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kurtvd19

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Everything posted by kurtvd19

  1. kurtvd19
    I use Badger paints exclusively - they are airbrush ready. Almost all "model" paints are air brushable - some with thinning some as they come. The pigment of model paints is ground very fine - a necessity so details are not hidden by thick paint. Don't even consider going to the hardware store and then thinning the house paint or other paint they sell. Most advertise "Cover in One Coat!" which means the pigments are very coarsely ground in order to cover in one coat. Thinning doesn't change the size of the pigment - just the viscosity. Model paints usually have very small pigment sizes in the order of one micron where the house paints usually have a pigment size on average of 37 microns. I can tell you that my fine detail airbrushes will instantly clog if I were to load one up with this stuff. Stick with a model paint that works for you. Try to stick with one brand so you are not constantly trying to make the new stuff work. Once you are experienced feel free to experiment (NEVER on the model itself) but maybe there is a new paint that will work better for you at some point.
  2. kurtvd19
    Joe: Alcohol speeds up the drying of acrylics and promotes tip dry. I have seen this promoted many places - but think about it - alcohol evaporates much quicker than water. As to adding tap water - perfectly fine if adding it to the paint for the session only. But if adding water to the entire jar it is much better to use distilled water for longer storage. I offer the above not in any was as argument but as official policy of Badger Airbrush - who also manufacture the Badger Modelflex Paints as well as other acrylic paints under the Badger name.
  3. kurtvd19
    Bob: I agree 100% with Joe's advice. There is another alternative. Plastic modelers have used the household floor finish FUTURE for a gloss coat finish - over all sorts of paints. They have changed the name several times but Future or Pledge was always someplace on the label. I had to buy a new bottle and the bottle now says Pledge - Floor Gloss. The thing I like about the newest product is that it isn't a true gloss coat with only one airbrushed coat. Semi-gloss with the first coat going to true gloss with additional coats. Makes it more suitable for my purposes. Applying any clear coat you have to watch how much is applied - I have found that a bit of practice off the model will give you the experience you need to judge how much is enough and how much is too much.
  4. kurtvd19
    I will only use a rattle can for primer - it will be lightly sanded so it spitting isn't a big deal. Any rattle can paint I apply other than primer is decanted and then put through one of my airbrushes. Kurt
  5. kurtvd19
    The brass pin needs to be annealed before trying to flatten the end. Once it's annealed it is easy to flatten.
  6. kurtvd19
    It works the same as silver soldering - just less heat. I have a Smith Little Torch so smaller flame is easy. Kurt
  7. kurtvd19
    Stay-brite is lead free. And it is as easy to use as common solder.
  8. kurtvd19
    As the needed temperatures are much less a soldering iron can work if it delivers enough heat. I have used it with both a torch (that I am very comfortable with) and resistance soldering but because I have the small torch and the resistance soldering unit I haven't tried it with a soldering iron myself. It comes with a liquid flux but I usually use a common past flux - Nokorode is on the work are now. Parts must fit well it doesn't fill gaps. The advantage is that it is easier to use than a true silver solder. I have used stay-brite on parts that just wouldn't hold up to the temperature needed for silver solder. Stay-brite really works more like a common soft solder than silver solder but doesn't fill gaps. I used to silver solder everything - and I got real good at it. I had some parts I thought would possibly melt if I used a true silver solder and somebody told me about stay-brite. I tried it and it worked great. I have used paste silver solder and found it worked fine for some work but it still needs higher heat than stay-brite. Use what is easiest to use and works for the job. I wouldn't use anything but true silver solder if I was still doing radio control boats where rudder and other moving parts need a lot of strength. I defy anybody to break a good joint made with stay-brite on a static model - I sure can't put enough tension on a rigging line to break a stay-brite solder joint. Kurt
  9. kurtvd19
    I don't think there will be a problem with that small amount BUT there are lead free solders that are not silver solder requiring high heat. stay-brite by J W Harris Co is lead free, it blackens like silver solder and has a high silver content. I have used it and it has replaced true silver solder in all but rare cases in my shop. Nothing we do with scale models requires the strength of a true silver solder. Look at Jeweler supply outlets - there are lead free solders that are easy to work with. Kurt
