I am a first timer on the boards and I am considering building a model. The last model I built was about 20 something years ago and I always liked to build armor. The other day I was with my wife in the store and I saw this magazine. Let’s just say it brought me back to when I was a kid. Ofcourse back then I would build crude non-painted models or very baddly painted ones. But I always had a blast then blew them up on the 4th of July. Well, I just thought it would be nice to build one again the way I wish I could have done back then. Nicely painted and presented well. (Not to blow up mind you)
What model would you guys recommend for a beginner and what tips could you present.
Thanks for any advice and I look forward to visiting often.
Thanks for the advice. Also, Where do you pick up your models? I live about 60 miles from Chicago and the day’s of the local hobby shop are gone around here. Any good web sites.
www.greatmodels.com is very nice. Pretty much any of the Tamiya builds are nice for beginners- not a lot of complex building issues and the fit is generally good. For modern stuff, their Abrams and Bradley are nice (and reissued with Iraq war upgrades) and for WWII their Panther G (not A. Avoid the Panther A) is a fantastic kit, their Tigers are excellent and so are their Shermans. The only issue with Tamiya is cost. They are expensive. Dragon makes a lot of very nice kits too, but they tend to have more parts and more complex builds. But they are a lot cheaper.
If your looking forward to a “breaking in” kit, go with Tamiya. Some of the older kits are still quite good. Look at the online shops such as Greatmodels www.rollmodels.comwww.squadron.comwww.discounmodels.com to name a few. I think their Panther G, Sherman Early, Wespe, Marder III M and Panzer III L are great fun kits. Welcome to the forums Glen, glad to have you aboard.
Thanks all for the welcome and information. Can’t wait to get my hands dirty. What type of glue do you recommend as well? I look froward to learning and contributing to these boards in the future.
Personally, I use the Testors Orange tube because it is easy to find (Wal-Mart, Michaels, etc) and because in an enclosed area, it makes you feel real good!!
That works real nice with plastic. For photo-etch or other metal items, superglue works nice.
Welcome to the forum, Glen. Glad to have you in the insanity. I hope your wife doesn’t mind you stashing 30+ unbuilt kits away, because that seems to be the norm around here. (I’m approaching double that in armor alone!!) There are just so many great kits coming out!
As for a kit, all those mentioned above are 1/35, and I’m assuming that’s what you are wanting to do. If you want to do 1/72, that’s another story and you’ll need to let us know. I really like Dragons kits, but they are more involved, and their instructions can sometimes be dicey. One thing to keep in mind about them is that virtually all of their 1/35 kits have independent (indy) link tracks to glue together. Quite a few modelers find them a daunting task. But their new Red Army M4A2 Sherman Red Army has one piece tracks that look really good. It’s supposed to be one of the (if not the) best Sherman out right now. (I’ll probably pick one up this weekend to inch just a little closer to that 80 mark!!)
Internethobbies.com is another place you can order, but make sure you check out greatmodels.com. One of the best things about them is their website. You can look up just about any kit or accessory that is available and many of them are cross referenced. Their prices seem to be in line or better than most of the online shops, too.
For cement, I use Tamiya Extra Thin for most of my plastic work. But I also have some Testor’s bottle cement incase I need a little more working time, and some Tenax incase I need something to hold together immediately. Ambroid Pro Weld is good if you need to glue some ABS, providing you can find it!
For PE and other metal parts, thick super glue is the best, but you could probably use 5 minute epoxy for some things. Thin type super glues really have limited uses, in my opinion, although I do use it occasionally.
Are you guys talking about the black, plastic bottle with the long “snout” on it??
I got a bottle of that and it clogged up so fast I barely got any use out of it. I don’t know what I did wrong. I even tried cutting the end off the tube, but it clogged right back up again! [B)][BH][BH]
[#welcome] to the dark side. It won’t be long until you’re totally immersed in the insanity, waiting in ambush for the UPS guy and cursing Dragon for putting out another 3 in 1 kit. (took me about a week and a half). Can’t add much to whats been suggested above. As far as supplies go I use Model Master enamel paints because of their wide variety of colors and availability. I use both Testors liquid and the orange tube (with the plastic tip, which I find gives really good control on small parts). At the risk of openning a can of worms, if you’re planning to purchase an airbrush I would recommend the Badger 360(which I love), though if you browse the Painting forum you will find plenty of info and opinions. Good luck, Pete
Go to Al’s Hobby Shop in Elmhurst, or Venture Hobby Shop in Wheeling, or Liesure Hours Hobby Shop in Joliet, or Ron’s Hobby Shop in Mundelien or Trost Hobby Shop in south Chicago. Next time you are in town that is.
[#welcome]
[#ditto] on the testors in the triangle bottle.
If you get one of the Russian Tamiya tanks, you can join the Russian group build going on right now too (I feel like a salesman LOL) TRIAL BY FIIRE. It’s the best way to learn anything, or mess up everything [:D]
I’m a relative newbie myself, but I’m here to tell you that these folks are the greatest…always willing to help a fellow gluehead…
And speaking of glue, I use the Testors in the black triangle, too. When it clogs (which happens, since I often forget to cap it while I’m busy with tiny bits) I just heat a little sprue and make myself a de-clogger… [:)]