Products that were not intended to be used in model making but work anyway

[division 6]

Good idea.

Back when I made aquariums (22+ years ago) I got all kinds of scrap acrylic that I used for making molds and props.
If you have a shop near by, raid the dumpster.

 

[publiusr]

I'm something of a greeble hoarder---always looking for odd parts that look to lend themselves to starship kits.

Vape pen bits for nacelles and such (I don't vape).

A recent find at a dollar store is this LED TAPER CANDLE:
https://www.dollartree.com/luminess...MIhOvUgryl_wIVtDfUAR1EFQBDEAQYASABEgJ-QvD_BwE

It is the same width as a 1/1000 Enterprise nacelle but longer. Got one for a buck and change.

These are nice:

Art Alternatives Dual Tip Marker | Michaels

Find the best Dual Tip Art Markers for your project. We offer the Art Alternatives Dual Tip Marker for $1.39 with free shipping available.

www.michaels.com

Notice not only the caps---but the lower in has an insert that the caps also fit---the insert for the pointed brush. Good for a nosecone that won't pierce flesh.

 

[Millenniumf]

Good idea.

Back when I made aquariums (22+ years ago) I got all kinds of scrap acrylic that I used for making molds and props.
If you have a shop near by, raid the dumpster.

Lol, when I was working at a filtration machine company a couple years ago, the boss decided to clear out anything we weren't using because it was taking up space in an already cramped shop. I don't have room for much more in my house, so I have about 7-8 pieces of still-wrapped 3x4' acrylic sheet, 4x5' cardboard sheets, and several sheets of perforated steel and aluminum sheet just sitting in the back of my minivan.

I'm surprised this thread has gone this long though without mentioning toothpaste tube caps. They're so useful for nozzles and tapered segments of any kind that need to have ribbing along them. Same goes for mouthwash caps, which are much bigger and could be used for rocket interstages or main booster nozzles. I have also been saving the caps from A&W root beer bottles because they're ribbed, but also have a neat little step under the ribbing around the top of the caps that would add some visual interest.

 

[publiusr]

One of the procedures doctors use might be of use in models:

Study reveals mechanics of the ideal surgical knot

Think about the last time you tied your shoe: maybe you tied it tightly, or tied multiple knots to ensure the laces wouldn't come undone. You likely relied on intuition to tell you how much tension to apply to keep the laces from untying, without pulling hard enough to break them.

medicalxpress.com

One possible way to prevent sag in models might be something like these knots---perhaps with some ship-in-a-bottle type engineering.

You might remember this toy that had string inside:

Armageddon Action Sites Space Station Hot Wheels On Card NIB 1997 Mattel | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Armageddon Action Sites Space Station Hot Wheels On Card NIB 1997 Mattel at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Nacelle droop? Just tighten knob.

That would probably take an engineering skillset as well as computer modeling---but I think Trek kits deserve it.

I have often wanted tabs and slots to have holes for a zip line that can tighten things us to allow the gaps to be filled with resin for super strength.

Liquid metal

Liquid metal sticks to surfaces without a binding agent

Everyday materials such as paper and plastic could be transformed into electronic "smart devices" by using a simple new method to apply liquid metal to surfaces, according to scientists in Beijing, China. The study, published June 9 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, demonstrates a...

phys.org

Multifunctional self-healing liquid metal hydrogel developed for human-computer interaction

Recently, researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by Prof. Tian Xingyou and Prof. Zhang Xian, along with associate Prof. Yang Yanyu from the College of Materials Science and Engineering at Zhengzhou University, used gallium indium...

phys.org

Slinky robot

Team creates modular continuous robot based on origami-folded tubes

In recent years, roboticists have created a growing number of autonomous systems based on different structures and designs. Among these are modular robots, which are composed of different elements or "modules" that can be reconfigured to carry out specific tasks more effectively.

techxplore.com

 

[publiusr]

These make nice nacelles---look at the attachments when you get some--cool marker plastic

Simply Done Permanent Markers 2 ea

Ready for life. Water & rub resistant. Quick dry, low odor. No smear. Leftovers - labeled! Rummage sale - tagged! From daily organization and notes to weekend projects, be ready to make solid marks with high quality, affordable markers from Simply Done. www.besimplydone.com. Quality Guarantee...

www.yoderscountrymarket.com

Other parts

Wilbur Curtis Coffee and Tea Dispenser Parts and Accessories Beverage Equipment and Parts Distributor - Apex Beverage Equipment

www.totalapex.com

 

[chibobber]

Many of us know someone who has diabetes. Shown are BD Nano pen needles(needles removed). Lot of detail and many combos.

