RedHeadKevin

I went through my old paints today and got rid of some that are dried in the bottle. Rather than just junk the bottles, does anyone have a good method for cleaning paint out of the bottles? I'm thinking a soak in lacquer thinner or other solvent would get them clean, but is there something less messy and carcinogenic? They're Model Master bottles, which get expensive if you're buying them empty.

I'm building the Bandai Blockade Runner, and I'd like to do SOMETHING to give an impression that the engines are burning, but I'm not going to run LEDs for the engines. The engines are almost exactly 1/8", so I was going to use some clear Plastruct rod and cut plugs for each engine. I was trying to find a way to give SOME lighting effect. I took a 1/8" clear yellow rod, and tried spraying one end with white paint, or chrome paint, or clear red, while leaving a clear "lens" on the other end. I was trying to catch some light inside the rod and reflect it back to the "lens" end of the clear rod. Then it hit me: What if I used glow-in-the-dark paint? My reasoning is this: light will get into the engine through the clear rod, hopefully with enough transmitted to charge the GitD paint. The GitD paint would then glow, and it would light up the clear "lens" end. Before I go out and buy some, has anyone tried this? Am I making the least bit of sense?

You might do better just going to Hobby Lobby and spending $15 or so on another Blockade-Runner-and-Falcon kit. Use the coupon. The little Falcon is a fun kit to build and paint.

So last summer I built myself a spray booth. It works great, but I'd like to have a surface that I could remove and clean easily inside the booth. I was thinking something like a sheet of acetal plastic (Delrin) that stands up to solvents, even to lacquer thinner. But for the size I need (29"x29"), it would be prohibitively expensive. Ideally I want something I can clean off, to a white surface. Any other thoughts?

When I go to shows, I see people winning several categories, and getting several trophies (My local shows give out plaques. I don't know if other shows give out something else.) After moving houses last summer, I realized just how these plaques can add up. I was just wondering what you guys do with all the stuff you win? Do you keep them forever? Do you throw out the old ones? I've started using the plaques to make bases for my models. They're a great size, and take just a little work to make them look really nice.

Genre: Modern US equipment Favorite Scale: 1/48 for airplanes, 1/35 for armor Brand: I never had much brand loyalty. If a brand came out with a better kit, I'll build it. (Looking at you, Academy F-15E's. Revell is better. Tamiya's F-16 are better than Hasegawa, etc.) But truthfully, since Bandai released their line of Star Wars kits, most of my answers have changed. I've enjoyed the hell out of building anything Bandai has from the Galaxy Far, Far Away, in any scale. They really made modeling fun again. I don't have to put in 3 pounds of resin and PE, and the kits practically fall together.

Aaaaand cue the "Double Penetration" jokes.

3d Printing seemed like a great idea, and some of the stuff you can print is pretty impressive. But it's not about to replace traditional injection-molded model kits, at least for a long, long while. Until you can print without visible layers and print lines, it's difficult to get a lot of shapes, or a smooth, crisp surface. Not unless you have a printer that's basically priced out of the home modeler's range. Also, most of what gets 3D printed can be made easier, cheaper, and faster with other means, like a laser cutter or just traditional model building techniques like foamcore or sheet styrene. Once the really high-quality, high-precision printers are available for the home user, and we can print with durable materials, like manufacturing-grade materials, then 3D printing will be useful. By the way, if we were to make a new sub-forum, I suggest a "Model Show" section, with reports and pictures from local, regional, and national model shows.

The best explanation of adapting the speeders for Hoth was (I think) from the Incredible Cross-Sections book. The large radiator on the back of the speeder was designed for hotter climates, and was actually releasing too much heat for the cold Hoth environment, causing the speeders to freeze up. They welded metal plates to the sides of the radiator blades to slow the release of the heat. Sure. That makes sense. I'm building this kit, and it's blowing me away how crappy the paint job on the actual studio models looks. There are lots of painting issues, spider-webbed airbrushing, drips, etc. It's kind of disheartening to see what the "real" thing looks like. Although it makes me feel better about my own painting skills! Also... you know you put the guns on backward, right?

