I'd like to start building models.
Discussion
As above really.
I used to really enjoy building the airfix stuff with my dad, and i'd like to get back into it. Maybe not just airfix but model building as a whole.
What are the general interests of the PH collective and where would you advise one to start (again)?
This time i'll take care of them and not make mini crash scenes.
D.
I used to really enjoy building the airfix stuff with my dad, and i'd like to get back into it. Maybe not just airfix but model building as a whole.
What are the general interests of the PH collective and where would you advise one to start (again)?
This time i'll take care of them and not make mini crash scenes.
D.
Hi
I was exactly the same a few years ago. I decided to build an Avro Lancaster Bomber - Dambusters version. I really enjoyed building it and it came out really well considering it had been 10years+ since I'd built anything. Now I've built a fair few cars and currently in the process of finishing a Skyine Z-Tune.
If you'd prefer to start off steady and see how your skills are, start with a simple kit like an Aircraft kit or a road car kit.
There are literally loads of places on the internet to buy kits from, you can buy just about anything too. It just depends what you'd rather build; Road cars, motorsport cars, aircraft etc
If you're just starting out, I'll say don't be surprised at how much you'll spend on tools, accessories etc. My tool kit is what would be considered as "quite basic" but I still have around £100 - £150 invested in it.
Some essential tools:
Large Cutting Mat
Craft Knife with spare blades (Mine is an angled edge blade)
Glue - obviously
Various Paints
Emery paper
Tweezers (Angled or straight)
This is my own opinion of what is essential but I'm sure others have their ideas too
With the paints, there are now loads of companies doing paints, Humbrol, Tamiya etc do some good paints, Tamiya and Humbrol being the easiest to get hold of but as you'll see in some internet shops they'll offer some different ones too - some are good, some are bad, just do your research so you don't ruin the kit.
If you're willing to spend the money early on, get hold of an airbrush kit too, not a propellant kit, a proper compressor kit. There's loads on eBay at very reasonable prices. Painting by airbrush gives a much cleaner finish to the kit.
I hope this helps
Rich
I was exactly the same a few years ago. I decided to build an Avro Lancaster Bomber - Dambusters version. I really enjoyed building it and it came out really well considering it had been 10years+ since I'd built anything. Now I've built a fair few cars and currently in the process of finishing a Skyine Z-Tune.
If you'd prefer to start off steady and see how your skills are, start with a simple kit like an Aircraft kit or a road car kit.
There are literally loads of places on the internet to buy kits from, you can buy just about anything too. It just depends what you'd rather build; Road cars, motorsport cars, aircraft etc
If you're just starting out, I'll say don't be surprised at how much you'll spend on tools, accessories etc. My tool kit is what would be considered as "quite basic" but I still have around £100 - £150 invested in it.
Some essential tools:
Large Cutting Mat
Craft Knife with spare blades (Mine is an angled edge blade)
Glue - obviously
Various Paints
Emery paper
Tweezers (Angled or straight)
This is my own opinion of what is essential but I'm sure others have their ideas too
With the paints, there are now loads of companies doing paints, Humbrol, Tamiya etc do some good paints, Tamiya and Humbrol being the easiest to get hold of but as you'll see in some internet shops they'll offer some different ones too - some are good, some are bad, just do your research so you don't ruin the kit.
If you're willing to spend the money early on, get hold of an airbrush kit too, not a propellant kit, a proper compressor kit. There's loads on eBay at very reasonable prices. Painting by airbrush gives a much cleaner finish to the kit.
I hope this helps
Rich
There was a good topic a while ago re: tools;
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If you're after a good aircraft kit drop EricMC an email as he is an extremely accomplished builder and should be able to direct you towards a good'un to start with.
Kits have moved on massively in the past few years, so good results are possibly by anyone. The one thing that you can't buy and is maybe the most important component though is patience.
Don't forget to show us your pics.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If you're after a good aircraft kit drop EricMC an email as he is an extremely accomplished builder and should be able to direct you towards a good'un to start with.
Kits have moved on massively in the past few years, so good results are possibly by anyone. The one thing that you can't buy and is maybe the most important component though is patience.
Don't forget to show us your pics.
Excellent. Thanks for the replies.
i think the biggest hurdle i will come across is space, i don't really have much. As i type this i'm in the spare room which is quite big, but full of crap and the only table i have is the one where this computer site.
There is always the garage, but the cold would annoy me and using a fan heater i suppose will upset lots of tiny little parts.
The tools - i already have some stuff - craft knofe with blades etc, i even have a set of dental picks. But i would need other stuff too i appreciate.
So, thanks for the encouragement - i think i'll have a peruse and see what's what, very interested in seeing the Z Tune kit you are doing?
David.
i think the biggest hurdle i will come across is space, i don't really have much. As i type this i'm in the spare room which is quite big, but full of crap and the only table i have is the one where this computer site.
There is always the garage, but the cold would annoy me and using a fan heater i suppose will upset lots of tiny little parts.
The tools - i already have some stuff - craft knofe with blades etc, i even have a set of dental picks. But i would need other stuff too i appreciate.
So, thanks for the encouragement - i think i'll have a peruse and see what's what, very interested in seeing the Z Tune kit you are doing?
David.
Davie_GLA said:
Excellent. Thanks for the replies.
i think the biggest hurdle i will come across is space, i don't really have much. As i type this i'm in the spare room which is quite big, but full of crap and the only table i have is the one where this computer site.
There is always the garage, but the cold would annoy me and using a fan heater i suppose will upset lots of tiny little parts.
