Chaotic Mike

Nice!

Hello! Is Eric Arthur Blair your nom-de-plume? A country that takes its modelling seriously... Have you seen General Melchett's and Martin's contributions? 😂

I've had 2 of Airscale's kits, for both the packaging is a work of art, like the contents, so it's certainly possible!

Perfect plastic putty is very controllable! A few quick wipes, et voila! Money, choices, etc...

Bluing works, and it can only enhance the quality of work you are showing! ZM kits can be a struggle, but they are excellent.

Beautiful. Dark in there, isn't it? 😂

I *was* a keen bass player; the neck surgery was to decompress the cervical nerve roots responsible for my right hand, as the ring and little fingers had become semi-paralysed, whilst forefinger and middle have very reduced strength and stamina. This has put the kibosh on that, and significantly affected my ability to to hold a modelling knife and use an airbrush. Post operation, I am now in a protracted hand and neck physiotherapy regime, and awaiting the green shoots of recovery... which are slightly present, so all to play for!

Having acquired and used them, the thing that makes a difference is the distance at which they focus - it is important to have them configured for a comfortable reach. I bought the pair in the link, they are a little far away for long term use. I actually modified a pair of +2.5 dioptre cheapo supermarket reading glasses, and installed the loupes onto them, which makes for me a winning combination. You might find that just a cheap pair of readers is fine for modelling. I too have titanium in my neck...

The respirator filters I was using are specifically for VOCs, so it shouldn't (?) let in fumes. Hence being confused about feeling weird whilst wearing it. I've done the 'airtight' test, and it is. Meanwhile, the exhaust filter. I'm not an expert, but I had assumed the exciting smells of growing 'crops' would also be gaseous rather than particulate. But I'll bow to the superior wisdom of the BM massive! 😂

Funny old thing. I very very rarely use organic solvent based materials, but decided (why, oh Lord, why? 🙂 ) that I would use Mr Surfacer 500 + its recommended thinner on an NMF 1/32 P-38 I am currently battling with. I have a proper job 3M face mask with VOC filters, plus a vented spray booth that, although it doesn't exit to outside, vents to a filter unit designed to remove all traces of odor from the 'home agriculture for fun and profit' market. (Extra UV lights, hydroponic tanking not included). I've used this once previously for a short session, no problems. When I took the mask off, there was a very faint smell of chemical, but nothing that would have given my younger self cause for concern when working with cellulose dope in a not particularly well ventilated space. This afternoon, I did a longer session to prime the wings and booms. But 15 minutes in, I was wheezing (it felt exactly like a hay fever allergic reaction) , and my eyes were burning. I couldn't smell anything whilst wearing the respirator, and even after I took it off there wasn't a strong smell in the shed. Was it the chemicals? And more pertinently, how good at binding to Trumpeter styrene, resin and 3D print materials is Mr Hobby Aqueous?

It's in my grubby hands, and possibly unsurprisingly, Peter has knocked it out of the park. Again! 😂

They seem to be shipping.... Be still, my beating heart!

Damned if I can see how they work!

I got a nearly-new Silhouette off eBay, that I drive using open source Inkscape software (which is perfect for drawing cut lines). Cricut locks you into their design ecosystem, the Silhouette is more 'open', letting you use tools like Inkscape. I think even slightly older Silhouettes have a very similar minimum cut resolution to the newer ones, so its more about getting your cut settings (speed, weight, depth) correct for the material you are using. HTH Mike

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