Kevin Futter

Just a test post after yet another software update. Kev

That reminds me of the vinyl that Montex uses in its sets, where I've had similar issues. That's a bit surprising from a paper-based tape, though. Kev

Great results, Dave! Thanks for running these tests for us. Still on the look out myself. Kev

It's a good question. I can't even find the Tamiya sheets here in Australia! Kev

Welcome aboard! Kev

Hi Denis, you should be good to go now. Kev

Welcome aboard, Denis! Great to see you here. Kev

And again! Kev

Welcome aboard, sir! Kev

Welcome aboard, Steve! Kev

Welcome aboard, Butch! That's some really impressive work there. Kev

I'm pretty sure it's just a once-only cost, and not an annual license. Kev

I did consider that, but I'm not sure any of the virtualisation platforms support Apple Silicon - I know that VirtualBox certainly doesn't. And having to emulate the CPU (or SMC in this case) puts a huge overhead in terms of performance demands onto the solution, which may render it impractical for all but the simplest tasks. I also don't have an spare copies of Windows, but I should probably still check it out as a viable solution. Kev

Good points, Dave! Hopefully Silhouette will sort it out for me and save me the trouble. Kev

If it comes to it, I'll just get hold of a cheap PC laptop and use that for such things. Would be handy for certain applications with my 3D printer, too. Kev

It's the macOS upgrade, as I was having issues before and after I installed the Silhouette upgrade. Lots of users are reporting this problem from what I can see, so there's no need for me to pursue it individually. But it's really up to the Silhouette company to ensure that their software stays compatible with the latest versions of the operating systems they support. But to be honest, Silhouette Studio has never felt like a fully polished product on the Mac - from the crude and unattractive user interface, to the less than stellar performance, and even the lack of proper OS integration (Command+Q doesn't work to quit?). We'll have to see how this pans out, but I hope they can address it quickly! Some of the reports of issues I'm seeing go back to September, however... Kev

So I ruined a decal on a build today: I've tried to touch it up with paint, but the results are pretty underwhelming, so I figured it was time to mask and paint. Yesterday I upgraded my Mac to the latest version of macOS (Sonoma 14.1.2), and upon opening Silhouette Studio today to begin creating a mask, I found it to be slow and buggy - graphics would import with red horizontal lines corrupting them, the "set trace area" tool was really sluggish, and the trace function itself didn't work at all. So I thought I'd better see if there was a software update for Silhouette Studio, and there was! Sadly, it made no difference whatsoever, and even the drawing tools don't work now. This is what I get if I attempt to draw a simple circle: Looks like I won't be using Silhouette Studio - or my Portrait - for a while! Kev

Welcome aboard, Phil! Kev

Welcome aboard, Paolo! Nice to see you here. Kev

Welcome aboard, Phil! Kev

For basic mask cutting, I'm still happy enough my 2 - and I really don't cut enough of them to justify an upgrade, unless there were some significant advantages to doing so. But having a machine capable of dealing with a wider range of materials and applications really piqued my interest. It's just a bit expensive for casual use, and I probably wouldn't get great value out of it. Kev

Thanks, Gene. It's not something I'm seriously considering, but I'm certainly intrigued by its potential. Kev

I'm curious to hear if anyone is planning to buy (or already has) the new Curio 2. It seems to offer a significant increase in utility and functionality over an older machine like my Portrait 2. The ability to engrave acrylic sheet or even wood is appealing, though it does come at a cost. And I guess for anyone whose sole use is to cut masks for their models, it's way overkill. But as a general crafting tool with a wide variety of applications, it seems to have a lot of potential. Anybody considering it? Kev

That would be a shame if it's OOP. Please let us know how you get on with the new stuff! Kev

Tamiya does sell its famous masking material in flat sheets, but I haven't been able to get hold of any so far. I'm currently waiting for BNA to get them back in stock. Kev