Construcion Tools |
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In this picture I have my Cutters, Clamps, sanding stick and “pusher”. Cutter are required to cut the parts of the spurs. You don’t have to have the 15 dollar name brand set, these were a 1.50 at the local hardware store, to be honest I think I got them at sears. I don’t think they will ever wear out cutting plastic. The Clamps I got at Harbor freight for a buck. I used these to hold parts together while they are waiting for glue to dry. The cloths pin is used to small or smaller item while drying. The sanding stick is homemade and I use it to smooth the nips where I cut the model part loose. The “pusher” is a tool I found, I use it push parts while the clamps put pressure on them, I also use it to move decals around while they are setting. |
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In this picture I have my Files, Hobby Knife, Burnisher and Tweezers. Hobby knives (“Exacto Knife”) ate the absolute most useful tool a modeler can have. I mainly use mine to smooth large nips from spurs, and remove seam lines. This is tool is the duct tape of them modeling world. The files are used to well, file down seam lines, nips, and other bumps we do not want. The burnisher is used mainly to smooth tape and move decals around while they are still wet. The Tweezers are used for placing small parts and soaking the decals in water and moving them off the transfer paper. I would say the Knife is required to have and files are very useful. |
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Glues are what makes everything stick together. I mainly use Testor’s Liquid cement for the bulk of my glue. It is the easiest to apply due to the large brush. It works by melting the plastic so when the other piece attached they both melt fuse together while they dry. The pieced will not come apart again. The Tamiya Extra Thin Cement is “Hotter” meaning it melts the plastic a lot more. I use this glue on seams will be visible so more melted plastic is squeezed out, I then sand down seam and the part will look as though it was made as one piece. I don’t use super glue than much but it is nice if you need something to stick fast and hold while the other glue is drying. I will dot this glue on large pieces and use the cements on the rest of the places. The super glue will dry fast holding all the parts in place while they dry. |
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Sand paper is just sanding down nips, seams and removing scratches for parts. You need a few different grits to get things done right. I use 300, 600, 800, and 1200 grit paper. The lower the number the rougher the paper. The idea is use the lower number to do the bulk of the work and move up in the numbers to make the plastic and shinny like new. The only place I found 1200 grit paper was a Auto Zone or O’rileys. I always wet sand meaning the Sand paper is always wet with water, this help move the dust particles out of the way and helps get the part smoother. Supposedly you can do this with Clear plastic and will look new as well, but I have been able to do it. But I where I do my seams and paint over them you can’t see the seam. |
Painting |
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Paints. This is a hug subject I will go in to more detail on another page, but for a quickie here is some information. The main choice is Acrylic or Oil base, the both have their pros and cons, it comes down to personal preferences. I like acrylic the best do to no smell, and they clean with water. All brands are different and have their pro’s and con’s amongst themselves. I would suggest the biggest factor in your choice to be availability of the paint locally. Nothing is worse than needing a 3 dollar bottle of paint and having to pay 5 buck shipping. Then I would suggest a “model” paint over a craft paint. Model paint being Model Masters, Testors, Vallejo Tamiya, etc…. and Craft paint being Apple barrel, Fold Art, Crème, and so forth. Craft paint will work and is great for a budget, but if difficult to work with. I will do an in-depth article later. |
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Brushes. You will use a lot of them. Most of the brushes I use are flat brushes and I use them for bulk painting. The tiny round brushes (00 I think) use for details and panel lining. Use large flat brushes dry brushing. My suggestion would be by a large multi pack and you will find the ones you like the most. I have a bad problem of gunking up my brushes not matter how much I clean them. I also use the stick part of them for mixing. |
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Thinners. There are basically 3 type of paint Acrylic, Oil, and Lacquer. Acrylic paint is thinned with water, alcohol, or Windex. Each will cause different effects on the paint, as Alcohol will make it dry faster, and Windex is the better thinner for airbrushing. As for Oil and Lacquer I know you can use Turpentine, Napa, and other thinner but I have no experience with them. In general it is best if you use the thinner of the manufacture of your paint. |
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Additives. Optional. Additives are things you mix with your paint to cause it to act different. These are the main additives that I used, Slo-dri, Flow aid and matte medium. The Slo-dri is mixed in and it will case the paint to dry slower and allow for better blending and leveling so any brush marks will disappear. The Flow Aid basically a tension breaker and will help the paint flow into cracks better. The Matte medium is used to remove the shine from a few of my paints. These can all be mixed in different degrees to causes different effect. I mainly use the Slow-dri for air brushing so the paint will not dry before it reaches the model. |
