So I just got my reissue today @ the LHS, and my question is: if I want to build it as Glow in the Dark, are there any considerations re glue and decal solutions to keep in mind with this kit, as the surfaces will NOT be painted?
I had one of these 30 plus years ago, and all I can remember is how obvious the glue I used on it was...
I'd use a hot cement like Ambroid Pro-Weld or Tenax. That can be buffed down easily. You can also make a paste using sprue and liquid cement for filling - but be careful and let it all evaporate before sanding.
You'll want to seal those decals down with Future, too. Or, I guess any gloss coat would work.
Raised by wolves, tamed by nuns, padded for your protection.
Terry Miesle
Never trust anyone who says they don't have a hobby.
Quando Omni Flunkus Moratati
I like the glow effect but see it as a novelty that would soon wear off. So I'll be painting it. Likely to go for a light grey.
I've had two arrive so far (from the store, natch) and another on the way from an ebay seller (bought before the store had any in stock and still not received - equally natch).
I'm going to get the JT graphics Leif decals - disappointed this wasn't an option in the kit itself.
THe model is very much a blank canvas and has lots of modification potential. The "engines" are disappointing but I didn't like the original design either.
ie
Engine interior and I think I'll scrounge some clear plastic to insert as blanks and tint red for the engine glow effect.
I'm also going to raid the bits box for some engine bells to add as manoeuvring thrusters. like this
The Project Rho website has been really helpful for ideas.
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage
to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill today because they got on my nerves.
And help me to remember when I'm having a bad day and it seems that people are trying to wind me up, it takes 42 muscles to frown, 28 to smile
and only 4 to extend my arm and smack someone in the mouth!
You can "cheat" the seams with stretched sprue. If it's glow-in-the-dark plastic, the sprue will work fine. You may need to add more strips, of course, for symmetry.
Raised by wolves, tamed by nuns, padded for your protection.
Terry Miesle
Never trust anyone who says they don't have a hobby.
Quando Omni Flunkus Moratati
TER-OR wrote:You can "cheat" the seams with stretched sprue.
That`s my Nemesis: I can try as hard as I`m able to, I never figured out how to manage the "streched sprue"-story. No way. The sprue will ever snap after just a few millimeters, or it willmelt completely. Even if I had to do it to save my live I weren`t able too...
Practice, practice, practice. Soften a larger section of sprue, or use this trick:
Soften the end, grab a bit with a needle-tip tweezers and slowly pull.
Slow being the operative word...
Raised by wolves, tamed by nuns, padded for your protection.
Terry Miesle
Never trust anyone who says they don't have a hobby.
Quando Omni Flunkus Moratati
If you use a candle, don't hold the plastic above the flame or in the flame, but aside it. Keep the sprue rotating and moving, so you soften about a half-inch. Once the plastic starts to sag, you're almost there. I don't know whether you already do this.
Raised by wolves, tamed by nuns, padded for your protection.
Terry Miesle
Never trust anyone who says they don't have a hobby.
Quando Omni Flunkus Moratati
TER-OR wrote:If you use a candle, don't hold the plastic above the flame or in the flame, but aside it. Keep the sprue rotating and moving, so you soften about a half-inch. Once the plastic starts to sag, you're almost there. I don't know whether you already do this.
I tried a thousand ways, it was even showed to me how to do it by a fellow modeler on an exhibition - after an hour of effortless tries I gave up. He also could not say why it won`t work when I try to do it, as I made nothing different than he did.