 

[Rahn420]

I had posted this once, in a seperate post.

I used waxed dental floss as a masking medium for the spaces between the pads.

My girlfriend was watching a cooking show and they were tying a roast and I thought 'hmm...'.

 

[publiusr]

Drip trays

https://www.partstown.com/bunn/bu39917-1001

More

https://www.partstown.com/bunn/pans-trays-wells/parts

Saucer

Curtis Streamliner TC-3H Round 3 Gallon Iced Tea Dispenser LID*Part Only | eBay

Fits the TC-3H 3 gallon stainless dispenser.

www.ebay.com

https://www.partstown.com/bunn/bu34667-0001

Wilbur Curtis WC-56052-P Plastic Lid Tea Brewer Asy

Wilbur Curtis WC-56052-P plastic lid tea brewer asy.

www.webstaurantstore.com

Star Manufacturing Lid, Dispenser (6 Qt) 2L-H8548 | Zoro

Order Star Manufacturing Lid, Dispenser (6 Qt), 2L-H8548 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

www.zoro.com

BUNN or Curtis? have a part 202234-001 wedge lid or something but I can’t find it.

Nice

White Mounting Bracket replacement part for the Clear Choice Double Dispenser | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for White Mounting Bracket replacement part for the Clear Choice Double Dispenser at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Universal Water Cooler Water Dispenser Parts Smart Seat Bottle Holder‘ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Universal Water Cooler Water Dispenser Parts Smart Seat Bottle Holder‘ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Simple Human Automatic Soap or Lotion Dispenser for Parts or Repair White/ Chrom | eBay

Does not currently work. Simple Human soap/lotion dispenser.

www.ebay.com

Tile tool

https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlysatisfying/comments/156h0cq

 

[rbeach84]

publiusr : how would you use all these things?
Thanks!
R/ Robert

 

[Iskelderon]

publiusr : how would you use all these things?
Thanks!
R/ Robert

Most obvious ones would be the soap dispenser as some piece of lab equipment in a scifi movie set dressing and that one lid as some kind of access panel.

.

This guy would be a great shuttlebay approach section for a spaceship:

 

[publiusr]

I was thinking both part of an engine block with things glued to the first.

Others as ramscoop intakes.

Something else that occurred to me--inspired by braille and Dymo-tape...

Might decals themselves have raised greeble type patterns in them?

Chemical gardens

Planting seeds: Researchers dig into how chemical gardens grow

Since the mid-1600s, chemists have been fascinated with brightly colored, coral-like structures that form by mixing metal salts in a small bottle.

phys.org

 

[publiusr]

The recycling world now has a way to remove those pesky labels

Solving industry's sticky recycling issues

Adhesive residue left on recyclable materials, such as glass and cardboard, can now be dissolved thanks to the introduction of degradable polymers created by University of Surrey scientists.

phys.org

The newly invented adhesive, very similar to that used on commercial packaging tape, has a chemical additive known as thionolactone which makes up 0.25% of the composition. This additive allows the adhesive to be dissolved in the recycling process, something which was previously not possible.

3D printing news
New computational method facilitates the dense placement of objects inside a rigid container

Researchers create highly conductive metallic gel for 3D printing

Researchers have developed a metallic gel that is highly electrically conductive and can be used to print three-dimensional (3D) solid objects at room temperature. The paper, "Metallic Gels for Conductive 3D and 4D Printing," has been published in the journal Matter.

phys.org

Flaky compound to prevent computer chips from getting fried

A research team from Skoltech has improved the properties of a polymer used in 3D printing. By adding boron nitride "flakes" to the photopolymer, the scientists managed to double the material's thermal conductivity. This could prevent microchips encapsulated with the polymer from overheating and...

phys.org

Scientists develop 2D nanosheets for sustainable carbon capture

Global warming has been attributed to the sharp increase in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, in particular CO2 emissions. Carbon capture technology, such as using adsorbents to capture and store CO2 from ambient air, is a promising solution to mitigate emissions.

phys.org

Researchers create 3D printed, biodegradable, color-changing conductive material from cellulose


Large plastic disks

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/08568842

Plastic discs - Fabriek van Palty producten b.v.

