Tips, Tricks & Techniques for Model Kit Building | Video Workbench

Welcome to tips tricks and techniques
for model kit building I'm your instructor
Jason Gares the video workbench classic series of eight instructional how-to
videos that were originally sold between 1992 through 1995 were so popular it was
only natural to bring the series back to share more up-to-date information that
can help model kit hobbyists of all genres with any model kit project there
are 18 new lessons that can be used that total over three and a half hours of
step-by-step video instructions that anyone can follow this new instructional
how-to video starts with the three history of scale model kits if you're
new to the Hobby enter perhaps hesitant picking out a model kit that you would
like to build choosing your first model kit is also covered along with suggested
tools and supplies for those who are new to the Hobby and need to start with very
basic tips tricks and techniques I begin with two examples of how to cut parts on
plastics brew trees washing priming and part storage I then get a little bit
more advanced move beyond the basics of plastic scale models and show how to cut
repair and blend scenes on resin model kits using a motor tool and epoxy sculpt
I then go beyond both basic and medium skill levels and show how anyone can
make do-it-yourself projects using coffee grounds making pine trees rusty
armor plating stone walls turf miniature bricks tarps and even mud what are the
most widely used but intimidating tools of the hobbyist covered the airbrush I
begin with airbrush basics definitions tips and all important maintenance
procedures I then go into showing paint layering and end with how to mask any
model kit subject using silly putty and plastic cling wrap for the airplane
model enthusiasts I discussed how to fade decals make a homemade parachute
for a diorama and using Stardust confetti to make impressive and
convincing CRTs for instrument panels in modern aircraft fighter jet kits I then
discuss and show metal foil techniques that when done properly and with care
can make any aircraft or science-fiction model come alive and stand out from the
rest lastly I combine some of the techniques
in this video to construct the Icarus spaceship which was featured in the
original blockbuster and cult classic movie the Planet of the Apes from 1968
it's a resin model kit that came out many years ago and it's pretty close
representation of the ship with an interior included I even go beyond the
model and construct a one-of-a-kind face to complement the spaceship and
reproduce the opening scene from the movie when all is said and done you will
walk away knowing more about the Hobby where to start and hopefully be inspired
enough to get out buy a model enjoy the millions of people worldwide that choose
the building and painting of scale model kits their favorite hobby if you are
already in the Hobby and enjoy it I hope there are a few things you find useful
to help or enhance a model kit you may be working on or are inspired enough to
use in the future the only limit on how to use these lessons is your imagination
I hope you enjoy the new lessons and find them useful thank you for your
support and model on the history of plastic modeling
originated shortly before World War two but in very limited form mass-produced
plastic kits came in the post-world War two ERA but you cannot look at the
history of plastic model building without considering the long history of
model building in general which dates back at least to ancient Egypt some
burial sites contain models of chariots and of ships throughout history models
were used to represent ideas and to record construction before photography
models ranked with art to record contemporary events in fact most models
from the past seem to be ships and many are well crafted most warships were
constructed in model form before the actual vessel was built up until the mid
20th century model building was a hobby that took great amounts of time with the
availability of mass marketed plastic model kits and the disposable income in
the relatively prosperous times following World War two and the
rebuilding in Europe and Japan a new hobby was born plastic model building
one of the prime selling points was the connection with history another was a
hunger for an understanding of how various machines function model building
creates an interest in subjects that will build into everything and anything
from what the color of the engine and Richard Petty's car is or what color was
at f6f-5 Hellcat model building allows anyone to own a representation of the
USS Constitution or to hold Darth Vader's TIE fighter the first plastic
models were manufactured in the 1950s by the British firms frog and air effects
American manufacturers such as Revell AMT and monogram gain ascendancy in the
1960s as French Heller si in Europe since the 1970s Japanese firms such as
Hazza Wazza and Tamiya have dominated the field and represent the highest
level of technology brands from Russia Central Europe China and Korea have
so become prominent recently many smaller companies have also produced
plastic models while injection molding is the prominent manufacturing process
of plastic models the high costs of equipment and making molds make it
unsuitable for lower yield production thus models of minor and obscure
subjects are often manufactured using alternative processes vacuum forming is
popular for aircraft models though assembly is more difficult than for
injection molded kits resin casting popular with smaller manufacturers
particularly aftermarket firms but also producers of full kits yields a greater
degree of detailed molded in but as the molds wear out they don't last as long
the price of such kits is considerably higher in recent times the latest
releases from major manufacturers offer unprecedented detail that is a match for
the finest resin kits often including high quality mixed media parts as an
example photo etched brass and turned aluminum
most plastic models are injection molded and polystyrene and the parts are glued
together with plastic sullivan while often omitted by novice modelers
specially formulated paint is applied to assembled models complex markings such
as aircraft insignia are typically provided with kits s slide on decals a
recent trend has been to offer kits where the parts snap together with no
glue needed and with a paint scheme pre applied to some or all of the parts
plastic ship models typically provide thread in several sizes and colors for
the rigging almost all plastic models are designed in a well-established scale
each type of subject has one or more common scales though they differ from
one to the other the general aim is to allow the finished model to be of a
reasonable size while maintaining consistency across
models for collections the following are the most common scales for popular
subjects aircraft one twenty-fourth one thirty-second 148th one 72nd and one 144
with 148 and 170 second being the most popular military vehicles 135th 148 170
second and 176th automobiles 112 116 118 1 xx 1 24th 125th 1/32 135th and 143rd
ships 196 1 201 350 F 1 450 F 1 700 s and other odd scales in reality models
do not always conform to their normal scale there are 125th scale automobile
models which are larger than some one twenty-fourth scale models for instance
for example the engine in the recent reissue of the AMT a la carte show truck
is significantly smaller than the engine in the original issue AMT employees from
the 1960s note that at the time all AMT kits were packaged into boxes of a
standardized size to simplify shipping and the overriding requirement of
designing any kit was that it had to fit into that precise size of a box not
matter how large or small the original vehicle many modelers build dioramas as
landscape scenes built around one or more models they are most common for
military vehicles such as tanks but airfield scenes and 2 to 3 ships and
formation are also popular conversions use a kit as a starting point and modify
it to be something else for instance kits of the USS constant
tution old Ironside are readily available but the Constitution was just
one of six sister ships and an ambitious modeler will modify the kit by sign
filing adding pieces and so forth to make a model of one of the others
scratch-building is the creation of a model from scratch rather than a
manufactured kit true scratch built models consist of parts made by hand and
do not incorporate parts from other kits these are rare when parts from other
kits are included the art is technically called kit bashing most pieces referred
to as scratch build are actually a combination of kit bashing and scratch
building thus it has become common for either term to be used loosely to refer
to these more common hybrid models kit bashing is the modeling technique where
parts from multiple model kits are combined to create a novel model form
for example the effects crews on the various Star Trek TV shows frequently
kit batch multiple starship models to quickly create new classes of ship for
use in background scenes where details would not be particularly obvious the
demographics of plastic modeling have changed in its half-century of existence
from young boys buying them as toys to older adults bind them to assemble large
collections in the United States as well as some other countries many modelers
are former members of the military who like to recreate the actual aircraft
they flew in ships they sailed in and so on technological advances have made
model building more and more sophisticated and a proliferation of
expensive detailing add-ons have raised the bar for competition within modelling
clubs as a result a kit built out of the box on a weekend cannot compare what the
kit built over months were a tiny add-on part
such as an aircraft seat can cost more than the entire kit itself a scale model
is most generally a physical representation of an object which
maintains accurate relationships between all important aspects of the model
although absolute values of the original properties need not be preserved this
enables it to demonstrate some behavior or property of the original object
without examining the original object itself the most familiar scale models
represent the physical appearance of an object in miniature but there are many
other kinds scale models are used in many fields including engineering
architecture filmmaking military command and even fund in the Hobby of model
building itself well each field may use a scale model for a different purpose
all scale models are based on the same principles and must meet the same
general requirements to be functional the detail requirements vary depending
on the needs of the modeler to be a true scale model all relevant aspects must be
accurately modeled such as material properties so the scale models
interaction with the outside world is reliably related to the original objects
interaction with the real world the Hobby of scale modeling probably
means different things to different people
some people might regard making models of science fiction subjects as outside
the realm of scale modeling while others would argue that it most definitely is
scale modeling I don't wish to start or continue any arguments on this subject
the reason for defining scale modeling is to clarify what the hobby is to
someone who has heard of it and might want to get into it also the definition
will be helpful to people that are on the outside looking in and wonder why
people choose this hobby and what it has to offer
video workbench is intended to be the ultimate video teaching tool for scale
modelers so it is only appropriate that it's explained what is
by the term scale modeling scale modeling is the art and craft of
creating scaled-down realistic replicas of original subjects for display and may
help if I try to explain their reasoning behind the particular words used in that
phrase art and craft there is little doubt that scale modeling is a craft but
is it art creating this word was used because it covers both construction and
painting and applies equally to making a model kit or producing a model entirely
from scratch scaled-down models are smaller versions of the original and
must be in scale this is fundamental realistic replicas there is nothing
wrong with making artistic impressions of real objects but that would take them
out of the scope of being scale models were making an accurate realistic copy
is paramount original objects the term original objects was used in preference
to real-life objects because I wanted to include subjects from fiction
particularly figures and craft from the movie industry for display this is
important because a fundamental aspect of the hobby is to produce models to
look at there is nothing wrong with radio control or railroad modeling but
by making the model active there is normally a compromise with realism at
video workbench I only cover static models although much
of my content will also be useful to the radio control and model railroad
communities but is it art there is little doubt that scale modeling is a
craft since it involves the creation of three-dimensional objects using skills
that can take years to master folio much like a blacksmith or carpenter it is
perhaps less clear whether scale modeling can be regarded as an art form
in its own right in its simplest form perhaps scale modeling can be regarded
as just a craft not there is anything wrong
with that if modeling just involved buying a kit
and putting all the parts together following the instructions then it would
be difficult to argue that there was any artistic input however these days many
modelers take their hobby much further than this in the construction phase
model kids are often adapted enhanced and super detailed to make each one
