blazt*

I should qualify my statement about the Dollar Tree tripod - get a small, light tripod like that only if your cam is small and very light. Bigger cameras need a sturdy tripod so the camera doesn't shake and wiggle while taking pics.

And if you want to drop some cash and get serious you could get an SLR and a macro lens, made for close up shots. You can get truly amazing results with the right lens, film (100 velvia) and technique.

I already talked about using a tripod and staying away from wind, both of which will give you sharper pics. This is because anytime the shutter is open (or CCD) and the camera is being shaken even a little it will show up in the photo as either blur or a subtle lack of clarity. But here's another awesome tip: use the auto timer along with the tripod. The camera shouldn't shake at all if you do that , keep it out of the wind, and don't take your pics next to the train tracks heh.

I tried clicking your "gallery" link and it didn't work. Is the something different since the upgrade happened?

Yes he's right. My blunder...I meant PNG or especially TIFF which is usually uncompressed (top quality).

Yeah I've been thinking on this a lot. I was planning on possibly doing a partial cut with the stencil on the lure, the finishing the cut around a wooden dummy to avoid sacrificing any lures. I plan on doing quite a few models.

Hughsey - I'm glad you posted that - it's just was I was looking for. Mind if ask if you are still using the 3M, and if you know if it's PVC or not? I have my finger on the trigger here, the stuff on ebay sounds good...4 mil clear PVC....just want to make sure I don't wind up with 5 feet of uselessness.

I swear I think this board has a mind of its own. Here are the pics again. In the sketches you can see that the bars are straight, which I'll do for some patterns but others will have a wavy edge. This along with the curvy gill plate is why I want something easy to cut.

Has anybody tried clear heat shrink tubing for stencils? I've been prowling on ebay for some and so far I've seen two different kinds: PVC and polyolefin, which I think might be some kind of polyester. I asked the seller about the polyolefin and he said it shrinks down very hard but that I should be able to cut it. Problem is doing the detail on a bluegill pattern might be too time consuming and awkard if it's too tedious to cut. What I want is something soft like regular heat shrink, and that will hold the shape of the lure after being cut away. The craft foam I've been using actually make for a great stencil except it's not transparent, making detail cuts, layouts and alignment before painting a pain. Takes too long. (pics attached to show the kind of pattern I want and the craft foam I've been using for stencil.) The stencil you see below was unfinished when I took the pic but after cutting out the detail I painted a KVD 1.5 and saw that the bars didn't go nearly far down enough on the belly. So of course at this point I realized I need something transparent so I can avoid this kind of trial and error. I think the clear PVC might turn out to be ideal if it's soft enough. Has anybody tried either kind?

Where are your pics? I tried checking your "gallery" link but didn't see anything - did you delete them coz they sucked? You should repost them here so that people can critique them. #1 tip is to use a tripod (get one at dollar tree) which will eliminate camera shake and give you crisper pics. If you're using a digicam set it to best quality / fine mode or choose GIF as the pic format. Take your pics on a bright sunny day outdoors - in a SHADY spot. Get away from strong winds. Use slow speed film if using a film cam. Slow film (100 speed Fuji Velvia) will give you downright better pics with still shots especially with a slow lens. Don't use the zoom unless you have to. Dig into the manual and learn the minimum focus distance for your cam. Don't use anything but a lens cloth or brush to clean your lens and dust it first. You should tell us more about your setup.

Clearing one section might throw it off balance just a hair. I would also clean,scuff,clean the factory clear first all around (unless it's a vacuum metalized finish or something) if I were doing the lure- no telling what adhesion between dn and original clear will be if you don't. And light coats of D2T tend to not self - level very well I've noticed. But as the other poster said maybe thin it. DN can be thinned with acetone and sprayed.

Is anybody sanding between coats?

[/quotWhere do you get DN ? Have you tried envirotex lite ? http://www.dicknite.com/TU_Lander.htm

In one of the major tackle making books (probably c boyd pfeiffer's) big sailfish lures are made from casting resin. Might solve the bubble problem and I bet it would flow better. I was looking at some on DIck Blick and what they have has a limited shelf life and possibly requires a respirator. Material is PET and requires a catalyst. Doesn't cost too much. I'm going to look into it more.

Here's a shot in the dark: If you are clearing lures in or near the kitchen, is it possible that some oily fallout landed on your lures the last time somebody fried up some bacon or whatever?

Has anybody tried using casting resin? They still make that right?

What are you clearing with? And that lure on the bottom - looks like it would have interesting action on the water. Is it like popper that darts? What does it do? And I'd say you've achieved pretty much the holy grail there.

Definitely a change. I'm not likin' it, either. Everything seems more awkward and difficult to decipher...and not just because it's different.

Createx makes fluorescent paints under 3 different lines: Airbrush colors, Auto Air, and Wicked. And yes It'lI be the fluoro green you want. don't know what the differences are except that you can get the airbrush colors in 2 oz bottles, others are only available in 4 oz, and Createx says you can use Wicked transparent base to extend Wicked colors for a "candy effect". They don't say whether you can do this with fluorescents and I'll hope somebody will chime in here. Some fluorescents aren't on their website - you gotta order the catalog to find 'em. I have to wonder if the last two fluoro product lines are a cut above. Yellow+blue=green Color+Clear or extender = weaker, more transparent color white= lighter or creamier shade black = darker shade You could try mixing fluoro green with reg green for stained water or go full fluoro for muddy. I wonder if you could make fluorescent brown?

What time frames have you had problems with as far as the melting goes?

Ok so I got my sample and brushed a lure with it...the coat I put on was pretty heavy and I got some sags and brushmarks. I know I should have gone lighter on it but I just wanted to ask if it is possible to get a perfectly smooth finish? I'm going to strip this lure down and start again. I'll thin with acetone and do a light coat next time...looks like I got a little too used to d2t's self leveling properties.

I have to say the first lure pulls off a 180 much better than the second and looks totally injured, presumably from the increased resistance from the forward v. And while the second swims with a stronger gait (or whatever you call it) it might be a little too healthy looking, especially when twitched - those strong, smooth, unhesitant (sp?) turns look just like a normal, feeding baitfish or panfish.But that might not be bad thing. I think both have great action, and it might be good to have both in your arsenal to fit this condition or that. After seeing this I could definitely see swimbaiting going where cranking already is - the pinnacle of the bassin' sport because more variables go into putting together a good crank pattern (fat vs flat, wood vs plastic, bone vs chrome, line diameter, specialized cranking rods, fluoro vs mono, etc......) than anything else I can think of including jig fishing. Nice work, love that vid. I'm sure I'll watch it again.

For a swimbait newb, could you post a pic or graphic showing the difference between forward and rear facing V-joints? It's good to see you posting this; I was reading an old thread last night that sparked my interest on this very facet. Would one or another design swim better at full burn, slow retrieve notwithstanding?