Reply With Quotethat's amazing 25 years I hope it will go through the door.
I suspect I'll get back into this some day.
I went from airplane kits , to gaming miniatures (without the tabletop gaming have to say) to scratchbuilt. Even thought about getting into it professionally for films but went the digital route instead.
Here's some tips: ( and the painting is by far the toughest bit)
Don't buy tubes of cement buy it in jars and use a paintbrush to apply it , let the edges get tacky and press together. Use rubber bands or blutack to or tape to secure pieces that are drying. Don't try to glue the whole thing together in one go , let various bits dry before combining them.
Most kits will probably require gaps to be filled and then sanded with milliput or similar to give a more perfect result.
Sprue marks will likely have to be sanded off and or filled with milliput or similar.
Dissolving shavings from trash sprues into the polystyrene cement will produce a kind of liquid plastic that you can use as filler or to build plastic layers onto the model. Very handy if you do a modification and need it to meld with the original model surface.
Some pieces are better painted before assembly (interiors of cockpits for example).
Coat all of the main parts with primer (usually a neutral gray works best ) . The model will take the paint better and you can do more subtle effects.
An airbrush is best for this. (good for models generally get a dual action one with a decent sized cup and a small compressor).
Use washes and drybrushing to emphasise details and panel lines.
Acrylic is easier to work with but enamel is better for certain finishes. You don't have to stick with model paints , fine art paints can work too ( usually cheaper).
Inks containing shellac can also be good.
Light coating of clear acrylic varnish at the end.
Helping hands and clamps.
masking tape and fluid by the tonne.
that's amazing 25 years I hope it will go through the door.
Some very good tips there MrD.
Cheers,
Neil.
Posting Permissions