unique it has become common to display models in a diorama setting then that
only shows off the model to good effect but often tries to tell a story and
generate an emotional response from the viewer where the artistic input can
really be let loose is on the paintjob top class modelers will lovingly and
painstakingly cover their work with dozens of layers of different types of
medium to create subtle effects that are much more than just trying to create a
replica of an original technique such as dry brushing various types of washes
filters and weathering can transform a model make it completely original and
give it a wow factor recently a technique called color modulation has
been developed that has more to do with enhancing the interest and visual impact
of a model than it has to do with realism a single model may have acrylics
watercolors enamels oils and pastels used to produce a desired effect whereas
a traditional artist is only likely to use one of these mediums on a painting
if one doubts the artistic value of first-class models then a visit to a
model show should help to convince not only will the model each be a wonder to
the eye but it is easy to recognize the style of many modelers or artists just
as the style of painters and sculptors can be recognized it is also possible to
see that two models of the same subject both of which are very realistic can
look very different is it art that depends on the modeler an understanding
of scale is fundamental to scale modeling
and fortunately the basic principles are easy to understand
this video explains the principles of scale and the reasons for the many
different scales available to modelers the scale of a model is expressed either
as a ratio 135 or more commonly as a fraction 135th and indicates the size of
the model compared to the original object that it's replicating for example
a 1/100 scale tank has dimensions exactly 100 times smaller than the
original if the original tank was 10 metres long the model would be 10
centimeters long at 1/100 scale a model that is 1:1 scale or 1:1 scale would be
exactly the same size as the original so the wax replicas of celebrities at
Madame Tussauds in London could be described as 1:1 scale models one
important factor with scale is the relationship between size and volume
intuitively it might be expected that a 120th scale model would be half the size
of a 1/10 scale model it is true that all dimensions height width and depth
will be half but the volume of the smaller model will only be 1/8 that of
the larger model the diagram shown here makes this easier to comprehend the
importance of this is that models and smaller scales appear much smaller than
might be expected because they occupy much less volume
strictly speaking all dimensions on a scale model should be reduced in size in
a coordinates with the scale being used the overall height width and depth of
every single part of the model should be reduced in the same proportion compared
to the original in practice this does not always happen sometimes a part of a
model may be deliberately out of scale to make the model appear more realistic
or for practical reasons this may seem odd and the following two
examples explain why this is done on a sailing ship the thickness of the sails
may only be a few millimeters a typical scale for a sailing ship is one one 40th
and at this scale the thickness of the sail should only be a fraction of a
millimeter even if a model sailed this thin could be produced it would be so
fragile that it would disintegrate at the slightest touch and it would not
retain the folds and creases that make a model sail look realistic therefore the
model sail will be produced much thicker than a scale would dictate as long as
the sail looks very thin to the eye then it will appear realistic an armored
vehicle is usually adorned with hundreds of bolts and rivets at 135th scale which
is probably the most popular armored scale every bolt and rivet can be
faithfully reproduced although they will be very tiny however on a 170 second
scale tank details such as bolts at the correct scale may be too small to be
seen by the naked eye and certainly too small to produce to be totally accurate
all of this detail should be left off because it could not be seen however if
this was done the model would look very simple in toy light thus most modelers
will include these details even if they are over scale sometimes there is a
conflict between scale accuracy and apparent realism and most modelers in
these cases will choose realism the general rule is that as far as practical
modelers will try to keep to scale but the prime aim is to make the model look
realistic for a scale and realism conflict the letter will normally win
however the final choice is always up to the individual modeler scale model
armored vehicles can be thought at scales ranging from 1 6 to 144 and part
of the reason for this is that some modelers prefer to make big
models some prefer small models and some like a variety some modelers like to
challenge of a really big model with hundreds of parts where every detail can
be faithfully reproduced these models have the disadvantage of being expensive
difficult to store and take a long time to build other modelers prefer small
scales and this may be for practical reasons such as cost ease a building
display storage etc another reason for choosing very small scales is that some
modelers like the challenge of reproducing every detail in a very small
model building and small scale is not necessarily an easy option and some of
the better small scale models have the same number of parts as their larger
scale big brothers another practical reason for different scales is the size
of the original that the models are based on warships are often built in
scales of 1/350 or 1/700 because warships are generally very very big if
one tried to make a 135th scale model of a world war ii battleship it would
probably not fit in most modelers houses this is a reason why the larger the size
of the original the smaller scale will be more commonly used ship modelers tend
to work at skills of Iran 1/350 aircraft modelers work at 176 or 148 depending on
the type of aircraft armor modelers hover around 135th scale and car
modelers tend to use 1/12 scale it's just common sense scale modeling grew up
over a period of time from small beginnings different manufacturers all
over the world began to produce injection molded plastic kits and there
was no real reason for them to coordinate their efforts so they
produced models at skills that they each felt appropriate thus one manufacturer
might be producing a range of aircraft at 176 scale well as to another might
bring out a similar range but at once second scale in the early days of the
hobby standards were much lower than today and the exact scale did not seem
so important some models particularly those of cars
and fictional subjects such as science fiction crafts and monsters did not even
quote a scale over time there has been a tendency for scales to become
standardized as the market has become more globalized and dominated by a few
large manufacturers however manufacturers still surprised us up to
2004 military vehicle modelers had two main choices of scale 172nd and 135th at
the end of that year Tamiya announced the introduction of a brand new scale
that at 148th was bang in the middle of the two and tried to capture the
advantages of each existing scale the 148th scale had been popular with
aircraft modelers for a long time but this was effectively a new scale for
military modelers since then Tamiya has been churning out new models in this
scale at a prolific rate and other manufacturers have begun to do the same
so in the space of a couple of years a new scale has appeared and has been
accepted why does all this matter perhaps for some modelers this is only
of academic interest some modelers will choose each individual project without
any overall plan depending on their fancy building it 1/700 scale warship
may be followed by a 1/12 scale racing car there is nothing wrong with this
however a large number of modelers tend to build to a plan they will prefer to
stick to a certain genre such as aircraft or marine subjects some
modelers become quite specific it may only build world war ii german armor or
even may have the aim of building a model of every type and color scheme of
spitfire fighter aircraft ever if you are aiming to build a collection
whether it be tanks warships or motorbikes then you will have to
probably want the majority of examples in your collection to be the same scale
so that they can be compared and displayed together in this case the
choice of scale is important and you may wish to consider the following in your
decision cost the larger the scale the more you are likely to have to spend on
each model time larger scale models generally require a larger investment in
time availability what is the availability of your chosen speciality
in each scale also in addition to the basic models how many aftermarket
manufacturers make accessories and detail sets for your chosen scale
storage and display before you embark on a collection of 1/32 scale aircraft you
have better have a large space reserve to store and display them satisfaction
what size and level of detail model do you most enjoy making and what size will
you get most satisfaction from when you stand back and look at your completed
project this video or provide advice to beginners on how to choose suitable
models it will include simple guidelines to follow in making the choice to help
avoid starting a model that is too difficult or might give disappointing
results whether its tanks cars aircraft or something entirely different that
appeals to you consideration of the following factors will help guide your
choice the price of a scale model can vary from a few coins to a small fortune
there is a good chance that the first few kits made by a novice may produce
results that the modeler might want to keep hidden or the model may not be
finished at all so it is wise to not spend too much in the initial stages the
building and painting of the first few models should be a time for a modeler to
experiment with different products and skills mistakes will be made and that is
part of the learning process however if a modeler has invested a large amount of
in a model there will be hesitation to push the boundaries and if the kid is
messed up it can be demoralizing it's much better to work on a kit that is
cheap where it doesn't matter much if the results aren't that good modeling
requires skills that take practice to develop nobody would expect to take up a
musical instrument and be able to play a tune straight away similarily do not
expect to build good models with your first few bills so do not spend too much
money on them the teller is one 35th scale shuttle boot builds up into a fine
model but the meter long-haul halves are not something that a beginner should
attempt to glue together it is common sense to start modeling with small
models and that generally means choosing a small scale the beginner should start
out with kits that do not have many parts and that use only injection molded
polystyrene there will be plenty of time later to develop skills with different
media such as photo etch brass and resin first gain the skills of working with
plastic before moving on to other media that require different glues and skills
plastic kits have been widely available for over 40 years and the quality of the
mouldings has improved greatly nowadays modelers expect parts to fit together
well with very little need for fillers this has not always been the case and
there are many models on sale today that were first released decades ago even
when they were first released they would have not met today's rigorous quality
standards and it is likely that wear and tear on the molds will have reduced the
quality still further experienced modelers may find some of these older
models a welcome challenge that they are willing to take on to make a model of a
particular subject however it is best at the beginner avoid some of these older
kits the beginner should stick to recently release models for mainstream
quality manufacturers most internet sites will allow a search for models
that are recent releases and these can also be found from the page
modeling magazines and reviews on internet support sites it can be
difficult to find a model that is both high quality and simple this is because
the best quality kits tend to be those recently released but these also tend to
include mixed media such as photo etched brass parts therefore it may be
necessary to do a bit of research to find a good quality recently-released
model that only contains injection molded parts once again reviews and
modelling magazines and on the Internet can help with this experience modelers
enjoy a complex paint scheme for both the challenge and the end result however
many of these are difficult to achieve and may require complex masking and a
good quality airbrush for your first few models choose a subject that has a
fairly bland single color paint scheme it is depressing to complete the build
of a model and then ruin it because the paint scheme is too difficult aircraft
have clear parts namely the cockpit canopy these are usually the most
difficult parts to get right as they are made from brittle plastic which is easy
to scratch or break and difficult to repair if the cockpit canopy does not
fit well it is a big problem some aircraft have a lot more glass than
others so try to avoid models that look like glass houses with wings helicopters
in particular have a lot of canopy on biplanes and try planes the wing
alignment and rigging can be difficult so these are not recommended for the
novice builder a lot of aircraft are finished in bare metal it is difficult