The tools - i already have some stuff - craft knofe with blades etc, i even have a set of dental picks. But i would need other stuff too i appreciate.
So, thanks for the encouragement - i think i'll have a peruse and see what's what, very interested in seeing the Z Tune kit you are doing?
David.
Move you stuff out of the room to the garage. There's nothing worse than been cold and uncomfortable when fiddling about with model parts, it will soon put you off making model kits. If you have the opportunity to create some space in your spare room, do it. You will need a desk/worktop too, you'll be surprised at how much space you need, I personally prefer to have enough space to distance parts of projects, paints etc so as not to accidentally damage the kit I'm working on. i think the biggest hurdle i will come across is space, i don't really have much. As i type this i'm in the spare room which is quite big, but full of crap and the only table i have is the one where this computer site.
There is always the garage, but the cold would annoy me and using a fan heater i suppose will upset lots of tiny little parts.
The tools - i already have some stuff - craft knofe with blades etc, i even have a set of dental picks. But i would need other stuff too i appreciate.
So, thanks for the encouragement - i think i'll have a peruse and see what's what, very interested in seeing the Z Tune kit you are doing?
David.
Here's the build thread of my Z-Tune. All I've got to do is finish painting the body and put the decals and badges on.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by BULLITT Rich on Saturday 29th August 12:00
Davie_GLA said:
Looks good.
Where do you buy your models from? How much was the Z-Tune?
I buy the kits from internet shops mainly or if it's a rare one such as the L555BAT kit from Hasegawa, I buy from eBay. Where do you buy your models from? How much was the Z-Tune?
The Z-Tune kit cost me in total about £30. That was for the Car kit, the metal detailing kit and delivery. Then buying paints as well, I was lucky in that I already had the majority of them.
There's loads internet shops that sell very large ranges of kits of all types, they're only a google search away literally, prices don't very too much, just delivery is different.
Davie_GLA said:
As above really.
I used to really enjoy building the airfix stuff with my dad, and i'd like to get back into it. Maybe not just airfix but model building as a whole.
What are the general interests of the PH collective and where would you advise one to start (again)?
This time i'll take care of them and not make mini crash scenes.
D.
If I were you I'd go for a good quality kit from a manufacturer such as Tamiya. I also like Revell. At least the parts will fit together and the finished model will look good with the minimum of tears. I have built a few Airfix kits over the past few years, and my opinion is that they are very poor quality, almost all have had some issues with fit and/or accuracy. I used to really enjoy building the airfix stuff with my dad, and i'd like to get back into it. Maybe not just airfix but model building as a whole.
What are the general interests of the PH collective and where would you advise one to start (again)?
This time i'll take care of them and not make mini crash scenes.
D.
If you like cars, why not have a go at a Tamiya 1:20 scale F1 car, and for aircraft I'd say a Revell 1:144 scale airliner, which with a few rattle cans from Halfords will build into a nice looking model without having to buy a load of paints.
Have a look at my first two posts here, particularly the Revell Airbus A380 (painted with Halfords cans) and the Tamiya Leyton House :
http://tinyurl.com/ksmx6v
Further on there is a pic of my Tamiya 1:20 F1 collection. The Ferrari F189 or Camel Lotus 99T in there are good ones to start with because of their simple colour scheme.
Hope this helps!
Edited by dr_gn on Sunday 30th August 23:17
What is it that you want to make? If you're interested in planes then you have to look at this site here www.promodeller.com as it has a wealth of information and everyone is very helpful. Dont forgot there are alot of companies that make good models other than Tamiya and Revell e.g. Hobbyboss, Fujimi, Hasegawa to name but a few.
If you want to ease your way back into it - do a few "quickies" so that you get a finished model without too long a time spent on it. I would highly recommend the newish "Hobbyboss" easybuild range. They virtually click together without much need for glue and you can start practising your painting skills really quickly. They are also reasonably accurate little kits and very good value - around £5.50 each at the moment.
If you want something a LITTLE more challanging, have a look at some of the newer releases from Revell (post, say, 1990). Their new models are very, very good and also fairly cheap (sub £6.00 for a typical WW2 single engine fighter such as a Hurricane or Spitfire). The problem with Revell is that they have been around since the dawn of plastic modelling and some of their older kits are not up tp modern standards, You need to be sure of what you are buying (see the discussion on the Revell Lancaster kits on another thread).
I have a real sodft spot for Airfix and will still build their kits - but chosing one of their older models could put you off if you found that the fit of parts wasn't great or the moulds were showing their age (some are now over 50 years old).
Their brand new 1/72 Sptfire PRXIX is REALLY nice, by the way.
If you want something a LITTLE more challanging, have a look at some of the newer releases from Revell (post, say, 1990). Their new models are very, very good and also fairly cheap (sub £6.00 for a typical WW2 single engine fighter such as a Hurricane or Spitfire). The problem with Revell is that they have been around since the dawn of plastic modelling and some of their older kits are not up tp modern standards, You need to be sure of what you are buying (see the discussion on the Revell Lancaster kits on another thread).
I have a real sodft spot for Airfix and will still build their kits - but chosing one of their older models could put you off if you found that the fit of parts wasn't great or the moulds were showing their age (some are now over 50 years old).
Their brand new 1/72 Sptfire PRXIX is REALLY nice, by the way.
To echo what Eric Mc said, build a couple of models fairly quickly to gey your 'eye' in before you start aiming for perfection. It can be very frustrating starting a model and trying to get it perfect, with no seams, perfect paint etc. Places like Hobbycraft and TK Maxx (honestly!) often have 50% off Airfix and Revell kits, so it is worth popping in if you are passing.
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