Jump to content

Most helpful technique or modeling tool you've discovered


Recommended Posts

I'm just curious to know from the rest of you guys what the single most helfpul new tool or technique is which you've discovered in the last 10 years. I'm guessing there's probably more than one new tool or technique that you've discovered so if you need to list more than one that's okay. For me the most helpful new tool has been the discovery of the Eduard canopy masks. I mean I can't even imagine living without them for some of the 1/72 multi-engine bomber kits I build.

Okay....your turn.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Tamiya Extra Thin Cement

Tamiya Putty

Tamiya Tape.

Using a Silver Sharpie to check seams

Tamiya may make some of the pricier stuff, but I will spend money for quality. Especially the tape and putty, when I could find it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Here's a technique of sorts. I painted figures exclusively for about 10 years, where there are no off-the-shelf paints for the many uniform colors I needed. (Ever try to find British Rifles Green from Model Master?) Figure painters mix literally every color from scratch using their eye as their primary reference. They do not obsess over color like we aircraft modelers do.

The best thing I learned:

Paint what you see, not what you know is there.

(You see this concept through childhood development. Young children know the sky is above their heads, so their drawings intuitively represent the sky as a blue band across the top of the paper. Later, as they develop, they learn that the sky extends all the way down to the horizon.)

What that means to us is this. You may know that the green you're looking at is FS 34102, but if it looks different (lighter, darker, browner, etc.), then by god paint it that way! And if something is blue, don't obsess over its FS equivalent; just find a couple of colors that are close and match them by eye. It's made the hobby much more enjoyable for me!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Forget all this hoo-hah about mixing %ages of paint with %ages of thinner, for spraying; unless your room is at an identical temperature, every minute of every day, your paint will never be the same consistency, to start with, so will need a different quantity of thinners. Just pour it into a container (preferably clear,) and add thinners, until the mix appears right. Test spray a piece of spare card, and, if it behaves as you wish, carry on with your model. Taught to me by a sprayer, 30+ years ago, and stood me in good stead, ever since. He also told me never to bend my wrist, when spraying, but use the whole forearm, then you get a consistent layer.

Edgar

Link to post
Share on other sites

I can't live without the canopy masks either. I've gotten to the point that I base my next build on if there's a mask for it or not, unless it's very simple framework.

As for my must have tool it would have to be Testors E-Z Lift Off. Great for stripping botched paint jobs...including canopies without damage. Makes for much less stressful sessions at the booth.

Also, I've been slowly overcoming my fear of panel scribing with a new scriber made by Trumpeter of all places. The only one I've had any luck with.

Aaron

Link to post
Share on other sites
Binocular magnifiers. Followed up by:

Flex-i-files

Fresh knife blades every model (or time you notice they slip)

Patience/knowing when to give up for the night

Decent airbrush

Modelling guillotine

Hey Patrick,

You care to enlighten the rest of us on what a "modelling guillotine" is....or should we just use our imaginations??? (Grin!)

Tim

Edited by Scooter Man
Link to post
Share on other sites

Microbrushes (Fine and Superfine) can't be beat for paint touch-ups or precision application of glues. I always try to buy them in lots of 400 at a time.

Surgical scalpels are another of those amazing tools I never knew I couldn't live without. Far and away the best for precision trimming of masking tape and bare metal foil, or to remove extremely small/delicate parts from the sprues.

Poster putty (such as Bu-Tac),

And I could go on and on and on, but I'm kinda tired right now.

cheers

Old Blind Dog

Link to post
Share on other sites
Decent airbrush

That's interesting, Patrick! Whut airbrush did ya have and whut have ya got now?

As for me:

Techniques, the Mona Lisa adhesive + custom kitchen aluminium foil, courtesy of Larry Shred. :D My eternal gratitude, my mate.

Tools, the RaduB Riveter Mini (I used to have Micro-Mark's pounce wheels, so ya go figure... :doh: )

Link to post
Share on other sites
What that means to us is this. You may know that the green you're looking at is FS 34102, but if it looks different (lighter, darker, browner, etc.), then by god paint it that way! And if something is blue, don't obsess over its FS equivalent; just find a couple of colors that are close and match them by eye. It's made the hobby much more enjoyable for me!

Rigth On!! :)

Byron

Link to post
Share on other sites

Airbrush.

That they still made Testors tube glue. Started buying it again instead of that fancy liquid bottle stuff I never got right.

Weathering. Thanks to articles on ARC.

Link to post
Share on other sites

A few come right to mind...

1. Airbrushing. Up until about 2004, I brush painted. You can get a good result, but talk about tedious! And with an airbrush, so many effects are possible (soft demarcation lines, many Luftwaffe schemes, etc.).

2. Various forms of sanding sticks and other implements beyond a square of simple sandpaper.

3. Home-made washes made of chalk pastels.

4. Locking tweezers

5. UMM razor saw.

6. Poster tack

:crying:

Mike

Link to post
Share on other sites
That they still made Testors tube glue. Started buying it again instead of that fancy liquid bottle stuff I never got right.