to get a realistic finish for this effect with silver paint and there are a
range of specialist products aimed at reproducing the shiny metal surface of
these aircraft however using one of these products is best left until a
modeler has a few kits under there belt as with aircraft it is perhaps best
to avoid models with wind screens for the first few builds open-topped
vehicles such as half-tracks will be more of a challenge because both the
interior and exterior will be on show for your first few builds you may wish
to consider an armored car with six or eight wheels to avoid the complexity of
tank tracks regrettably much of the advice cannot
apply to cars and bikes these kits almost always come with parts and
different materials like rubber or vinyl tires plastic tubes and chromed parts
they will also have a lot of clear parts and a complex paint scheme with many
decals getting a good gloss paint scheme with no defects is also extremely
challenging put simply most car kits are not ideal for the beginner to scale
modeling if car or bike kits are what interests you it may be worth
considering trying out a couple of other types of kits first to hone your skills
anything with seals will have rigging and getting that right can be very
difficult ships usually have different colored paint below and above the
waterline and getting a neat line between the two is a challenge consider
getting a model that has the option of building the kit as a water line model
although that might tempt you to try to make a seascape display building a large
ship in a small scale a battleship in 1/700 scale is often more difficult than
building a smaller ship in a larger scale a motor torpedo boat in 170 second
scale because the former may have a lot of very tiny parts hello and welcome I'm
here to help you get started with tools and supplies in regards to the hobby of
building model kits if you're just starting out or rediscovering the hobby
I will try to help you with some beginning learning curve tricks
I'm going to start with the basics materials and tools what I used and
where I got them so for you out there thinking about bringing the crazy world
of model kit building here are the materials and tools I currently use and
have started with just to let you know there's no set order to buy your
materials go by the instructions of the model kit you are building it will help
you out with the materials and tools that you would need for that project
everything else that you will need will come over time be patient and always be
willing to learn going by those two rules will make you an all-around better
model kit builder let's get started paintbrushes come in various sizes and
widths what I recommend if you are just starting out go to your local hobby shop
or arts & crafts store and look to the packs of various sizes the packs will be
divided up on various brush sizes for various application uses buy a pack that
will give you fine 2y tips for various applications fine tips should be used
for details and the wide for even coverage there are also various types of
brushes that will give you different effects for example if you are looking
to do a dry brushing technique you can use either round tip brushes like these
or a brush with a flat tip there really isn't a specific brush to start with it
all depends on what you are painting and the effect you are looking to achieve there are many types of glues to use
with varying degrees of results the three that I have here are the ones that
I use the most on different types of plastic Zappa cap medium CA can be used
on almost any type of plastic including styrene resin and vinyl it is a super
glue and will adhere your skin and fingers together so be very careful
Android Pro well is used for plastic styrene kits only all you have to do is
brush it on over the seams and let the bonding commence this glue will
literally melt the plastic together any type of five minute epoxy when mixed
together and bond resin styrene plastic and vinyl when mixed it can be a little
thin so be very careful when applying always use one type of primer for
whatever plastic that you are applying it to it really helps with the paint
adhesion and serves to bring out a kits details for easier painting I have been
using our Murray gray and white primers for plastic and resin model kits it is
not too dark or light and paint adheres to it quite well for using through an
airbrush I mainly use testers model master gray primer on vinyl kits use any
water-based grade I suggest Delta ceramic oak colors for your primer or
base coat depending on what material the model kit is made of styrene plastic
vinyl or resin will depend on what type of paint to use on styrene plastic and
resin model kits I recommend using either Tamiya's acrylic based paints or
testers enamel based model master paints both can be applied by using either a
traditional paint brush or through an airbrush if you are using either paint
brand through an airbrush remember to thin them down with each brands
appropriate thinners then them down enough so that you can get a good flow
through the tip without clogging it please remember to allow a good amount
of time for the paint to dry you don't want fingerprints or smudges
if you are working on a vinyl kit use water-based paints only I cannot stress
that enough as oil or enamel based paints will never
dry and will stay tacky or sticky to the touch
water-based acrylic paint colors by Delta from their ceramic on't line are
perfect for vinyl model kits they dry fast and when thinned properly can be
applied with a paintbrush the very little brushstrokes appearing if using
through an airbrush make sure that you thin the paints down to the consistency
of milk or you will have trouble with the airbrush clogging you can do this by
using either water or with the airbrush medium that they provide there are many
types of paints from different companies that you can try see what you like and
with a little trial and error and some experimenting you will find what you can
get comfortable with and like to use remember the type of paint that you use
will depend on what type of material you are applying it to when you are either done painting or
airbrushing colors on no matter if it's in between colors for the last color
applied you should always seal in and protect the color by doing this you will
protect the color and if you make a mistake with quitting a color over the
last one you can take it off without ruining the color underneath though
learning that track will be learned over time and when you are more skillful with
manipulating paint also do not mix different coatings or lacquers with
different types of paint as you will get effect that will be undesirable and
starting a paint job over can be quite a pain to deal with
and not too fun either Delta ceramic coat varnish should only be used with
Delta ceramic coated paint krylon finishes can be used on most
paints tests before using on any water-based paints Tamiya clear coat
finishes should be used with Tamiya colors only never use it on Delta colors
testers lacquers can be used on most paints it can be used on their line on
model master paints Delta ceramic oak colors and any enamel paints do not use
on Tamiya colors as it can cause the paint to crack masking materials are
important for clean lines and for protecting a finished paint job that has
already been applied by either spray paint or by an airbrush embroid ez mask
is a liquid masking material that can be brushed or airbrushed on it's easy to
apply and comes off without any problems Tamiya produces many different sizes of
tape masking that's good for when you want to do more than one color and want
to get a little fancy with your paintwork patience is required when
working with masking materials setting solutions for decals can be
quite helpful when you want the decals to stay on and fit snug around contours
and deep crevices microscale Industries produces two bottles that are very
helpful in applying decals to most model kits micro set is a very versatile decal
setting solution that has several things – decals to improve application micro
set should be applied to the surface of the model where you will be sliding off
the decal micro set prepares the surface with special wetting agent that cuts the
oils and new paint and converts adhesive on the back of the decal to a stronger
and more lasting one and finally micro set slightly softens the decals film to
make it more flexible today it can conform better to the model surface
better adhesion by the decal to the model prevents tiny air bubbles from
occurring and results in an invisible carrier film or the so called painted on
look microsoft said in solution is for the most difficult irregular surfaces
you find on models it completely softens the decal allowing it to drape down onto
the surface of the model and poor me perfectly and without distortion you can
get the most amazing results in seemingly impossible places because
Microsoft a decal part of the paint for that reason you should call micros all
on for only a few seconds and then leave it alone it does all the work
do not touch until dry as decal is very soft at this stage it could be easily
damaged besides using your hands for holding
parts to be painted it's a good idea to have some tools to hold the smallest
pieces so that you don't get paint all over your hands the tools are also good
for holding smaller pieces for gluing so that the glue is far away from your
fingers gluing them together or smudging blue prints all over the model that you
are working on here are a few tools that I use on a regular basis a long tweezers
with a straight tip along tweezers with a bent tip helpful in both painting
small parts and setting parts into places that are hard to reach with my
fingers helpful in gluing those hard-to-reach areas a large needle nose
pliers and a small needle nose pliers cutting tools and how you cut the parts
are important to making a good model especially if you are cutting parts off
of a tree from a plastic styrene kit if you use the wrong type of cutting tool
you can actually wreck or ruin your parts here are a few tools that can help
you out a wire cutter for thick plastic a pair of scissors for thin parts and
paper models a sprue cutter it's flat on one side so that when you cut parts off
the trees from styrene kids who get a nice even cut you can also get right up
to the part flush with it and cut with no damage to the part at all I highly
recommend this cutting tool I sure can't live without it and once you get one for
yourself neither will you putty is very important for filling
seams of model kits no matter if the model kit has made a plastic resin or
vinyl they're all always be seams that need to be filled if you want the model
kit to look like one-piece you can fill seams with gap-filling superglue epoxy
or putty as seen here green putty is used to find seems easier for sanding
once it's in the gaps in sanded it's made by squadron and is very easy to
work with they also produce a gray color if you are worried about covering up the
green colored putty nothing is more important in this hobby than a sharp
hobby knife as you can see here there are two that I highly recommend using
that will be very helpful in your model kit building adventures the first one is
just your usual x-acto brand hobby knife that you can find just about anywhere
they are inexpensive and durable it is adjustable so that you can put other
blades into the handle the next hobby knife is produced by testers and is
designed with flat handle so that it will not roll off the table
unfortunately the major downside to this hybrid knife is that the cutting blade
is not replaceable or interchangeable as a blade is molded
into the plastic handle but the handle is designed in such a way it feels real
good while using it both have their pros and cons so try them both out and see
which one you will like the best or if you're like me you might go for both of
them I find that depending on how detailed
you want to get with your model kit building is always very useful to have
some sculpting tools at hand I suggest these tools prescribing panel
lines and to help blend in areas and figure kits that have been puttied they
need to have those areas blended in to look like the rest of the kit I find
them invaluable to make a convincing seamless model kit you can find them at
select hobby shops or online just look for sculpting or dental tools sandpaper
is an invaluable tool in creating a professional-looking model kit sandpaper
is helpful in wanting to get rid of seam lines and to help blend parts together
there are many types of sandpaper for many types of projects and materials
depending if you are working with metal wood plastic resin or vinyl there is
most likely a sandpaper made for it there are many manufacturers of
sandpaper and they can be found just about anywhere from your local hobby
shop to your local hardware store commonly and primarily used for nail
care these nail sanding boards can be used for sanding small areas on a model
kit it's better than folding up sandpaper to try to get into small areas
they are very durable and usually have two different types of grit on them one
side has a large grid and the other is a fine grit they fit well into your hands
and can take quite a bit of abuse these small jeweler files come in very handy
when you need to get into very small areas but be careful they can break
easily so don't put too much pressure on them they can be thrown at some hobby
shops or online with all the tools and materials that I
have shown you you might be thinking where am I going to put all this stuff
just go to your local art supply hobby or fishing store and pick up a tackle
box you have all that you need for storage in the trays provided just lift
up the top tray thus revealing compartments that you can store whatever
