Tips for beginners...

[JCON]

Runny Babbits!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

So that's what's wrong with me.

[Deleted]

wow just wow lol

[Deleted]

BATTERY TERMINAL DETAILING




A simple way to detail batteries without the expense or nuisance of photo-etched parts is to sand away any cable detail except the terminals themselves‚ use a pin vise to drill a small hole at a sharp angle right where the old cable would have ended and insert your favorite red and black wires. Some simple detail painting (round wooden toothpicks make excellent "microbrushes") of the terminals is all that’s needed to make them look like the real deal

Hurst-style Shifter.
Shirt pins (You know‚ the eight sharp little devils you generally find seven of before you put on a new dress shirt) with the little ball at the head end are great for replicating the traditional 4-speed shifter. Paint the head white and with a steady hand‚ put the "H" pattern on the ball with a fine brush or toothpick. Bend the shaft to the desired angle and epoxy it it into place. You can use the kit "boot" by cutting off the plastic shifter and drilling a hole to accept the pin

Leather or Vinyl Seats.
For a believable leather look on plastic‚ shoot seating surfaces in the appropriate color primer‚ and after they’ve dried‚ rub them with your fingers. The higher and outer areas where you rub will take on a different sheen than the recesses. As an alternate‚ you can follow the same process‚ but topcoat the seating areas with semi-gloss. If you spray a gloss color for the seats‚ you can still topcoat with a flat or semi-gloss to cut back the shine.

Save That Windshield!
Every once in a while you’ll find a kit that has blemishes on the windshield. Cracks or bad tire "burns" usually mean replacement‚ but minor scratches can be removed by polishing with good automobile wax. Just dab some on‚ and keep rubbing until the wax and the mark is gone. For deeper scratches‚ or minor glue marks‚ you can use polishing cloths‚ progressing to the finest grit and finishing with wax. Some people use toothpaste with good results‚ too. Even a "good" windshield benefits from a good waxing to bring out the shine. Just exercise patience and be careful to support the part while you’re polishing or waxing so it doesn’t crack

Better Spray Can Paint Jobs.
Many modelers use airbrushes‚ but there are just as many who are more comfortable using aerosol cans. Following these three simple pointers can all but guarantee a nicer‚ smoother paint job using these "rattle can" paints.

Shake the can vigorously to mix the paint thoroughly. It sounds obvious‚ but that agitator ball is in there for a reason. Remember to shake the can periodically during the painting process‚ too.

Fill a sink with hot TAP water and allow the can to sit in it for 10 minutes or so prior to painting. This warms the paint and slightly increases the pressure so it sprays more evenly and lays down more smoothly. DON’T EVER heat the can using a microwave‚ stove or open flame! You’ll either get hurt or hurt someone else if you do. At the very least you’ll have one monster mess to clean up.

Clean the nozzle after you’re done. Hold the can upside down and spray till only propellant comes out‚ or remove it and clean it with the appropriate thinner. This will help prevent an uneven spray pattern and/or sputtering the next time the can is used

Aluminum Drive Shafts.
Plastic driveshafts almost always have noticeable mold lines that are a pain to remove without making them look out of round. A slick and easy alternative is to cut a piece of aluminum tubing (your hobby retailer probably has brass and styrene‚ too) the diameter you need to the length of the driveshaft between the universal joints. Then‚ cut off the joints‚ leaving enough of the original shaft to insert into each end of the aluminum. If they are too big to slide inside the tubing‚ simply scrape off excess plastic until they slide in. Detail the u-joints with paint and install. This also works for making half-shafts for Corvette or Jaguar-style independent rear suspensions.


Do-It-Yourself License Plates



Tired of seeing the same license plate decals over and over and over again? Acme Platemaker (listed in our links section under "Reference Sites) allows you to create personalized license plates from almost anywhere for almost any year. Simply follow the directions on the site to create special tags that you can copy or e-mail to yourself‚ save and re-size‚ print and use to give your model a special touch of realism. And if you don’t have the ability to print on decal paper‚ just use photo grade paper. The paper backing gives the plate scale "mass" and can be easily attached to your model using a drop of white glue. Save paper by filling a sheet with a bunch of different plates

Time To Get Sharpie

Sharpie markers are great for the black border around the edges of windshields (especially NASCAR kits)‚ use blue and red markers for fuel line fittings...when drawn over silver paint‚ the ink gives the fittings an anodized look. Yellow markers for battery caps...paint flat black‚ scrape the paint off the cap and dab with the marker...yellow shows on bare plastic but not on the black. Red‚ yellow‚ and orange markers are handy for tail lights‚ parking lights and side markers

