Had my 1st Ah-ha moment! how about you guys?

General Discussion General Modeling Discussion
1

So, ive been going at trying to reach perfection like a computer without the right code. I see all the results but, im not understanding how to achieve them…doesnt make sense; doesnt compute.

Well, i was watching a you tube series on my current kit, Porsche 918 Spyder, and the guy has same exact car, same brand, Revell, but his must be a different version, because his molding is a different color.

As he’s prepping the body, im noticing not all of his mold lines are matching up, and im getting overwhelmed. I try my best to keep up, but basically skip to scuffing it up for priming, and as I’m doing this, all the molding issues on MY kit start popping out at me, and then, all of the sudden, i get it…its not a 1 size fits all process, but a personal process, as you basically follow the flow of the kit. Let your eyes do the leading…

Another moment hit me yesterday. I was laying gray model masters down as a primer. I understand its not a primer, but i dont have primer, and it’s good practice; helps me find defects.

Anyway, i found a hair after applying my third coat, and i tried getting it out, and before i knew it, i had messed up the paint job on the spoiler, the rear bumper, and trunk.

Up until this point, sanding was more like a tool of destruction for me, ha! Wet sanding was something that just didnt compute either. However, i decided to give it a go. 1st attempt made the next coat even worse…ok fine, 1 more try…

This time, i slowed myself down, and figured if i mess it up, ill live with it. So, the pressure is a bit less now, and i kinda just went with it…just tried to smooth things out as best i could, and the result went great. Not perfect, but theres just a small indent you have to really look for, to see…the rest of the area, looks like it never had an issue in the 1st place.

So, those are my 2 ah-ha moments. I feel like i have gained real knowledge and experience in those areas, and am a bit more confident going further.

Im wondering if any of you guys had any ah-ha moments, where you went from baffled to on the right track? Where you felt a little less lost or overwhelmed?

2

That’s a good narrative and I learned something from it.

For me, all too often it goes like this:

“In order to get X result, I need to do steps A-B-C-D-E-F-G”

“Oh that seems to hard, I’ll do A,C,G”.

Garbage result.

So it becomes A-C-G_G-C-A_A-B-C-D-E-F-G

There’s never enough time to do it right, but somehow there’s always time to do it over.

3

I’m still waiting for mine… in so many things.

4

Water dioramas were like that for me. One time I was totally amazed at seeing others results, looking franticly for the answer. I finally found it, and practiced it a couple of times. Now I experiment on different methods myself for my own results.

5

Ha! I never thought of it that way, but that is so true!

6

I dont even know what they are, and i dont have the stress capacity to find out for…let’s say a couple months. Lol. Sounds cool tho!

7

I hear you on that!

8

That’s just plain funny. :slight_smile:

9

No. My moments have been just, “uh-oh”.

10

When I built my Impala wreck that was featured in an article a few years ago, I applied a white coat over a heavyish hair spray coat that made the finish glossy. I used a hair dryer to dry it quicker, and the paint coat shrunk and, lacking the “toothiness” of a matte finish to grab onto, it cracked like a mirror. EXACTLY what I could use to make an even more convincing degraded coat of paint. If we’re talking about “happy accidents”, it doesn’t get happier than that! [:D]

11

Oh wow, that looks perfect Karl.

12

Heres something…Make a list of all the things you want to try. Get some old bodies, cheap garage sale whatever and go for it. Dont be afraid to make a mistake, just learn. You seem to have started the process:-)

OldSalty

13

Well, once I attended a parachute training, and our instructor, an ex-army colonel, once said “it’s easy after 10 000 times” - and he was right. So I say keep on building and don’t let go. Don’t go for that “one perfect model” - build ten of them, and you will see the tenth is bound to be nice. Then build the first one again, you’ll be pleased by the difference!

Good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

14

ExoFly;

I had that moment many , many years ago when I looked at a model with a messed up right arm and hand that might never work again .

I had already busted up some models with uncontrollable squeezing on the hand and jerking of the arm .

The Missus hands me the Lindberg " Blue Devil " ( U.S.S.Melvin ) Kit and says " Okay , now get busy " . " I want a FRAM Gearing made of that and I don’t care how you do it , just do it " !

I rested my arm on the desk and found if I put a weight bag ,(ankle ) on the forearm the hand tried to work right ! AHA ! Well , I got the ship built and surprised the heck out of the therapist when I finally got one ( Work Comp related injury ). I still have tremors .But fifty years later that’s the biggest AHA ! for me . I Wanted to Build and plain and simple I was going too ! Tanker - Builder

15

Thats inspiring!

16

Good idea! Ive also got my eye on a couple cars ive done a few years ago. I think they need to be rebuilt! Haha

17

Great advice; interesting story! Thanks much!

18

Ha i feel like uh-oh a lot lately. Today i had about 10 uh-ohs regarding small pieces falling on their freshly painted surfaces. That is frustrating! Moving too fast…

19

i was painting sand over grey primer on a 1/72 (OTS) T-55. didn’t realize i had bought Vallejo primer instead of paintand, since i was new to Vallejo at the time, thought it was me. turns out after a couple of thin coats it gave the effect of panel lines and color modulation. so some pin washing and pastel dust and it took a first at regionals last year.

decided to try it on 1/35 T-72M (see ARMOR) and got good results so i now have a green and a panzer gray Vallejo primer to try over a white or black prep to paint regular primer.

20

Well Sir, I’ve had MANY a moment like this! You can use a small drop of superglue over the the area where you now have a small dent. Just smooth it a little at a time. Wet-sand it with 600 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper then another small drop smoothed with a popcicle stick, or your finger. This will allow you to build more solidly, and better than with paint primer, or any type of body filler can. I’ve done this so many times and it still works. This is if you haven’t painted over it yet. It’s best to use a wooden sanding block, or something smooth, and flat with the sand paper over it to keep it flat and even as you sand. I’ve done this many times when I have either an imperfection in a part, or damage something in a similar manner that you have with your car. I’ve had quite a few projects that I took apart, and redid because I wasn’t happy with something about it after learning how to do it right. This is just all part of the process of modeling. Monogram used to make the Daytona Spyder, and now Revell makes it instead. I noticed that a lot of companies are doing this now - sharing the same moulds, and product with the same box design.

~ Cobra Chris