I knew I couldn't be the only one to still use that stuff! I do use Testors liquid cement a fair amount, as well as CA for resin and PE, but my mainstay is good old Testors tube glue. It forms the strongest bond I've found, is easy to control, and doesn't make a mess on the workbench like when I spill my liquid cement!

:crying:

Mike

Link to post
Share on other sites

Gunze super thin masking strips (Mr. Whatever-they-are), very handy for masking and straighter than anyone can cut manually.

H & S airbrush - everything else pales

Promodeller washes

Ambroid Proweld

Sally Beauty Supply stores - much cheaper source of sanding pads!

Mr. Surfacer

Alclad 2

Edited by metroman
Link to post
Share on other sites

Most helpful, to me, has simply been researching your work through books to better determine accurately how much wear was on an aircraft and what it may have looked like parked.

As for supplies, I'd have to say one of my favorites is Mr. Surfacer 1200....wonderful stuff...easy to airbrush and quite good for eliminating scratch marks/blemishes with minimal effort.

Greg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Realising models really are as catty as they are on tv...wait...kitset models right? Okay those models do take some construction and take alot of masking & painting to become replica's.

For me here's the top 6:

AIRBRUSHING: OMG this has been the biggest revelation since whittling away with plastic & paint. Only purchased first airbrush back in 2005 when in Aus (State of Origin final - Maroons won. Go Brisbane). I've been an airbrush afficianado since.

Lacquer paints: Discovered about 2 years after starting with airbrushing and they've been the 2nd godsend with their high durability, accurate colours and uber drying times. I swear by them, I swear at them. But I do love them muchly.

Tamiya tape: Many more years back when I was a teenager I found tamiya tape and never been away since. I've used others for differing reasons but Tamiya tape still holds strong.

Elec toothbrush sander: Made this up in May and it's the perfect flat surface when you need to get things flush. I till make a mean sometimes but it's more accurate and hardy then by hand. Found how to do so in Tools 'n Tips too.

Aftermarket: The gods of detail shine unpon though. The extra's you can purchase are a whole industry in themselves and I currently have a box of PE and Resin, and two folders for decals. I like to reflect through my decal folders, more interesting then books sometimes.

The internet: Well okay it's been around for years but it was only since I've lived on my own have I been able to get Broadband (2005-current) and surf the interweb ( :thumbsup: ) and research the seam lines of models. Most of my models have been purchased and near all of my aftermarket.

Yea so that's it. Your mom doesn't get a mention sorry but she's still a tidy pinup :coolio:

Link to post
Share on other sites

- Knowing my limits. Having a finished 1/24th Bf109E ready for paint but only a single stage airbrush that is rubbish for special camo. Pick the best camo I can pull off properly, rather than ruin a model I spent a lot of time on.

- Knowing WHEN not to limit myself. Having an Airfix 1/72nd Ar196 with a ruined canopy, no replacement, no vacforms that fit it properly (they were for the different shaped Heller kit?), so I scratch built my own. It took many months on and off, many failed attempts, but I found the balance where pushing myself wouldn't ruin the model I was enjoying. If you push yourself too far you ruin the model, get frustrated, feel no joy at its completion (assuming it never gets completed? Assuming it gets completed but you hate it?)

- Say it with me: MICRO-DRILL. Good for EVERYTHING when you're working in 1/72nd scale! I've busted my one bit and am sorely missing it whenever I think about new projects.

- If you don't feel like building, don't force it. Don't get out of the hobby. Don't pack things up for long term storage, don't think it's all-or-nothing. Just don't build, keep your stuff, and when you want to let it flow easily. I know I've been unemployed for a bit and I can't muster the personal mental interest in a "fun hobby" when I have many other concerns. The rare time I do have personal moral justification (may sound uppity, but whatever turns you on or off of your model building interest, just flow with it), I can do it because I didn't liquidate my equipment or anything.

- Never be afraid to take knife to plastic. Carve open vents. Add backings to open areas with scrap plastic. Open up doors that are molded closed, etc. Little bits of scrap. You don't have to make it major surgery, just take a little time to play with the plastic before you glue and paint it all. Many times I do this I realize you can't see it on the end product when I try to enjoy my handiwork, but overall it's given me the experience (bit by bit) to tackle more and more complex projects when in my own mind I am still a novice. A novice that successfully completed a Roden(t), but a novice nonetheless! Plastic manipulation skills are easy to learn, fun when you get going, and can help you out on tougher builds. This also adds to the enjoyment and learning/understanding of a subject you are modelling.

Edited by Mark M.
Link to post
Share on other sites
UMM Razor Saw

:D Oh...??? Would ya please mind elaboratin' on the virtues of this tool, Nick? Me is not familiar with it.

5. UMM razor saw.

:cop:Oh...??? Have ya got a picture of this tool, Mike, please? How would ya say it fares against JLC's saw, for instance?

- Say it with me: MICRO-DRILL. Good for EVERYTHING when you're working in 1/72nd scale! I've busted my one bit and am sorely missing it whenever I

Yeh, but WHICH micro-drill brand would ya say is adequate to work with on styrene, Mark?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...