Actually when I think about it I am less certain about using plastic tubing.
While it should work fine for escorts I would not like to trust an itty bittty
piece of styrene for a heavyweight like an Omega. However the styrene might be
useful to sleeve the brass. ie. glue the strne down first using liquid cement
so everything is nicely aligned
then when all is set add a drop of two-part epoxy or superglue gel
inside the styrene tube and then insert the brass. It is easier to align
than the brass and it holds in the glue, stopping it from spreading out. I use
the big GW flying bases for capital ships. I use a plastic cutter (best
investment I ever made) to score lines for the six firing arcs into the base.
I printed a guide so all I have to do is set the transparent base over the
guide and go at it with the cutter and a steel
ruler. Almost all of the bases are a little dingy and with the conversion they
really need a coat of black to bring them together. It also allows me to
put white in the grooves. Looks well.
> MB wrote:
> I use a plastic cutter (best investment I ever made)
Whats a plastic cutter like?
> MB wrote:
A plastic cutter (well, the plastic cutter I have, anyway) is basically
like an X-acto knife with detachable blade. The difference is in the
blade
profile and how it "cuts" plastic. A razor-type knife (like an X-acto
blade) cuts by digging into the plastic surface, displacing material off to
either side of the cut. When you score or cut with one of these blades,
you get a small raised burr/ridge along the edge of the cut that needs
to be removed (unless the plastic you are cutting is very thin). A plastic
cutter works more like a chisel. As it is drawn along the surface of the
plastic, it removes material in the same way a chisel does when you carve
wood. If you use a metal-edge ruler to keep the cut straight, the
result
is a groove scored along the plastic without the burr/ridge of displaced
material. If you want to complete the cut, you can then break the material
along the score line, and you end up with a very straight edge. You can
approximate the effect of one of these by getting an X-acto knife (the
pen handle style, with detachable individual blades) and using the back side
edge of the point to cut with (ie, the blunt side). If you hold the knife
almost vertical as you make the cut, it will score the material in the same
way as a plastic cutter. It's a bit awkward at first, but I do this all the
time and it works really well once you get the hang of it. Both of these
methods are good for cutting plastic sheet (ie flat stuff) but only work well
if you use a ruler or other edge to cut against.