PaPang Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 Since I have to go to a birthday party today, instead of posting tomorrow as planned, I will have to do so today because I don't know in what shape I will be tomorrow and MAY no be able to post. I finally got hold of some spray adhesive, but is was a "loaner" since I could not find any in stores. Local spray adhesive is permanent which is not desirable for stencils. You have to be able to remove the stencil once the surface is painted, thus the need for imported stuff which is more flexible in this aspect. This or similar was what I needed: Also I found out that thin styrene is not appropriate for multi-curve (like a ball) surfaces as it is too stiff. It will not hold its shape even taped (it will pull the tape off). The solution would be to buy mylar which is thinner and more flexible for curves but I still would need the adhesive so that the stencil would hug the surface and prevent "bleeding". The can of adhesive was so old that it was rusted along the edges and when I sprayed, the adhesive came out in spurts. Damn!! No wonder this friend "loaned" me the can, it was old and almost non-functional! Rummaging thru my storage space, I found a roll of supposedly paper with adhesive backing. Well, it was so old that the glue melded with the paper. But instead of throwing it out, I thought I could use it for stenciling: Yes, it was flexible enough and trying out the adhesive (I placed/glued the stencil on the table to remove some of the loose adhesive), it too worked enough to get the blue paint down. The only thing was that it left particles of glue on the surface (when new, it will not do this) and I had to laboriously remove the gum without messing up the paint below. Ahh, to be a modder in Mexico, almost Mission Impossible! I let the blue dry overnight and continued with the gray. Ohh, almost forgot, while the blue paint dried, I went back to how to cover the front I/O hole. I must admit that Maciel gave me the idea on how to do this. First some "U" shaped aluminum. After supergluing and screwing in the aluminum, some bondo to fix the corners. and the cover, some 1mm thin acrylic cut to the size ($20mn got me enough to make 2 covers, if needed). I will tint the acrylic to hide what is behind and I know, crummy close ups (my camara lense is very bad for close ups, well what do you expect for $70 usd?) Tips: Do not use old spray adhesive unless you are desperate. It is not worth the trouble and extra work for using it (I had no choice), that is if you are willing to spend around $20 usd per can (not me, I need it for food). Stencils are fine for flat or one-curve surfaces. It is fast and economical, specially for short run T-Shirts, home decoration and such. For this, .20mil styrene is great, if you have it like me. For multi-curve surfaces like the Ovni, mylar or similar is better (rather obligatory). When stenciling, lay down the clearest color first (aluminum in my case), then the next darkest (blue) and finally the darkest (gray). The reason is that the stencil has to overlap the color next to it and darker colors will cover lighter colors easily (gray over blue). Due to the lousy adhesive, there is a slight "feathering" of the colors, but visible only close up. The other recourse was taping, but that would slow me down as the paint underneath the tape has to be very cured or when you remove the tape, off goes the paint. My stencils are aligned with registry marks and even so, there are a few places that the gray did not cover the blue and the aluminum color can be seen between them (again the culprit is the curves). Hmmm... I will have to think of something to cover it up with. I will make more stencils as the rest will require a set: one for the leading edge and another for the top dome. If I the adhesive is sufficient, as it is absolutely necessary, I will finish up in good shape. I plan to top coat the camouflage with a couple of coats of totally flat matte clear for durability (that is if I can find it in a spray can-no luck at Home Depot or Soriana, just gloss clear/transparent). Well, time to eat and drink!!!! Yahoo!!! Man Hours used: 8 hours $ Used/spent: -0- -------------------- Accumulated ham hours: Accumulated Expense: This is pending as my home site closed down for maintenance and I did not copy the amounts down before closing. Thanks for dropping by, all comments are appreciated and will get a guaranteed response. No I'm not bothered at all, like others about answering, I consider myself a social being and in no way above anyone. I am still learning and not afraid to say so, hoping someday to be a Master modder (but not because I say so, that is a label best placed by others in all humbleness). May I burn in :) the day I consider myself better than anyone! (Yup I am opinionated and have a very sharp point of view--must be the age!) Cheers/Saludos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyXtremist Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 seems to me you will be finishing with that eventually!!! so get your portal and come here in my shop and help me out with my project...(ehe, do you have a portal btw?!) Frankly speaking, i will copy that style you've just made on other mod i'll do for customers in the future!