Decals as a drilling guide?
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Decals as a drilling guide?
I'm building several 1/1000 Star Trek starships (a Miranda and an Excelsior Refit-class). I'm going to have to drill it all the windows for the fiber optics I plan to install. My question is if I apply the decals, can they be used as a template to guide my Dremel tool? If so, any suggestions to make it work the best? If not, any suggestions on how to do this at all? Thank you!
First off yes you can use them.
Second to make your holes as accurate as possible, use a pin or something very sharp to make a dimple right in the center of the window. This will give the bit a place to rest when you start to drill.
Third, you might not want to use a dremel. They spin fast, and can melt the plastic, which can be a mess. They also can be off centered just enough to make the hole in the wrong place, or wobble around enough to make the hole wonky. Use a pin vise for better control. It may take more time, but the result will be better and there will be less cursing involved!
Kev
Second to make your holes as accurate as possible, use a pin or something very sharp to make a dimple right in the center of the window. This will give the bit a place to rest when you start to drill.
Third, you might not want to use a dremel. They spin fast, and can melt the plastic, which can be a mess. They also can be off centered just enough to make the hole in the wrong place, or wobble around enough to make the hole wonky. Use a pin vise for better control. It may take more time, but the result will be better and there will be less cursing involved!
Kev
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SpaceRanger1
- Posts: 890
- Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:56 pm
- Location: Carrollton, Texas
On the Excelsior-refit/Enterprise-B? How bad? I mean mildly inaccurate or "they had no idea what they were doing" inaccurate?
I am not too concerned about this model, as it's just a test or prototype to work out the bugs for building (either scratch building or who knows) a 1/350 Excelsior-class Refit. Yes, I know it will be huge (about 57"x22"x10"), but it's going to be a memorial (eventually) for my dad when he passes, so I'm going for the gold. However, I will be basing a lot of that build on the smaller 1/2500 and 1/1000 scale models, so I'll eventually have to correct the inaccuracies
I am not too concerned about this model, as it's just a test or prototype to work out the bugs for building (either scratch building or who knows) a 1/350 Excelsior-class Refit. Yes, I know it will be huge (about 57"x22"x10"), but it's going to be a memorial (eventually) for my dad when he passes, so I'm going for the gold. However, I will be basing a lot of that build on the smaller 1/2500 and 1/1000 scale models, so I'll eventually have to correct the inaccuracies