Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I have thought about these types of tools before, but find I can do a great job without them. What I was looking at is the mini tablesaw. I think it would help to make longer, constant depth cuts. The one thing I like about it is that you can tilt the blade to make an angled edge, a nice chamfer. Th...

If it's a silicone mold, you do not need any release. If it's a urethane, for gods sake soak that sucker in it!! If you do feel the need to use release, make sure it's a paintable type. The paint will bead up otherwise. The paint will come right off the mold. I have in the past painted a mold, and t...

Tesral wrote:Does there exist a substance I can coat a RTV rubber mold with to keep CA glue from bonding with it?

Give the mold a shot of paint. Let that cure out, and you should be ready to go. You can give it several good coats without it building up too much.

Yes, I did mean Wal-Mart. Wally World is a pretty wide spread nickname for the place.

I'll have to check that out next time in. Should be only a few days at best. Thanks.

As long as your surface to be painted is smooth, and clean, a good gloss black paint will do the trick. I can not sing the praises enough of the Tamiya Gloss Black Lacquer (TS-14). Talk about a beautiful finish. It's all about surface prep. The better your surface, the better the finish.

Thanks. After thinking about it a little more, I realized that somewhere in this mess I had MANY parts and things and bits. I finally found what I was looking for, my box-o-fittings. And, I actually looked at the cheap hose that came with my brush; it HAS a 1/2" fitting on the other end. Don't ...

True. The braided cloth is just a covering, and it's the same vinyl line inside. But, the cloth covered hoses are less likely to kink, glide better over surfaces, and adds some protection to the hose for nicks, and snags and so on.

Thanks. I can now connect things up. But, I still can't find a braided cloth air hose. I can find hoses for Badger, Paasche, Iwata, but nothing for Testors/Aztec. Does anyone know if those other hoses with 1/8", will fit my Aztec?? Or do I have to stick to the cheap hose that came with the brus...

More like this.

I guess I will need yet another adaptor to go from 1/2" to 1/4" to this fitting to the airbrush airline. Ugh!!!

Hey all (specifically those in the know) I found my airbrush (an Aztec A470) and need to attach it to my compressor. All my compressor fittings are 1/2" and the airbrsh runs in 1/8" I have that dinky little Propelant Can adaptor (useless, unless you are running Propelant Cans). What I woul...

The car guys swear by Krylon. I'll have to randomly pull a kit off the wall and try the paint on it and see what happens. It's frustrating to say the least. I just want to finish a model!!!!

I used Tamiya or Gunze Light Gull Gray and had no problems. I did clean the surface with PolyS plastic Prep just prior to airbrushing, though. I would LOVE to use proper modeling paints... But there is bugger all here in this little shi.. uh, town. OK. It's technically a city. I still have NO hobby...

Hey all, Has anyone else experienced difficulty in getting paint to go down well on this kit?? I am having one hell of a time getting the paint to go on smoothly. Light coats, heavy coats, different paint/brands. I found the perfect shade of grey for it. Well, that *I* consider perfect. But when I s...

Hello, I applied decals from JT graphics to my Enterprise D, but when light hits the model from certain angels the clear part of the decals reflects the light. I cut the shape, but for example the main ship registry, the spaces in between the letters reflect light. How do I get the decals to be ......

Cut just the decal you need from the sheet. Place it face down on a piece of papertowl. Then wet the back of the sheet until the paper absorbs enough water to soak through to the other side with the decal on it. This way, YOU control the amount of water. If the sheet starts to curl, you will be able...

Question: Is there a way to thin this stuff so it won't soften plastic? Answer: No. But, it's all about quantity. You do not need very much thinner. When I need to thin my putty, I put the putty on sheet of whatever (scrap plastic, glass, cardboard), and then add my thinner (Testors liquid cement f...

You didn't clearify your application but take my word AVES! Yes, AVES is great... at about 15x the cost. When you need to fill a hole, or a large area, cheap harware store bondo is the best bet. It sets up fast, can be applied repeatedly, and will take a fine surface finish. A 1 gallon can?? $18.00...

Any idea what I might be doing wrong? You did nothing wrong. Bondo is like that. Give it a swipe with the sandpaper, and you will find it is perfectly fine under that tacky surface. What happens if one uses a little less hardener than normal? A little more? Would that just mean slower/faster curing...

Do they have to be plastic?? Will resin, or aves putty work??

Find the drill bit that matches the best, and drill a hole in a piece of scrap that is the thickness of the piece you want. Then simply press some putty in, or resin cast up a few. Remember, when using resin, USE A MOLD RELEASE.

I forgot about epoxy. Yes, that's a great choice too. Test the different ones first. They say they are clear... But that means different things to different manufacturers. Take an old car windshield and snap it, and see if you can get it back together.

Use a "white" glue, like LePage, or Elmers. There is a glue type that is called canopy glue. It is white, dries clear, and has a little flex to it. It's designed for aircraft canopies, go figure. The slight flex to it is great. If you bump it, the part doesn't just pop off and go flying. G...

I have used, and I swear by, Easy Off. I have never had a problem with it on clear parts. But it is always a good idea to test it, if you can.

There are two types of the Hydrospan. 100 and 400 I think. One shrinks, and the other expands. Hydrospan 100 will expand when soaked in water, while the water in H400 will evaporate and the part will shrink.

I really wish they has sampler packs of this stuff.

It is possible... But, I think you sjould try and get a new set first. Get in touch with Tracy at FedMod, and tell him what you have, and whay you would like and see what happens. The problem with the clay mold is that ANY movement will distort it beyond use. Yoy could carefully cut the bottoms off....

Oh Elizabeth, I'm comin to join ya honey...right after I rip apart this broken printer for parts!!! :wink: Damn!! Didn't see that coming!! :D :D Just watched an ep yesterday!! But it is a good analogy. A box full of "junk" that others see as just that, junk. Or worse, garbage. :shock: Hav...

Some think I am the Fred Sanford of model making world... A grouchy old black guy who builds models?? I don't get it?? :) If you want bash-fodder, buy the built junk lots on ebay. A quick way of getting some good stuff. And there is always that little gem in the middle of it all. And they are usual...