Who collects stuff for scratch building?

Ti Raven · Post by **Ti Raven** » Wed Jun 02, 2010 11:54 pm

Since I do not build much, I have been culling the cases and cases of greeblies.
Old computer innards, printers, super~fancy coffer makers and the insidious disposable cameras...
these have given their all in the Name of Greeblicafication.
And all have been sittingin my closet and under the house, taking up waaaay too much room.
If I had any Fung Shui, it would be scared...
My thanks to Kylwell & suechef for taking many cases over time to the CoMMiES Build & Bulls.
Many were shared and sent to other modelers here in goodie boxes.
But I *AM* culling down now..... really...
So expect more stuff... Still have 1 1/2 boxes just of disposible camera innards and cases.
Many *still* look like tank bodies to me...

~Ti

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 4:12 pm

Softspike cleats
http://www.softspikes.com/Default.aspx?tabid=344
http://www.softspikes.com/CleatsAccesso ... fault.aspx

Borg base?
http://www.chdist.com/displayproductdet ... ku=4454000
http://www.chdist.com/displayproductdet ... ku=4253001

Large secondary hull tubes
http://www.chdist.com/displayproducts.d ... 6k83v2yx64

Lids
http://www.chdist.com/displayproductdet ... ku=3177018
http://www.chdist.com/displayproductdet ... ku=4575400

Funnel
http://www.chdist.com/displayproductdet ... ku=7408700

The hangers here look interesting
http://www.chdist.com/office-furniture- ... 772-153566

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:04 pm

And of course, this makes for a nice ramscoop starship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuvuzela
http://www.worldsoccershop.com/departme ... nAodKHiA7A

or maybe for that "Big Ear" station

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 3:49 pm

Nacelle
http://www.thermowebonline.com/dyn_prodlist.php?k=86229

There was a company called Mega limited partnership that had nice odds and ends

Misc:
http://www.streamlinenyc.com/
http://www.streamlinenyc.com/detail.php ... cat_id=148&

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:44 pm

Recently I had to rummage through some of my "stuff boxes" and it hit me: why don't I take a photo of the contents of each of my boxes and store the pics on my computer, so I can do 'virtual rummaging'. It seems obvious now, but when some of those boxes were packed digital cameras were a dubious novelty.

Observation #1: Damn those boxes are old!

Observation #2: I gotta start using those parts before the plastic rots away.

Observation #3: Why you always need a slightly different shape to what you have?

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:35 pm

From Ask this old house--nice plastic french drain containers and clear domes

http://stores.drainageproducts.us/Categories.bok
http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/p ... SHOP_39405

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 4:35 pm

I have just taken the Phillips screwdriver to an old cheapie 35mm camera we had lying about -- we haven't used it since at least 2003. Gears! Lenses! Itty-bitty electric motors! Greeblies galore! Huzzah!

Disco58 · Post by **Disco58** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:24 am

I have a couple boxes of 'stuff' that I'm giving away to whomever, but I was wondering...is there such a thing as 'holy grail' bits that scratch builders search high and low for, or drool uncontrollably when they see it or hear of someone else having it/them?

Disco58 · Post by **Disco58** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:46 am

[/quote]The 2nd is usually so much better than the 1st... Maybe 'cause we look for someone WITHOUT whatever miffed us 'bout the 1st.[/quote]

It made me realize the 1st was actually right about more things than I had imagined, or for which she had been given credit. The 2nd...let's just say I truly wish Rancors actually existed.

Disco58 · Post by **Disco58** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 11:10 am

Chacal wrote:Well, I did. And it's a doozy: you guys know how lately more and more products, in an effort to 'greenify' their packaging are using a paper-maché like shell? Apple Mice now come resting in a little cardboard tub, some other products as well.
Pic
Pic with quarter for scale
Paint it a 'sandy' color, add some whitewash here and there, some technical-looking greeblies, some steps....