"Super" Glue

No‚ not the guy stuck to the I-beam by his hard hat stuff‚ but simple‚ white multi-purpose glue. When building assemblies that you want to paint before attaching them to a chassis or body‚ the worst part is scraping away the paint to expose the plastic so the model cement will bond the parts. An easy way to mask these little holes and pins is to put a little dab of white glue on them‚ let it set for a few hours and then paint. After the paint has cured‚ you just prick the glue drop with the point of a hobby knife and the glue will either peel away or pop right off. It is not affected by lacquers or enamels and a small bottle can last you for years. White glue is also handy for attaching headlight lenses and other small parts because it dries clear. Some builders even use it to mock up assemblies because it holds well‚ but will break apart easily without harming the plastic

Strip It! Strip It Good!

Chrome plating can be removed from styrene by using brake fluid‚ Castrol Super Clean or Wesley’s Bleach White. The length of time you need to soak the parts will depend on the thickness of the plating and the underlying lacquer basecoat. Once cleaned‚ you can either paint the parts using the various metalizing paints available at your hobby shop or send them to a plater for a fresh dose of "bling-bling". Most paints can also be removed using CSC‚ but be careful...styrene and resin do not react the same way to many chemicals. For example‚ some resins will become rubbery if exposed to CSC‚ but others won’t‚ so it’s best to talk to the folks who sold you the parts for the recommended method for stripping or cleaning their resin. Another paint stripping technique (depending on the type of paint and material the kit is cast in) is 91% Isopropyl alcohol. It is sold in pharmacies and many grocery stores and is relatively inexpensive. On a prepainted snap kit‚ for example‚ the alcohol started to remove the paint almost instantly‚ and was completely clean in less than an hour‚ and it had no evident effect on the plastic lying underneath.

Painted die-casts can also be stripped easily‚ but with a slightly different technique. After removing any and all plastic from the body‚ go to your local parts store and pick up some aircraft stripper. This stuff works extremely well‚ but is made with nasty chemicals‚ so follow the usage instructions on the label. After you’ve removed the paint and cleaned up the body‚ apply some etching primer to improve paint adhesion. Finish it up by top coating with your favorite automotive lacquer. Do yourself a favor and use strippers made specifically for metal when you’re re-doing your die-casts!

Be warned that even the everyday compounds we often use in this hobby are flammable‚ poisonous and/or caustic. Extreme caution‚ good ventilation and common sense are the most important tools you have at your disposal‚ so use them all when dealing with chemicals

Tired Tires!

One of the easiest steps toward realism is scuffing your kit’s tire treads. You can either rub them using a sanding stick or sand paper‚ but an easier way is to get a bolt and some washers as close to the inside diameter of your tire as you can find‚ and use a nut to capture it at the end near the bolt head. Put the threaded end in the drill chuck and spin the tire‚ holding the sanding stick or paper against the tire. It’s that easy!

Cutting It Close!

For those of you who build factory stock subjects‚ Bare Metal Foil is your godsend or the bane of your hobby bench when it comes to the thin wheel arch trim common on so many vehicles from the ever since the 50’s and 60’s. To tackle those diabolically thin parts‚ try attaching a round tooth pick to your hobby blade. By extending the tooth pick past the edge of the knife blade‚ you can maintain a constant distance from the edge and the tooth pick won’t be as likely to tear the chrome on the inner lip of the trim. You’ll have to test how wide this "fence" leaves your cut‚ but once you set it‚ you’ll make a more consistent and even cut.


Weather Report




A simple method for muddying up your off-roader or light commercial work vehicle is to take water-based craft paint‚ thin it somewhat with water and apply it to your model using an old spray bottle. The trick is to thin the paint enough so it flows through the spray nozzle‚ but no so much that it runs after you apply it. Try it out on a scrap body‚ because the results will vary based upon the spray bottle‚ the paint you used‚ distance from the object and degree to which you thinned the paint.

You can also spatter "mud" onto a vehicle by applying paint to an old tooth brush‚ and using a toothpick (or your finger) to "flick" the paint by drawing back toward yourself across the bristles. Go the OTHER direction and YOU’LL get weathered!

For more subtle touches‚ you can use various chalks and weathering kits available at most hobby shops.

[Deleted]

The average plastic model car can be constructed with simple hand tools and a few basic materials. Here are some items commonly used.

