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<\/a>Because it’s hard to build models when half your hand dangles like a zombie.<\/p><\/div>\n
#3 \u2013 the gentle hand is what wins here.\u00a0 If you feel like you\u2019re applying a lot of pressure or you\u2019re straining to cut something, stop and back off.\u00a0 Try something different.\u00a0 When you are applying too much pressure, you are setting yourself up for something bad to happen.\u00a0 Like a trip to the Emergency Room after the part does cut clean and all that extra pressure rams the knife two or three centimeters through your hand.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Locating the walls of the arboretum …<\/p><\/div>\n
So \u2013 first, find the part on the brass sheet that you need to cut.\u00a0 If there are symmetrical pieces for multiple sides of a model, DO NOT immediately separate them all.\u00a0 They might<\/em> be different from one another, and this can result in messy removal and reapplication of parts.\u00a0 So \u2013 find the part you want, and only cut off that part.\u00a0 If there are multiples and they are identical, then feel free to do more than one at a time.\u00a0 Just make sure they are, indeed, identical.<\/p>\n Always be careful with these knives<\/p><\/div>\n Next, cut the part free.\u00a0 If you can fit them in, use your snippers.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t, or there\u2019s some danger of warping using the snippers, then lay the brass on your backing and either press the razor down on the connector if it will fit, or if it won\u2019t fit, drag the point over the connector several times until it is cut.\u00a0 You might also want to put a paper towel between your off-hand and the brass while you hold it down to prevent unnecessary dirtying of the brass.<\/p>\n Some spots won’t be easy, just gently drag the point over the connection a few times until it comes loose.<\/p><\/div>\n Try to cut as close as you can to the part, but leave a little bit on it so you don\u2019t risk messing up the part with the knife.\u00a0 You can file the nub off after you get it clear of the sheet.<\/p>\n Those little burrs need to be filed off<\/p><\/div>\n Once it\u2019s clear, you\u2019ll see you have some extra nubs of brass \u2013 this is where the straight flat file comes in.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to need to file those bits off, but don\u2019t file so far that you eat into the piece.\u00a0 So hold the part in your off hand, and get as close to the edge with your grip as you can.\u00a0 You want to have the file rubbing on your fingers to provide you a little extra feedback, and you want to support the piece as much as possible to avoid bending it.\u00a0 Also, hold the file in such a fashion that its filing side faces directly onto the part.\u00a0 You want to have as much strength in the part facing against the file as you can, because that will also help prevent bending.<\/p>\n Try to keep the part and the file lined up so you aren’t applying a lot of lateral pressure.<\/p><\/div>\n Gently file a few strokes at a time, until you can\u2019t see the nub any more.\u00a0 Then feel for it.\u00a0 You\u2019ll probably still be able to feel a rough edge there.\u00a0 Keep giving it a few file strokes at a time, until it feels completely smooth, then move to the next burr and keep going until the part is completely clean.<\/p>\n For gluing the parts, some will be large enough that you can apply glue to the part<\/p>\n The arboretum walls are big enough to glue directly<\/p><\/div>\n itself, others will require you to glue the plastic where the part will live.\u00a0 That\u2019s your judgment call, just depends on how you feel.\u00a0 Once in place, remove the excess glue (you don\u2019t have to go berserk on this, just pull the biggest globs away) with a toothpick.\u00a0 If you get glue on the facing surface of the part, it can be washed off with a clean paintbrush dipped in water.<\/p>\n For the arboretum, I light-blocked the exterior (masking off the attachment points).\u00a0 What that means is coating the exterior of the main part with a paint that won\u2019t transmit light through it.\u00a0 Since the parts are white plastic, and I intend to have a lot of lights in here, there\u2019s potential for a lot of light to leak through the parts.\u00a0 I use a matte black primer coat, mainly because it\u2019s easy to get and I had some handy.\u00a0 Some people go for silver.\u00a0 I don\u2019t care that much, and black works great.\u00a0 There\u2019s not much extra to do yet \u2013 I attached the PE wall plates (which give the walls a lot more detail, and once painted they\u2019ll receive HDA\u2019s decals to prettify them.\u00a0 I also went ahead with the decals on the ceiling, which are a \u201cblue sky with clouds\u201d motif near the windows.\u00a0 You can actually see this in ST:TMP during the final \u2018go to warp\u2019 sequence and in WoK during the Enterprise launch shot.\u00a0 I recently re-watched TMP, and man, what a pretty ship this is going to be!<\/p>\n Decals applied to arboretum roof to show “blue sky” motif…<\/p><\/div>\n …just like in the films!<\/p><\/div>\n Forward wall, attached<\/p><\/div>\n Both wall sections have door holes, but I won\u2019t paint in there since the HDA decals already have some good detail for them.\u00a0 I am really curious how those decals are going to stick, since the surface is very uneven, but when the time comes I\u2019ll read the instructions and let you know.<\/p>\n Aft Wall, Attached<\/p><\/div>\n First, I light-blocked the back sides of the bay walls, floor, and ceiling, then covered that over lightly with some white primer.