Modelling Glossary G - H

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MerlinJones

Modelling Glossary G - H

Post by MerlinJones »

G

Gate
See Sprue Gate.

Gift Set
A set that contains plastic kit(s), glue, paint and brush to enable the completion of the kit without needing any more materials. However, the paints and brushes and glues supplied are usually of inferior quality and you cannot “complete” any kit, following the instruction sheet guidance, using the supplied paints alone.

Git Set
A derogatory term, used to describe a Gift Set. of lesser quality. The negativity came from the inadequate and poor quality 'rifle-target' acrylic paints, usually supplied in such sets, together with low quality brush and including, usually, a bunch of kits well past their sell-by date.
"A bunch of crappy kits, a crappy brush and pee-poor acrylic paints, all packaged with the express intent of exploiting the first time buyer is, to my mind and many others, a Git Set" - Bruce Leyland-Jones 01.09.07

It is worth noting that the apparent target market for such sets would not care about the quality of kits or paints and that they are useful opportunities for modellers to get a bunch of kits together, at a reasonable price.
Some sets, indeed, have been very good value. Examples to look out for would be the Centenary of Aviation sets, or the 90 Years of Fighters sets.

Gloss
A very high-sheen paint. A gloss finish is a high-sheen finish and is essential to reduce silvering of decals.

Gloss Cote
(Humbrol) A solvent-based Humbrol varnish used to give a protective and decorative high-sheen gloss finish.

Gloss level
A measure of how high the reflectance of a dry paint film is, generally measured at a reflectance angle of 60 degrees. Gloss and sheen are terms that are often used interchangeably. Note that the gloss level of a paint can also affect its apparent colour.

Glue
Also known as adhesive, cement or Polycement, glue is used to attach plastic kit parts together. Polycement works by melting the plastic when applied to it. When brought together, two pieces of plastic are effectively 'welded' together to form a strong bond. See also Polycement, Liquid Poly and Precision Poly.

Graphite
Usually obtained by rubbing a soft 'lead' pencil on coarse sand paper. The ensuing graphite powder can be used to lubricate moving parts, or be applied to represent areas where the paint has worn off, exposing bare, worn metal, especially on military vehicles, large-scale ships, and railway locomotives. Some modellers use graphite as a means to represent oil smudges and exhaust stains, although pastels and watercolour pencils, for example, may be better for this.

Greeblie
Usually a small, spare part, applied to add detail to a What-if or science fiction subject. Such pieces add surface texture and...er...interest, to an otherwise blank area of a model. For example, the surface of the Millenium Falcon , from the Star Wars series, is covered with 'greeblies'. If you look closely, you can see bits from tank kits and pieces from motorcycle kits. Airfix girder bridges and Saturn V rockets, contributed a lot of greeblies to the models in Space:1999, for example.
'Greebly' is one of those lovely modelling words than can also be applied, more generically, to small detailing pieces.

Grind
A measure of how finely a paint pigment is milled. The finer the grind the higher the gloss level (although grind is not the only factor in determining gloss level). The coarser the grind, the more matt the dried paint film. Poorly ground paints can lead to particles being visible in the dried film.

Group Build
On this site, it is where a group of people get together to build something in common and to share the experience.
We have two sorts of Group Build on this site;

A Themed Build - This is where we all build something along a particular theme. For example, the theme might be RAF Heavy Bombers, or The Lancaster family, or Spitfires. Participants in these builds can build anything that fits the theme. As this is the Unofficial Airfix site, it might be appropriate to include some Airfix kits in the Build.

A Specific Kit Build - This is where we all build the same kit. As this is the Unofficial Airfix site, it might be appropriate to be biased towards Airfix kits. So, for example, we might all build the Airfix 1/144 Concorde, or the Airfix 1/72 dH Heron. That said, any kit could be used, from any manufacturer, provided a group of people could get their hands on one.
For more information, please check out our Group Build FAQ;

http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=243

Guffle
A 'guffle' is that random smear of glue you mistakenly apply to your model, mid-build.

H

Hair Fairy
An annoying little creature, responsible for placing tiny, fine hairs in your otherwise superb paint job. When feeling particularly mischievious, it will place a hair in your sealed up cockpit.

Hard dry
Where a paint film is dry (fully cured) and cannot be scratched with usual handling.

Hairy Stick
A brush.

Header
A term used to describe the cardboard attached to a bagged kit, (see Baggies), sealing the bag. The header also had the artwork, depicting the kit, and the instructions on the reverse. Headers are, seemingly, collectable.

Health Hazards
Modelling is, by and large, a safe hobby. However, apart from the obvious risks of sharp tools and supergluing components to the body, many of the chemicals used in modelling are dangerous, and some are carcinogenic. You will not go far wrong if you:
a) Ensure you work in a well-ventilated area
b) Wear a good filter mask when you are spraying paints or sanding resin
c) Wash your hands throughly after working and immediately if you get white spirit, turps, liquid cement or any similar chemical on them.
Essentially, if you can smell it, it's probably not doing you any good, and the stronger it smells (especially if it makes you cough!), the worse it is.
Keep a small first aid kit to hand, and if the worst comes to the worst, remember that the reason that superglue is so good at sticking parts to your fingers is that it was invented for rapid emergency wound repair!
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