I love it when I see someone who sees the same piece I have, and sees a similar use. I used to work for a company that makes this type of packaging, and could very well have made the one you have. Whether or not you could obtain some of their scraps/mistakes I don't know, but it may be worth a shot. http://www.molded-pulp.com/

Maybe one could pass themselves off as a rep for company 'X' and just ask for some "samples"? Hehehehe

tyler · Post by **tyler** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:56 am

I had a big box of random bits and pieces I had been saving up but moved recently and they went... somewhere. I'm slowly starting over.

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:22 pm

Chacal wrote:I have just taken the Phillips screwdriver to an old cheapie 35mm camera we had lying about -- we haven't used it since at least 2003. Gears! Lenses! Itty-bitty electric motors! Greeblies galore! Huzzah!

Found an old, non-functioning 1990 JVC VHS-C Camcorder. I'll let you guys know...

newozbuilder · Post by **newozbuilder** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:53 am

I have been hoarding bits and pieces for years. Old model kits, old models, old toys, electrical cables and components, circuit boards etc... Anything that takes my fancy as a 'possible' for later. I used to build planes alot when I was younger, but haven't had the time for building in years! Now I find I have more time as my children get older and I now work from home, so less travel time. Got boxes of stuff to start pulling apart now and will be starting soon on my first scratch build, which will be a sci-fi build of my own design/creation. It's going to be an interesting journey and I look forward to learning heaps from it!!!

AbsoluteSciFi · Post by **AbsoluteSciFi** » Mon May 02, 2011 3:55 pm

Just checking in to see how this thread has grown... and it occurred to me that ANY scratchbuilder of spaceships collects something! It happens to be a prerequisite of being that kind of modeler...

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Sat May 14, 2011 11:42 am

Over at Many service stations are outsized pens, like what we saw filled with explosives on mythbusters. Also at Chevron stations are mini-plastic gumball machines--smaller versions of these http://www.fordgum.com/replacementParts.aspx

New liquid highlighters from Sharpie have the ribbed inserts that look like warp coils. Other gel highlighters that are yellow and have to be dialed out like solid stick deodarant make for nice nacelles perhaps. gel like fiber optics I bet--
http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Products/Pa ... ighlighter(Sharpie Catalog)

http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Products/Pa ... rLiquidPen(Sharpie Catalog)

Spherical sports drink bottle, like the Coke ornaments
http://dagrousa.blogspot.com/2011/01/sp ... drink.html

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 12:20 pm

AbsoluteSciFi wrote:Just checking in to see how this thread has grown... and it occurred to me that ANY scratchbuilder of spaceships collects something! It happens to be a prerequisite of being that kind of modeler...

What do you mean by "that kind of modeler"?

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 1:05 pm

Something I looked a long time for was some clear plastic cylinders with a base to make a flanged lens like you see on old diving suits, the problem I had was that are commonly molded with the injection point in the center of the base, ruining the lens. I ended up finding some lipstick tubes in the local closeout store that had the marks on the rim, the flange will hide it. As a bonus the other half of the lipstick was in a clear tube that was the same OD as the good ones, only with the injection mark in the center, so I have some spares to practice my construction on without having to worry about the good ones.

Ken

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 1:34 pm

Try disposable camera lenses. Usually plastic & flanged.

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:03 pm

I saw some strange platic hangers with ratcheting, bullet like centers. Yes on clothes hangers, the metal hook turns, but this was all plastic and different. I think it was in the automotive section, as I only saw the hangers by themselves, visors hung from them, I think...at Wal Mart.

Also, the Tron light jet has fins on a double boom base that might be mated with NX-01 models. There are some forward swept metal fighter planes in stores now behind some of the metal propeller planes.

Saw off the nose, and you have a great swept back Klingon wing and impulse block set.

