Hello guys. I am getting ready to start my 2nd model in who knows how long and want it to look better then my first one. I have an AMT gt-350 shelby kit. What should be good steps to follow for a better/easier build? Should i clean/prime every piece? Using testors enamel brushing for most of it (laid off so had to hold off buying the air brush for now) how mich should i thin it for a consistent paint without brush strokes on the smaller pieces? Also what cement do you guys use? I have testors cement (red tube) and testors liquid cement at hand. And finally water slide decals please help i am terrible doing them. (reminded me why when i was younger i skipped them lol)
Liquid cement is the best, or you can try super glue also. Once you’ve primed the parts, solvent glues will not be effective unless you sand or scrape off the paint where the parts join. Be careful with super glue though. It does permanently fog clear plastic with fumes alone.
I never clean parts unless it is an older, or obscure, or resin kit.
Another option of course to hand brushing is spray cans. I actually like them when I build cars. Testors enamel will hand brush well, but practice on something until you are comfortable with it and layer on thinned coats, don’t try to brush out brush marks. Also it is reasonable to let that paint dry at least a week between coats.
i’m a beginner too, but after having tried paint brushes, spray cans and finally an airbrush, i can say from my experience that the air brush does the best job, but requires more maintenance and investment.
You really wait 1 week between each layers of paint??
how do we know whether a model is made out of resin or plastic ?
What makes you decide to use superglue or liquid cement ? Are some parts better be glued with one kind of glue over another?
thanks for the pointers.i did use a can for the body to ease process on myself. How much should i be thinning the enamel to keep it light coats? It always seems to be thick and dont want to over thin the enamel if i can help it.
I really do, unless the paint is acrylic, where a couple of days will do unless the weather is cold and damp. That’s one good reason to have several models going at once. It helps keep you from becoming impatient.
Most resin is not hard to identify. More often than not it’s a light tan or yellow color, but not always. It also doesn’t get cast on sprues which are the channels that the liquid plastic is forced through, but resin is pour cast into molds so the parts generally grow out of a solid block.
Resin can only be glued with epoxy, super glue or other non-solvent adhesives. Plastic can be glued with all of the above, but most effectively if not painted, with solvent.
Yes some paints, particularly some enamels, may take a week to fully harden. Spraying a second coat on top of a first coat which is not fully hard may result in alligatoring of the paint. The first coat dries and shrinks more than the second coat resulting in a finish with irregular cracks and patches.
You are generally good to recoat in the first hour or two, the first coat has set but is not dry. Waiting until tomorrow morning may invite trouble. Otherwise wait several days for the first coat to off-gas and harden. Many DIY spray paints have recoat time listed on the label. Read for more info.
Acrylics generally do not have this problem. Most dry and cure quickly
Most mass market model kits are polystyrene which is melted and incected ino a into a two-piece steel die mold. The process is injection molding. The sprue or frame which holds the parts is a dead giveaway that the kit is plastic. Plastic kits are relatively inexpensive. The mold die lasts for thousands of copies.
Resin kits are made from a two-part polyurethane resin/epoxy. Mix up the two parts and pour it into a flexible rubber mold. After some time the resin hardens and the part can be removed from the mold. There is usually no sprue, but there may be a casting plug which serves as a funnel to get the resin deep into the mold. The plug has to be cut off, generally a dusty & smelly operation. Resin kits are more expensive because 1) the rubber molds may only last 30 to 50 copies and must be replaced with new material. 2) the resin is more expensive than plastic, and 3) becasue they are short run kits the research and development costs must be amortized over a shorter production run.
However, resin mold tooling is cheaper than the steel dies used in the injected molding industry
Well why a resin kit? It is often the only game in town. They are made by a modeler whose passion may be a esoteric subject. They may be in love with a Farleigh Fruitbat Mk I. They wanted a model, they made one, and now they are making it availabe to you
Plastic kits are ususlly assembled with a solvent cement. The solvent melts the two plastic parts so that they are ‘welded’ together. Tube glue is solvent with a thickener so that it doesnt run and drying time is slowed. Liquid glue is all solvent. It has the benefit or curse of running easily and is quick drying. Plastic kits may also be assembled using Superglue (CA) or 2 part epoxy. You can even use white glue/PVA to glue things like clear canopies or windshields, where a solvent glue may craze it or CA may fog it.
Resins are not affected by the solvent glues. They do not soften/melt. For resin kits superglue or epoxy are necessary
I usually wait 2 to 3 days for paint to dry before handling. While the paint is drying I work on another kit or two. Some members do it that way and others don’t. Your prefference, it’s your model.
Once i have a proper work bench i might start working on several kits at once. For now its work on the kitchen table and clean up before the wife kills me lol
There’s never enough time to do it right, but somehow there’s always time to do it over.
Probably the single most important thing I have learned as a modeler is to go slowly and carefully. It has dramatically raised my results from awful to mediocre.
Bad habits were formed as a kid, building a model in an afternoon.
True to a point. I used to complete car models within the end of the week as in my youth years. Aircrafts and armor, not so much. Keep in mind, in my youth years I was learning how to be patient in my builds more than worrying about accuracy.
As I got older when I returned to this hobby a few years ago, I am still learning how to do new stuff like weathering, pin washes, etc… I admit, it is terrifying to try on a kit unless I use a mule kit to test my ability.
