• Modelling

    From Ben Longden@VERT/NOCARIER to All on Fri May 5 21:36:00 2006
    Hey,

    I have fairly recently got back into building and painting plastic model kits. I vaguely remember being up to my arms in polystyrene cement when I was younger glueing together what I thought was a jet fighter of some description.

    Of course I am a little better at it now - but still not great. I do enjoy doing it, as I can really lose all track of time and just sit there for hours in my own little 'zone'. Problem is I don't seem to get much better at it!

    Does anyone else build and paint plastic kits? Basically I am looking for tips/tricks/websites/articles/anything really that I can get my hands on that has some good information for a relative beginner in this hobby.

    Hopefully someone out there might be able to help! :-)

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    Ben
    ■ Synchronet ■ Mind Linked BBS - mindlinked.co.uk
  • From Corey@VERT/TSGC to Ben Longden on Fri May 5 19:53:00 2006
    Re: Modelling
    By: Ben Longden to All on Fri May 05 2006 06:36 pm

    I was going to try it, but I was told I don't have the figure for it.

    This message has ended, go in peace...

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  • From Ben Longden@VERT/NOCARIER to Corey on Sat May 6 18:47:00 2006

    I was going to try it, but I was told I don't have the figure for it.

    Probably just aswell. The cat walk in my living room really gets in the way
    of the TV...

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  • From Tharius@VERT/ACESHIGH to Ben Longden on Thu May 11 19:58:00 2006
    "Ben Longden" <ben.longden@VERT/NOCARIER> wrote in message news:445B7EFE.643.dove-hob@mindlinked.co.uk...
    I have fairly recently got back into building and painting plastic model kits.
    I vaguely remember being up to my arms in polystyrene cement when I was younger glueing together what I thought was a jet fighter of some description.
    [snip]
    Does anyone else build and paint plastic kits? Basically I am looking for tips/tricks/websites/articles/anything really that I can get my hands on that
    has some good information for a relative beginner in this hobby.


    I believe if you check Model Railroader's web site you will find some leads. I'm not doing much at the moment in plastic kits but some obvious tips
    inlude

    - Take your time. Rushing is the #1 cause of poor results.
    - A well handled air brush can provide a dramatic increase in results.
    - Anything you can think of about painting a room can apply to painting a model. Don't be afraid to use masking tape to create nice straight edges.
    - I've found that 3M's CA is possibly the best stuff for plastic. The only thing I've found that it won't glue is polystyrene to brass.
    - Normal woodworking tools can be a great advantage. Things like clamps, squares, calipers, etc can really reduce the frustration level after a few go's.
    - Paint first, add windows later. If you can paint your parts first, you
    can save yourself a massive amount of masking off later. Windows can be
    your biggest downfall because it's nearly impossible to properly mask off a window frame in 1:160 scale :)

    I hope this helps, I'm not wonderfully talented at the kits myself, but the few I've build look pretty good. Hope to hear from you, these days I'm spending a lot of time scratch-building a 2'x10'x1' model of the Niagara Escarpment near Hamilton, Ontario which has involved becoming an amateur geologist (kidding ... it just feels like that) ... this is forming the backdrop for my train layout.

    Cheers.

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