I was doing some decalling today, and accidently tipped over a whole bottle of MicroSol decal solution. Made a big mess, fortunately didn’t do any real damage to any of the projects on the desk. Well, we’ll fix that… So out to the shop, grab a piece of scrap 1x4 pine, cut a rectangle, cut some round holes with a hole saw bit and the drill, a little glue to put a 1/8" plywood base on it. Fortunately the palm sander was set up, so I could make it look halfway finished, and voila! A stable holder for those ridiculously tall skinny bottles. Looking at it, I may add a couple of angled holes to hold the brushes for the solution. Then again, that might make the whole thing kinda tippy, starting the whole process over… Never mind - works just fine this way.
By the way, that model sucks - poorly designed, poorly constructed, more ejector pin marks than I’ve ever seen on one model. Decals are nicely printed, but very thick. If I weren’t such a Villeneuve fan, I would have given up on it long ago.
Foam rubber works great for making non-spillable bases for tall bottles. Several years a go I salvaged several blocks when the outfit I worked for bought new computors. I simply cut squares that were a minimum of 1" larger on each side of the container, cut a hole in the center that was just slightly smaller than the bottle I wanted to hold. I then glued that to a base I made out of some 1/16" mahogany plywood I had (scrap styrene or even card board will work also) with either white or yellow carpenters glue. The foam rubber I use is an inch or so thick and also is a handy place to store the brushes I use to apply my glue. I also have a couple of blocks to put paint bottles in (square hole for the small Testors bottles, round holes for the larger bottles (Model Master, Floquil etc) for when I am painting out of the bottle (like to have a nickel for every bottle of paint I’ve knocked spilled over the years).
Ive used modeling clay and playdoh to hold bottles upright. Ive even rebotteld things into squat, tip resistant bottles.
Your wooden holder is a good idea - but I gotta agree with the foam idea. Use the heavy, closed cell EPV type, like that used to cushion electronic equipment. This stuff is ideal. Use contact cement to mount it to a heavy base. And of course, add the brush holders, I say.
Cool idea but I don’t like having Set and Sol so close together when decaling. Increases the odds of grabbing the wrong one. When decaling I keep them on opposite sides of my bench to avoid that happening, comes from working at night after getting the kids asleep.
Could never remember which should be used first, Micro Set or Micro Sol. Took a Sharpie and wrote a big number 1 on the Set bottle and a big number 2 on the Sol. Putting the number on the caps didn’t work too well as Murphy’s Law of Interchangability ruled.
They are a rubbish design. I pour a little into the caps and put the bottles well out of the way when using it
That is a planned thing, I think. The maker (Super Scale) knows they are tippy and are likely to get knocked over - forcing you to buy more. Clever, huh?
How about using a (50:50) mix of vinegar:water for the setting solution and a (50:50) mix of IPA:water for the solvent? Does anyone use that old trick anymore? Another alternative to these ‘solutions’ which I havent tried yet is to settle the decals on the model with a drop of Future. Some swear by that, too.
I emptied enough bottles of my own. I took the cheap/lazy route and solved it by pouring a bit of each solution into a soda pop bottle lid and working from that. It just means I have to drink my weekly quota of soda. =)
For some reason, on every bench I’ve had I’ve insisted on providing my self a narrow shelf above it or in close proximity. If I am using “tipping prone” liquids, I keep them on the shelf so as not to accidently bump them with my arms, the model, or other clutter on the bench. The only time I ever do spill is when I forgo using the shelf.
I found a nifty manicure tray at a garage sale some time back that works really well. It has round holes just big enough to hold Model Master bottles, a square hole that’s big enough for a Tamiya paint bottle (that hole was too deep, but I scrunched a small jar lid down inside to use as a platform), plus other holes for storing paint stirrers. It even had a battery-powered fan for the ladies to dry their fingernail polish. I tried the fan for drying just-washed parts prior to painting, but the fan did little more than make a bunch of noise. So I yanked it off and use the handrest for resting small parts as they dry. Unfortunately, I no longer have the original box that had the brand name of the manicure tray; I used the box to hold a birthday gift for my girlfriend in California.
i knew that would happen to me at some point,so i got one of my humbrol 120ml paints that i dont use very often and just put a couple of elastic bands round the sol/set and the paint pot.[:)]
