Jump to content

Beginner's Model Building Construction BASICS


MechTech

Recommended Posts

You wish to take it off the whole part? Depending on the plastic, you can leave the whole part on windex, simple green or pine-sol or ISO alcohol. Test out the part first make sure that it doesn't soften the plastic. If it's resin, don't use ISO, just use Pine-Sol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What the others said for thinning/stripping is spot on! Tamiya paint is great! You either have to put it on by brush with a fairly thick coat and fairly quickly if you want to feather out the paint (most model paints are like this). The next and BEST method (for any paint) is to airbrush it - which I'm guessing you're not. If that is way out of your budget, spray paint cans should be considered. Hope that helps! - MT

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually I find tamiya a terrible brush paint. Far too hot: when you put more paint down it eats the under layer. The only one that I have never had any problems with as either a brush or airbrush paint is gunze. However with them you need to invest in both the paint and various thinners and paint retarders. I also think they have the most diverse line of paints behind Vallejo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm using a brush, the main thing I'm concern about is applying too much of the paint making it too thick and the line panel might not be visible. I tried one Mr. Hobby paint that was great cos I could paint over and it wouldn't show that layering but I wasn't sure whether it was the paint color that did it or how it generally is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're looking at trying to make your own custom water-slide decals, I recommend these (or these).

Only drawback is that you have to use a laser printer, but they work pretty well, especially for a novice like me (when it comes to decal making).

Just print your images, and you're done. No need to apply a top-coat before soaking in the water. 10-15 seconds of hot water, and you're good to go!

I used the clear, and they are clear, so you'll have to make sure your base coat of the decal area is either white or light grey for the best results.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I'm brush painting, I prefer to use enamel paints. I find them much easier to use due to their self leveling properties and stickier nature. Downside is that they dry slower and are much more difficult to remove if you mess up.

What Vifam said, for brush painting I use enamels too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

from the looks of it, they both look gray to me

http://www.mech9.com/blog/2010/01/mr-color-solvent-based-paint-color-chart/

MR Color C61 is labelled Burnt Iron or tempered iron

MR Hobby H61 is IJN Gray

Burnt Iron is a metallic. It's a darker, slightly yellow/orange-ish grey.

IJN grey is a flat, medium grey with, if I remember correctly, a slight blue/blue-green tint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What type of paint is good to use? I used tamiya paint but they dried so fast that if you tried to redo a patch it really stuffs it up.

One of the mistakes people make (especially beginners) is not letting the paint dry before putting on another coat.

With a quick-drying paint like Tamiya acrylics, many people have a tendency to paint the area, then immediately load some more paint onto the brush to go over the area again to fill in the spots the paint didn't quite cover.

This is a mistake.

Tamiya acrylics dry so quickly, that you are likely to have one area congealing whilst your are blending in with more paint. This will create an uneven surface finish.

The best finish will be gained by painting a single area with ONE STROKE - don't even go over it a second time with the same loaded brush!

Let it dry for 15-30 mins before you go over it again. It will probably be touch-dry in a few minutes, depending on a number of factors, but be sure to let it fully dry before you go over it again. Three thinner coats of Tamiya acrylic over a couple of hours will provide a much, much better finish than trying to load your brush up with paint and going over the same area a few times to 'do it all in one go'.

Even better: thin Tamiya down a little before you paint, and be prepared to do a couple of coats.

Have patience between coats and you will produce a better result with your hand painting.

Edited by PetarB
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I just bought My hobby H61 but apparently that isn't the correct one. H61 that was written in the instruction is burnt iron yet the one I bought says it's gray....how do I know which one is the correct color according to the instructions?

Mr. Hobby is their acrylic line.

Mr. Color is their lacquer line.

Different codes for each type. With an H in front of it, it's the acrylic line. Burnt Iron is actually H76. 61 is the number you need for the lacquer type.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mr Color has a brand of thinners and retarders, which you need to use if you're going to paint with them. Vallejo is also a very good brush painting paint, which you might want to look at.

Mr.Color sells something called leveling thinner, which is a premixed bottle of thinner and retarder. Works beautifully with Mr. Color paints.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Tamiya extra thin cement. Why do you ask?

i planned to leave the missiles on my hasegawa vf 25. i thought it can be easily added anytime after painting, but right now, I dont want to risk adding cement on a painted build (I already messed it many times already)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

i guess ill just use cement after removing the paint in hard points.

question again:

if i need 1/72 decals, what is the best solution?

(like bluerose, enigma, black aces)

black aces is available, albeit, at a higher price but i dont think it is wise to buy it since I believe it is the same VF-1 with different decals.

I heard about anasazi or devin white, but apparently, he already stopped producing decals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

While prowling various model building forums I saw people mention something called "watch crystal cement" to glue transparent parts. Anyone have any experience with this?

Also, on the subject of aircraft canopies, anyone know a good way to get that gold tint?

Like this:

640px-Lockheed_Martin_F-22A_Raptor_JSOH.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know there are some dedicated glues available in the states micro clear or similar.

Personally had great results with standard white/wood glue, you want a glue that dries clear and is easily cleaned up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
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...