Peter Miller Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Posted by McG 6969 on 03/01/2016 06:45:59: Thank you gentlemen, Were you all that confused as well when starting your 'careers'? When I started modelling we had balsa cement. End of story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 @ Bob Thank you for the tip. I visited the Jivaro site several times already. There is a lot of very useful information about Depron techniques over there and Laurent is a very helpful modeler. It's very probably his assistance that convinced me to have a go at the 'hybrid' version of the Bella Ballerina. The UHU Creativ is a neoprene type with good flexibility when cured but the Por seems more adequate as a contact adhesive for Depron. Sader (made by Bostik France) is in fact an outdoor PU wood glue and is comparable to my Soudal PU. Thanks again, Bob. @ Peter Wauw... that sounds 'easy' to me... so, at least you didn't experience my kind of 'nearly-full-darkness-in-the-tunnel', then? Must have been some wonderful times... Happy tunneling Chris Brussels, Belgium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Barlow Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Posted by Peter Miller on 03/01/2016 09:48:33: Posted by McG 6969 on 03/01/2016 06:45:59: Thank you gentlemen, Were you all that confused as well when starting your 'careers'? When I started modelling we had balsa cement. End of story! Snap! Humbrol balsa cement smelled great! Although it wasn't as long ago as Peter! I don't think it was that confusing years ago, just far less choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Ah yes - I started with just Balsa cement. The great thing about Balsa Cement for me is nothing to do with its qualities as an adhesive - its the smell! I will always and forever associate that smell with happy hours as a kid spent in my bedroom building Kiel Kraft models! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Balsa cement, cellulose dope, diesel fuel, all time travelling juice Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Please Gentlemen, don't ask me to get some balsa cement as well... I really do have already enough tubes, jars, pots, blisters, bottles, and so on in the testing row... ppfff Well, if the smell is really that 'special' , I might give it a try... But at the moment, I'm concentrating on the ammonia smell of some latex rubber... Happy cementing Chris Brussels, Belgium ps: ... and I thought the newcomers could expect some help from the Master Builders... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Yesterday, I was distracted from my glues & chemicals testing and “Yes, Your Honour, I didn’t shoot the sheriff, but I’ve been ‘robbing’ the bank! I really had to buy some aliphatic & super-phatic as I felt a bit sad here with no light in my tunnel. While online, I couldn’t resist for some Modeller’s Glue, some Micro Balloons & Sand ‘n Seal as well. “One should go on testing”, I thought. Let’s then have a look at that Perma-Grit site. “Yes, Your Honour”. Ok then, simples. A Straight 280mm, a Wedge 140mm, a 3mm Spar Cutter & a 6mm one will do. Check! Getting back to Earth, I realised that I could have bought 2 HK ARF’s (waiting for the discount tag to appear) for that kind of money… But now at least I know that I’m officially a (still minority though) shareholder of Royal Mail… Happy Modelling Chris Brussels, Belgium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Hope you bought plenty of pins and a few dozen assorted clamps as well Chris John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Tools (good ones anyway) are not cheap but think about all of the building fun you will have with them! I just spent £170 on some luthier tools for setting up and tweaking my growing collection of guitars but they should last me the rest of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Hi John, Yes, plenty of (Far East) 'cheap' pins, adult clothes pins & 4 different types of clamps already. Never thought though that starting a modelling workshop from scratch would need that much stuff. The Einhell jigsaw & pillar drill were presents of the LotH, but I think she is going to sponsor next summer holiday as well (she doesn't know yet !) ... Happy work-shopping Chris Belgium, Brussels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Yes, Wolston... but I'am not even sure if my non-collection of models will last for that long... Registered Newbie, remember? Happy collecting Chris Brussels, Belgium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Hello everybody, While I was cleaning up some storage room to find a home for all those bottles, pots & tubes involved in my latest madness, I discovered a bottle of Latex Rubber with an apparently quite long shelve life. Sure I wasn’t going to throw that in the bin. An artistic friend of mine has carved a pilot (+/- 1:6 scale, I think) for the office of the Bella Ballerina. Looking for some inspiration on the web, she ended up with a very nice figurine torso made out Polymer Clay. It’s some kind of plasticine that you can 'bake' in the oven when carved/finished. Quite heavy but rock solid. So, I decided to experiment with latex moulding as I had it lying around (& silicone moulding is a lot more expensive!), to try to cast some 2K-Styrene (or Urethane) & hopefully get a lightweight figurine. First job is to ad a ply base (covered with packing tape) double-sided taped to Pierre (I guess I just enjoy to give names) & to spray some release/de-moulding agent over him. The process with the latex was a long one. They do sell some 'thickener' for the latex to allow for some thicker layers and a perceptive gain of working time. But - being stupid - I decided not to spend some money on that... and ended with applying 10-12 layers of that thin rubber waiting for some 15 minutes intervals between each layer !!! After waiting about 24 hours to fully cure, I was quite curious about that one... but I got myself a nice looking Rubberized Pierre Clone. Then, I roughly sketched an internal plug for Pierre & built it laminating some layers of 3mm ply. A bit of sanding, installing a dowel for handling and support, followed by a few layers of latex for easy release. Et voila. Up to the casting now… Happy latexing Chris BRU - BE / CTR Mould Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Wow that looks good, I would happily buy a pilot off you if you go in to production! