Hello everyone! My name’s Chris, I’m 38 and I just got back into modeling a little over a year ago after a long hiatus since childhood. Back then I used to just glue them together straight out of the box with little to no paint at all. Needless to say I’ve stepped it up quite a bit from back then and have improved my skills considerably in the last year but I still have a lot to learn. Reading the forum here and learning from others experiences really helps a great deal.
I have mostly done 1/48 WWII aircraft and finished my first 1/32 Mustang about a month ago. I have a couple 1/350 ships in my stash that I’m getting anxious to work on as well as a few more 1/32 airplanes. I built a 1/700 aircraft carrier (the Randolph) last year to give my dad for xmas and it turned out really well. He served on the ship and thought it would make a good gift…turned out he loved it. It was a good experience but I probably won’t do any more 1/700 kits.
I find myself partial to Tamiya kits but have built some nice kits from Dragon/Cyber Hobby, Academy and have even made some Revell kits look decent. Nothing really seems to compare to the quality and fit of the Tamiya kits though. I would like to try other manufacturers like Hasegawa and Trumpeter and there is a IL-2 Sturmovik from Hobby Boss that has caught my eye.
The areas of my building that really need improving are filling and sanding and doing washes. I’m hesitant to sand too much because I’m afraid I’ll lose detail and have to re-scribe panel lines. As far as washes go, I mostly like to paint using enamel so I’m not sure how to do a wash. It sounds like I’m supposed to wash with acrylic or even water colors but I haven’t tried it yet.
My building style is generally one at a time but I do tend to get impatient when I’m nearing completion of a kit, generally around decal time. I’ll usually start a new kit or at least start reading the instructions of one around that time. Sometimes it’s hard to decide on one from the stash so I’ll open them all up and look at them and then decide. I can do this right now because my stash is relatively small but I have my eye on several kits that I would like to add to it soon. I’m trying not to buy any more until I build a few of what I have mainly so my better half doesn’t complain! lol!
Currently I’m working on Tamiya’s 1/48 Storch kit and I find that the detail and quality is amazing. The fit has been perfect so far and there is a ton of detail. My only complaint about the kit would be that it doesn’t have photo etched seatbelts. They’ve already included PE parts but omitted seatbelts. I think that decal seatbelts on a kit of this caliber is a weak point. I know, I know…just make my own out of tape or something right? Maybe next time. I just wanted to do this kit out of the box. Aside from that, this is a great kit and would highly recommend it!
Anyhow…I guess that’s enough for my first post! Thanks for reading and I look forward to participating in future forum discussions.
Welcome aboard sir. I too paint primarily with enamels and dreaded the idea of washes. Check out the Weathering Group build. Well done washes and weathering really pop the details. I like the work you’ve done, a little bit of pin washing and weathering will really highlight the good work you’ve already done.
You deffinatly have nothing to worry about, some great builds there. I only use enamles for aircrfat, and last here someone on the forum mentioned Pro modeller washes. I have used them on every kit since for panel lines and also adding a bit of grim to an aircraft. You should try them.
I got mine from a site in the UK. But that would cost you more in postage than the cost of the wash. They will do them in the US, might want to try sprue brothers. If not, i am sure one of your countrymen will know where to get them from.
i really like these. Daywalker mentioned them during his Me 262 GB last year, so i got two bottles and gave it a go. One of the best tips i have got from the site. Used them on every aircrfaft i have built since. gave a good look to a couple of NMF builds i did as well.
[snWcm] Some terrific looking builds there and these guys are great for information. Can’t tell from the pics but you DID drill out all the holes on the SBD dive brakes… right? [;)]
I hate to admit it but no, I didn’t drill them out. I think that was my 3rd or 4th build after starting back into the hobby and honestly I didn’t even know how they should look. I have since learned a great deal and would actually like to build another the right way. Thanks for looking!
Hey no problem, the only reason I noticed is because it was the first kit I built since picking this hobby up again… and I did the same thing! [:$] That’s why a picked up another, my own “do over”. At any rate, keep building and posting pics.