Plastic discs smooth, rough en rough.

www.palty.com

Plasti-Bat 8"

Plasti-Bat 8": This bat was designed by studio potters to be versatile, long lasting and indestructible. Impervious to water and easy to clean. S

www.theceramicshop.com

Lighting

Research team develops more affordable and brighter film lighting technology

A research team led by Dr. Byeong-dae Choi at the DGIST Division of Electronics & Information System has greatly improved the efficiency of zinc sulfide powder-based electroluminescent devices by applying silver nanofilms. The study was published in the June 2023 edition of Advanced Photonics...

phys.org

Researchers grow precise arrays of nanoscale LEDs

Halide perovskites are a family of materials that have attracted attention for their superior optoelectronic properties and potential applications in devices such as high-performance solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and lasers.

phys.org

Infinigen

Engineers look to an old source to empower the future of computer vision

Artificial intelligence seems perfect for creating massive sets of images needed to train autonomous cars and other machines to see their environment, but current generative AI systems have shortcomings that can limit their use. Now, engineers at Princeton have developed a software system to...

techxplore.com

"We expect that Infinigen will prove to be a useful resource not just for creating training data for computer vision, but also for augmented and virtual reality, game development, film-making, 3D printing, and content generation in general," Deng said.

Scientists build a system that can generate AI models for biology research

Is it possible to build machine-learning models without machine-learning expertise?

techxplore.com

For text

Computer scientists release guidelines for evaluating AI-generated text

The public release of AI text generators, such as ChatGPT, has caused an enormous stir among both those who herald the technology as a great leap forward in communication as well as those who prophesy the technology's dire effects. However, AI-generated text is notoriously buggy, and human...

techxplore.com

Team develops a faster, cheaper way to train large language models

A Stanford team has developed Sophia, a new way to optimize the pretraining of large language models that's twice as fast as current approaches.

techxplore.com

Plastic that counts

Physicists develop a metamaterial that can count

A block of rubber that can count to ten and even remember the order in which it is pressed—physicists Martin van Hecke and Lennard Kwakernaak (Leiden University and AMOLF Amsterdam) have published about this latest metamaterial in the journal Physical Review Letters.

phys.org

 

[publiusr]

I may have mentioned this before--but has anyone made a nuclear pulse Orion using those spring loaded spiked meat tenderizers that look like pusher-plates?

Hey ThinkGeek!

 

[Joseph C. Brown]

No meat tenderizer - when I built my version of an Orion, I used Aldo Spadoni's art to do the Micheal, from the novel Footfall. Pournelle and Niven gave their approval to Aldo's rendition, so... I used a dollar-store light reflector as the 'pusher' plate, and misc plastic parts and junk to do the rest of the ship, scaled to use a MicroMachines Shuttle as one of it's attack ships.

 

[joberg]

No meat tenderizer - when I built my version of an Orion, I used Aldo Spadoni's art to do the Micheal, from the novel Footfall. Pournelle and Niven gave their approval to Aldo's rendition, so... I used a dollar-store light reflector as the 'pusher' plate, and misc plastic parts and junk to do the rest of the ship, scaled to use a MicroMachines Shuttle as one of it's attack ships.

Looking good

 

[publiusr]

Today at phys.org is an article about University of Florida's Brent Sumerlin and James B Young who found a better way to recycle polymers...for all of you in the toy biz.

 

[p51]

Coffee stirrers make for great scale wood boards for scale structures.

I bought a box of 1000 of them on Amazon for less than ten bucks. After building the structure to the right in this shot with a bunch of them, the box still looks full. It's the best hobby value purchase I've ever made.

 

[chibobber]

Paint stirrer as space ship part?

 

[Iskelderon]

Paint stirrer as space ship part?

Immediately made me think of vectoring fins for some scifi submarine.

 

[publiusr]

I saw the plastic inner guts to side-view mirrors on light trucks.

Lots of late model cars have this gridded material with interesting curves.

Also, some monitors have swivel and slide joints.

So, I might saw up black plastic pallets...for nacelle mounts and appliance shells for hulls.

Wedge

Big Foot® Doorstop, Grey, 1/pk 00941 | Master Manufacturing

mastermfgco.com

Contact lens cleaner

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisit/comments/1685llv