For plastic sprue cutters, and these are actually pretty tough, I like this set from Home Depot. 14 bucks and you get nice needle-nose pliers, too. You might not want to cut wire with them, but get some wire cutters for that. Even an inexpensive pair will do a good job. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Crescent-4-in-Shear-Cutter-Plier-Set-2-Piece-S2KS5N/206872615 I also got a few sets of these cheap-o ones from Wish.com, and I think they make cleaner cuts than my Xuron sprue cutters. https://www.wish.com/search/wire cuters/product/5a065f7fb43a7e5e11f9d0ad?&source=search

Wow, good eye! That is indeed a cut-down floor protector (just cut it in half.) The green material is a self-healing cutting mat. I found one without stuff printed on it.

Over the summer, I bought a house with my girlfriend, and I took over a corner of the basement for my model shop. I looked at some store-bought desks and tables, but nothing was just right. Then I was able to acquire a couple cabinets with a huge, yet simple desk. It's just 3/4" plywood, cut down to size. I screwed a 2x4 into the foundation wall to hold up that end of the desk. The joint at the corner is doweled and screwed together. (It came that way! Saved a ton of work.) I bought a couple LED shop lights from Ocean State Job Lot, and they light the whole "room" right up. The pegboard is also mounted into the concrete. The vertical "backsplash" is made from the scrap plywood. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wGqovbhWm14zMDti7 Then, at one of my many trips to Home Depot, I discovered something called Polywall, which is designed as a wall covering, but it's basically a 4'x8' sheet of white plastic, which stands up to chemicals (Including model glue. I tried gluing 2 scraps together with Tamiya Extra Thin, and nothing happened) It's a good material, but DO NOT USE PENCIL ON IT!! Somehow, pencil marks are permanent. Even Sharpie wipes off with some rubbing alcohol, but pencil is forever. https://photos.app.goo.gl/P6LiNjVkzYfhgWha9 I also built a spray booth right into the desk, and permanently ducted it out the basement window. It's got a squirrel cage fan, and I bought a cheap-o medicine cabinet for the main structure, and to have a plenum between the blower and the filter. It was cheaper than buying a sheet of plywood to build it, and I got a free mirror! https://photos.app.goo.gl/kGdMe9CSbiqDdz8PA I knew I didn't want a huge closed box on my desk all the time, so I hinged the top of the spray booth. It hooks onto the ceiling to keep it up. The scrap trim along the "bottom" hinge actually mates closed when the booth is down, to help support the top. There's a metal channel for the vertical side to key into, to keep me from bumping and collapsing it https://photos.app.goo.gl/amgUyRTogeLA2LpS6 If you want to see the fan setup. I still have to seal up a few air leaks around the fixture that fits the square exhaust to a round duct. https://photos.app.goo.gl/EWP2szCD7ZEJvb8k6 I tried to set up the primary "construction" area so that I could easily get at everything I use daily, with the rest of my stuff in drawers, with the most-used stuff closest to me, and the more esoteric stuff a little further away. https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3kgdvnVzHdNW2oN6 Around the back side are a couple bookcases to hold my model magazines, reference books, decal binder, etc. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Du9u8Xg2taurBU4d9

For Tamiya: Flat Black NATO black Flat white (and/or white primer) Yellow Red Sea Gray Dark Gray Khaki Buff Chrome Silver Clear Red Clear Green

I'm building a new spray booth, and I was wondering what the deal is with using an inline fan, like: for a spray booth fan. The specs say it should have plenty of power to clear an average size spray booth (~160-250 CFM) and blow it through some duct. If it's sucking air through a filter, there shouldn't be much risk of fire, right?

-Who own the A-10? -oowwnSa...ooowwnnSa