Matchbox 1:72 Dornier Skyservant
Discussion
This is one I picked up from Huddersfield show my son to build. Only cost £3, and IMO Matchbox kits are still hard to beat in terms of ease of build vs. realism, especially for a 7 year old. I must have built most of the Matchbox range in a previous life, but never this one. Also got him some Revell Aqua acrylics and some cheap brushes:
Started by cutting the parts off the sprues:
and sanding the gates smooth:
He has enjoyed building a few models in the past, but this one he wants to be more realistic, and wants to enter it in a model competition. I think he likes the look of the prizes. So do we do some filling of parts? Masking? A bit of airbrushing? I'm thinking they're all potentially fun things to do, and add more dimensions than cut, file, glue, paint, so why not?
I must admit, I'm a bit skeptical about the whole competition idea: Many junior class models have blatantly not been built entirely by a child. Last year for example, I overheard a proud grandad/dad(?) showing the offspring the trophy they'd just won, yet the little girl seemed to have difficulty identifying which model she'd actually built...
Anyway, competition or not, I'm not letting the boy loose with a scalpel, so I'll try and document how he AND I built the model here, and then decide if it's fair to enter it as "built be a 7 year old". At the end of the day it's about building something and enjoying the process.
Started by cutting the parts off the sprues:
and sanding the gates smooth:
He has enjoyed building a few models in the past, but this one he wants to be more realistic, and wants to enter it in a model competition. I think he likes the look of the prizes. So do we do some filling of parts? Masking? A bit of airbrushing? I'm thinking they're all potentially fun things to do, and add more dimensions than cut, file, glue, paint, so why not?
I must admit, I'm a bit skeptical about the whole competition idea: Many junior class models have blatantly not been built entirely by a child. Last year for example, I overheard a proud grandad/dad(?) showing the offspring the trophy they'd just won, yet the little girl seemed to have difficulty identifying which model she'd actually built...
Anyway, competition or not, I'm not letting the boy loose with a scalpel, so I'll try and document how he AND I built the model here, and then decide if it's fair to enter it as "built be a 7 year old". At the end of the day it's about building something and enjoying the process.
He'd had enough for this evening after about 45 minutes of cutting and sanding. Which is par for the course. We've put all the parts in a container and I've left two sanding sticks with it. I've told him to get on with it whenever he wants, but only the files for now...and don't even TRY to find the scalpel!
Great idea, and it looks like an interesting kit too.
Filling might be a bit advanced as it needs a lot of time where the model doesn't progress visibly. Though Milliput as Plasticine should be OK (and better than normal solvent based filler).
Masking sounds good - the camouflage scheme ( photo) looks hard edged so he should get better results than using brushing alone.
There's a great civilian scheme here with eye-catching colours, though it looks a bit tricky:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_128#mediav...
Maybe try using clear to improve the transparency of the glass? It's simple and is supposed to be quite effective for realism.
Filling might be a bit advanced as it needs a lot of time where the model doesn't progress visibly. Though Milliput as Plasticine should be OK (and better than normal solvent based filler).
Masking sounds good - the camouflage scheme ( photo) looks hard edged so he should get better results than using brushing alone.
There's a great civilian scheme here with eye-catching colours, though it looks a bit tricky:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_128#mediav...
Maybe try using clear to improve the transparency of the glass? It's simple and is supposed to be quite effective for realism.
sad61t said:
Great idea, and it looks like an interesting kit too.
Filling might be a bit advanced as it needs a lot of time where the model doesn't progress visibly. Though Milliput as Plasticine should be OK (and better than normal solvent based filler).
Masking sounds good - the camouflage scheme ( photo) looks hard edged so he should get better results than using brushing alone.
There's a great civilian scheme here with eye-catching colours, though it looks a bit tricky:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_128#mediav...
Maybe try using clear to improve the transparency of the glass? It's simple and is supposed to be quite effective for realism.
Yeah I thought Milliput would be good - thin it with plenty of water and scrape it into the joins, then wipe it with a damp cloth/finger. Won't bother sanding it when cured. We're going for the splinter camo version, so masking should be very easy for him. I was thinking either leave the windscreen framing altogether, or use painted tape strips. I got some 0.7mm tape to try so could easily use that.Filling might be a bit advanced as it needs a lot of time where the model doesn't progress visibly. Though Milliput as Plasticine should be OK (and better than normal solvent based filler).
Masking sounds good - the camouflage scheme ( photo) looks hard edged so he should get better results than using brushing alone.
There's a great civilian scheme here with eye-catching colours, though it looks a bit tricky:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_128#mediav...
Maybe try using clear to improve the transparency of the glass? It's simple and is supposed to be quite effective for realism.
johnS2000 said:
As I have problems with painting canopy's and am experimenting with decal strips I'd be interested in a tape solution to this .
It's not the ideal solution at this scale, plus if you're doing weathering on the paintwork it's pretty much impossible to get consistent colour tone. I think in this case it might give a better result than hand painting. Canopy masking is beyond what he'd have the patience to do, and I don't want it to become a chore.sad61t said:
Maskol?
Never used it myself, but it could give reasonable results (or at least better results than I ever managed trying to hand paint a frame).
If you've dipped a canopy in Klear, the ammonia in Maskol can react with the Klear. It won't apply in this case, but I think if you're hand painting Maskol, you're almost at the same disadvantage as hand painting the frames. Never used it myself, but it could give reasonable results (or at least better results than I ever managed trying to hand paint a frame).
That brings back some memories, I had this kit when I was a young lad on holiday in Devon. I got it from a local shop which only sold liquid poly cement IIRC (it was the clear liquid stuff in a glass jar) and no paints, so built the kit and put the decals on the bare plastic.
Within days the kit was literally falling apart, with the glue turning to a dusty substance. I guess its not really supposed to hold an entire kit together! (I can't remember if the kit was any good to make though, it must have been nigh-on twenty years ago now!
Within days the kit was literally falling apart, with the glue turning to a dusty substance. I guess its not really supposed to hold an entire kit together! (I can't remember if the kit was any good to make though, it must have been nigh-on twenty years ago now!
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