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPang Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 Ahhh, my dear sunny, remember, this is my first scratch mod. Something like this happens: Now I have to do this, but darn, I forgot to do this! Achh, how could I forget to do this, now I have to do redo what I did! Crap! I'm going to think it over a cup of coffee and a cigarette while I see the news on T.V., grrrr! It has been sloooowwwwww, not being used to having to do everything myself. It would have been smarter to do it like slipperyskip, decorate a case (don't misunderstand me, I'm not minimizing slippery's project, but he is not in the "unique category" & will not have to compete with us as he does use a mid tower case by CM. He was just smarter in that he will not have to fool around much with the components in his mod--they all go into the case--pure genius! and of course, will save a lot of time). He must toss and turn in his sleep with us! Have patience with us slippery, please. My portal/site is http://www.moddingmx.com as is seen in my sig (I'm one of the Admins.) and is still down, altho, thank goodness, I'm not involved in the overhaul, the reason I can mess around with my mod. I really feel for our webmaster, he is the one that is banging his head against the wall! Of course I would be glad to go help you, except that I cannot afford the air fare, I am sort of poor and the bad recession over here does not help me at all (no sponsorships, bad business, everyone wants credit-no,no,no!). So the most I can do is cheer you on to finish and do a good show in the name of the followers of sunnyextremist, the pinoy (my sister in law is pinoy) and the beautiful Phillipines! I hope you don't bump into the wall as much as I, it is a bad habit and hurts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPang Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 UGGHHH!!! I don't feel too good, a friend's birthday party almost all day yesterday and a baptism early this morning (a surprise from my wife who pulled out of bed early). I apologize that I don't advance on my mod and for the lousy comments I will be making. So please bear with me. Thanks to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenkieNL Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Amazing craftmanship. Love the way you make such an incridible mod without a huge pile of money behind you, you are a true artist. I bow deeply to you and your skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPang Posted August 24, 2009 Author Share Posted August 24, 2009 Thanks a jillion Frenkie, especially coming from you, a prize winner in Europe, no less. Yup Frenkie has made prize winners out of what others would have considered "junk". As matter of fact, there are a couple here that follow along the lines of that school of modding, paying homage to how he works. I know he prizes hand made artisanship as I do and original creativity and use of imagination too. Taking risks with new materials and learning how to make them work in a mod is part of the fun (also keeps your brain cells active, your hands more nimble and your wallet fatter, heh-heh). Hand him a CM case and he will tear a smile across you face with what he can do and think up. Veteran (I didn't say old) modders age like wine and will continue to kick some serious rear end and wow us. Hail Frenkie!! Now if he would finish his project in time, a lot of guys here would love to see what the maestro comes up with. Cheers/Saludos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxession Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 Nice work, I hate making round things myself (mostly because they don't get round lol), but you've done a good job in that. You should add a little alien at the end! hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPang Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Well, I got one except he's attached to something (nicky_82uk). Nicky just doesn't want to part with his arm! heh-heh. You are right Maxession, it is butt kicker having to work with roundnesses, luck has it that it LOOKS round altho it has a bunch of places that just didn't want to cooperate! Thanks for dropping by! Cheers and Saludos from Cancun to Antwerp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPang Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Well, I finally got back on track with the project, but first a "coffee break". Taking up on Chatnoir (Killer HL project), I will also post every once in a while, photos of Cancun, not the usual ones that we see in the tourist brochures, but I hope something more real. First Tulum, which is small group of Mayan ruins a bit south of Cancun. It was one of the few locations where the Mayans had seaside trade, a small temple, a town and a small fort. The major groups of ruins are inland, such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Koba and so on. The look-out tower above the sea, with a small beautiful beach below. The main grounds. We went with a college friend of my son's when he came down for a visit. Like I mentioned to Icejon, we are prone to hurricanes, and the last one, Wilma was one the strongest back in 2005: A view of the garage without its roofing, blown off in the first few hours. How most of us "batten down the hatches", plywood over windows and all the furniture pilled up so as not to get wet. The day after, with still strong winds. We lost more than half of the trees in the neighborhood, no electricity for 1 month nor water. Wilma lasted 76 hours, being semi-stationary due to a cold front. It was not the strongest (Gilberto in '87) but it was the one that lasted the most to date. Yup, I survived Gilberto and Wilma! Hurricanes hit Cancun on the average between every 11-13 years so that means I have a good ten years before getting wiped out again. I'll be on the look out for unusual stuff, stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masbuskado Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 woooowww...!!!! This is my favorite project jejeje... I like 'em all but this is my favorite This is Craftmanship and Creativity colliding together!!! More please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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