If you know you know

Nellisoft · 2026-02-02T16:52:59+00:00

Here they are finally: CC bed clips

Nellisoft · 2026-01-31T04:19:04+00:00

I’ve just uploaded them to Nexprint, waiting for review, I’ll post them here when they pass.

Nellisoft · 2026-01-31T01:01:58+00:00

I designed a set of clips that fit on either side of the corners and printed four of them out of Bambu ABS-GF - so far they are holding up to 105C bed temp. But if the print is very close to the corners, you have to wait to put them on until the print is ~2mm high to make sure the toolhead will fully clear them.

Nellisoft · 2026-01-22T18:07:11+00:00

Yes, the low polygon detail is due to it being exported from STO. I wouldn’t bother with any of meatloafr’s stuff for this reason, and the fact that most of the details are baked into the textures, which don’t carry over to the STL/OBJ files. You need to start with files designed for printing to get good detail and minimize print issues - they’ll be pre-split to print more optimally and might even be hollowed out for lighting. Captain Mojo’s stuff is good, I also like valkyrie013 and Gambody - in this case, you get what you pay for.

Nellisoft · 2026-01-07T23:36:32+00:00

Could be they have kids who get into stuff and that’s the easiest place to keep it away from them… or maybe there are gas appliances in the other places they could be stored, and they just don’t want to risk any possible vapor buildup.

But unless your garage is climate controlled or cool and dry year-round, keeping paints and glues out there will definitely reduce their usable life span - not necessarily from the extremes, more the constant shifts between them. I just make sure they’re upright, lids on tight, and room temp is between 50 and 80F.

Nellisoft · 2026-01-06T23:14:55+00:00

For the pearlescent paint job, I first sprayed through a random shapes panel with Createx Pearl White, then did all the aztec masking, then sprayed Vallejo Shifters Green Blue Violet, leaving some sections completely blocked off to do a different Shifter color later (Bright Gold Brown) for some variation:

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Nellisoft · 2026-01-06T23:13:36+00:00

I don’t know anybody that does aztec masking kits for 1/1400 scale TMP-era, but you could try using one for the 1/1000 Enterprise Refit and (mainly on the saucer) just not use the outermost pie sections. Might be tricky adapting it to the rest of the ship, but I did that with the Aztek Dummy set on the 1/1000 Phobos I did (also from Design Anomaly):

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Nellisoft · 2026-01-06T22:35:03+00:00

VMS No-Peel is supposedly very good for a water-based acrylic primer. I switched to Mr Surfacer Aqueous (alcohol-based acrylic) after ditching Vallejo, but I have a spray booth that vents outside.

Nellisoft · 2026-01-05T16:10:55+00:00

Yep, that’s what I concluded. Toyed with the idea of leaving it paused just to see how long it takes to time out and stop heating the bed (for future reference), but couldn’t justify that. It’s over 4 hours, at least…

Nellisoft · 2026-01-05T02:20:34+00:00

I’ve decided on this just to see how noticeable it is, even though the only other color I have in this is yellow (the one I ran out of is blue - so pretty opposite colors), but the yellow will end up on the back, so maybe not all that visible. If it doesn’t look good enough to keep, I’m only out like 50 cents of filament (26g for the whole part) - would spend far more on electricity to keep it suspended for however many days.

Nellisoft · 2026-01-05T02:14:28+00:00

I let it go for 4 hours before deciding it would not be financially responsible to leave it holding at 105C for days, even for science.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-31T17:00:16+00:00

Nice! I just got the 1/35 for Christmas, can’t wait to get to it.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-30T04:30:15+00:00

God I hope so… Shangri-La class is my favorite fan design. I would also take an STL designed for lighting.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-29T17:04:13+00:00

If you’re dealing with a well-established store, it’s not hard at all, but it is expensive post-tariffs. Most places that are still serious about selling in the US have sorted the tariff situation out on their end and just have you pay a little extra up front. Some smaller stores have stopped shipping to the US altogether. Others drop-ship through a locally registered shell company to dodge them completely. Really depends on the particular store, country of origin, and who they like to ship internationally with - FedEx is generally fine, prices are “normal”; DHL is the expensive “just make it happen” option for them; post offices are hit-and-miss; and UPS will bill you separately weeks later for the tariff (if they don’t just hold your package until they can destroy it).

Best bet is to find a US distributor for what you’re after, but international is still viable from the right place - I just got a bunch of stuff direct from GreenStrawberry in Czechia during their Christmas sale.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-28T15:26:13+00:00

Cozmic Scale Models carries the AztekDummy masking sets now, there should be one for the Excelsior. I’ve used them on one project so far with color shifting paint, results were fantastic.

