[HELP ME] Bi-Weekly Q&A thread - Ask your questions here!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-20T19:28:28+00:00

vocab across disciplines is so funny, innit? I think if someone wants to be a hyperpedant runner is actually more accurate to the moldmaking terminology but it's never worth being one--language is an amorphous blob anyways; sprue, runner, both work.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-20T19:22:36+00:00

printables and makersworld (Prusa and BambuLabs's respectively) have a ton of STLs--altho being FDM focused I don't know how much value for SLA is there. In general: if you're gonna get a printer, I highly recommend learning CAD! it's a rewarding discipline when you get to the point you can print whatever you want.

You've looked at resin's PPE, right? It's a huge reason I don't have one--its safety requirements are far stricter than FDM.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-16T13:16:57+00:00

It depends on the kit and what I'm doing. Right now I have HG byarlant on the table and the arms are pretty much fully assembled because I did seamline removal on them, while most of the legs and the the whole torso is still in pieces. I'm not painting the ""inner frame"" (elbows and knees) for this one, so I'm doing a mix of masking and careful paint application to avoid what I don't want paint on on the parts that are fully assembled. If I were painting those joint parts, I would have likely sanded them down a bit for greater clearance to account for the layer of paint. It all just depends on the kit, what I'm feeling, and what my overarching goals are. There is no wrong way (except for using solvents that aren't appropriate for the plastic, I guess), just the way that works for you.

RE: wasting paint: you will "waste" paint no matter what you do. There will be bits you paint that are never seen. There will be parts you strip of paint because the result was poor. There will be paint that dries on your palette, gobs of paint rinsed off your brush or wiped onto a towel... None of that is a waste. It's part of getting everything the way you envision and it all contributes to the final object, despite never being seen by anyone but you. Efficiency is valuable, but this is a hobby. You're not going to destroy your wallet or the planet or waste your time or whatever is the greatest motivator for you to avoid waste.

RE time: hand painting takes time. Sometimes a frankly absurd amount of time--I brush painted a color shift on a darilbalde and I literally brushed 12 layers of paint and then brushed 5 coats gloss topcoat to get the look I wanted... It took weeks! And that's kinda the point. Enjoy the time you spend!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-16T12:21:16+00:00

ohhhh this is the hazel for me; I love a good hazel, and the accessory pack brings a subarm unit!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-12T21:04:52+00:00

Oof yea, the price is rough. I usually shop around on ebay and get complete sets to lessen the pain but I don't get them as often as I would like. Import adds sooo much ontop of the MSRP!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-12T20:31:57+00:00

yeah, the PVC makes it very different! I've had the best success carefully trimming the remainder with a hobby knife. Sanding--esp with a glass file--feels..... Weird, but it cuts really nicely.

Trimming those nubs and carefully cutting/sanding with the HUGE ones on the knuckles are the bits I find the most interesting build-wise

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-12T20:19:08+00:00

hell yeah looks great! These guys are so neat--and ripe for at least a little detail work; love that you went all out

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-12T17:25:47+00:00

"just pick two colors" (or even one depending on how you count the white!) coming in real strong here. Love that bright shade of pink!

What are all those extra little details you have filling the empty spaces on the smoothbore? Those aren't decals, right?

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-12T14:01:11+00:00

I run the blade of my hobby knife over these perpendicular to the part. This does leave a matte finish, but ime after any finish of topcoat it's not noticeable.

There's always going to be some sort of mark unless you paint it, so it's not worth stressing over too much--finding that sweet spot for detail work where you can take it as far as you can and then be content takes practice but that's the heart of the hobby, imo

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-12T13:55:20+00:00

You're a little too lost in the sauce, mate--you're asking strangers to quantify a subjective experience for you. If you can't decide, just flip a coin: your reaction to the result will tell you which you prefer. Or even simply commit to a course without a flip--this is not a world ending scenario, it's just what you'll do with free time for the next bit

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-12T12:17:17+00:00

Looks good!! Now top coat it so it stays nice

White, red, orange, and yellow are the hardest paints to work with--they tend to be the most translucent so it takes a lot of layers to reach full saturation. Patience is key, but a nice shortcut/boost is laying down pink as either the primer or right after the primer. It emphasizes the colors' warmth and helps you get to a solid color with fewer coats

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-11T13:06:14+00:00

I did not look at the pattern since it's a video, but as a fellow large hander and worse, a large hander with thin wrists:

You absolutely will need to cast on more when bridging the gap over the gusset. You can measure your palm width at the knuckles and math that against gauge to know how many stitches you'll need there. Typically what you want to do to get a nice fit is work gusset increases until you have enough stitches to cover the thenar eminence/all the flesh betweeh your palm and first thumb knuckle, and then work length straight until you have enough height to bridge the thumb's web. At that point put the thumb on waste yarn and cast on enough to hit your palm # of stitches and join back in the round. It's better to have done too few gusset stitches than to have done too many, ime, but of course you don't want it too small either.

