I’d be grateful for suggestions/advice on sanding techniques that don’t destroy the detal on 1/48 aircraft.
I came back to hobby last September building Revell’s 1/48 F/A-18E. Actually, I built two. The first one was painted to the Blue Angels scheme. The second was stock.
I am currently working on a Revell F4U. I chose Revell simply because they were inexpensive and something to build up my skill set with.
I have a Tamiya F-16 and a Hasegawa F4U waiting to be built. Hopefully these will be a better fit.
Prepping and sanding seams while peserving detail still is a challenge though. I believe I have come to the conclusion that Perfect Plastic suits me better than My Surfacer.
Most of the time detail will be sanded away when cleaning up seams and needs to be replaced with a scribing tool or a #11 blade depending on the detail. If it’s raised lines then I lightly use a #11 blade to connect the panel lines. When this is done the plastic is raised a bit and restores the effect. You can also used stretched sprue and thin cement to restore the raised lines.
I like to use Tenax or Plast I Weld applied with a Touch N Flow applicator on seams then squeeze the parts together creating a thin ridge along the seam that when dry, can be sanded smooth to an invisible join reducing the use of fillers.
I believe panel lines on kits are oversized in 1:72 and 1:48, especially for aircraft that will be painted rather than nmf. Look at pictures of real aircraft, even weathered aircraft. Panel lines- riveted ones, not removable panels- are very hard to see. I prime with thick primers, that wash out panel lines almost more than treating seams. I only worry about the lines on removable panels and cowl pieces.
And practice dry fitting to identify problem areas before committing to glue. When gluing parts together, pay careful attention to the alignment of the join. Get it perfect as possible.
Sometimes hairline ghost seams will appear regardless of the care you take. I have found fine stretched sprue taken from the same kit is the best filler - same hardness as the kit plastic, does not shrink or flake like putty, sands and feathers better than CA glue.
Recently I have been following my own advice, and the amount of putty I use has dropped significantly.