Post by nigel on May 13, 2005 8:32:34 GMT -5
Model Building and painting tips.
Materials for building.
Must haves: Sandpaper. 160 to 400 grit, Needle files, X-Acto knife, good super glue such as Zap a Gap, an accelerant for your glue, putty. For putty I use either milliputt (Available at most craft or model stores.) For really fast setting putty Bondo works great. (Available at most auto parts stores.)
For resin kits: Coat hanger and wire cutters.
Nice to haves but a bit expensive. A dremel with assorted bits.
Buying your kit.
For your first kit I suggest you find a cheap vinyl model to do. If possible, take the kit out of the box and look it over making sure that all the pieces are there and that the detail on the model is good before you buy it. Some models (especially recasts. IE: Models that have been produced by one company and usually illegally copied by another. This is very common and is a hotly debated practice in modeling circles.) will lose detail if they are copied from a bad mold. Look and see how well the pieces will go together. I have done models that have fit together so poorly you practically have to re-sculpt them.
Building
When you first remove your model from the box check and make sure all the pieces are there and in one piece. With resin kits see how well the pieces fit together and make a mental note of what you will have to trim to make them fit properly. Resin kits will usually have a seam where the molds meet together. Either sand those down lightly without removing any details of the model or use a Dremel with a light grit sand wheel turned on your lowest setting. I can’t stress enough to be very careful with your Dremel because if you turn it up too fast you can do some real damage very quickly.
Vinyl
With a vinyl kit there is not usually any seams but you will most likely have excess vinyl to trim off. Vinyl needs to be heated to make cutting it easier. This can be very dangerous if not heated enough. When using your X-Acto knife always cut away from your body! If your vinyl is not heated enough it can be very hard to cut and lends itself to accidents. To heat your vinyl use a blow dryer or heat gun, or use hot boiling water in a pan (This is how I usually do it.) using tongs to remove your pieces. When cutting your vinyl model check your instructions very carefully to see what parts to remove and what parts to not remove. Many times you will want to leave a tongue of vinyl to join two pieces together. Once you have all your pieces trimmed put your pieces together to see how they fit before you glue them. I would advise filling your model with something. It adds weight to it and will keep it from warping. If your pieces happen to be warped you can heat them and shape it how you want it then run it under cold water to set it. Many people say to use liquid foam or some other type of foam to fill your model. I have personally had bad experiences with this. It is messy takes a long time to set and can expand your vinyl out of shape. I use newspaper! What I do is tear it into strips and pack it into the pieces with a pencil. The tighter the better! If you don’t plan on putting your model on a base you may want to add extra weight to the feet. You can use BB’s or lead weights that are used for balancing tires. When I do this I usually put a little Bondo over the top of the weights to keep them from rattling around. Now for the tricky part. When you glue your vinyl kit together it might be easier if you heat the parts up a little. You will have to find a balance when using your glue. You don’t want to use so much that it will show through on your kit. Be careful of this if you use an accelerant on your glue because it can run and make a serious mess! You will want to use enough or it will come apart later. You will need to make decisions on if you want to paint your kit in sub assemblies to make painting easier. (I only do this if it is absolutely necessary!) After you have your kit together you will want to fill any unwanted seams or gaps with putty. Keep in mind it is better to have a little too much putty on there than not enough. You can always sand it down but if you need more putty you will have to add more and wait for it to dry. (Bummer) After you are done sanding and everything is dry you will want to wash your kit with soap (dish soap) and water. This will wash away any mold separator (used to make separating the resin from the mold easier.) and any hand oils that might be on there. From here on out you will want to use latex gloves, (I find this too confining.) or wash your hands often. Let it dry, and you are ready to paint! (Yippee!!)
Resin
After you have sanded all the seem and excess resin off and have made sure your pieces will fit together with a minimal amount of gaps between your parts you will be ready to assemble them. With resin kits you will want to pin them. Pinning your model will make it very sturdy so when you drop it (You will) it will likely stay in one piece. This involves using a pin (I use coat hangers cut to fit with wire cutters). You will need a drill for this. (You can also use your Dremel with a drill bit in it.) Use a drill bit that is slightly bigger than your pin. You will need to drill a hole (not to deep, maybe a quarter to a half inch on both pieces) so when you put your pieces together the pin will go between them. Be careful not to drill all the way through your piece. If you do (This still happens to me occasionally) fill the hole with putty and sand it smooth. Test fit it to make sure they line up. If your pin holes don’t exactly line up don’t panic! You can just ream the holes out a bit larger to give them some room. When you are ready to glue, drop a drop or two in the holes and insert your pin in one side of your pieces then add some light glue to the pieces that will touch together. Hold them together for a minute or so till it dries. You can use an accelerant for your glue but be careful because it hardens instantly and if you use too much glue it can run and make quite a mess. After you have assembled your model you will want to putty all your gaps and sand the putty smooth. Wash your model with dish soap and water to remove all oils from the surface. Congratulations, you are ready to paint!