hobby supply that you have or may purchase in the future
I find the tackle box invaluable an easy way to store hobby related items and
easy to store itself it doesn't take up a lot of space and is portable disposable plastic measuring cups and
Paquette's are very helpful with mixing paints have taken care of and cleaned
properly these disposable items can be used more than one small plastic
measuring cups are very useful for mixing paints depending on the type of
paint used when clean you can use these cups more than once I recommend using
Paquette's for siphoning paint from their containers to use either for
mixing or moving paint to an airbrush these two items can be found at your
local hobby shop or online another very useful tool are paint trays they come in
many sizes with a set number of areas to put your paint for easy access from a
small one like this to this larger one that has an area in the middle for
mixing paints to your desired color before choosing an airbrush consider the
factors unique to your particular project
what type of work will the airbrush be used for what type of media will be
sprayed through the airbrush what is your level of experience and so on an
airbrush can become a very useful tool when you want to paint a large area or
to achieve very fine details don't be afraid or intimidated by air brushes
they are actually very easy to use once you learn how to operate and get used to
them it's like it becomes an extension of your hand let's get started with the
basics of air brushes with the two pictured here the first air brush that I
will introduce to you is the Badger crescendo 175 I've been using the same
one for almost 20 years with only having to replace parts that get worn out it's
a dual action airbrush meaning that in order to trigger the air you must press
down on the lever and then pull back to siphon the paint from the cup
to get different widths of paint there are three tip and needle parts to swap
out small medium and large it's a quick and easy process to swap off the tips
and needles so downtime is quite fast it is also a bottom feed airbrush so either
a paint cup or jar will fit and will siphon your choice of media off into the
airbrush and out the front nozzle the next airbrush I also recommend is the
patch AF single action it's very easy to learn and use all you have to do to get
both air and paint flow at the same time is to press down on the trigger paint
adjustments are made in the front with turning the paint flow nozzle up or down
to get different widths of paint flow cleanup is simple and fast a good
airbrush also needs a good air supply that won't fail during the application
process I highly recommend the pass ad 3000 our air compressor it's a 1/8
horsepower 115 volt one phase with an automatic shutoff when the tank is done
filling with air a holding tank air regulator and moisture trap and an air
pressure gauge are all included you can find this very reliable air compressor
for between one hundred and ninety nine ninety nine to two hundred and thirty
nine dollars at any hobby shop or online I hope that I have covered materials and
tools that the beginner or experienced mount kit builder might be able to use
what I've explained isn't the final word on materials or tools in the hobby but
they have helped me throughout the years and I hope that they will help you to
every plastic modeler has their own method of removing parts from Spirit
Rees from twisting them free to surgically severing them some use nail
clippers knife blades nippers scissors or saws I'll complet the task but some
methods cause damage creating more work to prepare the part for installation
some are downright dangerous an accident waiting to happen
here's a short video of one method that can be used to accomplish the test
safely and cleanly the first thing I do is use a nipper to
separate the part along with a section of the sprue from the tree this might
seem like more work but it's cheap insurance to keep from damaging even the
most delicate of parts if you saw the part off directly the saw blade can buy
in-between the part and the sprue the micro razor saw doesn't react well to
this and you could potentially damage the part and break your blade once the
part is free from the tree I begin removing the sprue tags don't be tempted
to use the nippers they have a tendency to tear at the park plastic does
splinter from the compression between the nippers jaws support the part off
the bench this keeps the saw from binding here I use two polishing sticks
to lift the part off the bench this is just like cutting a board or a log with
a saw if the end doesn't have a means to ease the pressure on the blade it will
cause the blade to bind up position the saw so you are cutting parallel and away
from the part here's an example of a rigid blade and an example of a flexible
blade I prefer the flexible blade it affords better control and less chance
of cutting into the part itself with either you can use your fingertips to
act as a guide to maintain the correct angle of the razor saw it only takes a
few slow passes to remove the nub with the nub removed you can now use a fine
sanding stick to remove the nubs residue follow that up with a polishing stick
and you have a cleanly removed part this is a typical sprue tree of
injection molded parts that make up the vast majority of plastic hips safely
removing all the parts without damaging or losing them is fundamental to the
Hobby the sprue trees themselves should be kept as they can be used for a
variety of purposes this video explains the best way to remove kit parts from
the sprue trees the vast majority of scale model kits will consist mainly of
either injected molded plastic or cast polyurethane resin in either case all
except for the very largest parts will be attached to the
sprue trees and if they were molded or cast this is best for both a
manufacturer and the modeler from a manufacturer's point of view they do not
have to take the time to remove all the parts and take the risk of losing them
from the modelers point of view having the parts attached to sprue trees makes
it easier to check that they are all present there are also other benefits
covered later in this video Plastics brew tree cutters or side
cutters similar to these are the ideal tool for removing parts from the sprue
or trees it is normally best to leave the parts on their sprue treat for as
long as possible for several reasons reason number one well small parts
remain on their sprue tree they are easy to find
normally parts are grouped on their sprue trees in some sort of logical
order for example on a tank model there may be one sprue tree with all the parts
for the turrent another for the suspension and so on therefore when
building the turrent it is easy to find all the turn parts if they are still on
their sprue tree reason number two most manufacturers will stamp part numbers on
the parts however some parts are too small to do this and with other parts
there is no place to stamp a number that will not be visible on the finished
model in these cases the part number may be stamped on the sprue tree next to the
part clearly as soon as the part is removed it is no longer possible to tell
what number it is with a model containing several hundred parts many of
which may be very similar this can cause difficulties reason
number three as soon as you remove small parts from the sprue tree there is the
risk that they will be misplaced or dropped to not be found again or
worse stepped on and broken reason number four some small parts may be
easier to paint when on the sprue tree it depends on how and where the part is
held but if you have to paint a small part separately from the main model then
the sprue tree may make a convenient holder however remember to do any
cleanup of the part before cutting it from the sprue tree if the intention is
to paint it on the sprue tree follow this simple rule leave on the
screw until ready to glue note how the left hand supports a sprue
tree and the part being separated so that it cannot fly off with flush
cutters it is possible to cut right up to the part leaving very little sprue
tree to clean off never be tempted to break or twist the part away with
fingers doing so it runs the risk of damaging the part the best way is to use
the purpose design side flush or plastic screw tree cutters these remove the
parts easily leaving hardly any of the sprue trees still attached to the part
the flat side of the cutter should normally be put against the part to be
removed it is very important to avoid the part flying off when it is cut so
gently hold it and the sprue tree in one hand while operating the cutter with the
other hand it is advisable to keep a small container on hand to put small
parts in when they are removed from this brood tree it is often convenient to
remove several similar parts together such as wheels so getting into the habit
of placing them together as soon as they are cut minimizes the chance of losing
one of them when removing a part with a knife make sure that it is supported and
do not cut right against the part apply only gentle pressure and use a knife
with a rocking motion if a side cutter is not available then a sharp craft
knife will do fine in this situation put the screw on a
surface and apply light pressure with the knife using a rocking motion make
sure the cutting surface is protected try to cut the part at the thinnest part
of the sprue but do not cut right against the part as the action of the
knife may cause Distortion as with the side cutter care should be
taken to avoid the part flying away and there should not happen if the cutting
is gentle for very delicate parts consider supporting them from below with
a ball of play-doh or modeling clay special care is needed when handling
clear parts since the plastic is often brittle and liable to snap off when any
pressure is applied it is very easy to damage clear parts and even small
scratches are difficult to repair the plastic views for clear parts also tends
to be more brittle than normal styrene plastic and the part may break off when
pressure is applied damaging it beyond repair
once again side cutters are best but do not cut right up to the part as a
pressure put on the plastic may create stress marks on the part we're joining
the sprue as side cutters are not available then either be very very
careful with a knife or use a razor saw if one is available that gently saw
through the screw in very difficult situations it may help to heat the knife
so that it melts through the screw rather than cutting it polyurethane
resin parts are usually encountered when converting or detailing a model kit and
usually come as an aftermarket accessory perhaps with brass photo etched fret the
light colored parts on this model are a resin conversion kit however it is
possible to buy an entire kit made primarily of resin these will normally
be of specialist subjects and be manufactured by small companies resin
parts are made by pouring a liquid into a rubber mold and then splitting the
mold when the resin has hardened many resin parts may be supplied separately
but some smaller parts do come on sprue trees resin is harder and more brittle
than styrene so although the same principles apply to removing them from
the sprue treat extra care needs to be taken another problem with resin is that
often there is a large stub of resin left on the part from where it was
poured into the mold and this can be difficult to remove
if the part is attached to a screw tree with a narrow connection or has a small
mold stub then it can be removed with a knife or sight cutter just like a
styrene part however if this brew tree attachment or mold stub is large there
is no alternative than to sawed it off with a razor saw there is no shortcut to
this and patience is required it may be tempting to snap the piece off when it
is partly sawed through but this often we'll just leave an irregular luff
behind they will need to be removed and you may damage the part occasionally
large delicate parts need to be removed and it is difficult to see how it can be
done without risking damage to the part for example here you can see the two
sides of storage baskets need to be removed these are in 172nd scale and are
about as small as it is possible to make injection molded parts each of the parts
are attached to the screw in six places the attachment points are quite thick
any attempt to cut through the attachments with either a knife or side
cutters risks bending the plastic parts the solution is to remove a section of
screw tree with the parts attached and then gradually work inwards cutting away
the sprue the first stage in this case is to cut through the sprue tree in four
places as indicated by the red circles this will remove a section of sprue with
the parts attached as shown here it is now possible to cut off the sprue tree
from the parts without putting any pressure on the parts themselves even if
a site cutter is used that will probably be a small amount of the sprue tree
attached to the part the part is also likely to have a seam line where the two
halves of the mold were joined and may have other defects therefore immediately
after separating the parts examine each one and clean it up with a knife
sandpaper or file if necessary the part is now ready to attach to the
using a blade to scrape away the mold seam line a gentle rubbing with a fine
sanding stick removes irregularities on the helmet of this figure the top of
this machine-gun is flat so the flat face of a fine sanding stick is used to
remove the mould line this part has a rectangular opening so a rectangular
file is being used to remove any flash I hope that these tips will save you some
time and frustration and make the hobby of building model kits more enjoyable
and less stressful basically what I'm doing is I'm just using the sink that I
