Re: [FT] Assembly and Storage

On 1 Mar 99, at 6:02, Barton, Jeff wrote:
> Excuse me if this has been covered before here (which I'm sure it has
to
> some great extent), but I'm new to FT and the list, and had a couple
of
> quick questions:
> 1.  What is the best way to glue on the bases so that the ship is
> straight? I've purchased 4 fleets (ESU, FSE, NSL, Sa'Vasku), and I am
now
> trying to assemble them. 
Here's what I do.

Drill out the hole underneath the ship a bit with a pinvice (which you
can 
get at model shops. It's like a screwdriver but with a drill bit). Then
take 
a paperclip and using a pair of pliers snip out one of the straight
bits. 
Glue that into the hole with either epoxy resin (araldite) or superglue.
With 
most nations ships you can 'lie them on their backs' to let the glue set
and 
you'll be OK. NSL you have to prop up :).
So now you have your ship with a small wire spike sticking out of the
bottom	
usually a quarter of an inch or so (more is wise for bigger ships). On
to 
stage 2..

Take a GW (sissss) transparent flying model base - you can get a blister
of 
about 8 for a quid. Glue it together (there are various 'heights' in the

pack, so you can get nicely varied heights on your models) and paint it 
black. Then chop the little bit at the top off. Using your pin vice
drill a 
whole down into it a bit further than your models 'spike' is long. Put a
bit 
of glue (again, super glue or epoxy will do) in the hole you've just
drilled 
and pop in the spike.  I usually end up having the ship 'as it runs' and
use 
paint pots or whatever to keep it level until the glue dries.

This makes for a rock solid join. I think I have had one ship come of
it's 
base in oohh years, and that was just a case of gluing it back in.

NOTE: I know in the US (and  think now the UK) they ship the models with

bases. I've never seen these as I haven't bought any in a while
(although I 
will be buying some more soon in case Jon's feelings are hurt) so I
can't 
comment about those.

>2.  What does everyone use to store their ships?
I got some very nice storage cases made by Chessex a while ago. Since
the 
Chessex / Armoury thing though I don't know what they still make or who 
stocks their stuff. You could also look at any sort of toolbox or
storage box 
that has foam inside it you can cut out to shape. I also bought a
standard 
toolbox and lined the compartments with foam myself, but that was
horribly 
fiddly and I wouldn't recommend it.

> 3.  Do you need more than 1 of any ship type in your fleet?  I've
> purchased 1 of each ship type in the 4 fleets I mentioned, but do I
need
> more that 1 Superdreadnought in any given fleet?
Well the answer is 'that depends'.There are no 'official' fleet
organisations 
as yet. In the real world your capital ships (carriers mostly) tend to
travel 
as part of a battle group with accompanying cruisers, destroyers etc and
only 
1 or 2 of them. The 'fleet packs' GZG sell seem to have one capital, a 
cruiser and 4-5 smallers and follow that model. But if you and the
person you 
are playing with want to duke it out purely with the heavy iron, there's
no 
reason why not. It's all down to what you and your opponent agree on.
From 
what it sounds to me you can make up a pretty good 'group' using one or
two 
of your big ships and all/several of your small ones.

> Sorry if this is repetitive of previous discussions!
Heck, it's on topic so it's fine by me (not that I have any say in the
matter 
any more :( )

			TTFN
				Jon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Did you have a good world when you died? Good enough to base a movie
on?"
    - The Doors
Jonathan White, COS group, Manchester University