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masher Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Very interesting Chris It is surprisingly difficult to find decent pilot figures so I have been considering taking the same route as you. Unfortunately I don't have such good artistic friend so I have been watching the carving videos on Youtube. Can't wait to see your first cast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Well done Chris that looks excellent. You could try rota moulding by filling the mould to roughly a third then holding a piece of plastic over the opening and tumbling or rotating the mould in your hands until the resin sets, Urethane only takes about 5 minutes Gives a nice thin cast Cheers Danny Edited By Danny Fenton on 06/01/2016 13:00:28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 That's cool. Masher is right, good pilots at a believable price are hard to find. I really like painting pilots - its a bit childish I know but I do enjoy fettling all the little details of the harness and googles etc. Here a picture from my build in the 2013 MB of the Tucano of the cockpit hatch I made, I really enjoyed doing these boys: These were just latex mouldings the same as the one you have done Chris - but I bought them not made them like you. Wash the latex in warm soapy water to clean it, then dry carefully and paint. So, more buying of pots due now Chris! You need some nice acryllic paints to make Pierre look the part! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Thank you for your nice words, Danny. I had been thinking about 'rotation moulding' (as a lot of Belgian 'chocolatiers' use that method for their creations) but wasn't aware of the short curing time for Urethane. I'll definitely give it a try but I'll have to consider that the latex is very thin & soft and Pierre could look quite 'funny' or even like Quasimodo... Pierre #2 is curing in the workshop at the moment. Maybe I'll be buying silicone after all. Thank you for the tip. Cheers Chris BRU - BE / CTR Cure Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 ... sheesh... that's amazing, BEB ! What scale are they? I'm afraid my painting skills will be nowhere close to that result. But if you enjoy painting them, I could always mail you a few Pierres... Happy painting Chris BRU - BE / CTR Acrylic Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 06/01/2016 13:08:21: That's cool. Masher is right, good pilots at a believable price are hard to find. I really like painting pilots - its a bit childish I know but I do enjoy fettling all the little details of the harness and googles etc. Childish to paint pilots? We build and fly toy model aircraft! Good work on the pilot painting, I like 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 If you want to learn how to paint pilots, have a look at the Games Workshop series of paints. They are wonderful for this sort of thing. Look at their tutorials as well which explain how to 'dry' brush and do highlights etc. Some of their artists and modellers are amazing You just need to be able to keep a straight face when you ask for a pot of "puke green" or "skeleton white" or "Death Angel Red" or whatever. Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 The Tucano was roughly 1/7 scale I think. Here's a picture of them in place and one of the finished Tucano - Note! I expect all the Ballerinas we do this year to be better than that! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Here's a picture of them in place and one of the finished Tucano - Note! I expect all the Ballerinas we do this year to be better than that! ALL Ballerinas, BEB ??? I think I'll better stop right away then... ... and emigrate to a nice Siberian salt mine a.s.a.p... Happy emigrating Chris BRU - BE / CTR Siberian Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Hi to all, As the latex mould is quite thin and very soft, I did a bit of research to find out that preparing a kind of ‘bedding’ of light white sand would resolve that weakness. Some of you like to paint pilots, I love playing with Duplo blocks… and sand, of course… So, a few blocks (not those expensive genuine Danish classics that Danny uses , but simple cheap clones!), some plastic bagging for the sand, installing Pierre upside down and spooning in some sand. Simples. Then hanging & centering the internal plug, carefully pouring some 2K- Urethane (1:1) & having a nice cup of patience... Pierre’s clone released very peacefully but the ply plug was a bit stuck and split in the process. From the back Pierre was looking quite OK… But from the front, he looked as he had some bad time being a test-dummy for a Swedish car manufacturer… When I was pouring the sand, gravity laws were fighting against the softest spots of the latex and Pierre’s face got badly squeezed at his left side. Depending on the angle of view, the damage appears more or less important… ppfff. Back to the ‘thinking-board’. Happy urethaning Chris BRU – BE / CTR Latex Control Edited By McG 6969 on 07/01/2016 08:52:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masher Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Excellent first attempt though Chris. Can you say that the face is distorted to simulate those high G manouvers? (I never could smell manovers!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Thanks Masher, but then the maneuvers could only be done in one direction... And really not convinced that my Depron lady will stand any form of Gs. Well, I guess ‘Experimenting’ remains a self-explaining kind of action. Happy Gee-ing Chris BRU - BE / CTR Maneuver Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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