vaderdarth
Master Member
Excellent. Do you have a very basic list of "must have" tools one might need to build this kit?
Dave
Dave
The Probe Droid Resin Kit Instructions Tread
- Thread starter moffeaton
- Start date
Excellent. Do you have a very basic list of "must have" tools one might need to build this kit?
Dave
Seriously ???
lee
vaderdarth
Master Member
Not for me Lee, but there are bunches of folks who haven't tackled a garage kit before, at least that was what I was told. If you've ever assembled an RPF related garage kit, most of them have some tutorial that begins with the basics. Not everyone is an all knowing, Garage Kit god like you are Lee.............LOL
One nifty little tool I discovered a few years back was a Xuron sprue cutting tool that makes sprues a very easy thing to deal with. Almost no sanding after it's use. I picked it up right by the register at Hobby Town.
Another one is a mini sanding stick with replaceable "belts".
And of course a set of mini needle files. A set of 6 or 8 in various shapes.
And a Xacto knife with a very very sharp blade. So buy new blades so you can do more work with less pressure..........and you might keep most of your digits.
If you've ever assembled an RPF related garage kit, most of them have some tutorial that begins with the basics. Not everyone is an all knowing, Garage Kit god like you are Lee.............LOLOne nifty little tool I discovered a few years back was a Xuron sprue cutting tool that makes sprues a very easy thing to deal with. Almost no sanding after it's use. I picked it up right by the register at Hobby Town.
Another one is a mini sanding stick with replaceable "belts".
And of course a set of mini needle files. A set of 6 or 8 in various shapes.
And a Xacto knife with a very very sharp blade. So buy new blades so you can do more work with less pressure..........and you might keep most of your digits.
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Not for me Lee, but there are bunches of folks who haven't tackled a garage kit before, at least that was what I was told.
Ahhhh, the penny drops, very good Dave. I just thought i was in general modeling for a bit there pip pip, :lol
Lee
Sure?
X-acto blade handle
Crap ton of X-Acto blades. I prefer the X-LIFE ones NOT made in China.
Sandpaper - crunchy, regular, calienté
Glue - super and not so super
Paint - all the colors of the rainbow, in enamel or acrylic
Primer - spray kind.
Soap - the grease cutting kind
Epoxy - the two part kind
Airbrush - the double action kind
Brushes - not cheap ones. Skimp on your tools, you will make crappy models.
Solvent for paint - clean your brushes and airbrush. And fingers.
Patient significant other - you will abandon them in the evenings for a while.
Snacks - healthy or not, it's your choice.
Drinks - stay hydrated!
Clothes - you don't want to look like a pervert at the model table, do you?
AC - a temperature controlled room is kinder to drying paint.
But seriously - a lot of this stuff is pretty basic, and personal choices. If there are people who bought this and have NEVER made a resin kit before, they are in for one hell of a daunting task. But I will try to make this straightforward, and I am totally willing and happy to show what I prefer to use when making these models. BUt I have expensive high end stuff in play, and I'm not about to go back to hacking with a dremel, causing resin dust, when I can use the sonic cutter on the sprue stubs. With the lasercut stuff, no one in their right mind has one for personal use, so I'm happy to cut duplicates for people who pay for the materials and shipping. It doesn't take any time at all to slap acrylic on the cutting bed and press "print", when I'm already in the basement building.
I will try my best to "demystify" the process, but again - this is a studio scale kit. I thought there was a level of expertise in place, just walking in the door? Like I said - I'll show what I use, but your mileage will vary.
I'm not in the business of teaching people "how to breathe", you know?
X-acto blade handle
Crap ton of X-Acto blades. I prefer the X-LIFE ones NOT made in China.
Sandpaper - crunchy, regular, calienté
Glue - super and not so super
Paint - all the colors of the rainbow, in enamel or acrylic
Primer - spray kind.
Soap - the grease cutting kind
Epoxy - the two part kind
Airbrush - the double action kind
Brushes - not cheap ones. Skimp on your tools, you will make crappy models.
Solvent for paint - clean your brushes and airbrush. And fingers.
Patient significant other - you will abandon them in the evenings for a while.
Snacks - healthy or not, it's your choice.
Drinks - stay hydrated!
Clothes - you don't want to look like a pervert at the model table, do you?
AC - a temperature controlled room is kinder to drying paint.
But seriously - a lot of this stuff is pretty basic, and personal choices. If there are people who bought this and have NEVER made a resin kit before, they are in for one hell of a daunting task. But I will try to make this straightforward, and I am totally willing and happy to show what I prefer to use when making these models. BUt I have expensive high end stuff in play, and I'm not about to go back to hacking with a dremel, causing resin dust, when I can use the sonic cutter on the sprue stubs. With the lasercut stuff, no one in their right mind has one for personal use, so I'm happy to cut duplicates for people who pay for the materials and shipping. It doesn't take any time at all to slap acrylic on the cutting bed and press "print", when I'm already in the basement building.
I will try my best to "demystify" the process, but again - this is a studio scale kit. I thought there was a level of expertise in place, just walking in the door? Like I said - I'll show what I use, but your mileage will vary.
I'm not in the business of teaching people "how to breathe", you know?
Jason/Dave
You will probably find M3 cap heads, or 4/40 (being in the US) cap heads the best method of articulation.
Size wise its about spot on to what ILM used, and is easy to "lose" the capped head inside the joints Saturn/Plastruct caps.
