11-26-2010, 12:51 PM
Greg, the homemade cutter worked quite well. I was at the LHS this morning, saw the NWSL chopper for $44, but figured I could do without. To be honest, I need to refine my technique and thinking, because the stuff I have been doing is actually rather crude compared to some. I typically work from a "close enough" perspective rather than a "perfect" perspective. Lots of times I just "eyeball" stuff to get it in place instead of making it perfect.
Although there are imperfections in all my bridges, the overall effect is pleasing. Just as an example, on the second bridge I built, the wood trestle, I noticed that the spacing between the bents is off a little - some of the bents are closer together than others. I measured everything beforehand, but somehow I missed a little. Still, it isn't all that noticable, and unless someone purposely studies the bridge, no one will ever notice.
Gus, I definitely know what you went through now. I'm sitting here about one quarter of the way done with the railing fab, just shaking my head.
Gotta get my mind right, dive in and quit stalling. As you mention, the finished product will be worth it. As for the cutter, it did the job - put the piece in, then tap the razor blade with an electrician's hammer, and there ya go. For the thinner stuff, I was cutting up to 6 pieces at a time by stacking them on top of each other.
S-two-fiddy, the work you did on the ship is fabulous, and much more intricate than what I am doing. The smallest strip I am working with is .015 x .060. Yours looks to be considerably smaller and your creations never cease to amaze me!
My concrete stuff isn't that hard to do, just there is alot of it, a mind-numbing lot of it! Anyway, I salute you for the work on that ship!
biL, I feel the same way. All I do is attempt to meet the high standards I see from the accomplished modelers on Big Blue. As I said to Greg, my work won't withstand scrutiny under a magnifying glass, but from 3 feet it meets my expectations. With a 20 x 40 layout room to fill, compromises must be made due to time constraints, and my goal is to create an overall "good feeling" from three feet! Now, I very much appreciate that you include me with the likes of S-two-fiddy, but I gotta confide that I'm not that good! To be frank, I almost feel that somehow I am "cheating" because my modeling skills (and my desire to accomplish such work) just aren't up to par with the best of Big Blue. But again, you do make me feel good when you admire my work and I enjoy sharing my projects with you.
One of the best things about Big Blue is taking my limited skills and raising them to a new level just by trying new things... new things that I now see are possible because other folks are accomplishing them! On that note, I have seen your attention to detail, and have no doubt that your modeling is on par with the best!
Now... back to the styrene!
Although there are imperfections in all my bridges, the overall effect is pleasing. Just as an example, on the second bridge I built, the wood trestle, I noticed that the spacing between the bents is off a little - some of the bents are closer together than others. I measured everything beforehand, but somehow I missed a little. Still, it isn't all that noticable, and unless someone purposely studies the bridge, no one will ever notice.
Gus, I definitely know what you went through now. I'm sitting here about one quarter of the way done with the railing fab, just shaking my head.
Gotta get my mind right, dive in and quit stalling. As you mention, the finished product will be worth it. As for the cutter, it did the job - put the piece in, then tap the razor blade with an electrician's hammer, and there ya go. For the thinner stuff, I was cutting up to 6 pieces at a time by stacking them on top of each other.
S-two-fiddy, the work you did on the ship is fabulous, and much more intricate than what I am doing. The smallest strip I am working with is .015 x .060. Yours looks to be considerably smaller and your creations never cease to amaze me!
My concrete stuff isn't that hard to do, just there is alot of it, a mind-numbing lot of it! Anyway, I salute you for the work on that ship!biL, I feel the same way. All I do is attempt to meet the high standards I see from the accomplished modelers on Big Blue. As I said to Greg, my work won't withstand scrutiny under a magnifying glass, but from 3 feet it meets my expectations. With a 20 x 40 layout room to fill, compromises must be made due to time constraints, and my goal is to create an overall "good feeling" from three feet! Now, I very much appreciate that you include me with the likes of S-two-fiddy, but I gotta confide that I'm not that good! To be frank, I almost feel that somehow I am "cheating" because my modeling skills (and my desire to accomplish such work) just aren't up to par with the best of Big Blue. But again, you do make me feel good when you admire my work and I enjoy sharing my projects with you.
One of the best things about Big Blue is taking my limited skills and raising them to a new level just by trying new things... new things that I now see are possible because other folks are accomplishing them! On that note, I have seen your attention to detail, and have no doubt that your modeling is on par with the best!
Now... back to the styrene!
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times