New to the hobby and want to do everything! When do I consider areas such as weathering and scratch building?
Welcome to the Forums! Glad to have you aboard!
You’ve come to the right place to learn what you need to build models. The members here are very knowledgeable and are always ready to help out with any questions/problems that you may have.
I’ve been building for 70 of my 76 years and build whatever strikes my fancy at the time. My advice to you is to start off with something simple like a 1/72 plane from a manufacturer that has “snap fit” kits. They are easy to build and most of them do not have as many problems as the newer many, many, many part kits. They will let you improve your talents as you get a few under your belt. They will let you improve your basic skills. Then as you get better with them, you can step up to the larger, more complex kits. Then, as you move to these kits, you can try out the weathering, scratchbuilding and other skills. I’m still learning new skills with almost every new kit that I build.
Hope that these tips help you. Don’t be afraid t ask for help. That’s what we’re here for.
Good luck. Don’t forget to post pics of your builds.
Jim [cptn]
Welcome aboard. Simple answer, when you feel ready. Just don’t be afraid to fail and be ready to learn lessons, both from yourself and otehrs.
I put off scratchbuilding, making my own trees and a few otehrs things for years thinking i couldn’tdo it. When i got to it, my results where better than i could have hoped and it was not as hard as i thought.
Thanks Bish That has been my issue . Perfection and being afraid to fail. Guess I’ll start small and let it fly! 
Welcome aboard! Depending on how fast your learning curb is, once you start building easy or complex kits, you can always try a little of each technique here and there.
kind of like experimenting on each model to see how well it comes out. Good or bad, that’s how you’ll learn. Also continue following threads of these wonderful forum members and ask questions. They are more than happy to point you in the right direction.
Toshi
Thanks Yoshi! You’re right about this group of people- so willing to help and give advice. I feel like I have another family!
Welcome to the Forums!
Thanks!
Advanced Techniques ?
Nah , just a love of getting it right and learning how . Did you know that model building is something where you are constantly learning new things and loving it ? Welcome to the forums and glad to have you aboard .Tanker - Builder .