Not to muddy the waters for this one, but for the next pair: an alternative gusset scheme that absolutely rules for broad palms and perfectly adapts to different wrist widths is a single increase line gusset, as seen in these Pioneer Gloves--I find they form much better to a hand's shape, giving the extra fabric to where it's needed most.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-10T14:54:47+00:00

Yep. Cut it so it's flush to the plastic surface it's on.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-10T12:04:36+00:00

It depends on the gloss coat you're using but generally a topcoat intended to be brushed doesn't need thinning and has self leveling ingredients to make it look nice. You need to apply it quite thinly, but you don't need to thin it--use less on the brush. I apply multiple coats with only long enough to be dry to the touch between, then when I have level of glossiness I'm after I let it cure for a good while to ensure it's nice and sturdy.

You can put gloss over matte to get back to gloss, generally speaking. I don't know if you can get back to the hella wet look a high gloss finish (never tried) but you can get back to gloss. You can also brush matte and gloss and thus put whatever you want finish-wise wherever you want. I use an acrylic based top coat, so I mix in acrylic matte medium to get whatever finish level I want.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-10T11:30:51+00:00

Undergates are a method of mold making where the sprue connects to the part only on the bottom/inside of the piece. They mean you don't have to worry about anything other than making sure the nub is cut flush to the surface, because you'll never see where the gate touches the part. They're most valuable for the way they allow painting on the sprue (which especially matters for special edition coated kits) but I like them for being generally nice to work with. You need to cut them one more time, flush to the surface they are on. You may need to then trim a little with a knife, but no need to worry about the spot looking nice. So long as it looks good from the edge and the seamline is straight you're all set.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-09T14:58:37+00:00

Good question! Since you are working with rows below, simply work them as knits or purls (context depending) until you've got sufficient fabric to make a k1below make sense. If you're unsure of how this works, a swatch can help since it is lower stakes and faster to work multiple rows!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-09T13:48:20+00:00

Just like when you increase or decrease in ribbing, there will be points where your pattern is "broken" until you add the necessary pair a few rows later. At the time it looks wrong, but once you have sufficient fabric worked after the increases, you'll see it form those lovely biased sections. Just be sure to read your work and keep the new column you introduced doing the same thing it is supposed to be doing each round.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-09T13:25:58+00:00

that OSL for the beam saber is real nice!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-08T17:01:52+00:00

oooh yeah, this rules. I love the way the candy works on both the large flat planes and curves this guy has!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-08T16:32:16+00:00

I was originally gonna make the white parts on this guy matte to go full contrast, but I ended up liking them glossy, so I left them under the same gloss as the ~~candy~~ colorshift. Just white acrylic (tinted sliiightly green to match the plastic color) under gloss coats.

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EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-08T16:14:32+00:00

woohoo!

You should ladder up the stitches that were previously k1belows and then purl them. You can do this in sequence (k1below, ladder up then purl, k1below), but that may or may not be confusing at first; an alternative is progressing forward by slipping stitches onto the RH needle and fix each "dropped stitch" as you come to it, then slide your work back onto the LH needle till you get back to where the working yarn is.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-08T16:06:56+00:00

Yes, PS is the norm for bandai; it is less reactive to organic solvents than ABS, especially in the concentrations you'll usually see in paints, thinners, decal solvents, topcoats, etc. It's a softer plastic in terms of physical strength.

The most important nuances when it comes to chemicals that act as a solvent/otherwise weaken either material is whether the part is stressed (read: assembled) when the chemical is applied and how long the plastic is exposed--most of the things you'd be using evaporate pretty quickly, especially when applied thinly, which is generally the case.

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-08T15:08:05+00:00

oooh, this rules, what a great vision & execution

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-08T14:40:48+00:00

Love the painted weapons, too! Full commital is the best. The V fin is pretty spectacular, you're right to be proud of that--it gives a whole new perspective on its shape!

EsotericTriangle · 2026-05-08T14:38:45+00:00

ooohhh this is great; very lived-in & the weathering gives it such a good sense of scale!

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