Alecras' Workbench

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fredk
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Re: help with building

Post by fredk »

That 'how to' is fine. Following that guide will do you well. Then when you get used to building kits you'll find your own favourite method and not need a guide.
Some other things I'd add. And some of this is as much for experienced builders as it is for beginners.
Do not rush into the building of your kit.
Read through the instructions carefully, locating each piece on the frames, and seeing how each piece relates to the others. Understanding where all the parts go and when can speed you along. Sometimes a section can be built out of sequence; for example, the under carriage legs and wheels can be built and painted early, then added at a later step.
Some parts can or need to be painted before assembly, eg the cockpit seat and instrument panel are fairly obvious ones, but also maybe radiators, or guns that poke through the fuselage. You'll see this when you read through the instructions.
Take your time building your model. Sometimes things go more slowly, and sometimes faster. There is no rush. You'd be surprised how many of us have many, many models sitting for months making slow progress on them.
Glueing before or after painting, or painting before or after glueing? Depends on the parts. Take the Spitfire prop as an example. I always paint the prop blades and spinner front before glueing together, then if there is a back plate for the spinner, it gets painted after assembly. Anything that looks [in the instruction, again] to awkward to reach when built up is best painted before assembly.
On a personal side; do you have problems with your hands? I have serious nerve damage in mine and sometimes I can't model, so I read books and research what I'm building. If your hands and strength are ok, the kit parts may just be a very tight fit. They can be. The holes for locating pins just bit too small. Twiddle the point of a craft knife in the holes to open up round ones. On slots use your emery boards to thin the slotted part just a wee tiny bit.
For holding bits for painting; I use cocktail sticks for anything with holes, the cocktail stick is then held by a spring clothes peg. For bits with no holes, I use a bit of sticky pad on a McDonalds stirring stick,

HTH a bit,
F
Al speling misteaks aer all mi own werk..
Its not just how good your painting is, its how good the touch-ups are too.
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Asoka
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Re: help with building

Post by Asoka »

Hi There!

If you have difficulty in holding parts to paint, try painting them all while on the sprue. This is how we used to do it when we were kids, and in fact I paint most models with a proper 'full frame' sprue while the parts are still on it. Then after gluing them on, you can touch up any 'bald' spots!

If you use a pair of flush cutters to remove the pieces most times you will not need to sand a lot too.

Go ahead and give it a try, main thing is to enjoy yourself!

Cheers,

Asoka
Skill, Patience and Humbrol, with a hairy stick!
alecras234
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Re: help with building

Post by alecras234 »

that sounds a good way of building, paint the parts while attached to the sprue. How do i do this, it shows diagrams of the finished aircraft on the box and what paint to use but it doesnt show what paint to use for the pilot, nor the paint to use for the cockpit. When painting on the sprue, how do i avoid areas that are to be glued? Will paint touchups require me to paint the whole piece again, if so i may aswel paint once i've finished building the model.
DHDrover

Re: help with building

Post by DHDrover »

If paint over areas that need to be glued just scrape it off before gluing.

Might I suggest that you build a couple of models without painting just to get the hang of it? You may go back and paint later as your skills improve.

All the best.

Dai
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Asoka
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Re: help with building

Post by Asoka »

I agree, just build a few without paint to get the hang of it. Maybe after building you can paint them if you feel like it... If you can get some Hobbyboss easy kits, they require very little building and gluing. In fact I am building a Me109G which now needs only the wheels and canopy put on, and I haven't glued a single piece, they fit together so well! For any paint details not given, you can always check pics on the internet...

Cheers,
Asoka
Skill, Patience and Humbrol, with a hairy stick!
alecras234
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Re: help with building

Post by alecras234 »

so i shoudnt paint pieces while they're attached to the sprue?
ian lanc
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Re: help with building

Post by ian lanc »

I remember some twenty years ago and this lad had got himself a model car kit
and he was trying to put it together with no glue and was using cellotape to hold
it all together! I told him you need glue....lol

Talking of glue don't use the glue out of the squeegee tubes you'll only mess up the model
but instead buy some precision glue which is in a plastic bottle and has a metal applicator needle.

http://www.modelsforsale.com/catalog/pr ... -25g-39604;

Always apply glue to both sides of big parts, this ensures both sides are securely 'welded' when put together.

Ian.
alecras234
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are snap kits good or bad?

Post by alecras234 »

Hi im Ash, im disabled and have difficulty using my fingers, i have limited movement. i enjoy building model planes and have bought airfix beginner spitfire level1 kit, i bought red arrows kit before the spitfire and i finished the red arrows build unpainted. i noticed during the build that i hadnt fitted the underneath of one wing properly and a few other bits aren't lined up, i glued them so i cant reposition the parts.