have in my kitchen I have all the parts that I previously had mentioned soaking
in lukewarm water now it depends upon your preference
what kind of temperature you want the water at sometimes I like it
at lukewarm sometimes I like it really really hot but just make sure that if
you using really hot water that you're using gloves so that you don't burn
yourself basically what I do then is I let the part soak for a little bit I use
basic dishwashing liquid some people like to use harsher chemicals if you use
harsher chemicals for getting 910 and will release off parts just make sure
that you do wear gloves so that you don't burn your hand so basically what I
have going on right now that the parts are soaking and I use just a regular
scrubbing pad that I use for washing dishes and I'm just gonna start
scrubbing away and washing the parts just like if I were washing my dishes or
washing any kind of baking utensils or glasses it's pretty simple sometimes you
may have to wash more than one time so we're
or that don't get discouraged though because in the long run you want to make
sure that your primer and that your paint when apply doesn't flake or bubble
you don't want that because and that's going to cause a lot of problems for you
in the long run you may have to strip the paint from your parts and actually
repaint everything that you've already done and that can be a serious pain so
just let me show you how I go about washing parts and drying them and then
we'll get on to priming those same parts okay starting off with washing the parts
basically I make sure that I have my sponge soaked with water and that I have
a good amount of soap in there and I just start scrubbing away now like this
time machine disc it's very much like a dish so I am pretty much just cleaning
it as such now you will see that sometimes when you are washing and
scrubbing that particles from the scrubber will come off so you're just
going to pick that off depending upon how detailed and how many raised areas
there are with the part and then basically what I do when I'm
done with my scrubbing is that I'll put it into the second part of the sink if
you don't have another section with your sink just put it off to the side on the
countertop but if you do that make sure you put it into a basin or some kind of
bucket so that the soap and the water doesn't get everything everywhere just
going through all the parts and I like the rails here now these rails have
wires coming out of them for the electronics but nothing is going to
happen now on to the second part of cleaning
basically what I do is I have all the parts soaking with the soap residue on
there now the reason why I didn't rinse in the same tub that I was washing it
was because any residue that would have came off from the parts in that water
would just then go back onto the parts not as much but it would cause some
problems down the line with applying primer and paint so you always want to
make sure that you keep your wash water separate from your rinse water it's very
very important basically what I do that if you have one of these if you have a
sprayer it's very very helpful to get all the soap residue off you want to do
is I use extremely hot water for this just to make sure that I'm in a clean
thorough wash on these parts and what's really nice about using the
spray door – is that there there's pressure there's a lot of pressure
behind the sprayer so that's helping get the residue off and any soap that is in
any little crevice and that's basically it with Washington
you can either decide to let the parts air dry or you can dry them off yourself
with a lint-free towel or with paper towels but that's basically it just make
sure that you wash all your parts before priming and applying paint we're now
outside in my garage where it's a nice open area and I have the door open in
the back for good ventilation now keep in mind that when you are spray-painting
or doing any tech painting in general because of the fumes you need a nice
open area preferably if you can do it outside if you can't do it outside then
do it any well-ventilated area where the fumes can escape I don't want to breathe
in toxic fumes this isn't good for you that should be a given you should know
that spray paint or any type of painting in general except if it's an acrylic
painting brush on you need very very good ventilation I have some time
machine bases on the table here and I will show you how to properly apply
primer to these parts please remember that one of the most
important things that you need to do prior to doing any type of spray
painting is to cover your surface work area it's very important I have a paper
towels down but I also suggest that you use the newspaper that you get you know
you may want to throw it away well using your Sunday paper or any type of
newspaper is a very good idea to cover a table or cover your work area and you
need to do that because you will get overspray from your can of paint now a
good thing to remember too is that you need to keep up
can of paint no matter what type of paint you are using if you're using the
Kryolan primer like I am using here or if you're using a model master or any
type of brand you need to remember shake it shake it for a good minute I get it
like nice and mixed up inside and you'll get nice even coverage all over your
parts so make sure that you just give her a good sheet for a good minute so
you get it mixed up real good okay now the most important thing is to
make sure that you can do your coverage evenly and that you don't do it in one
spot you don't want any pooled paint so let me show you how I go about putting
on the primer nice even strokes back and or never cool
in one spot it's also a good idea depending upon the
size of the parts like I have here they're actually quite large you can go
in several directions basically go back and forth in one direction and go back
and forth in the other direction and basically what you want nice even
coverage don't stop in one area because what's going to happen is that you're
going to pull the paint and it's going to take a long time to dry or it really
won't dry evenly and it's going to cause problems with how you want it to look so
just remember just go back and forth and change your directions now that I
completely spray it all the parts with at least three coats of primer going in
different directions for a smooth even coverage I like to speed up the drying
time and by doing this I use these heat lamps and these heat lamps you can get
at any hardware store and they're basically used by painters or people
that need a large area lit up they do get hot so there are safety pages in
front of the lamps themselves and do get hot in the back so please be careful
like if you buy these do not touch them they do get very hot on another note
with spray painting your primer or any color on please remember to shape the
can one minute before you start spraying get the paint mixed up really good
inside the can also to make sure that you get nice even
coverage make sure that you hold the cannon these 10 to 12 inches away from
the park and just make sure that when you go back and forth that it's a nice
even strokes that's it good idea well building model kits is to
put all your parts into baggies I know that this may seem like a bit of a
stretch as far as complicating things a little bit more but over time if you put
a lot of your parts into baggies you won't lose them or break them and that
keeps everything a lot more organized an organization is the key to actually
having fun and a good time with model kit building as you can see here with
the time machine parts that I have with the chair I have the larger parts in a
large bag and I have the smaller parts and the smaller baggie inside the larger
bag and this is so that I don't lose the parts and they don't get broken and I
can actually put this one whole section somewhere else so that the parts won't
get lost and I can get to them quickly so a quick tip is just to be organized
to keep everything together I have all the parts laid out to each
chair that all the parts correspond with each chair has a total number of 24
individual parts to the two time machine saddles that are on the left if you look
in the rear of all the parts behind the seats you can see that i have dry fitted
each bottom section of each saddle now what I mean by dry fitting is that I've
put parts together but I have not glued them yet I will show you with the saddle
that's on the far right how I will go about dry fitting parts I have the lower
part or the lower section of the time-machine saddle that needs to be dry
fit now the definition of dry fitting is just that I'm not using anything wet or
any type of adhesive in order to glue anything together and these four
sections that you see have a groove that's on the opposite side of the piece
and basically it's going to fit around or this part right here is going to
slide into this section right here now let me show you how I dry fit these
parts to make sure that they fit properly basically all I'm going to do
is I'm going to turn them around and I'm going to just slide them in to the
grooves do the front do the back and I'm going
to do each side and that's it all four sides of the bottom portion of the
saddle are now fit snug on to the base of the chair and that's it
that is exactly what dry fitting is all about you want to make sure that your
parts fit before you glue them together a good idea when working with either
plastic or resin kits is to mark the areas that need to be cut I suggest this
so that it can save you a lot of time and headache in the future basically I
take a sharpie marker and I draw either a squiggly line or a slash or an X as
you can see here I have squiggly lines slashes or axes also a good suggestion
is that if you want to be more specific and a little bit more precise depending
upon what kind of model kit it is and what kind of detail you want and what
you need to cut away make an X or a makeup box and then use slashes to shade
in the area that you need to cut away so just remember like the old saying goes
measure twice cut once remember this is a really good idea to save you
time and headaches in the future as you can see there I have a dust mask and
it's very very important that you wear the mask when you're sanding resin you
don't want to breathe resin dust in it can give you upper respiratory problems
if done over time and it's just not safe for you to breathe in so please remember
wear a mask and you can see here my girlfriend that's starting to cut a lot
of the large through pieces from the parts of the time machine that are going
to form the chair and obviously as you can see here there's a lot of resin dust
that's coming up and that's why she's wearing the mask
please remember anytime that you are cutting resin to please use up to okay now that I've used the motor tool
to sand down around the area that I had the gorilla superglue now it's time to
do some wet sanding and wet sanding is exactly just that you have a water
bottle with water in it and basically all you do is you spray the water onto
the piece or if you would like you can spray it directly onto the sandpaper and
then basically all you do is sand away now what this will do is create a
smoother surface now if you were just to sand it without water it would actually
make the surface a lot more rough and can cause more problems bigger holes
divots scratches so all you do is to squirt the water on start sanding and
then basically you start with a low grade sandpaper and you end up going to
a higher grade sandpaper with more grit the higher the grit the smoother the
area is gonna be I show you an easy way to locate pupils on either a bust or
figure model so why don't we get to the video
no one item can make or break a figure as effectively as the eyes if they are
well painted they can make an inanimate model seem to come alive but no matter
how well built or painted a figure model may be if the errors are poorly done it
will only be a model there are any number of ways to select paints and
color schemes for painting eyes we're talking about human eyes here other
beasties don't have to meet the same standard or larger scale kits when you
get much smaller than 1:12 scale it's generally better to do little detailing
with the eyes than to do too much there is no one right way to paint eyes
except for one rule the pupils of both eyes must be aligned
in the same direction there are very few characters that look good when they are
cross-eyed or walleye frequently the sculptors of the patterns for model kits
render the eyes and smooth sections of spheres this was the case with the model
we'll use as our example geometric designs 1/4 scale resin busts the Bride
of Frankenstein sculpted by Jeff Yeager it would be easy to paint the whites and
irises of the eyes realistically but if the Centers of the eyes the pupils were
out of alignment or weren't painted as perfectly round circles all the
preceding work would be for nothing and yet there's an easy way to render
pupils which will work for most any scale model with smooth eyes that are
large enough to detail simply drill the pupils out before painting the eyes this
should be done before the final color coats are applied preferably after the
application of the primer or base color at this stage you can play around with
the position of the pupils as the direction in which the eyes will be
looking can greatly affect the mood of the finished piece it's helpful to
locate the position of the pupils with a pencil and the paint will provide a
little tooth for the lead or you can take a digital photo of the model and
use a drawing program to move the pupils around when you think you've got the
pupils accurately marked check by holding a model so that you're looking