Materials for building.
Must haves: Sandpaper. 160 to 400 grit, Needle files, X-Acto knife, good super glue such as Zap a Gap, an accelerant for your glue, putty. For putty I use either milliputt (Available at most craft or model stores.) For really fast setting putty Bondo works great. (Available at most auto parts stores.)
For resin kits: Coat hanger and wire cutters.
Nice to haves but a bit expensive. A dremel with assorted bits.
Buying your kit.
For your first kit I suggest you find a cheap vinyl model to do. If possible, take the kit out of the box and look it over making sure that all the pieces are there and that the detail on the model is good before you buy it. Some models (especially recasts. IE: Models that have been produced by one company and usually illegally copied by another. This is very common and is a hotly debated practice in modeling circles.) will lose detail if they are copied from a bad mold. Look and see how well the pieces will go together. I have done models that have fit together so poorly you practically have to re-sculpt them.
Building
When you first remove your model from the box check and make sure all the pieces are there and in one piece. With resin kits see how well the pieces fit together and make a mental note of what you will have to trim to make them fit properly. Resin kits will usually have a seam where the molds meet together. Either sand those down lightly without removing any details of the model or use a Dremel with a light grit sand wheel turned on your lowest setting. I can’t stress enough to be very careful with your Dremel because if you turn it up too fast you can do some real damage very quickly.
Vinyl
With a vinyl kit there is not usually any seams but you will most likely have excess vinyl to trim off. Vinyl needs to be heated to make cutting it easier. This can be very dangerous if not heated enough. When using your X-Acto knife always cut away from your body! If your vinyl is not heated enough it can be very hard to cut and lends itself to accidents. To heat your vinyl use a blow dryer or heat gun, or use hot boiling water in a pan (This is how I usually do it.) using tongs to remove your pieces. When cutting your vinyl model check your instructions very carefully to see what parts to remove and what parts to not remove. Many times you will want to leave a tongue of vinyl to join two pieces together. Once you have all your pieces trimmed put your pieces together to see how they fit before you glue them. I would advise filling your model with something. It adds weight to it and will keep it from warping. If your pieces happen to be warped you can heat them and shape it how you want it then run it under cold water to set it. Many people say to use liquid foam or some other type of foam to fill your model. I have personally had bad experiences with this. It is messy takes a long time to set and can expand your vinyl out of shape. I use newspaper! What I do is tear it into strips and pack it into the pieces with a pencil. The tighter the better! If you don’t plan on putting your model on a base you may want to add extra weight to the feet. You can use BB’s or lead weights that are used for balancing tires. When I do this I usually put a little Bondo over the top of the weights to keep them from rattling around. Now for the tricky part. When you glue your vinyl kit together it might be easier if you heat the parts up a little. You will have to find a balance when using your glue. You don’t want to use so much that it will show through on your kit. Be careful of this if you use an accelerant on your glue because it can run and make a serious mess! You will want to use enough or it will come apart later. You will need to make decisions on if you want to paint your kit in sub assemblies to make painting easier. (I only do this if it is absolutely necessary!) After you have your kit together you will want to fill any unwanted seams or gaps with putty. Keep in mind it is better to have a little too much putty on there than not enough. You can always sand it down but if you need more putty you will have to add more and wait for it to dry. (Bummer) After you are done sanding and everything is dry you will want to wash your kit with soap (dish soap) and water. This will wash away any mold separator (used to make separating the resin from the mold easier.) and any hand oils that might be on there. From here on out you will want to use latex gloves, (I find this too confining.) or wash your hands often. Let it dry, and you are ready to paint! (Yippee!!)
Resin
After you have sanded all the seem and excess resin off and have made sure your pieces will fit together with a minimal amount of gaps between your parts you will be ready to assemble them. With resin kits you will want to pin them. Pinning your model will make it very sturdy so when you drop it (You will) it will likely stay in one piece. This involves using a pin (I use coat hangers cut to fit with wire cutters). You will need a drill for this. (You can also use your Dremel with a drill bit in it.) Use a drill bit that is slightly bigger than your pin. You will need to drill a hole (not to deep, maybe a quarter to a half inch on both pieces) so when you put your pieces together the pin will go between them. Be careful not to drill all the way through your piece. If you do (This still happens to me occasionally) fill the hole with putty and sand it smooth. Test fit it to make sure they line up. If your pin holes don’t exactly line up don’t panic! You can just ream the holes out a bit larger to give them some room. When you are ready to glue, drop a drop or two in the holes and insert your pin in one side of your pieces then add some light glue to the pieces that will touch together. Hold them together for a minute or so till it dries. You can use an accelerant for your glue but be careful because it hardens instantly and if you use too much glue it can run and make quite a mess. After you have assembled your model you will want to putty all your gaps and sand the putty smooth. Wash your model with dish soap and water to remove all oils from the surface. Congratulations, you are ready to paint!