  10. kurtvd19
    Clay's articles appeared in eight articles (as a practicum) in Seaways' Ships in Scale magazine during all of 2005 and early 2006 and in the"Nautical Research Journal" article -Summer, 2004; Vol 49, #2. The NRG has the entire series of reprints in a book put together by Clay - Building the Continental Navy Brig Lexington – A Practicum by Clayton A. Feldman, MD: A step-by-step practicum, including detailed plans, construction photos, drawings and diagrams on building a plank-on-bulkhead model in 3/16” = 1’ scale with a hull length of 16-inches. Dr. Feldman’s extensive research on the Lexington that was published in our Nautical Research Journal is also included. The cost is 39.9 + shipping (about $5) on a CD or flash drive. Available from the NRG Store - link at the top of the MSW home page. All that said I agree with Druxey - fiction but pretty. Kurt
  11. kurtvd19
    My musician brother (Guitar) says he listens to his music loud because he listed to his music loud...
  12. kurtvd19
    Pat: Are you doing the casting or farming it out?
  13. kurtvd19
    He's not a member. I will send an email as mods can access it.
  14. kurtvd19
    Thanks to Bob for compiling the new expanded table of contents. Kurt
  15. kurtvd19
    This should be in every beginner's library - inexpensive - available from Model Expo.
  16. kurtvd19
    I know I have the stains to mix up more. I will check ASAP if I have any mixed and let you know.
  17. kurtvd19
    Elijah: I will check if I have more stain mixed - if not I wrote the mix proportions down so can do up some more. Kurt
  18. kurtvd19
    The IPMS Journals have ads in the back from members willing to do such builds.
  19. kurtvd19
    The C/A glue from CLC is mfg by Bob Smith Industries in Ataskadero, CA. They make the best C/A products in my opinion. They put the customer's name and logo on the bottles thus the CLC name and logo on the bottle. Bob Smith Ind also makes/supplies the fine tip applicators - the only way to even consider applying C/A directly from the bottle. The Bob Smith C/A glues are available from many places - just look for the stores name on the bottle - the Bob Smith logo is on the bottom of the label on the back side of the bottle. Their accelerator is the only accelerator I have ever used that doesn't leave a white residue after use. Kurt
  20. kurtvd19
    Bob: Sorry, but there doesn't appear to be anything other than the index to each of the books contained in the collection as shown below. The only detailed index is for the Modeling an Armed Virginia Sloop of 1768 on page 59. Kurt Progressive Scratch-Building in Ship Modeling TABLE OF CONTENTS. Introduction………………………………………………4 Building the Bermuda Boat Corsair……………………6 Modeling an Armed Virginia Sloop of 1768………….54 Building the Fair American……………………………189 Completing the Fair American……………………….262 Fair American Photo Album………………………….335 Fair American Plan Sheets…………………………...354
  21. kurtvd19
    Eric: Similar to what you tried - here is a photo of Chaperon on a series of timbers like used in a shipyard. You probably saw this photo before.
  22. kurtvd19
    Don's book is available from Amazon and many other places for anywhere from $4.99 to $26.00 in hard and soft cover and both new and used. - this book is 138 pages - not likely to be available other than as a hard copy from a book vendor. There are numerous planking tutorials here on MSW under Modeling Techniques at the upper end of the home page. Kutr
  23. kurtvd19
    I just checked the 3 small drill presses I have here. I own the Micro-Lux Variable speed drill press. The column is 16" long x 1 3/16" dia. - it is solid steel and screws into the base plate. The solid steel column is mentioned in both this variable speed unit and the 3 speed units descriptions on the Micro Mark web site. The other two were owned by Steve Wheeler and will be sold to benefit the WI Maritime Museum. One is a Proxon unit. The column is 17" long x 3/4" diam - it is solid steel and screws into the base plate. It is tapped top and bottom about 1 1/8 deep - certainly a metric thread so I didn't check the size. The Proxon web site lists the column height as 12" - so this is the column that Steve replaced with the longer 16" piece. It is rock solid even with the longer column. The other that Steve had is a no-name Chinese unit with a 12" long x 1 3/16" diam tube. It is held into the base with a set screw. It is very solid but not anyway near the quality of the other units though I think it would meet the needs of 90% of modelers who are not tool junkies - it isn't pretty but Steve remarked that it did a good job when he used it. Kurt
  24. kurtvd19
    Except this is a 1 3/16" dia. solid steel piece about 12" long that was replaced with a similar piece 4 to 6" longer. Still pretty darn substantial.
  25. kurtvd19
    A longer column is nice to have. My late friend Steve Wheeler purchased a longer length piece of the right diameter off the internet. Sorry I don't know the source but it was a standard item from the place he purchased it. Kutr

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