: http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad279/AbsoluteSciFi/The%20Vermillion/The%20GlassDragon/Longdetail-8.jpg You c...

Lots of good advice here, but there are several things that clean the surface really good... detergents, for one, I have mentioned why in another thread; I tell about the "diode" and how it works. ( http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/viewtopic.php?t=91861 ) Comet is a detergent + a peroxi...

It really depends on how the outer hull looks... I would try to follow scribed panel lines and knock out the area to th e inside of the panels. Some panels I have made this way are tight enough to "snap" into place. They are beveled and are very time consuming to make.

At Maaco, they use what is known as MH-187, MH-186... thinners that REALLY cut paint. But all of the paints used there are two parts, and hardeners are added.

@Umi_Ryuzuki: Nice Work there! @Everyone: Making angles is not easy, at some point everyone needs to make a choice, make the cuts and bevels so precise the corners meet, or fill the crevice left behind by the corners of the styrene sheet. Both options have cons, and take time. I do a little of both...

Alcohol is great for prepping a model for paint, but out of the box, the model will have some type of release agent on it. Getting that off is a matter of detergent. Alcohol might not encapsulate the release agent the way a detergent will, and thereby some will be left behind on the model. Two thing...

I sand ALL my clear parts. even if they are spotless, I can make them thinner and that makes the "wavy" look go away, and the entire canopy starts to look more real. This process takes a good long time too, so don't rush it. I spent about three days sanding down the 1/72 canopy for The Gla...

Mr. Surfacer is actually a car paint primer; David Meriman thinks that an equivalent is Lucite 131S primer (or its equivalent). If you need a lot, this is by far the cheapest route. If you don't want to go to a car paint/refinishing store, you can get it from Squadron , or Megahobby . Frank It is t...

Could it be that the resin is till curing/gassing out? When I got my Anigrand Star Destroyer I got a contact high when I opened the box from the fumes!!!! It wasn't oily but the smell went away after a few days. Maybe soak it and let it sit for a few days before primering. MMM fuuuummes... If a kit...

Complex shape construction is some of the most elusive building experience out there. Often a modeler will turn away from dealing with a part or an area for the simple reason that he/she is afraid to tackle the problem head on. The task looks impossible unless you break it down into parts, and know ...