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Mixing pots. Optional. They are just what they sound like. I use them to mix my paint/putty/washes or anything else I can come up with. The plastic cups are applesauce containers left over from my kid’s snacks. I used these the most. They are great for dipping parts in future floor wax. I use the Gunze Sangyo Mr. Paint tray metal pots for any solvent base mixing like my squadron putty or Mr. Surfacer. |
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Paint Pallet. Optional-ish. This is a paint pallet it is very similar to the mixing pot but the well are much shallower and there are more of them. I listed this a optional because I painted straight out of the bottle/lids for years. But once I started using these I can never go back. Plus they are only about a dollar. I used them for mixing paint color or paint with additives and thinners. I also use them hold my pastel dust scrape my sticks to make the power. They are very useful and cheap. |
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Droppers, holders and putty knives. Optional. The droppers came from children’s medicine and have been very handy. I usually only mix a little bit of paint so a syringe will hold most of the water I need. Plus I can measure out the number of drops I put in my paint for record purposes. The putty Knife can from somewhere, I found while clean out the bathroom cabinets and it has been very useful as a putty knife. One is a pointed flat blade I can use for cutting and the other is flat and smooth for smearing around the putty. The holders I made for my holding tool, they are just dowels with alligator clips on the end. I have a more detail article here from them. |
Advance supplies and optional tools |
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Tape. Tape is mainly used for masking so airbrush overspray will got go everywhere. You can also mask with liquids and other products but it all depends on what you want to do and how the kit is made. I have just switch to using ShurTape CP-60 as my main masking tape. You can read more about here. But a lot of people use the blue tape from Wal-mart, I used that for a long time, but know I just use it a bulk filler. Also tape is good for holding some parts together while the glue dries. Honestly you don’t need tape till you start airbrushing but it might come in handy if you are hand brushing and you need a sharp line. |
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Pearl-Ex Pigments. Optional. These are metallic pigments that you can add to paint and the will the paint a metallic shine or pearlescent effect. They come in all kinds of metal colors, but I haven’t thought of a good use for the other colors. They are just about 3-4 dollars for a jar and they should last a long time. I have not used them yet, but I have read they work better when mix with a clear coat like Future Floor Wax and sprayed with an airbrush. But I have heard you can hand brush them as well. Once I have used them I will post some pictures and a tutorial. |
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Mr. Surfacer. Optional. Gunze Sangyo Mr Surfacer is close to magic in the bottle for seams. If you have a hair seam and you don’t want to break out the putty for you can just paint a coat of this stuff on the seam let dry and then you light sand the seam away. It is also useful for filling pin holes or depressions on a model. You can also use this for a primer. I know they a spray version of it as well that many use as a primer. The stuff is great, it self-levels so you can use it a brush on primer as well. I will give a more detail tutorial later. |
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Tamiya Weathering master Kits. Optional. This kits are pretty cool they are used to give your kits a weathered look by using a “makeup” sponge to brush it on to your kit. Pastel Chalks do work great for this, but they have a problem of fading or disappearing on dark colors when you apply a clear coat. These do not have that problem. To my surprise they were not chalky but more of a cream. I have played on them with test kits, but I will create a tutorial on them when I weather my Imperial shuttle. So you should see something soon. |
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Decal Solutions. Optional. I use Gunze Sangyo Mr Mark Setter and softener. When you place decal on a model you will sometimes get a slivering effect where the edge of the decal will shine. This helps remove that problem. The setter will work as glue when you put a drop on the model. You then set the decal on top of it and float it round till it is where you want it. Let it dry for a bit, then put a drop of the Mr. Softener on it. This will “melt” the decal flat and smooth and if there are any depressions under it they will sink in to the hole. Once dry the decal really looks painted on. There are other brands and they work different depending on the type of decal you have. I have never use the other major brand call Micro-Sol but I have heard good things about them as well. |
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Air Brush and Compressors. Optional. I love my airbrush. It has allowed me to do so much more painting than I could have before. Having an airbrush will not make you better but just some things a lot easier. I am notoriously slow with my hand brushing. I can get a smooth finish as an air brush by hand but it would take a several nights to a base coat on a model. With my air brush it will only take about 30 minutes or so. I still am not good a feathering. I will try to write a more in-depth article about brushes later, but if you want to try one I would suggest getting the kit from harbor freight. The airbrush is average but the compress is pretty good. It will get you started for under a hundred dollars. I have written an article about my setup here. |
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Iwata HP-CS Airbrush. Optional I have upgrated my airbrush to an Iwata HP-CS. It is a much better airbrush for detail then my Habor Fireght one, though it still is used often. I have a more detailed review if you would like to know more.
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