\u00a0 The interior didn\u2019t get any paint treatment at all, as I\u2019ll add primer once the PE is attached.<\/p>\n What I spent most of my time with on the shuttle bay lately was in priming and applying some PE girders, railings, and detail to the walls.\u00a0 I showed earlier how the windows were cut and then the PE part applied, I figured I\u2019d give you the more detailed explanation here.<\/p>\n Again, those plastic windows are destined for the trash.<\/p><\/div>\n The photos initially didn\u2019t come out so clear with the guide holes, but I hope this will at least help clarify what to do when chopping out sections of a polystyrene wall.<\/p>\n Adding the guide holes<\/p><\/div>\n Guide holes, done<\/p><\/div>\n First, using a very small bit in a pin vise, drill a few \u201cguide holes\u201d \u2013 just three holes lined up along the line you expect to cut, for each intended cut.\u00a0 In this case, there will be two long horizontal cuts, so I want two sets of guide holes.\u00a0 Once the holes are made, use the same pin vise and very gently use it like a file to eat away at the plastic between the guide holes \u2013 start in the center and work left and right, until you have joined all three holes into a single stretch of open space.<\/p>\n Use the pin vise to abrade away the plastic and join up those holes.<\/p><\/div>\n Remember, be gentle!<\/p><\/div>\n Not as clear focus as I was hoping, but you get the idea, I suspect.<\/p><\/div>\n Now, you should have enough room to insert the razor saw.\u00a0 Note that although the saw has a handle, you aren\u2019t required to hold it by that handle.\u00a0 In fact, I recommend you choke up on it quite a bit to give yourself some added control and to avoid bending the saw blade while you work.\u00a0 Carefully use the saw to cut the long horizontal line across the section you are cutting away.\u00a0 Repeat for any other line(s) that are prepped.<\/p>\n The saw should fit nicely here. If not, add another guide hole and join it.<\/p><\/div>\n Don’t hold it so far back like this…<\/p><\/div>\n Instead, get up on it like this.<\/p><\/div>\n Once the lines are cut, you can use either the small pin vise again, or if you have a larger bit, use that to drill a new hole between the ends of the two sawed lines.\u00a0 Then, join the holes with the lines and remove the unwanted section of plastic.\u00a0 Use a razor knife or file to smooth down the section some.\u00a0 In this case with the shuttle bay windows, it doesn\u2019t have to be really super-precise, since it\u2019ll be covered up with a brass PE part, but I want to make sure there aren\u2019t any little fringes that might show through the windows.<\/p>\n Lines are cut<\/p><\/div>\n Drill a little between the lines…<\/p><\/div>\n Pop that mother out and do a little cleanup on it.<\/p><\/div>\n For the girders on the shuttle bay walls, I pulled each identical set of parts free and applied them to either side in \u201cassembly line\u201d style.<\/p>\n Correction to the PE instruction sheet<\/p><\/div>\n I want to note an error on the Paragrafix sheet I have here \u2013 the lower center support girders for each side (the very small ones with the triangular hole in them) are labeled as part #5 on the instruction sheet for the PE card.\u00a0 That\u2019s incorrect \u2013 they are actually part #24 on the brass card.\u00a0 Paragrafix has already corrected the error in their instructions (you can get the official instructions here<\/a>), but if you happen to have an older set the hardcopy may still show this.<\/p>\n Girders need special care to avoid damaging the thin parts when filing.<\/p><\/div>\n Once separated from the card, the girders are really thin, fragile parts \u2013 so filing away the flash is difficult.\u00a0 Not impossible, but yeah, it\u2019s a little tedious.\u00a0 Just remember, don\u2019t be afraid to abrade a bit of your fingers with the file, grip those parts really close to the filing part and keep the file aligned against the strength of the part.\u00a0 Try to avoid lateral pressure if at all possible, and be very gentle.\u00a0 Better to take twenty weak strokes with the file than three really strong ones and end up with a mangled part.<\/p>\n Gluing the girders was pretty easy \u2013 I mixed a little bit of water into some canopy glue (about 2 parts water to 5 parts glue) to thin it up a little, then applied it to the receiving areas of the plastic with a toothpick.\u00a0 Once the plastic was ready, just slip the part on and press it into place with the dry end of the toothpick, and collect any big bubbles of excess glue with it.<\/p>\n Girders before and after filing – you really need to get these smooth so they fit flush.<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s all for now, I\u2019ve still got some attaching to do, which I may cover in a future update if it differs significantly from this.\u00a0 Chances are I won\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n You can see even at this early stage how much PE adds to a kit like this – this is going to look stunning.<\/p><\/div>\n USS Enterprise Build Log – Part 2<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 USS Enterprise Build Log – Part 4<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Build Log:\u00a0 Part 3 Okay, been working a bit on the arboretum and the shuttle bay walls, mostly just attaching photo-etch pieces, so I\u2019ll do a bit of info on how to make those work a little better. Handling Photo-Etch … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>The Arboretum<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>The Shuttle Bay<\/h3>\n
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