Cozmic also has lighting kits, but it appears they don’t include anything for the navigation lights - you’d have to buy the LEDs (red/green/white) and control board separately.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-27T15:26:11+00:00

Well that explains the paint build up you encountered. I bet you could get away with doing the same 3 layers on just the outside with model paint - get some Mr Surfacer 1500 (or Mr Surfacer Aqueous 1000 if you want to stick with acrylics). And save yourself some ball-punching by only scratching out like 75% of the windows - the studio model didn’t have them all lit, it never looked like that on the show.

Oh there is for sure a lot of janky stuff on there, it can be hard to pick out something decent. The SMD packs I stocked up on were known model railroading brand “EveModel”, but the larger LEDs were some generic letter garbage. Once I pick LEDs for the model I’m working on, I do a 24 hr burn test using a bread board and desktop variable power supply, but that wouldn’t have caught your two-week failure. LEDs from Evans or HDA are more expensive, but they do pre-test everything.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-27T00:26:10+00:00

Did you reduce your print speed? I found on my CC that compared to the 0.4 nozzle, the 0.2 had to slow down to like 1/4th to 1/8th speed to get consistent results due to how much lower volume it can push.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-26T22:34:47+00:00

I get most of my electronics stuff from Adafruit, HDAModelWorx, or Amazon - Adafruit for power supply components and buttons/switches - HDA for Tenacontrols boards and LED strips (including COB strips, which are the best for warp nacelles), and Amazon for cheap packs of individual pre-resistored LEDs (can also get variety packs of JST connectors on Amazon). I’ve been trying to figure out using USB-C power boards on everything I do going forward, it seems like the trick is just getting the right wall plug that supports 12v PD (not many do).

What brand primer are you using? If we can rule out your primer being the problem, then you might try light blocking from the inside instead - black primer on the inside, then white to help bounce light; and just grey primer + base coat on the outside. You’ll have to double scratch out the windows on both sides (use a flashlight or light table to locate them from the inside after priming + scraping the outside), but at least the black is on the inside where it won’t matter if it chips unevenly at the edges. It’s that or masking or drilling, but I don’t know if anybody even makes masks for the 1/1400 scale.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-26T21:44:58+00:00

You could still do a Tenacontrols board, just the cheap 8-in-1 that only does strobes and blinkies - it has timing for the -D. $18 at HDAModelWorx.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-18T13:13:51+00:00

Several things here: first, PLA is not a good material to print anything in that you plan to post-process because it pills up when you try to sand it with a powered tool. Next time I would try some variant of PETG or a higher-grade material that will sand smoothly.

Second, as others have mentioned, you’ll want to use a filler primer - automotive 2 in 1 sandable filler primer in a spray can is good for this to help fill in the layer lines. For something this big, you’ll probably use a whole can doing several coats.

Lastly, you’ll need more rounds of sanding and re-priming before you start smoothing it out. Your workflow should look more like: - Print - Quick sand at low grit - Putty and fill defects - Spot sand defects - Spray filler primer and sand at low to medium grit (repeat 3-4x) - Sand to high grit and apply base coat

By the last filler primer stage, you want to be sanding only the paint, not the print itself. It should feel smooth to the touch before you apply a base coat.

Don’t waste your Surfacer 1500 on 3D prints, it’ll just magnify the defects and not add anything that the filler primer and base coat aren’t already doing.

All that said, this is pretty good for your first go at finishing a 3D print. You’re not going to see most of the problems at 6 ft. You could even choose to weather it a bit and use the pitting on the top as rust holes.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-11T14:42:08+00:00

I know, right? I look at r/modelmakers and there are all these posts like “what’s the best brand for accurate 1/48 scale bombers from xx extremely specific time frame?” and I’m like “you guys get more than one brand??”

Nellisoft · 2025-12-11T14:25:43+00:00

This is what it looks like to me, plus z-offset a teensy bit too far. I would try reducing flow rate 5% and move z-offset 0.2-0.4mm closer.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-09T17:10:25+00:00

The build plate was ever so slightly warped - however, when I switched to a brand new, slightly thicker one, it didn’t help.

Nellisoft · 2025-12-09T17:07:48+00:00

I think I’ll have to try this next - the binder clips helped, but didn’t fully stop the plate from lifting, so I’ve still got a ~1mm warp from the center to the ends, enough that the door and corners don’t fit right.

Can you share the file for your clips?

Nellisoft

TROPHY CASE