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[ Home ] [ Models ] [ Modeling Links ] [ Tips -n- Tricks ]
I am not an expert modeler. I would at most say I am an experienced
modeler. Therefore, for me to be giving out tips may seem to some a little
ridiculous. I disagree, obviously because I am going to do it, inexperienced
modelers come here and may benefit from some of my tips, many of which I have received
from people I feel ARE expert modelers. This is just a collection of things you may
want to keep in mind as you are building, some I learned the hard way, and I hope you
won't have to.
Send your tips to me at timc@paisleyrainbow.com.
If I use it, credit will be given to you.
For beginners, I recommend having on hand a few things before you sit down to do your
first model.
- A small pair of clippers of some type. Finger/Toe nail clippers will work, but I
suggest something a little bigger. I use a pair from Radio Shack called
"Nippies". They are small enough for these models and big and heavy enough
for working on my R/C Cars.
- A small hobby type knife. Testors makes a small disposable one that is pretty
good, or you can spring for nice X-acto type with replaceable blades.
- A drop cloth of some kind. Old newspapers work fine. That's what I use.
- Paint, cement, brushes, etc...
- A large, flat workspace with good lighting and ventilation. I can't stress enough
the importance of good lighting when working with small pieces.
- Tweezers or small needle-nose pliers. I recommend getting a pair of locking
tweezers. They allow you to hold on to small pieces without having to maintain
pressure yourself.
- The mindset to build the best model that you can. I can build one in less than a
day, if I don't care how it looks, but a good job can take a couple of weeks working 1 1/2
hrs a day (but I rarely get 1 1/2 hours to work on them a day).
- Model building can be an expensive hobby. On some tips I offer suggestions for
substitution of tools that you may have laying around the house. Using these items
is a way to save money in the beginning. I recommend, however, that you get the
proper tools as soon as you can afford to. Many are made specifically for building
models and do a much better job.
- Never tear, twist, bend, or force pieces off of the sprue tree. Get a nice pair of
clippers and snip them off. You can damage some parts by just tearing them
off. A pair of fingernail clippers works too.
- When painting transparent colors, do not try to cover the model completely in one
coat. The paint will bunch up in the details and run making it look awful. If
you want to paint your model a transparent color expect to put at least 3 coats of paint
on. Paint each coat very lightly and you will build the color up to your
expectations.
- Transparent paints take forever to dry. Much longer than opaque paints.
Allow at least 24 hours before trying to use parts that have been painted using
transparent paints. I wait 48 hours before touching mine, This ensures that all
coats of paint have completely cured. The paint should stop being sticky before you
use it.
- Transparent paints allow for a wide variety of color variations. By painting an
under coat you can affect how the top coat will look. White will make the colors
brighter. Silver will brighten the color slightly and richen it with the metallic
properties. Gold will give it a warm yellow undertone and enhance metallic
effects. Those are the most popular colors, but not the only colors used.
Experiment with it you may be surprised by what you come up with.
- Decals stick to shiny surfaces best. If you are applying decals to a military
model or other such model that is painted in flat colors you can apply a coat of Gloss
Coat then apply your decals. Once the decals have set apply a coat of Dull Coat.
- Always test fit your pieces before applying cement to them. They may not fit
exactly and it's better to find this out before you have cement on them.
- Most model cement doesn't work by being "sticky". It works by breaking
down the plastic and fusing the pieces together. It also dissolves paint.
Scrape painted pieces down to the plastic at the contact points before applying
cement. This will allow the cement to get a good strong bond on the plastics.
This also prevents you from making a mess with dissolved paint and keeps you from having
to apply a lot of cement to hold it together.
- I recommend having at least two hobby knives. One for cutting and trimming, and
one for scraping, since scraping will dull the blade real quick. I use Testors high
end hobby knife for cutting since it has replaceable blades and Testors low end hobby
knife for scraping. The scraping knife was my cutting knife until the blade got
dull. I then replaced it with a better knife and demoted it to scraping
duties. Eventually you will want to replace this one too, because it will stop
scraping smoothly, but it lasts a good while. You could also just use an old blade
that you have replaced but they are hard to hold on to safely.
- Model cement clouds the clear plastic pieces like car windows and cockpits of
airplanes. Use plain old white glue to hold these. The bond won't be as strong
with white glue, but it will dry clear and look a lot better.
- Invest in good paint brushes. I use brushes made with natural hair myself. I
just don't like nylon brushes, but that is merely my opinion as I know people who only use
nylon. Find what you like and go for it. Don't be afraid to spend twice as
much on a brush you want. Chances are it will last more than twice as long if you
take care of it and will give better results.
- Use the least amount of cement it will take to hold the pieces together. Nothing
is worse than applying cement to a piece and having it squirt out the sides when you put
in place. This looks sloppy and will ruin your paint.
- Paint should be allowed to dry completely before attempting to handle pieces. I
try to wait at least 12 hours between painting and handling. At the very minimum
you should wait 2 hours for flat paints, 4 hours for gloss paints and 12 hours for
transparent colors, allow at least 1 hour between coats of paint of the same color if more
than one is required. Wait the full time before applying a coat of a different
color.
- Always paint lighter colors first before darker colors. Dark colors cover better
than light colors.
- Once you have a good handle on building the models, get an airbrush and learn how to use
it well. It will greatly improve the looks of your models, and allow you to do
effects that are extremely difficult if not impossible with brush or spray paints.
- Anything you find useful enough to have around, is useful enough to keep 2 around.
Keep one for a spare. If it breaks or you run out having a spare could save you a
trip to the hobby shop, or allow you to keep working if the hobby shop is closed.
- Go to model shows/contests and see what other people are doing. You can get a lot
of ideas from looking at other peoples models and talking to the people who built them.
- It's not always possible, but I recommend having a permanent place set up for you to
work on your models. Sometimes you may need to leave your model sitting for an
extended period of time, and that can be inconvenient if you are using the dining room
table for your workspace.
- Looking for wires for engines, hydraulic lines, etc... I've found that telephone
wire works well. If you have any old phones laying around you've already got
some. If not, then you can buy some wire cheap at Radio Shack or Wal-Mart.
Radio Shack sells it by the foot. It comes in 3 sizes 22, 24 and 26 gauge.
Just carefully cut the outer wrap from around the inner wires and you have 4 colors to
choose from Red, Green, Black, and Yellow. If you don't like these colors, just
paint them the color you want. I always try to get the solid core rather than the
twisted core, because it is a little stiffer and will hold shape better. If you
want it to be flexible on your model, though, you will want twisted core.
- Fingernail decals are a good source of custom decals - submitted by Antonio Holmes
- Smooth sequins make good compact discs for auto interiors - submitted by Antonio Holmes
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