jonbryon Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 1. I never bother with ordnance, drop tanks or anything else like targeting pods, etc. This saves a lot of time. 2. I nearly always close canopies. This makes extensive detailing and weathering of the cockpit generally unnecessary. 3. I never paint areas that will be invisible on the finished model (I don't understand the 'I know it's there' mentality) and I generally don't add any detail to wheel wells since my models are never picked up. 4. I use an Iwata RG-3 for priming, sometimes for the final colours, and for the clear coats. This puts down a lot of paint quickly which also saves time. Jon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
plastic-stasher Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 If you feel the need to buy some Eduard photo-etch to enhance the cockpit, keep the instrument panel, consoles and seatbelts and throw the rest away. No one is going to see all the tiny little bits, and you will save yourself hours trying to get them to stick in place or (more likely) crawling about on your hands and knees trying to find them in the carpet monster. Derek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viper730 Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 use superglue whenever you can .then you don't have to wait for glue to dry....use super glue as a filler. then you don't have to wait for putty to dry. If you loose a panel line sanding don't re-scribe, simply draw it back in with a pen or pencil. When it comes time Paint with Tamiya acrylic then you don't have to wait for the paint to dry as long as Tamiya dries really FAST.... these few things should cut your build time by about 1/3.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
balls47 Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Lots of great advice on here. When I have a kit with raised panel lines, I sand the lines down until they are barely visible. After painting, decaling, and finishing, those lines will still show up as light shadows. This works great for in-flights. Look at an airplane at an airshow. Unless you are really looking for panel lines, you won't see them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Not getting married. Not having kids. Not having any form of social life. My building rythm worked fine until I started those 3 things. Heh heh... no kidding huh?! My other biggest killer is competing interests. Once the ice comes off of the local lakes, I'm out fishing as much as I can. I'm lucky to turn out one mostly OOB 72nd scale fighter kit per month. In the winter I can usually get two. I've recently come to the conclusion that there just isn't enough hours left in my life to do all of the things that I want to do Fred K. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Heh heh... no kidding huh?! My other biggest killer is competing interests. Once the ice comes off of the local lakes, I'm out fishing as much as I can. I'm lucky to turn out one mostly OOB 72nd scale fighter kit per month. In the winter I can usually get two. I've recently come to the conclusion that there just isn't enough hours left in my life to do all of the things that I want to do :doh:/> Fred K. Yup. My problem exactly! Vern Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 What are some of the best ways you folks have found to become more efficient or faster at completing a project. I feel like I could be more efficient in planning out my priming/painting and executing it with fewer sessions of airbrushing. Any tricks you've picked up along the way that have sped up your process? I'm a slooooow builder, but about a year ago I built, decaled and painted a small singe-color model in 4 1/2 hours elapsed time (started 11:00, finished 15:30). That still fascinates me, and like you I've been trying to compile a list of techniques to speed up building. My four main suggestions are: 1. use CA instead of plastic glue for construction (except canopies). I've been doing that for two decades now, and I hardly ever use plastic glue. I love the speed, but also the accuracy. No more clamping where parts move. Just hold the glue surfaces together accurately, and let the CA flow in. Then continue with the next centimeter. 2. use CA instead of putty for filling. For gaps it works really well, and it also reinforces the assembly. Instead of a weak and brittle filler you add a strong adhesive. I think my assembled aircraft models are very strong. And if something breaks, the break is brittle without deformation, so the parts fit back together like a glove. 3. use Mr Surfacer instead of paint as a base coat. I always base-coat a model to see the build quality, and improve it before painting it in camouflage. But in my (enamel) case that requires 1 or 2 days for the enamel to cure hard. Mr Surfacer is dry to sand after 30 to 45 minutes. 4. use acrylics for painting. I'm a 99% enamels modeler, but the speed at which you can apply several colors of acrylic paint is amazing. My experience so far is with Vallejo Model Air and a bit of Akan. Scratch resistance could be a problem, but it seems that an enamel undercoat solves this. I think I'll try one day to build a simple model (say an A-4 or F-5) as fast as possible, just to see what can be done. And then I will continue with my multiple-year builds :-) Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan Hothersall Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 As a 1:72 builder, I keep canopies closed and in this scale I'm mostly a OOB builder, so aftermarket resin and etch I consider isn't worth the hassle, although aftermarket weaponry and decals are a different story I leave stencils off as in 1:72 they are incredibly tiny and look like smudges anyway. If I lose a few panel lines, so what. I find I have to get up close to a real aircraft to see them anyway. Weathering isn't my thing either. When the model is put in the cabinet, most of the detail isn't seen anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nickdanger Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Alcohol. I'm not kidding. I almost always enjoy some beer and/or wine after work and so I've have had a chance to unwind before starting in on the night's modeling. After a couple drinks you don't sweat all the small stuff that slows you down. Not exactly the right color? Whatever ! Decal slightly askew? Who cares ?!? Lost some panel or rivet detail? Bah ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
admiralcag Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Alcohol. I'm not kidding. I almost always enjoy some beer and/or wine after work and so I've have had a chance to unwind before starting in on the night's modeling. After a couple drinks you don't sweat all the small stuff that slows you down. Not exactly the right color? Whatever ! Decal slightly askew? Who cares ?!? Lost some panel or rivet detail? Bah ! Brilliant! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myuziweighsaton Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 They say you can have fun and enjoy life sober... But why take the chance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 ^^^This guy gets its^^^ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myuziweighsaton Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Tango sir... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkJester Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 That's funny because I used to think that I shouldn't imbibe when I sat down to build or paint or whatever. Then it occurred to me that I usually had a beer, or two, maybe even three, when I did work on the car, or Lawn Mower or whatever, and things went okay. In fact I seemed to enjoy it more. And when you enjoy things more, the time just speeds by. So I have a Scotch, or a Port, or a beer, while I build. I seem to enjoy it more, I'm more relaxed, and the methodical me takes over and things just seem to get done quicker. i can forget about all the other things I should be doing and can concentrate on the things I enjoy. Is that a bad thing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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