The other end of the screw is just as easy, as you can tap it into the resin, rather than worrying about fitting metal or nyloc nuts to grip.
You need VERY little pressure to pinch these up, sure, yours will be a way bit heavier being solid resin, but still easy to pinch up into the resin.
lee
You will probably find M3 cap heads, or 4/40 (being in the US) cap heads the best method of articulation.
Size wise its about spot on to what ILM used, and is easy to "lose" the capped head inside the joints Saturn/Plastruct caps.
The other end of the screw is just as easy, as you can tap it into the resin, rather than worrying about fitting metal or nyloc nuts to grip.
You need VERY little pressure to pinch these up, sure, yours will be a way bit heavier being solid resin, but still easy to pinch up into the resin.
lee
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vaderdarth
Master Member
Sweet. definitely gotta look into that. Thanks Lee. That sounds better than my idea of using brass tubing.
No, brass tubing would not work, you still need a pinch. Id go for 4/40 cap heads, the thread is that little bit more coarse to grab the resin the other side.
lee
Yeah, I use those exact cap heads on the Panavise mounts, so I was going to gravitate to those! Great minds
I wasn't thinking about actually just having them eat into the resin with no nut on the other end. That's what you did with your legs? That will be WAY easier!
(I was thinking about using brass tubing and pinching/scoring one of the tubes for friction fit, but then I chickened out and went with the screw plan)
I wasn't thinking about actually just having them eat into the resin with no nut on the other end. That's what you did with your legs? That will be WAY easier!
(I was thinking about using brass tubing and pinching/scoring one of the tubes for friction fit, but then I chickened out and went with the screw plan)
I loved the end of your list there Jason!!!! Good info guys.
If you get the pilot hole the right size in the discs it will self tap, be warned though as any miss alignment in centre drilling the three discs per joint will send you into a world of pain.
DO make sure you have the 3 discs per joint, clamped together or in a custom built jig before drilling, if they're not even it will be ugly.
A tip to those who have never done this before.....pay someone elseeek
DO make sure you have the 3 discs per joint, clamped together or in a custom built jig before drilling, if they're not even it will be ugly.
A tip to those who have never done this before.....pay someone else
eekAnd a first aid kit, one with lots of gauze.
I would add eye protection to that list. Don't play with the eyeballs.
Hey guys, I m away on vacation (first real one in two years) and have limited Internet but wanted to chime in really quick on the leg joints. When I was building them i had to make the legs so that they could be molded, that means that each joint could only have 1 of the "hangers" of the joint cast into them. By hanger I mean the uppermost leg outer joint disk. Most or all of the middle and lower legs have the middle disk of the sandwich.
The third disk in the joint is cast seperatly, since this is resin it will need to be CA or epoxy glued to the upper leg. I am not sure if that 3rd disk will take any force exerted on it by either a bolt or nut. If you are using a bolt and nut combo it may be good idea to have it only go thru the disks that are cast into the recpective legs, using the 3rd one only as cover. The other option may be to use a brass tube that has been painted or clear coated to add resistance, I.e a 1/4 hole, 1/4 tube painted to add just enough material to tighten up the joint.
I m sure there is more than one approach, and that outer joint may wind up being stronger than I expect, but wanted to share what I had in mind when I made them
Mike
The third disk in the joint is cast seperatly, since this is resin it will need to be CA or epoxy glued to the upper leg. I am not sure if that 3rd disk will take any force exerted on it by either a bolt or nut. If you are using a bolt and nut combo it may be good idea to have it only go thru the disks that are cast into the recpective legs, using the 3rd one only as cover. The other option may be to use a brass tube that has been painted or clear coated to add resistance, I.e a 1/4 hole, 1/4 tube painted to add just enough material to tighten up the joint.
I m sure there is more than one approach, and that outer joint may wind up being stronger than I expect, but wanted to share what I had in mind when I made them
Mike
Mike - thanks! I'll solve each leg as they come. Starting on leg one this weekend - the build begins in earnest!
First bearing set arrived - not bad. If the other one is better, I'll recommend that one!
Photo by roboterkampf • Instagram
First bearing set arrived - not bad. If the other one is better, I'll recommend that one!
Photo by roboterkampf • Instagram
First leg!
Clean the parts, and sand the discs that form the joints VERY carefully - the goal is to get these sandwiched together cleanly, and symmetrically.
Find the centers, and drill holes using a bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the cap head screws. Note: I then drilled a larger hole at a shallow depth, so the cap head can be recessed into the (in this example) tan resin.
As Lee said, allow the screw to bite into the resin, at a slight pinch, and the whole assembly will freely swing, with enough resistance that the arm stays posed where you leave it. It will look like this when you are done:
FInish this first joint by gluing the Saturn V parts, centered, to the outer discs:
Clean the parts, and sand the discs that form the joints VERY carefully - the goal is to get these sandwiched together cleanly, and symmetrically.
Find the centers, and drill holes using a bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the cap head screws. Note: I then drilled a larger hole at a shallow depth, so the cap head can be recessed into the (in this example) tan resin.
As Lee said, allow the screw to bite into the resin, at a slight pinch, and the whole assembly will freely swing, with enough resistance that the arm stays posed where you leave it. It will look like this when you are done:
FInish this first joint by gluing the Saturn V parts, centered, to the outer discs:
