stevielewis
Sr Member
I lived in L.A. from 1998 - 2004 and experienced the fires that happen there, but not as bad as this fire. This one is the worst I have seen in a long time.
Yeah, not sure the cause, but because of the wind blowing ash around, its just multiplied beyond much of their control.
Its just how fast its happened, and the area its effecting makes it so devastating.
Thanks for the reply, lewis-san. It looks like the fire is still spreading. 10 thousand fine houses are burnt out I have no word for the fine people who lost their loving house so suddenly. They say the strong hot wind from the desert blows this season every year. This fire should have been predictable. Aren't there some precautionary measures?I lived in L.A. from 1998 - 2004 and experienced the fires that happen there, but not as bad as this fire. This one is the worst I have seen in a long time.
Thank you so much, Analyzer-san!Wow that hangar deck is fantastic!
Love the lighting as well as all the details
Also great to see your wife enjoying a hobby!
Thank you so much for the detailed and specific info about FO. Ahh, the reason for my trouble was using superglue. I've tested several adhesives for holding an FO in a hole, like Plastic kit cement, or acetone cement. But none of them are quite good. At last, I chose superglue for quick drying but that was a problem. I've never imagined using that old-school white bond. Ahh, I lost many hours for that. Also, your explanation about the strands and edges makes sense. Academic and cristal clear.Hi Katsu-san, looking great... if I did not know any better I could swear I was in the belly of a real live ship.
Regarding the fiber optic, there are pros and cons to doing the FO before the finishing paint job or after. Sometimes I have no choice, but if I can, I like to pull them through after the painting is done, like you mentioned above. I usually have a lot and all those little stubs of FO sticking out during the painting phase just get in my way. BUT the drawbacks are you have to drill perfect every time... patching up after the paint is finished is no fun. Likewise, the drilled hole needs to be as close as possible to the diameter of the FO strand to minimize the area around the FO that needs to be cleaned/filled in.
Heating the tips does two things for you... First, the "balled" melted tip is usually bigger than the hole so it keeps the strand from pulling back out by accident until you have it glued in place. Second, it gives you that nice rounded lens effect, but the downside is that it turns a 0.5mm strand of FO into a 1mm or upwards point of light... so if larger light points will not ruin your scale, this is a great option... if on the other side you are doing windows in monster ship that is 1:"can't count that high" then you are better off cutting the FO below the lens to keep the point of light as small as possible.
As to why your FO is breaking, This is likely due to using superglue. Never, never ever use superglue. Cyanoacrylate makes the FO strands brittle and they break very easy afterwards. Aside from that, some say that even if you are careful and it does not break, that same brittleness will also cause slight refractions on the inside of the FO (where the light is being channeled), which may effect the brightness.
I use 0.5 most of the time, sometimes even 0.25 if I am doing a really high-number scale. For glue I usually use that white glue that we all used in elementary school. In the states it is called Elmer's glue. It dries slow, but it is not aggressive. Once it dries, it usually shrinks, so again here the closer the hole is to the diameter of the FO, the better. Aside from that, I like to protect the strands where they come out on the inside of the model. The core of FO is essentially glass so if it is bent too far or bent over a sharp corner it can break, regardless of the glue. That means, if you glue a FO strand and the glue surface where it meets the FO is sharp... bending the FO against it is the same as cutting it with scissors. To completely eliminate this risk, I like to go back once the FO is set and the glue is completely cured and fix the FO strands on the inside with a blob of any kind of flexible glue (the ones that feel like rubber cement when they are cured) or Silicon works good for this as well. You can make sure that they are going in the direction they need to go while the silicon is curing but do not bend them too much at this point... Here again, best to wait until the silicone or flexible glue cures before bundling the strands.
As it is kind of hard to describe in words, below is a quick sketch... when a glue cures it usually shrinks to some degree, this causes a valley, high on the inside and outside and low in the middle. The upraised edge along the FO can be very sharp and will sheer it off if too much force is applied. This is why a blob of flexible glue can prevent the strand from being pressed too hard against the sharp lip of the glue on the inside of the model. Hope that makes sense.
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I have done little molding & casting since buying a 3D printer, but if you have a hard-to-get-to spot, (e.g. light the tip of an antenna), you can put FO in a mold with RTC resin and it will come out fine. You still need to be careful not to bend the FO against the sharp edge of the cured resin until silicone or the like is in place.
At last, I chose superglue for quick drying but that was a problem. I've never imagined using that old-school white bond. Ahh, I lost many hours for that.
Yes, personal experience here with using hot glue gun on small FO...does melt the fibersYou are very welcome, I too am very happy if I can give something back to help others like I was helped.
Do not feel bad about choosing superglue, it is a very common mistake that everyone has made (including yours truly). In our line of work superglue has become a holy relic because it can glue just about anything to anything and that in the blink of an eye, so it only makes sense to use it for... well, everything. The white Elmer's glue is something of a standard when gluing FO, but it is very time consuming, it will take a couple hours to set and depending on how thickly it is applied it can take overnight to completely cure. In reality, you can use pretty much any glue that is not CA based. when choosing a glue, it should not be too high in viscosity or it might "leak" out on the outer model surface. Furthermore, if you intend to paint over it, it should also not be too flexible, otherwise your paint will flake off. This is especially the case if the hole is much larger as the FO strand.
For all the FO that are already glued with superglue, aside from being careful and hoping for the best, you have two options: cutting the strand above the affected area and reinserting through the hole (or replacing the entire strand if it is too short) is the best method. Or you can cover the strands with a thick coat of epoxy where they came into contact with superglue. They are still brittle, but this will protect them and give the strands additional support.
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I personally have never used it, but I have read in the past that a hot glue gun will also work to fix FO strands... for thicker strands, I would agree, but although I have never tested my theory, I would be concerned that thinner strands, like the ones I usually use (0.5mm or 0.25mm), could melt from the heat.
Looking forward to seeing this take shape.
Looks great Katsu. Is that balsa wood?
I’m thinking MDF.