i am an avid modeller, and have built MANY plastic models. i am a NUT about the details. my problem is, i live in a basically rural area and do not have access to many of the brands of models many of you build. i have a very limited access to SOME hasegawa kits and a bunch of monogram and revell and so forth…many of which are lower quality kits with no after-market parts available…many of my models are balsa and tissue kits that actually fly…that is another hobby and quite a challenge as well…but, my question is what is a really good subject to build from wal-mart quality kits that will build into quite a show piece? painting is NO prob…i was a pro painter for over a decade and have a pretty good handle on that end of the problem.
my absolute fav aircrafts are WWII warbirds…especially the spitfires…the mkIX i believe…the sky blue, brown and green version…i have never been able to reproduce this color scheme on a plane to meet my standards.
any help will be appreciated…
thanks,
cobra
actually I wasnt at all plane fanatic only last two years I’m building and only 1/32 scale. Most viabile is revell [xx(] and maybe two kind of hasegawa… than i dont need to mention about extra sets like eduard or aires …they are [alien] tech for me. (ok some times I order them from another country …) T think that you can make great models only with scratch. Armed with good pictures and basic meterials ( like wire ,plastic and alu foil) you can make something like this…
http://www.forums.kitspy.com/index.php?showtopic=4690
http://www.forums.kitspy.com/index.php?showtopic=4656
Hope that this will inspire your creativity ( I think that this last word is written wrong [8-]
I live with the same problem, closest hobby shop worth it’s salt is over an hour away. I too thought I would have to live with the offerings of my local Wal Mart and K-Mart until I discovered http://www.RollModels.com http://www.Squadron.com and http://www.GreatModels.com
No longer am I restrained by the purchasing directives of the mega store. A few days of patience and the mailman (my hero) brings it right to my door. By ordering two or three pieces at a time the shipping costs are usually offset by the reduced prices of the on-line shop. I build all sorts of cool stuff now.
[#welcome] to the family.
That said, like swanny, you should look thru the listings of places throughout the country for good well stocked hobby shops. They would be a great source of info and new kits that are due out.
Couldn’t hoirt !
I think you’ll like the people who are on here.
(By the way, which area the the whole U.S. are you in ? Just courious.)
As Dragan pointed out (great job, by the way), detail and quality are a state of mind and in many cases can be reproduced on a mediocre kit with a bit of effort and ingenuity on your part. If a model doesn’t have panel lines they can be scribed. If the rivets aren’t to your liking they can be drilled in or sanded off. If the detail isn’t there, then scratchbuild it. If you have the patience you can build a show stopper from a not-so-great kit.
As Swanny pointed out, there are some great mail-order places around. We have severalshops here, but their kit stock is limited and the prices high. Paint I usually get locally; kits usually come from Squadron.
thanks for all the help here guys…great ideas i hadn’t even thought of.
now to answer some questions. i am in oklahoma, USA. a okie from muskogee…to be exact (well at least thats where i live and work).
i have been building models as long as i can remember, really. mostly aircraft, but quite a few cars and even some n-scale model railroads. i also build scale stick and tissue rubber powered planes (heckuva challenge) and i build r/c aircraft…right now i am doing some really unique r/c stuff with recycled plastic signs one can get from convenience stores…they fly great, are tough, and cheap to build.
i have always been a plane fanatic. and probably always will be. i am a sucker for details in a model and will spend weeks painting a cockpit and making sure everything checks out historically.
unfortunately,i am not as good as many of you are. the few times i tried shimming, filling and sanding, etc…the results were disastrous. but i was younger and always in a hurry.
being here i hope to learn strategies to improve my modelling and take it to the next level. of course improving the quality of my work in plastic and resin will naturally improve my work in all other areas…so i am game.
i have never kit-bashed anything…too scared to screw up an expensive model beyond repair, but i wanna learn the tecniques to make my models more realistic.
again, thanks for the help.
i am thinking of ordering something in 1/48 in the next few days and getting back into it full swing. i am sure i will post pics.
www.brookhursthobbies.com is a good source too.
Hey,
All you need is a credit card and the internet and go to www.squadron.com…
You can buy all your heart desires.
Tank