Hi; I am involved in modeling 1/700 scale aircraft carriers, in particular, the WW2 era. This means using alot of 1/700 scale aircraft. I know, my choice, but, if there is someone out there who has some magic formula for assembling these planes (the clear plastic type in particular), I would love all ideas. My age, eysight, and hand/eye coordination cause me to struggle with assembling the wheels, wings, and props. Also, what is the best way to place ships rigging on the superstructer? All ideas for better techniques will be greatly appreciated. As soon as I also learn how to place photos on this site, I will place my work on here for your critique. Thanks Lenny
Do you have a Photobucket account? You can upload, or host, your pictures on Photobucket, then when you post on here, just use the “html” button on the top of the message screen to post pictures on here. When you get the pictures put on Photobucket, just drag your mouse across the picture, and it will give you the embed code, html code and image code. I copy the image code and paste it into my message. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the info Woody. Lenny
navy 07 the fine thing going here is that you,re not giving up ! for the relief of those tired eyes use a jewelers or machinists magnifier they have built in lights and they work for me . also the other thing is shaking , i have to deal with that sometimes and i brace my wrists on a padded rest i made from 2x4 sscrap and some padding , just don,t hurry . tankerbuilder p.s. the magnifier that is sold in bookstores that has a neck strap will help on the planes , also use a small pin or superfine brush to apply the glue or a toothpick (for superglue )
Thanks for your info tankerbuilder. I make all types of models, but love ww2 aircraft carriers in 1/700 scale. As I said,my choice. I get a little tired doing the air group, but in the end, I love the result. Lenny
Hi,
I’m working on one of those carriers now, and have been seeing nice-looking planes made by other folks around me, so I just plowed ahead with the silly things.
My tips would include the following:
- Use a brand-new, very sharp Xacto blade for cleaning up the parts. The clear plastic is much more brittle than civilized colored plastic, and responds better to a sharp blade.
- When painting, paint the bottom of the plae first with chromate green, and then paint over that with the color of the bottom, and when you get to the color for the upper sides, leave the canopy unpainted. That will leave the “interior color” green as a glow from inside the canopy - not much, but some. It
- And as far as old eyes go, some folks swear by the Optivisor head-band magnifier thingie. I don’t like hats or anything else on my head (after 24 years in the Navy? go figure), so my solution is to have three desktop lamps, including one of the big round desk-mounted magnifier/ florescent tubes, that came from the Home Depot. Another of the lamps is a “TrueColor” lamp from the craft store. So my solution is light, light and more light.
Good luck to you.
Rick
Rick: Well, your ideas aren’t old. I never thought about using the green to reflect the interior. Thanks for the help. Lenny
I did something similar with the EA-6B Prowlers for my USS Enterprise build - a little gold- or brass-colored paint around the cockpit area before putting the gray on gave the canopies the requisite gold-toned look when viewed at certain angles.
As for assembling the little guys - use slowwwwwwww setting super glue gel, to give you some working time. And painting them is nothing … decaling them, though, now that is a special kind of hell [}:)]