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 2:03 pm

Some nice things here
http://www.trex.com/plan/products/decki ... /index.htm Click on railing support brackets

This air freshener is teardrop shaped and comes in two halves.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=217527268
The top part makes a great B/C deck for the TOS Enterprise
Flip upside down for Klingon D-7 Cobra head

Artist Alonzo Clemons http://alonzoclemons.com/
Car Artist http://www.kaucherkustoms.com/

Great rotatable lower sensor dome for refit:
http://eyewearswivelclip.com/index.html
http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/5860191.html

Misc
http://www.kokos.com/everyday/everyday- ... -candy.htm

Nice drawings from this program
http://www.rolfwaeber.com/mystery/russi ... index.html

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:25 pm

So last Sunday morning at 0500 on the way home from the office (yes, 0500), I stumble upon two scratchbuilding goldmines on the side of the road.

First was a six-inch thick board of white styrofoam. Of course, I dutifully turned the car around and rescued it from the ditch. Then, 15 minutes later, I found a 1/2-inch thick sheet of blue styrofoam insulation. This sheet was approximately three feet squate. It was just laying in the emergency lane.

Truly, Aves hath blessed my travels this week.

Kenny

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:59 pm

Chacal wrote:I have just taken the Phillips screwdriver to an old cheapie 35mm camera we had lying about -- we haven't used it since at least 2003. Gears! Lenses! Itty-bitty electric motors! Greeblies galore! Huzzah!

There's at least two broken digital cameras at my house......
I also took apart a rechargable electric screwdriver today, planetary gears galore, nice motor and interesting halves of the plastic shell.

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 5:43 pm

It's good to work with something broken.

I bought two large vehicle replicas available at toystores with the thought of bashing a Star Trek starship from them:

I was going to place the nacelles from this
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jedi_Turbo_Speeder
And put them on this:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Droid_gunship
The underside of the Droid gunship looks very like the underside of the Enterprise-E's saucer, and the nacelles from the Turbo Speeder have a lowered section on the bottom that looks like a flux chiller of sorts.

I don't have the heart now to cut them up....

The head of the Droid gunship comes off, leaving a simple saucer-- and without the hinged upper cockpit segment, it looks like a rump secondary hull.

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 5:46 pm

Interesting
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Umbaran_starfighter
http://www.starwars.com/explore/encyclo ... arfighter/

The matchbox Sea Arrow is a toy plane with a tail that would make nice warp nacelle pylons

Their 747
http://compare.ebay.com/like/2806745719 ... s&var=sbar

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 3:27 pm

This is interesting
http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php ... astic-quot

Chacal · Post by **Chacal** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:50 pm

Hah! Just found this story about a fellow countryman who does indeed collect stuff for scratchbuilding. Enterprise@MakeBlog

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 3:38 pm

We have all seen the ribbed ink pens that have the Dr. Shrinker type stacked disks inside, but the UNI-BALL VISION RT takes it to another level

http://officesupplygeek.com/pen-review/ ... on-rt-6mm/

Inside the Vision RT, you have a unique refill that I personally have not seen before. Similar to some other pens where the entire grip section has a visible fin system that feeds the ink to the tip, that same system is shrunken down significantly to fit into the refill itself.
http://officesupplygeek.com/wp-content/ ... Refill.jpg

Just the thing for laser lances and the like...
The body makes a nice nacelle and the clicker is interesting too.

publiusr · Post by **publiusr** » Sun May 27, 2012 2:04 pm

The bic atlantis pen has removeable parts and looks interesting
http://www.sell.com/28JDGC

Tony Agustin · Post by **Tony Agustin** » Sun May 27, 2012 2:43 pm

Before the digital camera era exploded on the scene and killed 35mm film, I managed to obtain a huge box of used 35mm disposable cameras. The wealth of detail parts I found in those cameras was amazing. If you happen upon some don't throw them out. Just make sure to discharge the capacitor that feeds the flash after removing the battery because you'll get the crap shocked out of you in the rudest way possible.

DaveVan · Post by **DaveVan** » Sun May 27, 2012 2:53 pm

I have a file cabinet full of Plastruct and Evergreen stock. Bins full of other stuff too. But it's about 3 hours to the hobby shop and in the winter I don't get out all the time. Kinda like a well stocked shop!!!

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