Jaxboat

Hard to say without knowing the chemistry of the glue. I world contact the manufacturer and ask for a Material safety data sheet (MSDS). This document details the chemistry of materials and safety hazards, Maybe one first step is just to ask the manufacture what general kind of polymer he is using.  This glue maybe a PVA with modifiers to make it easier to apply to a wall without drips. Such a modifier would change the "feel" of the polymer. If the chemistry is PVA or Acrylic I would say it should be ok. Another slower way to determine suitably is to coat fabric as you would for your sails and stick it on the most sunny window sill in your house and see what happens. Does it yellow, does your sail become "brittle" etc. One year should be enough.

Best

Jaxboat

The "glue" you are using may be a PVA (white glue) based. I think the wall paper you are referencing may be what we would call "vinyl wallpaper".  Most true paper is non woven but some are woven such as papyrus.

Use isopropanol 90% None of the other solvents mentioned will work on acrylic waterborne paints. Do not apply water borne paints below 45 degrees. Suggest you try either Valejo or Tamiya acrylics

Best

Jaxboat

Wow! There is an enormous difference in acidity between a 10% solution of acetic acid (vinegar) and 10% HCL. If the vinegar works, then I would stick with it. Much safer. Flux is also weakly acidic. If often is composed of Rosin acids, a by product from Pine Tree pulping.

Best

Jaxboat 

I did contact ME. They are not quite ready to send out a replacement package (not obvious that they are ready to ship the model either). However, they were quite nice and asked me to contact their parts guy. The saga continues

Best

Jaxboat

For those who are getting replacement parts, did you have to ask or did they just indicate they were sending them? If you had to ask how did you know what to ask for?

ME used some kind of  plywood from SA that was sized to metric dimensions. It was slightly over sized and it caused problems with the bulkhead and bulkhead former fit.  For whatever reason, they rushed the kit into production and never built a ship using production parts. Unbelievably, my early kit label stated it was a solid hull kit. Someone had evidently used a label from their old Essex kit .

Why it has taken them over a year to correct the issue is a mystery although Sam's unfortunate health issue may be the reason. I continue to hope I can obtain updated parts drawings and instructions so I can build the model but I despair. I will never order an ME model preproduction again.

Best

Jaxboat

Squadron White and green are very good with nice combo of reasonable open time and rapid set. They have excellent sanding properties. The putties contain toluene which give them some bite on the polystyrene for excellent adhesion.  I use it on my wood models too for painted parts

Best

Jaxboat

It is the official model of the USS Constitution in Boston. Don't know it that means anything.   the MS Conny is very good but also challenging. Depending on your experience level you may want to consider Robert Hunts practicum (LSS) which is quite good in my opinion

Best

Jaxboat

It does not matter what the price is as they have not shipped an Essex

 kit for about a year. Sorry to hear that Sam is ill. I wish him a speedy recovery

Regards

Jaxboat

Greg,

I have seen the Preac video and it is a good primer for using the saw or any mini saw for that manner. I also believe someone is offering an electric motor upgrade for the Preac (Vanda Lay?). The Byrnes saw is a beautiful thing for sure

Best

Jaxboat

Oil based varnishes tend to yellow with age. Acrylics either solvent based or water based do not.

Best

Jaxboat

It has many uses. Worth the  money.

I understand the introduction of the corrected kit is imminent. Of course, ME has been saying that for about a year  but I think they're serious this time

Jaxboat

I am totally confused. It is obvious ME is about to ship something under the Essex name. However, Sam is no longer listed as the designer or prototype builder . Can anyone explain what is going on?

Best

Jaxboat

There was mention of USS Wasp earlier in this blog. There is an excellent article about Wasp and her Captain in the latest issue of Naval History which is put out by the US Naval Institute (USNI) . Both the ship and her Captain were seasoned warriors. I am surprised no one has tackled a model of her.

Best

JAXBOAT

Good stuff

I am guessing but I would think several thin (ie low viscosity for ease of filling wood pores) coats of sealer would be better than one thick one. One question I have would be if you coated a shellac sealed piece of wood with let's say wipe on poly would you still have water sensitivity issues.

Fun conversations! CA debonder is gelled acetone with an acetone masking agent.  The purpose of the gel is to keep the highly volatile acetone longer on the super glue you want to remove. I use nail polish remover from CVS. It has a little fountain thingy that lets you get just the right amount of remover. It also has something in it to lessen the skin and nail drying effect of the acetone. I use a Q-tip to remove CA from my model. I rub the remover from between my fingers to get CA off.

Biggest problem with acetone is that it very volatile and easily catches fire..

I know why Druxley says don't use it. What I can't understand is why museums are placing all their bets on PVA except those who want to go back to animal hide glue..  PVA is very UV and water sensitive which is why there are no PVA emulsion based exterior house paints. On the other hand, it  bonds wood well, is non-toxic and is easily removed with alcohol. Most macro wood workers have gone to modified PVA formulations.  Maybe, the NRG should convince a university to do a glue study.

Best

Jaxboat

There are many good ideas here. Planking is part art, part geometry and part math. It takes practice. So try some of these techniques and,  if you screw up the first time, remember, it is only wood. So tear it off, analyze what worked and didn't work and try again! Once you get the hang of it , it is really quite satisfying but then I am a card carrying masochist!

Having fun Planking in Jax

Jaxboat

Thanks for the update, Chris . I hope your wiener dogs are earning their kibble by helping you with your plans or at least lending moral support

Best

Jaxboat

Hi Clare,

Thanks for "fessing up". No Problem. I have always found Murphy was an optimist when it comes to new product intros.

Best

Jaxboat

Follow the dilution recommendations of the manufacturer. Generally distilled water (or water treated by RO) and sometimes alcohol are used. Do not use tap water if it has a high degree of hardness.

Hobby acrylic paints are not the same as acrylic you buy at home depot. The hobby paints are optimized for flow and leveling and use much finer ground pigments. That being said, if you like what you see from a home depot paint, go for it!  One more thing with MS paints. Try using a paint shaker and give them a really good shaking. You may find the viscosity drops quite a bit without dilution due to a phenomenon called thixotropy or "shear thinning". The same phenomenon is formulated into water borne interior house paint to help reduce or eliminate splatter when you are using a paint roller.

Best

Jaxboat

Nice discussion on Epoxies Modeler12. You are spot on!

Best

Jaxboat

`Awesome Bart! I am using that one. :P

Best

Jaxboat

Candles are usually made from petroleum based paraffin wax unless explicitly labelled as Beeswax. Beeswax will have an adverse effect on your rigging over the long term because it is slightly acidic. Micro wax is best and can be obtained at an art supply store as conservators wax.

Best

Jaxboat