Returning to model making as a retirement hobby and need advice …

General Discussion General Modeling Discussion
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I’m close to retirement and looking to get back to my roots of model making from my youth.

I’m seeking advice on the tools (cutting, file, sanding, etc.), paint (air and brush), glue types, work bench, stands, small paint booths, magnifiers, etc.

Also looking for quality models and sources. I’m located in the US but don’t care where the kits/models come from so long as they are of excellent quality. I’ve saved well over the decades so cost of tools/models is not a concern.

I’m primarily interested in plastic models but also would like to test out my skills with metal models (or combination). I’m not into RC just the model building and painting aspect.

Many thanks in advance for any and all input.

Rob.

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Welcome to the Forum Rob (great name!).

Any specific genre of plastic models you’re interested in (planes, trains, autos, armor, sci-fi, etc.)? Sometimes display llimitations are a concern, so any particular scale?

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Hey welcome. There are probably a million opinions out there on this kinda stuff. To keep it general, but also easy because i keep it easy for myself too, i pretty much just get all my tools from Tamiya including my airbrush. They are expensive, but all of their tools have been top quality, nothing has ever broken for years and years and nothing they hage made has let me down. Their brushes are really nice too and they offer really cheap to really expensive brushed.

I acquired everything i have over the years of course because again its expensive, but i doubt ill have to replace most of it.

The only thing I dont buy tool wise from Tamiya is their sanding materials. The ammo by mig tapered sanding sticks that come in a multi pack are by far my favorite. Every other sanding medium ive used is sub par and doesn’t last. I used the same set of their sanding sticks for maybe 3 or 4 years building 20 models a year.

As for the tamiya tools, check ebay and the tamiya site for prices. Ebay saved me some money on some of it but some things are overpriced.

I know its really general but again, its maybe the
Simplest answer youll get

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Yes, space (classic and modern like Space 1999 or 2001 or Star Wars, Space Shuttle …), flight (old and new aircraft), and ships (any old or new).

No scale limits, I do tend to prefer larger scale.

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Ooh - my kind of modeling!

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Looking at their site now:

Any hints of what “critical” tools are needed to get going?

Must haves for air brush?

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Tamiya acrylics are great for airbrushing, especially when thinned with Mr. Color Leveler.

As far as airbrushes go, I’m particular to Iwata (especially the HP-CS Eclipse) since I worked for them and TAG Team Hobbies for 20 years. :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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Thank you … no idea what a “Color Leveler” is?

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It’s a thinner with additives that make your paint go on nice and smooth.

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Ah … nice.

How safe is modeling these days (glue, thinners, paints, etc.) … back in my youth (several decades ago) some of the modeling glues were pretty potent. Had to take frequent breaks to stop from getting dizzy or eyes watering.

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Most paint companies have switched to acrylic water-based paints. However, even if it says it’s ‘acrylic’, it may still use an additive (i.e. enamel, lacquer) for the carrier. For example, Tamyia paints are technically an acrylic/enamel. A spray booth and/or mask should be considered.

A far as glues/adhesives are concerned, definitely use in a well-ventilated area. Long gone are the orange Testors tubes and most glues are now in liquid form. They’re pretty ‘hot’ and dissolve/weld the plastic together. As such, they evaporate quickly.

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Excellent information, thank you again!

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I like the leveling thinner quite a bit for Mr Color paints, but I’ve been thinning Tamiya with isopropyl alcohol (70%).
Also I’ve found these nippers great for cutting small parts off the tree.

Also, Tamiya extra thin cement is just awesome.
I’m sure you’ll get a lot of great suggestions and pick and choose what you like.

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I would say for tools, the absolute most important are:

Good sprue cutters (they make a huge difference with small parts) i have the fine sprue cutters for plastic from tamiya and theyve lasted years

Angled tweezers that are very fine and wont fling pieces into the atmopshere.

Then of course sanding sticks (tapered ammo by mig ones i think are the best) and good paint brushes. If youre going to be brush painting in totality or even just small details, buy fewer brushes, but buy better brushes and take good care of them. Clean them often and they can last a very long time.

Tamiya extra thin and tamiya mark fit strong for decals. You can get other decal solutions, but seeing as tamiyas is just 1 solution, it is just more simple to start with i think.

Lastly a hobby knife. I used only a hobby knife for years instead of sanding sticks. Its easy to be overly destructive with a knife, but if youre calm and patient with them they can be just as good and of course have their uses elsewhere.

This is all you need to get started. Once you start getting into it, a precision drill for kits that require you to drill out small holes, photo etch scissors and metal files for sanding PE, stuff like that you can acquire as you go and is not neccesary, but is nice to have.

As for paints in general, its gonna depend on what you typically build, aircraft, armor, german armor, ships… If youre just getting back into the hobby, id look at a older morr basic tamiya kit that has very few colors and buy what is neccesary for that kit. The body color of their panzer ii for example will be specific for that kit, but the flat black, red brown, mettalic grey and other basic colors will and can be used on every single model after that. Then you dont have to drop hundreds on paint on day 1 too.

Hope that helps. Happy to answer any other questions or course

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Excellent information, many thanks.

Any recommendations on air brush guns, compressors, small paint booths?

I’ll probably have more questions as I progress down this path.

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Everyone will have an opinion regarding airbrushes. The Iwata NEO and some of the Gahlerie brushes are fairly inexpensive (around $50-$60) and give you good performance. Would recommend something with a .35mm or .3mm needle/nozzle for overall coverage and detail work.

As far as compressors go, tow things to keep in mind: 1) make sure it has a regulator to adjust air pressure and 2) make sure it has some type of moisture trap to prevent water from getting into your airstream.

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I switched from compressors to CO2 years ago. Silent and dry. I have a backup little compressor in case I run out of CO2 but a 10 lb tanks lasts me a couple years. Just another consideration.

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My personal opinion as to the best airbrush is an H&S. (Harder & Steinbeck, but not sure I spelled that right…) Of course it depends on what you are painting too… Mine is more for fine detailed work. For larger coverage I use a larger Grex. Custom Micron and Creos(???) also make good ones which I have, but don’t use as much as the H&S or Grex.

As for paints, I could never get true full acrylics to work well for me (Tamiya’s or anybody else’s). Probably my problem… But, I do LOVE the AK Interactive “Real Colors” line, and the Tamiya LACQUER line. They brush and airbrush well. AK even makes a metallic line (Xtreme Metal) which works great and masks GREAT (unusual in my experience with metallic paints.)

As far as compressors… I just go with a cheap “small one” with a 3 gallon tank from Harbor Freight with an extra 5 gallon tank daisy chained in between it and my airbrush, so it fills them both. I can paint 90% of the stuff I do before I run out of one “tank.” Then I turn it on to fill up when I’m not in my shop. So totally quiet while I’m there.

Hope some of that helps.

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If you want a sprue cutter (highly recommended), the best I can recommend (you’ll be amazed, I was), is a “GodHand Nipper.” Look it up on Amazon. Expensive, but you said price is no object. :slight_smile:

As far as paint I’d recommend getting their recommended thinner with whatever brand you go with as well. I use the “cheap hardware” stuff to clean, but I use the branded stuff to paint…just in case. Hate to ruin something you’ve spent weeks on because you didn’t get $10 worth of thinner. Although as mentioned earlier the Mr. Color Leveling Thinner does work well and I’ve used it from time to time with lacquers and enamels when I wanted an extra glossy finish.

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Some examples from my recommendations above.

[Album] Completed Scale Model Builds
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