Would snap together kits be easier to put together? as i find it awkward gluing bits and picking bits up and putting them in the right place. A mate told me that snap together kits arent the same as gluing model planes and not as fun, is this true? im thinking that i wont need to use both hands much with snap kits.
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Stuart
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Re: are snap kits good or bad?

Post by Stuart »

Hi Ash,

I think that some of the modern snap kits are very good, I've not actually made one but I do like the look of some of them - There was even a Snap together FW-190 in a modelling magazine the other month that got a really good review and looked really nice. I would think it'll be best to just build it and make your own opinion, just because someone else doesn't like them doesn't mean you won't. I'm betting that once you've built it and painted it, and its sitting on your shelf you'll have enjoyed it.

Also I wouldn't worry about the Hawk, the wing fit is not its best point, and I had the same issue on mine and had to sand down the fuselage where it fits, to blend it in before I glued it.

I can see where you'd have trouble with the glue, my Father-in-law had a similar issue with his hands and I can see were he'd have problems. How are you applying it? Do you squeeze it from the tube, or have you considered blobbing a bit onto some masking tape, and then applying little amounts with the end of a cocktail stick (or a sharpened match).

The best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice, get lots of kits and just build them – look through the forums and read the threads, you’ll get lots of advice and ideas (also you-tube is a very good source of information and tips – put a search in for something like ‘making model aircraft’. Read some magazines and some modelling books. You’ll notice the difference in your builds as you get experience and you’ll enjoy yourself more.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Regards

Stuart
Stuart Templeton I may not be good but I'm slow...

My Blog: https://stuartsscalemodels.blogspot.com/
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bobblelink
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Re: are snap kits good or bad?

Post by bobblelink »

There are some excellent snap kits on the market that produce superb results- I recommend Pegasus hobbies range of 1/48th aircraft and 1/72 armour
currently on the go: Revell Blenheim I, Italeri Me210, Revell HMS victory, Revell 1/144 p-47
completions in 2012:8, completions in 2013: 13, Completions in 2014:10, Completions in 2015: 9, Completions in 2016: 8, Completions in 2017: 9, Completions in 2018: 12, completions in 2019:7, completions in 2020: 17
alecras234
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Re: are snap kits good or bad?

Post by alecras234 »

i have had the pegasus snap spitfire kit through the post but no paint is included, what paint do i need and where do i get the paint? paint should have come with the kit surely.
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giulio_gobbi
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Re: are snap kits good or bad?

Post by giulio_gobbi »

The last Zveda Snap kits are excellent and very less expensive.
I have assembled a Me109F, absolutely a great kit!
Sometimes the talent consists exactly in that: try five dozen times when others stop at three dozen...! (F.Labelle)
I think that modeling is a subtle mix of zen philosophy and absolute crazyness - but in my case I would not dare to specify the respective percentage of each......
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Ian
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Re: are snap kits good or bad?

Post by Ian »

You only tend to get paints with starter kits, Ash. You'll need to buy some. Given what you've posted elsewhere, if I were you I'd purchase some of the Humbrol acrylic paints. You can order them from the Airfix website. The screw caps would most likely be easier for you to manage than the enamel tinlets that you need to prise the lid off.
Here's the link to the paints
http://www.airfix.com/shop/humbrol/pain ... ic-paints/;

And here's a link to some online colour charts
http://ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/colorcharts.asp;

If you scroll down to United Kingdom section you'll see that you should be using Dark Green / Ocean Grey / Medium Sea Grey - which are Humbrol paints 116 / 106 / 165 respectively. (The 165 is a satin paint so it will need a matt coating once complete).

Hope this helps.
I'm a mostly full-time modeller put a part-time poster....
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jssel
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Re: are snap kits good or bad?

Post by jssel »

Hi Ash. There are many snap-fit kits that really look sharp when completed. One of my favorites is the Monogram/Revell F117 Stealth Fighter. easy assembly, tinted canopy glass and a wonderful display stand. Overall fit is excellent with minimum clean up. The decals are actually stickers but they are very thin and really look the part when placed on the model.

The best part is it is usually available even in craft stores. Here in the States, Michael's Craft store have them and with a discounted coupon it is a steal.

I have also done one or two of the Car kits and they turn out quite nice also.

Good luck and good hunting.
Besting 60 years of mediocre building of average kits in the stand off scale
alecras234
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Re: are snap kits good or bad?

Post by alecras234 »

it says in the instruction book that the paints i need;
Dark earth
Dark green
Sky type S (i don't know what sky type s is)
Flat black
Yellow
Gunmetal
Interior green.
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