straight into the eyes if you've got them lined up properly you'll get the
unnerving sense that the eyes are looking back at you if one mark is a
little off now is the time to correct it now all you have to do is drill out the
pupils or this operation a handheld pin vise is advisable because you want the
greatest control only a shallow depression will be necessary to create
the pupil now the rest of the eye can be painted
because the pupils have already been centered it will be much easier to paint
the irises around them the result will be a convincing set of eyes that will
truly make your figure look alive well I hope that you like the suggestion
and find it useful in locating pupils on a bus or a figure given now the right
size to find the people area in scale would be like a quarter sized bust or
larger or a larger may need 10 to 12 inch figure when you start getting
smaller than I would either suggest going under a magnifying glass or
getting decals that you can put on the eyes I discuss how you can replace a
part that you are either missing or bro with aids two-part epoxy stump now the
AIDS two-part epoxy sculpt is much like the epoxy sculpt that you get in a tube
and have to mix but the differences is that aimes epoxy sculpt it's more like a
paste that you have to mix in equal parts and let set for a while to get the
results that you are looking for now in epoxy stuff works with plastic and with
resin and with anything else that you need to fix it's very easy to work with
it's user friendly and it's pretty much for me a no-brainer to use with any kit
that I missing or broken part with and if I
need to make a part that isn't available aids can handle it so why don't we get
to the video sometimes mistakes happen and unfortunately with this metal
section on the opposite side of this rail the middle section here with the
ball came out it was during the sanding process and unfortunately during that
time it had been lost so now I will get the actual section that is missing the
part and there you go it's missing and it needs to be replaced so what I'm
going to do is I'm going to take this piece right here and I'm going to take
some ABS epoxy and I'm going to make a ball that will fit over this part and I
will glue it on here and you won't even tell the difference that it wasn't even
part of this saddle so I will go about showing you how I will put the ADEs
two-part epoxy sculpt on this piece and attach it to this rail I've mixed a visa
poxy sculpt Part A and Part B I've mixed it into it a ball that's the same
diameter as all the other balls on the arm rests what I will do is I will let
this ball dry overnight so that's nice and hard
I will then drill a hole the same diameter as this peg
I will then glue the peg into the ball and then I will glue it right into the
armrest and then once there is primer on there and paint you won't tell the
difference you won't be able to tell at all so I will show you that next step
after this ball is dry and I get both parts together now that the bead that I
created is completely dry from sitting overnight I will drill a hole through it
using a 1/16 drill bit I now have a hole drilled directly
through the center of the bead it will now place this piece of resin rod right
through the center I will put a little bit of glue on the inside of the bead so
that the rod will hold what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna put the superglue that I'm
using inside of the hole using a toothpick so I can get in there and now
I'm going to place the rod inside of the bead I'm gonna slide it right through
the hole to use a little bit of force to do it okay now it's through that's it now I'll let that dry for a little bit
and I will then attach it to the rail right underneath here so that it'll look
just like the other side of the rail now the part is attached and it looks pretty
close to the part that was missing or cut off during the time it was being
sanded and it looks very close to the other rail the one that's on the left
that has no damage to it at all so as you can see by using a visa paksy sculpt
you can pretty much replace any part if you have other parts to work off of for
a master so that you can just replace the part and hopefully not be able to
have that part noticed by other people pretty much just by yourself so use a
visa poxy sculpt whenever you're in a pinch and you need to replace a part and
now the final result with primer applied you can see that there really isn't too
much of a difference just the plain fact that they are opposite sides of the
center where the balls are are pretty close to one another with the primer
applied you cannot really make too much of a difference and that's the effect
that you want you as the model builder only want to know where things have been
repaired or replaced and with the Eevee's epoxy sculpt you can achieve
replacing parts filling and gaps and sculpting your own pieces and once the
primer is applied there you go the end result one part looks like the other
blending a Seema's next on a ten inch tall bust of cyclops the seam is located
where the John had meat I mix equal parts a and B of ABS epoxy sculpt
together making sure both parts are mixed thoroughly I take the mixed V's
epoxy sculpt and thin it out so that I can put it into and around the gap
between the jaw and head thinning it out enough to fill the gap and just enough
to go around it I gently apply the epoxy sculpt in and around the seam I start on
one end and work my way around making sure that I'm gently pressing the
epoxy sculpt into the seam using the pointed end of a sculpting tool I begin
to press and form the epoxy sculpt more making sure that I have just enough on
either side of the seam I press the epoxy sculpt as deep as I can into the
seam I take off the axis epoxy sculpt leaving
enough to fill the scene leaving enough so I can use a v's safety
Sullivan to smooth and blend the jaw and head together using a paintbrush
I dip it into the safety Sullivan and gently brush it on the epoxy skull smoothing it out so that I don't have to
use sandpaper it's time to move on to painting I cover the mouth with painters
tape airbrush on a light base color followed up with a darker color to match
the rest of the model the seam is gone and the parts are blended together all you need is Parts A and B a baby's
epoxy sculpt a Navy safety Sullivant to smooth it out I hope that you enjoyed
this video and learned a little bit on how to use aids epoxy sculpt it's very
easy to use and it's very easy to order you can order online at ant studio.com
i show you how you can use used coffee grounds and recycle them to make terrain
with for any diorama so why do we get to the video when you are done with making
a pot of coffee what do you normally do with the used coffee grounds throw them
away right not so fast I will show you how you can recycle used coffee grounds
and to natural and authentic looking terrain for your model kit dioramas take
the used coffee grounds out of the coffee maker still keeping them on the
filter place the used grounds that are still on the filter on a plate you can
use a disposable plate if you wish spread the grounds around with either
your fingers or some sort of utensil place under a heat lamp or for faster
drying place them in a microwave oven but goal only 20 seconds at a time and
make sure to watch as to not cause a fire if you don't have access to a heat
lamp or a microwave oven you can have the coffee grounds air dry but prepare
to wait quite a while after a few minutes spread around the coffee grounds
that have dried and expose either the damp or wet grounds that are underneath
once completely dry to the touch you can place the grounds into a baggie for
storage now on to the diorama get a bottle of white glue a disposable brush
and any type of cup squeezed white glue onto the base and using your disposable
brush paint glue on the base a section at a time
fill your cup with the dry coffee grounds and pour once an area is covered
lightly Pat the grounds into the glue when you have a section covered to your
liking and after the glue has dried gently pound or tap one edge of the
diorama base on your work table that is covered with newspaper or paper towels
take the loose coffee grounds and pour them back into a cup now it's time to
proceed to the next section add white glue spread with your brush make sure
the whole area is covered add more coffee grounds pack down into the glue
and once again when the glue is dry get rid of the excess grounds the same way
that you did before by lightly pounding or tapping the diorama base on your work
table the entire diorama is now covered in used coffee grounds giving it a
realistic dirt look if you'd like to seal it you can do so with any type of
spray or brush on sealer results will vary from a very muddy to a dry look do
some testing before sealing the actual base and that's it that's all it takes
to recycle used coffee grounds for your diorama and you can use any type of
coffee ground it doesn't matter all you have to do is dry them out and figure
out how you're going to use them and that's it it's as simple as that
I show you how to make pine trees by hand in five easy steps you can buy
different pine tree variations in most hobby stores that have either a diorama
or train section some are very finely detailed and you will certainly pay for
that extra finesse but with a little time and effort you can make your own
pine trees and there are many ways to make them this is one of the reasons why
most modelers decide to take the Challenge and try to do things
themselves there is no one way of doing things that's the joy of it variation is
the key to enjoying this hobby and the more the variations the better so let's
get started with this project here are the items
used for this project florist ferns the name says it all these plants are mostly
sold at florist shops a grinding tool a pair of scissors white glue any brand
will do glycerine a preservation chemical dowels the ones used in this
video range from 17 centimeters to 30 centimeters tall and are about 8
millimeters in diameter any type of drilling tool a mixture of brown paint
for this video I used a pre-mixed liquid wood stain antique oak paint from the
home decor series by Delta and Green spray paint any green of your choice but
a dark color is preferable separate the pieces of the florist ferns from the
main branch by cutting several branches with a pair of scissors I have roughly 6
to 16 branches on one tree you can use as many as you want as you can see they
are sparsely arranged in my opinion it stands out better and gives a sense of
individualism take a spray can with the desired color you would like to use on
your trees here I am using a matte dark green color spray the ferns and let dry
about a day using an ordinary pump action spray bottle that is used to
water plants spray a glycerin and water mixture onto the ferns that you have
make sure that you've read the instructions on the bottle on how much
glycerin you have to mix with water and spray a good amount on all the ferns
this will preserve the ferns as they are and prevent
them from discolor is a ssin and from whither 'i leave some areas uncovered so
that when it does discolor it will break up the monotony of the colors making it
stand out even more if you don't have a pump-action spray bottle handy you can
also use a bowl with the glycerin and water mixture in it dip the fern
branches into it not fully just enough to get around 60
to 70% saturated place onto a piece of paper towel and let dry using a grinding
instrument grind the dowel at uneven intervals to give an unsafe
distorted bark effect you can even use a sharp cutting blade to cut out small
dents into the bark make sure one end of the dowel is slightly pointed this part
would represent the top of the tree then take your drill of choice and using a
point seven millimeter or 0.8 millimeter drill bit drill holes in the dowel at
various intervals and levels for the ferns to be inserted it is more
interesting if you make the dowels vary in height a variation of 15 centimeters
to 30 centimeters is fine it'll add interest and individualism when you're
satisfied with the look of the trunk or dowel then take a brown mixture of paint
you decide on how dark you want the color of the bark to be and paint the
dowel completely I used an oak stain color made by Delta from home decor they
make different stain light colors that match real life wood when done place a
small amount of white glue on the end of the fern stem and insert it into the
hole to make sure you are satisfied with the look and position of each fern
you of the tree at different angles until you are satisfied with the look if
you are not satisfied then just remove them and place them into another hole
touch up the areas where excess glue might have boozed out with your brown
paint you can go all out and actually paint the branch where the small ferns
leaves are situated with brown paint to represent the bark of the branches
itself but that might be overdoing it I painted some of the branches but left
some of the way they were it's so small that hardly anyone would take notice of
it you'd really have to look closely and that's it that's all there is to it Charles King for being a good sport to
share easy steps to make your own armor plating for any type of military vehicle
or any other type of vehicle that you may want armor plating on such as maybe
a model of a plane a model of a car just depending on what you are looking for as
in terms of wanting rusty armor plating on your vehicles so why don't we get to
the video I decided to make this video to show everybody how to achieve that
rusty armor plating scene on some of those heavy modern equipment pieces like
the m107 for transport scene in Iraq with the insurgency that's been
occurring in Iraq u.s.

