The Kit-Basher's Guide To The Galaxy

[GLakie]

Thanks for sharing Steve! The larger sizes would also work for the mast bands.  Great idea! 

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

Thanks for sharing Steve! The larger sizes would also work for the mast bands.  Great idea!

 

Brilliant idea we all should put that in our memory bank. Danny will also like it I think because he used cardboard.

Cheers

Greg

 

Photo from Danny's HMS VALTURE Swan log

[hornet]

This looks like a good idea, but I wonder if the rubber tubing will stand the test of time. Like most things that are rubber based, would it not start to perish or break down over time? A couple of my models are 30 years old and I am not sure this would last that long. I'll be sticking with copper or cardboard.

[7 Provinces]

Well, this kind of shrink tubing is more like plastic than like rubber, isn't it? Especially after heat-shrinking it gets quite hard and stiff. I do not recollect seeing any of the typical disintegration which is typical for rubber.

As a reference you can have a look at old electric installations which were secured/insulated/finished with shrink tubing. It is not unbreakable but I have seen very old installations which under adverse circumstances have remained intact.

 

Very good idea!

[7 Provinces]

Let's just say I trust this stuff more than I would any glue. I have seen it being used to keep the rope ends of a kid's swing together and do away with the sharp ends and after years of (ab)use, rain, sun, frost and heat it was still intact. I have seen it in electric installations older than me and for instance on engines in direct contact with oil and fuel for years and years and still in one piece.

Good enough for me 

 

In fact, now that I think of it, it could be used to hold things together as well in places where glue is not practical.

[Landlocked123]

Hi All,

 

Sounds like interesting stuff. What kinds of sizes does it come in?

 

Thanks,

John

[7 Provinces]

Not quite sure. I have seen diameters from say 1 to 15 mm. but I bet there is more.

There are different types, the hard thin ones (the stuff which used to be around a pack of NiCd cells) and the softer ones which are a bit like elastic band.

Have a look in an electronics catalogue, you should find it there.

 

Cheers!

[mtaylor]

John,

 

Google "heat shrink tubing" without the quotes..

[WackoWolf]

We use to have a company in the US that was call Radio Shack and you could get all you wanted there, but they have long gone where I live, but you can get it at Home Depot and Lowe's just have to look and ask.

[Gabek]

STRAPPING USING HEAT SHRINK TUBING: Great idea on the heat-shrink tubing!

 

I just checked Digi-Key.ca and they stock 1.0 mm inner diameter and up (260mm was the largest!) but you can special order 0.5 mm. I found 1.2 mm black tubing in stock: 4 feet (~1.2 m) costs $1.73 (Canadian).

 

Regarding durability: looking at some of the specifications on this plastic...when your model has aged into a pile of dust and rusted metal bits they could probably sift the mess and find the tubing intact!

 

Clear skies!

Gabe

Edited September 16, 2015 by GabeK

[qwerty2008]

CHEEP PAINT: If your tired of spending excessive amounts of money on model paints this tip might be for you. I save the small glass bottles from the modeling paints and refill them with spray paint. This came about because I use so much of the same colors of paint on my Byzantium. As the Byzantium is 1/20 scale there is allot of area to be painted, I can go though a whole bottle (or more) of model paint in just one session of light touch ups. By refilling the bottles with spray paint I save allot of money IE. one bottle of model paint cost about 2 dollars and one can spray paint cost about 4 dollars but contains 20 or more times the amount of paint.

 

 

 

 

Lextin.

Edited September 11, 2015 by qwerty2008

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

Lextin

That's a very good idea. How do you put the paint in the tin? Spray it in would caused a lot of mess I would imagine.

Havagooday

Greg

[qwerty2008]

Greg: I spray the paint at an angle so it hits the inside of the neck and drips down into the bottle. Also I only depress the nozzle half way so the paint comes out slower. If you spray directly into the bottle it will splash out really badly. 

 

 

 

 

Lextin.

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

Make sense to me! Again great idea. Thank you for answering my dumb question.

Greg

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

Hi all

In actual fact, I buy house water based sample pots from my hardware store. They can match any colour and a 500mL tub cost $6-$7 Australian. I water them down and do coats after coats and when it's ok, I used matt varnish.

This works for me!

 

Greg

[7 Provinces]

Yeah me too, I use acrylic home paints 

[ccoyle]

**HOUSEKEEPING NOTICE**

 

Gentlemen,

 

This thread is drifting off-topic.  Please remember the following:

 

#1:  The House Rules provided by the original poster.

HOUSE RULES

 

To help with following this forum, may I suggest that you:

 

             - CAPITALIZE the name of the object at the very start of your post.

             - Please indicate scale with your suggestion, as various items could be used for different purposes in another

               scale.

             - Separate posts for each item AND purpose will make it easier for people wishing to search this topic.

             - Photos are actively encouraged !!

 

 

#2:  This thread is in the 'Discussion for a Ship's Deck Furniture, Guns, Boats, and Other Fittings' forum.  Posts should be limited to those items.  Tips for painting, etc., should be posted in the appropriate forum.

 

#3:  Please eliminate the banter!  Although we encourage camaraderie, a thread whose primary purpose is to serve as a compilation of tips loses its usefulness if a member has to scroll through pages of clutter in order to find the actual tips.  Use the 'like' button.

 

- Thank you!