Basic

Hobby Knife - For removing model parts from the frames ("sprues"), trimming off excess plastic ("flash"), and many other applications. Common brand is X-acto knife, the #11 is most popular and useful.

Safety glasses - Protect your eyes when cutting, sanding, painting, applying any solvents.

Sand paper - For smoothing of plastic, removing excess glue, and creating a fine finish before paint. Get a range of grits (400 - 1000, or even 2000).

Fine tweezers - For holding small parts securely.

Paint brushes - For painting small car parts.

Pins - For applying small lines of glue.

Toothpicks - Useful for stirring / mixing paint.

Glue - Must have. The basic Testors Glue in the tube works well for plastic models. White glue is good for attaching canopies.

Filler - Used to fill gaps between poorly fitting parts.

Tape - Nice for test fitting parts, and masking areas while painting.

Paint and Thinner - Another must have. Get the thinner recommended by the paint manufacturer.



Upgrades

Cutting pliers - Helps remove parts from the plastic trees (sprues).

Razor saw - Also for removing parts from sprues.

CA - Cyano-acrylate glue. Useful for filling gaps; use only with safety glasses.

Airbrush or Spray Cans - Much better than paintbrushes for model car bodies. See Painting section.

Air Compressor - Used with an airbrush. Better control of air delivery, and more economical in the long run.

Paint Booth - Used to prevent excess paint from going everywhere. May have exhaust fans to direct fumes outside the building.

Turntable - A rotating table for cake decorating, which lets you paint all sides of a model very conveniently.

Dremel motor tool - For cutting and grinding plastic. Comes in handy for advanced modelers when modifying a model car, adding wear and tear, etc.

Hot-glue gun - Hot glue is used to position small parts on a piece of material, so that they can be brush-painted easily.

[dauntless]

Oct 31, 2017 10:51:06 GMT -6 patrick said:

Jo Ann collects Teddy bears...ever price a Steiff or any high end fuzzy ?....My Tamiya and Ebbro stuff is nothing !.....so I get a pass in this house on my hobby !!!

Yup...my two girls show horses and spend tons on feed, the vet, the farrier, etc etc etc....they don't say too much about me either

[BUCKY]

Ben, those are some GREAT tips and hints!!! Thanks very much for posting those!!

[JCON]

Excellent tips!!!

[CarlRF (R.I.P.)]

Check the sprue for small parts before you trash it . Done that one before .

[patrick]

Test your paint choice on a plastic sprue first.
it is the same as your model...so it will tell you how it will look....also paint plastic spoons with your color , it is also an option...print paint info on the reverse side for future reference.

[Dukemaddog]

All good tips Ben! Some of them even work for some of my subjects as well. I've also found that Windex will strip Chrome from plastic parts quite well indeed.

[cliffj (R.I.P.)]

Great tips everyone!!

For chrome stripping I use Krud Kutter, it's non-toxic, it doesn't stink or burn and it bio-degradable. 

[Deleted]

I have always used plain old Clorox Bleach for stripping chrome. It will strip chrome off just fine and won't melt the part. It will strip it done to the yellowish mold release agent some companies use, which is fine for me since i'll just be painting over it anyways. Im not striving for perfection lol

[CarlRF (R.I.P.)]

"Perfection can be bad if it ruins the fun of the build ". First stated by me on this day

[JCON]

I agree Carl!!!

[Buddho]

Nov 8, 2017 17:33:47 GMT -6 CarlRF (R.I.P.) said:

"Perfection can be bad if it ruins the fun of the build ". First stated by me on this day

Love this.

[BUCKY]

Making it pleasing to the eye is more important to me than getting it absolutely perfect! Sometimes, if I measure something out to precise 1/25 scale, it just doesn't look right on the model.

[patrick]

Build what you like and like what you build.

[Mence]

One thing I would say to any potential model builder is....

Don't succumb to the box art alone, understand a little about what you are buying!

In the world of Armour, with the possible exception of Tamiya, many even fairly basic vehicles can have a parts count of over 1000, probably too much for a first time modeller with little or no experience under their belt.

Start with a simple, modest parts count build and learn from what you are doing, the importance of cleanup, dry fitting first, sparing use of adhesive etc.

This way, the kit you initially build while not necessarily being the sort of thing you will in future focus on WILL teach you a lot about the whole modelling experience and with any luck, won't put you off before you properly get started.

[BUCKY]

Well said, Mence! Nothing worse than jumping on a build that is too far advanced! I have tried that in the past, and it ended badly!