Military personnel were forced to protect
themselves using methods deemed necessary to avoid being easy targets
for surprise road attacks on their vehicles I'm sure there are many ways to
get there elves were working to achieve here but
this is just one of them items I use to get the job done any old
pair of scissors apple cider vinegar one two three millimeter thick non rust free
metal plate remember the thicker the plate the more
difficult it will be to cut with a normal scissors a sharp blade or knife
only if needed a small bowl that will fit the pieces needed for the required
project a spray bottle with water I'm sure there
are many ways of achieving this effect but this is my own others may have a
much easier or better method but like everything else it's up to the
individual modeler to find what works best for them I will now try and take
you through a couple of short easy steps using my methods the first thing to do
is to decide on the design of the armor plating by making a sketch of it on a
piece of paper when done cut it out according to the scale you
want it to be now take the sheet of metal and cut out a piece that you will
need for the required project take the pattern that you have made and place it
on the sheet of metal now using one hand to hold the pattern and the metal plate
take a pair of scissors and cut the metal according to the paper pattern you
had just made when done the results should be similar to the paper pattern
you made when you are satisfied with your design pattern then you are ready
to add your armor plating pour a reasonable amount of apple cider vinegar
in a ball so that when you put the metal in it it will submerge covering the
entire surface of the metal now leave the metal piece submerged in the apple
cider vinegar for about 30 minutes when the 30 minutes are up remove the metal
and place it on its side to dry so that the rusting process can begin
now you will have to help the process along by spraying water in between
dryin intervals this way the rust will build up layers as the effect gets
stronger it takes a while but the results are worth it
you can also lay the metal piece flat and spray a couple squirts of water to
get the rust buildup to settle in one area just spray and let it dry
remember spray in intervals this way the first layer will have time to develop
and settle the pictures show the results between 5 and 10 minute intervals of
spraying after it was removed from the bowl three hours ago you'll notice that
as long as you leave the metal submerged in the liquid the metal will remain in
its original state and therefore will not rust if you want more rust effect
just pray some water on it you can see how long it takes the plate to reach a
more desirable effect than normal the idea is to build the rust up in layers
when the metal has rusted and you are satisfied with the look then it is time
for a bit of weathering where the metal had extremely settled I take a sharp
knife or hobby blade and scrape away at some of the rust at various areas of the
metal again this method is only required if the rust has settled hard on the
metal plate otherwise this method is not required usually this is when the plate
has been left sitting four days after been taken from the bowl and had been
sprayed between intervals which by then the rust had hardened personally I like
the plates fairly rusty so to get different shades of rust at different
levels by scraping away at certain areas around the metal plate I get different
shades of colorization that gives me a livelier look than it
being just one plain shade of course this is totally up to you as
everyone has a preference and therefore I will leave it up to you to decide the
outcome of the end results this last procedure is not a must but does blend
everything in with the rest of the model I use three shades of powder pigments
black grey and burnt umber brushing on a little of each tends to work for me it
may not work for you again it's a preference thing I say use what you are
comfortable with to get the job done in the end it's your model and you must be
the one to decide if it works and looks good for you that you want for your
model this video demonstrates one example of
how you can make your own scale model canvases and tarps with facial tissue
for use with any model kit or diorama so without further ado why do we get to the
video here are the materials that you will need for this project
scissors facial tissue toilet paper usually proves too porous
in appearance for most scales and does not hold up as well as facial tissue
when wet white glue Elmer's is perfect a soft paintbrush that is disposable and a
small container of water begin by cutting the facial tissue into the
desired shape and size fitting it as required once you are satisfied with the
shape and size place it in the desired location mixing a small amount of white
glue and water together in a 50/50 mix apply the mixture gently to the tissue
taking care to retain the proper position in
only mix as much as you will need one coat at a time and apply gently I use an
inexpensive soft craft type paintbrush to apply the glue water mix and as I
said before apply gently the facial tissue will tear once wet during the
initial coating be sure to keep the tissue in the desired location
gently fitting it folding it and otherwise setting it into its permanent
place once completely dry normally taking about 10 minutes apply another
light coat of fresh mix then when the coat is dry apply a third and final coat
I usually mix the second and third coats a little stiffer instead of a 50/50 glue
water mix I generally go 60 65 % glue 2 30 40 % water once the last coat is dry
on the model I pre fit all photo-etch parts before permanently attaching them
allow the tissue canvas to completely cure overnight before painting be extra
cautious if using washes to weather or shade around the tissue canvas while
it's drying as tearing or damage can still occur during the drying process if
not completely cured your canvas will rehydrate and rip if you are not careful
the canvas cover on this model is now ready for some paint
followed by weathering and shading with a little time and effort using a simple
technique like this can give you more detail to any model kit weathering can
greatly enhance any military vehicle model one of the easiest weathering
effects you can recreate is mine there are several subtle mediums that can be
used to recreate mud such as plaster resins and epoxy but I prefer the use of
per machine for its workability and coloring and application as well as
providing a slower drying time allowing for last-minute Corrections I usually
add some scale foliage pieces to simulate muddy turf to make the effect
more believable so without further ado why don't we get to the video when
simulating mud particularly on AFVs I have found that celluclay
is a good medium to use celluclay is a name-brand paper mache product found
mainly in the u.s.

