Koolshade screen ordering!

[swpropmaker]

Guys,

Ive just put in the first of many orders for the Koolshade material from the manufacturer. If you need this material for your studio scale projects please email me the size you require and I can get a quote for you. For example one TIE fighter requires 24" X 72" worth of material which costs $250 shipped from the UK. I can get a price break if you do not require it to be painted. I ordered a large section of material so I could handle small requests but any signifigant amounts need to be drop shipped to you from the factory. Please get back to me with your Koolshade needs.

Thanks.
Steve

 

[ralphee]

Man i need a TIE, its a big hole in my collection, i may have to sort the money at some point, whats the damage on a hero Steve?

 

[swpropmaker]

PM sent

 

[imaginager]

Steve,

I hadn't heard of that "...do not require it to be painted." Is mine coming painted?

I'd normally be inclined to think that unpainted would be better, from a model-building perspective. But, I wonder if "factory paint" holds up better? Were the originals prepainted? Or, did ILM work some magic on them? Any special finish or paint?

When we spoke, I'm pretty sure you said to make sure to paint the styrene sandwiched between the Koolshade PRIOR to assembly, but I hadn't considered painting the Koolshade.

Thanks,
Allan

 

[star-art]

You can chance it and hope that your paintjob will match the original. For me, I'm going with it factory painted. ILM definitely used the pre-finished black variety. It has quite a "sheen" to it and is a unique look. I'm convinced it would be nearly impossible to replicate the exact look of this stuff by any other means. Thank God it is still available..

 

[Kuhn Global]

Very interesting Steve...questions... for anyone who has the answers...

I realize this has probably been covered in the past, but...

So is England exclusive in making Kooshade? Or are there other competitors out there that make the same material? I understand it's importance in being used on a TIE Fighter and I am wondering what it is usualy used for? :confused

I am attempting to understand why a 2 foot by 6 foot section of screen would cost so much money (the stated $250) and thus am wondering what it is actually designed to do? For it to cost so much in order to get so little,.. I imagine it must be made for some sort of space/goverment/military program or something?. LOL... The makers of this stuff must have been around for awhile and I can't believe that selling this stuff for TIE Fighter wings could ever be their bread and butter,.. so my curiousity is getting the best of me. Instead of looking online to investigate ... for now,.. I will just ask you guys direct about this stuff.

 

[stonky]

I believe that it's a fancy window covering.

http://www.koolshade.net/us/koolshade.html

 

[Kuhn Global]

<div class='quotetop'>(stonky @ Sep 9 2006, 01:04 PM) [snapback]1316653[/snapback]</div>

I believe that it's a fancy window covering.

http://www.koolshade.net/us/koolshade.html
[/b]

Very interesting and thanks for the link Stonky...

The contact info for this company is in France. Steve,.. is this the same place or are you getting it from a distributor? I imagine you already went through price comparison if there was any competeing companies or distributors? Or does the company you go through sell stuff that is specific to the TIE? I know how perfection in your pieces is one of your main gigs, so this must be specific and exact, eh? :confused

Sorry,.. I know this is goofy, but....

I am still not seeing why it would cost so much, nor have I seen prices listed yet on the site. It is just louvred screen. LOL. This is something I will definitely need to be schooled on I guess. :eek

 

[star-art]

About $90 of that is just the shipping.

 

[Kuhn Global]

<div class='quotetop'>(star-art @ Sep 9 2006, 03:23 PM) [snapback]1316730[/snapback]</div>

About $90 of that is just the shipping.
[/b]

:eek Wow... Thanks Charles.

Dang.... does this mean that the U.S. is dry on this item or is this cost U.S. domestic? :confused

I can't seem to get my head to let that number sink in for some reason... I'm trippin out I guess :confused

 

[star-art]

I feel the same way. It's only available from the one factory in the UK and they charge an arm plus two legs for overseas shipping. That rate is for Airmail at least. But yikes.

 

[REL]

Is there a way to mold the stuff?

 

[swpropmaker]

Guys,

This is the best price going since its the only place going. The screen is indiviualy woven bronze. It is expensive to ship. It is used as window shade material for High Rise buildings. Ive had them cut the shipping from 80 sterling to 40 sterling by cutting the 24"X76" piece of shade in half. It is not made in France it is made in the UK. Depending on my order they will adjust the price per foot.

The shade I order is the painted kind so it matches the TIE's perfeclty.

Tried to mold but hard to get it even and keep from locking in the RTV and its micro thin...

Steve



<div class='quotetop'>(REL @ Sep 9 2006, 07:57 PM) [snapback]1316850[/snapback]</div>

Is there a way to mold the stuff?
[/b]

 

[jvasilatos]

<div class='quotetop'>(star-art @ Sep 9 2006, 06:06 PM) [snapback]1316598[/snapback]</div>

You can chance it and hope that your paintjob will match the original. For me, I'm going with it factory painted. ILM definitely used the pre-finished black variety. It has quite a "sheen" to it and is a unique look. I'm convinced it would be nearly impossible to replicate the exact look of this stuff by any other means. Thank God it is still available..


[/b]

I had to paint mine, the two different rolls I got of the stuff were both painted black but the finishes did not match (my first roll was shorted the proper amount and the extra stuff I was sent later did not match). I used satin black for an even match across the board.

And you should paint both sides of the styrene sheet inbetween first as shown above. I used satin black on it also so everything matched.

JV

 

[Kuhn Global]

Thanks Steve.... what is the place in france that is showing it in the link above?

That stuff really does make the TIE look awesome.

JV....oooOOOOoooooooo.....so kewl. Nicely done man. :thumbsup :thumbsup

 

[swpropmaker]

I love seeing TIE build pics. JV thats one sweet TIE you have there.

Steve

 

[jvasilatos]

<div class='quotetop'>(swpropmaker @ Sep 10 2006, 03:46 AM) [snapback]1316909[/snapback]</div>

I love seeing TIE build pics. JV thats one sweet TIE you have there.

Steve
[/b]

Thanks guys.

 

[star-art]

Don't bother trying to recreate this stuff or molding it. If you see the actual material, you'll understand. If you've never seen it up close before, you probably won't get it. It's a very unique product that yields a very unique look.

 

[REL]

<div class='quotetop'>(star-art @ Sep 10 2006, 02:30 AM) [snapback]1316977[/snapback]</div>

Don't bother trying to recreate this stuff or molding it. [/b]

Sounds like a challenge.

 

[star-art]

I don't want to make it sound like it's impossible. What I really mean is it's impractical. If you study the design of the material, you can only approximate the appearance by scratchbuilding. You can never match it precisely. The combination of shape, assembly, and materials makes it impractical to replicate. You could come up with something that looks reasonably close, given the time and effort, but would that be more time/cost effective than just buying the stuff?? At some point you get into diminishing returns. It just becomes more practical to bite the bullet and buy the stuff.