[keelhauled]

SCRAPBOOK EYES

 

There are eyes for scrap booking that are great for many uses.  I use them for portholes and any time that I need a circular flange.  They come in many sizes.  

 

In this example, I used two sizes of the eyes and a wooden dowel to make an anchor chain pipe.

 

 

Marc

[S.Coleman]

PILL PACKAGING

 

Tablet foil that medical pills are packaged in make good checker plating for stairs/walkways etc. A light coat of grey paint and looks great. Obviously for those who are modeling more modern type of vessels.

[keelhauled]

SCRAPBOOK EYES  

 

Bollards

 

Here is another use of the scrapbook eyes (See post 292).

Bollards.  These eyes come in many different sizes and I've used several different sizes to make bollards.  I drilled holes into a bronze sheet to match the skinny diameter of the eye. Epoxy the eye into the hole so that the large portion of the eye is the top of the bollard.  I filled the shaft with epoxy. Paint etc.

 

Here are small bollards that I made for the pin rails of a 1/76 ship

 

 

Marc

Edited October 6, 2015 by keelhauled

[NenadM]

Cu TELEPHONY WIRE ( my favorite ) for WINDOWS SHUTTERS

 

On the Cutty Sark`s aft deck house, there is a nice skylight with six nice windows ( three on each side) with nice doubled shutters. And I wanted that shutters badly !!! Even if it looks like shutters

 

 

Problem was in scale ( cca 1:100), which means that every window is only 6 x 7 mm, and individual shutter is 6x3,5mm, which means that inside panel, considering cca 0,5 mm for frame is 5x2,5mm. Reaaaalllllllly small for my skills to make this from wood. I tried something with 0,1mm wire from old toy transformer winding I cannibalized long ago, and I was not satisfied with

 

After two days of thinking, expected brain storm hit me, and I got satisfied results

 

Drawing with hands, I just can not draw six completely equal squares 6x7mm with 0,1 mm felt pen. So I use Adobe Illustrator and drown 6 squares 6x7mm , cut arround and temporary fix strip with squares with self adhesive paper tape - only on edges to medical stick for throat overview. Important - paper under squares is not glued to surface ! On this picture you can see main tool for this operation - toothpick with sharpened and thinned top

 

 

Carefully pointed cutting marks to wire with 0,5 mm felt pen, and cut with blade several pieces. If they twist a little, I straightened them. It does not matter if edges are not vertical

 

 

Only with a bit of white glue on a same tom of sharpened toothpick, glue every piece of wire inside drawn square

 

 

Thin veneer by the depth as much as you can, and cut slices as narrow as you can (cca 0,5 mm) and glue them on position as on picture above, also only with a bit of white glue on top of toothpick

 

 

 

Add little drops of white glue around structure

 

After glue dry, only with a top of blade, apply putty around to fill all gasps

 

 

When putty dry, carefully sand excess of putty. I used a little rasp I made from 2x2mm strip with sandpaper I glued on two surfaces

 

 

If it is necessary, repeat putty and sanding. When you are satisfied, cover with acrylic. And here is explanation of main idea. Paper can not hold pieces together. But, putty can. Also, considering that acrylic paint turn on to plastic, whole structure is plasticized, and firmly enough for manipulating

 

 

After paint dry, carefully cut paper around window, and pull out window. Carefully sand edges, and thin whole structure a bit to get right surfaces

 

 

Then apply final coat of acrylic

 

 

And here is result

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2015 by Nenad

[jct]

Nice tip

[NenadM]

Drug ambalage

 

Not my idea. I found this on FB

 

Good to share

 

[Landlocked123]

Huh?

[Jack12477]

It's the aluminum foil used in the packages of Mucinex  decongestant. Cut the little sheets up and you have scale aluminum strips.

[GLakie]

Been saving those kinds of things myself.  That and clear acrylic wrappers for windows. 

[Landlocked123]

I get it now. Not much use for American boats from 1750 to 1890, but a good idea nonetheless.

 

Best,

John

[Landlocked123]

I get it now. Not much use for American boats from 1750 to 1890, but a good idea nonetheless.

 

Best,

John

[cobra1951]

Only just found this thread and i am finding it a very useful part of the forum for great ideas

Thank you

[CaptainSteve]

After a somewhat bumpy ride towards the end o’ 2015, CaptainSteve be a-makin’ it his New Year’s Resolution to be steerin’ Kit-Basher’s back on her original tack. Thusly and therewithforth, I doth be planning on scouring the Build logs and a-pesterin’ some o’ you to share your fine ideas to repurpose-eth everyday items.

 

As such, the following was used with the permission of MSW member, Cobr@ ...

 

There is a way you can make good rings with brass wire.

First take something round which is the same diameter as the ring you want to make, a screwdriver for instance. Then wrap the wire around it in a spiral keeping it as tight as possible.

 

Once done, slide the spiral off the object you chose to wrap the wire round and cut it in the place i have highlighted in the second picture, you can cut off as many as you need all the same size and perfectly round. Note in the pictures the spiral was not tight as it was only to be used for reference purposes.

 

And here's a shot from Cobr@'s HMAV Bounty build, showing the above rings used to make door-knockers ...

... the brass rings can be chemically blackened and/or painted.

 

O’course, as ye well know, all may feel free to post their own ideas …

Edited January 17, 2016 by CaptainSteve