[I am a beginner. Where can I get detailed information on the finishing process.ie; how to apply body fill,sanding -what grit sizes to use and when, painting- base coats and how to achieve different finishes.]
this forum has lots of tips and techniques…there is so much information about modeling and never seems to end…Techniques change with new products and modelers experimenting! It’s almost overwhelming and finding information to fit you EXACT case is tough! My suggestion is to go to a hobby shop and start asking questions. Any hobby shop worth its salt should at least have one staff member who knows something and may be able to point you in the right direction. I myself (I’m 23 now) started modeling seriously when I was 14 and was lucky enough to have a mentor. A fantastic modeler who showed me the ropes. He lent me a great book about modeling basics…I don’t remeber what it was caller or who wrote it, but I’m sure there are many books that you can find that will be a great resource. purchasing copies of FSM are a great source to. If you’re broke like me (I’ll my money goes to schools) than you can just ask questions here. I’ve had some very good replies to all of my questions and not once have I felt intimidated or like a NEWB!!!
if you need any specifcs just post them and I will get back to ya.
Good luck…happy modeling,
James
I’m sure that if you were to ask specific questions on a certain topic you would get more then enough info. right here on the board.
Good luck with your new hobby [:D]
I would approach this in two ways. First get good reading material. Kalmbach publishes a lot of reference books. I only see one listed on this site. You can probably find it at a hobby store too. Send them an e-mail and tell them what you’re looking for. I’m sure they’ll have a solution.
However Verlinden produces some excellent modeling guides. I purchased one from them years ago and I constantly refer back to it. Great tips and techniques. They cover it all too from scratch building, to finishing, to dioramas. I highly recommend their stuff. Here is their web site. They seem to be linked up through Amazon. If you’re not sure which one you should get, I would write them an e-mail for suggestions. I just saw one that I’m going to order today.
http://www.verlinden-productions.com/
Also consider getting a subscription to a magazine that focuses on what you’re interested in. FSM covers all the bases, but there are also magainzes that focus on aircraft, ships, cars, etc.
The other way is by using this bulletin board. I post a lot on here, but I’m picking up tips all the time.
Hope that helps. Best of luck!
Dave
You may be able to find some of the books which tell about basic modeling techniques at your public library. I live in a city of about 300,000 and there are several titles here. I mention this because not everyone has money to buy reference material.
A couple of additional notes…
If you’re looking for something specific, browse through the Techniques forum or use the Search feature of the forum. If you use the Search, make sure you set the starting date back so you get more results.
If you don’t find what you’re looking for, then post your question. Be very specific in your post as to what you’re asking. It will help people better answer your question. Try to include most of your question (or keywords) in the “Subject” field when posting so people will see what your post is about.
Kalmbach books can be found here.
http://store.yahoo.net/kalmbachcatalog/scale-modeling-books.html
Squadron carries quite a few books - go to their search page and search for books and it returns quite a list.
http://www.squadron.com/Search.asp