It's available as a dry powder you simply add water to get
the consistency you desire just apply it and let dry here's how I use it to
simulate mud so it can be apply to scale models and dioramas I start out with the
following materials celluclay brand paper mache water-based PVA glue Elmer's
white or any carpenters glue any type of water-based acrylic paints resealable
glass or plastic container the first step is to mix the water and celluclay
until the consistency is that of partly thawed frozen cookie dough to your
cookie dough add in your colors as seen here I use craft store hobby acrylics
mix in whatever colors best suit your specific application tans for desert
Browns for eto Reds for clay and so on the next step is to pull out the amount
of mud required for the job and put it into a separate container set aside the
main portion of the mud for your diagram or ground work that will cover the base
at this point I mix in some vegetation giving that chewed up sod effect a
little goes a long way so not too much add in whatever vegetation materials you
have seafoam static grass natural herbs broken small sticks etc anything that
may fall on the ground and get stuck in your muddy situation once thoroughly
mixed keep covered between applications the next step is application I use a
variety of tools to apply the mud there is no standard tool whatever feels
right is what I use various tools maybe toothpicks dental picks and hobby knives
go lightly with your application it is often easier to add to than to remove
from gently press the mud onto each surface ensuring proper adhesion one of
the great things about this medium is a slower drying time allowing for
touch-ups and the addition of scale turf weeds sticks etc once applied and
slightly dried the mud can be shaded washed and highlighted at your
discretion you can also apply darker tones over the lighter colors to
simulate fresh mud over older mud my preferred mixture normally surface
dries in about six hours and cures completely after about 24 hours the next
series of photos show how was a little strategic placement you can make any
type of vehicle model kit look like it's been through the mud here's a simple tip
to make your own miniature bricks using a paper mache product called das das is
an air drying modelling clay that comes in different colors including the one
that I'm using in this video which is terracotta the clay will dry rock hard
at room temperature after a couple of hours there will be no need to put it in
an oven or microwave to bacon in this video I think two different types of
bricks that can be used for any 135th skill they rama solid and hollow both
types are easily made I made the hollow bricks using an innovative silicone mold
from a company known as J's work the solid bricks are made entirely
by hand here are the materials and tools that I use to make my bricks the basic
and most important materials that das Hobby clay that drives every room
temperature I bought mine at our local hobby store in the crafts section an
artists spatula and the hollow brick silicon rubber mold from Jays work carve
out a piece of dice modeling clay so that you can work three rows at a time
you want to keep most of the clay in its container so that it just kept moist as
much as possible press the modelling clay into the silicone mold since we are
making rubble bricks you do not need to be overly perfect a few that come out
imperfect is okay and won't be that obvious once the bricks are scattered
onto the base shave off excess modeling clay using your spatula make sure that
the bricks are level to the surface and the bricks show the three air holes once
that is done leave set to dry I recommend leaving it for 8 to 12 hours
depending where you dry them plan to do an urban setting diorama these
terracotta bricks are ready to be scattered onto your base these hollow
bricks might be slightly different but will surely improve how your diorama
looks here's a silicone mold for the bricks they are from Jays works and can
be purchased by going to the Jays Works website wwg works model comm Jay's works
products are quite innovative and I recommend them for those diorama
enthusiasts that want to add more realism to their creations the second
type of brick is a solid version here I have a piece of dass hobby clay placed
onto a discarded aluminum soda can so it's easier to lift and dry aluminium
foil will work just as good so please keep that in mind I use a whiteboard
marker to flatten the modelling clay though a wooden dowel is recommended
using a straight ruler or cutter here I'm using a stainless steel template to
cut the hobby clay into small strips I cut the clay again in the other
direction creating small rectangles once done set aside for drying just like the
hollow bricks it will take 8 to 12 hours depending on the room temperature and
climate to harden sometimes I like to make things from scratch for dioramas
and that's because I usually either don't want to go out to the store or I
don't want a store made product that lacks personality every time you make
something for a day rama yourself it's coming from you and it has a little bit
of your personality in it so this video is dedicated to making things homemade
in your studio or at your desk or at your workbench for dioramas so why do we
get to the video let's start with the materials needed for this project premix
drywall paste craft type acrylic paint any mold made from a cat litter pail lid
can make anyone an expert stonemason in any scale mix water-based acrylic paint
with the drywall paste spread it out evenly onto your casting service or the
mold here I have used the lid from a pail of cat litter as my mold this is
where you determine the thickness of your stone I wanted flat semi's thin
rocks so I went about 2 to 3 millimeters thick on the spread let dry for at least
12 hours once dry it can be broken into whatever size stone you require this is
why the process works so well in any scale I used a piece of scrap sheet
styrene as a base to ease assembly and facilitate any detail painting dry
brushing etc I used Krazy Glue or CA in assembly but I'm sure that your favorite
brand will do as well the assembly was attached to the base upon its completion
and that covers this basic technique should seal it and finish it with
standard techniques if you're a modeler who likes to take pictures of your
finished models then this video is for you all these years all you have are
those boring white blue gray and black backgrounds there's sufficient but you
always wanted something a little more such as a proper base to go with your
completed scale model that's what this how-to video is all about I have lots of
friends who build World War 2 aircraft models and I always thought that it
would be nice to have an all-in-one base something that can be used for various
photo shoots this project is very easy and simple enough that you can complete
the turf base in this project and around 2 hours give or take once completed and
dried you can use the base for all your photo shoots how about having an Academy
170 second scale Hawker typhoon on the turf the setup can represent a forward
air base anywhere in Western Europe during World War 2 to get started on
your project you'll need several different types of materials the base is
ordinary styrofoam I taped some masking tape on the edges to get a nice border
turf materials which you can buy at your local railroad shop I bought two
different types some very fine sand different colors are preferred some fine
sawdust also in different colors white glue and a container to dilute the glue
and water an ice cream stick to stir the glue mesh to help filter the sawdust and
fine sand the main material for my turf is the static grass from not the pile on
the left is Spring Mead and the one on the right is marsh the pile in the
middle is a mix of the two the containers will be used to mix my white
glue water solution I kept a few plastic bags of sand in different colors this
one is a light yellow color I used a mesh for cooking to make sure that I get
only the finest grain having a turf diorama is very useful
this photo attests it can be used as a great background for your finished model
after we spread some white glue on the base we can sprinkle the grass mixture
on top of it can you see the difference between this and the first photo the
turf is taking shape really fast it's getting thicker here the diorama is
taking shape very fast I'm adding some drops of white glue diluted in water of
course onto some of the bold spots then I will sprinkle some more static grass
here's the completed diorama I did not want to make my turf diorama looking
like a soccer field so I mixed the groundwork up with different colors of
sand and sawdust here is the turf with a finished model you can see that I made
the base more than I need the reason is that when I take the pictures I get good
background coverage there are a lot of things to consider before purchasing
your first airbrush or your second airbrush or adding to your arsenal of
air brushes that you already have what you're going to be using it for is the
most important thing to consider but you should also consider your experience
using them and of course how much you want to spend I will be covering some of
the most important features of air brushes that may influence your decision
I will inform you about the major features that distinguish different
types of air brushes so without further ado why don't we get to the video
external mix indicates that air and paint are mixed outside the airbrush the
air is directed over the top of a paint siphon pulling the paint up and out air
and paint come together outside the head external mix airbrush is produced a
larger dot spray pattern than internal mix air brushes internal mix indicates
that air and paint mix inside the airbrush air and paint mix together
inside the head assembly or handle to produce a thoroughly atomized fine dot
spray pattern single-action refers to airbrushes on
which to trigger controls only the air flow the amount of paint flow is
generally controlled with an adjustment of the kneel position usually with a
small screw or nut towards the back of the brush or with an external mix
airbrush by turning the fluid cap on the paint tip at the front of the airbrush
dual action means an airbrush in which the trigger controls both air and paint
flow generally pushing down the airflow control and pulling back to increase the
paint flow the simple manoeuvre allows the artist to change the width of the
line and the amount of paint without stopping bottom feed refers to air
brushes where paint enters through a siphon tube or color Cup attached to the
bottom of the airbrush this configuration is generally more
versatile and enables the user to change colors quickly and use large amounts of
paint without refilling gravity feed refers to air brushes with smaller paint
cups on top of the airbrush in which gravity draws paint into the airbrush
less air pressure as required enabling slower movement which creates
excellent control for fine detail applications also some paints and
lacquers require lower pressures side feed refers to air brushes and where a
color cup fits into the side of the airbrush the side feed color Cup rotates
enabling the user to work on either a horizontal or vertical surface the side
feed also permits the user to achieve fine detail without the possible sight
obstruction of a top mounted color Cup start with an inexpensive external mixed
gravity feed if you are just beginning to learn to airbrush it will allow you
to learn the basic of airbrush use and the proper maintenance of a very simple
tool for details and weathering you will eventually want an internal mix airbrush
either siphon feed or gravity feed is fine the determining factor is the
volume of paint you will be working with first
quantities or frequent color changes a gravity feed with a paint well may be
best surface preparation is essential make sure all the parts have been washed
to remove the partying agent and any oils from handling use a solution of one
part Dawn dishwashing liquid to ten parts water spray it on brush with a
clean paintbrush and rinse with water let dry use filtered water for all
cleaning and they have a spray bottle that has a built-in pump to pressurize
them find these in cooking stores or at American science and surplus use the
thinnest masking tape you can find the stuff sold and artists supply stores is
often much thinner and with less tack than the automotive hardware kind use
Tamiya masking tape but there are others drafting tape types that are also better
than masking tape because it has less adhesive cut your own tape strips using
a sharp blade and a steel straightedge lay the tape onto a glass plate and cut
strips this makes for much cleaner lines as the rough edge and adhesive bleed
from the machine cut rolls is eliminated special modeling tape does not always
need to be cut find what works for you remove the tape as soon as the paint has
set many materials used in arts and crafts and the hobby of model kit
building such as lacquers varnishes adhesives Sullivans and acrylics can be
extremely dangerous this list is not complete I therefore recommend that you
determine what materials you are using and follow the manufacturers directions
for proper handling video workbench strongly recommends that you contact the
materials manufacturer to obtain a copy of their material safe
deena sheet or MSDS which gives all the properties of the product along with
safety precautions and first aid instructions and to keep this document
on hand at all times when working with that product so
without further ado why don't we get to the video hazardous materials pose an
even greater risk to children due to their lesser body weight and frequent
lack of care following directions children should use this product under
the strict supervision of an adult always use some kind of eye protection
keep your work area clean never spray into the air vents of the compressor
never spray near open flames pilot lights in stoves or water heaters space
heaters or any other heat sources or flames do not point at anyone or at
yourself do not smoke drink or eat while
airbrushing avoid putting your fingers in your mouth while working when you
paint wash your hand and clean your fingernails when finished keep cuts and
open wounds covered stop work at the first sign of dizziness nausea headache
blurred vision or skin irritation seek fresh air immediately contact your
physician if the symptoms persist or are severe
please take note an open window does not provide adequate ventilation when
working with hazardous art materials when working with these chemicals you
should have an exhaust ventilation system which actively removes vapors
from your work area and vents them to the outside many factors must be
considered when selecting a proper ventilation system I suggest that you
contact the local branch of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health the NIOS H or the Occupational Safety
Health Administration OSHA for publications dealing with ventilation
systems select the proper respirator for the materials you are
using be sure it fits properly too large or too small units are ineffective also
beards moustaches and other facial hair it may interfere with proper fit keep
respirators clean and maintain store in sealed containers to prevent
accumulation of dust by only approved respirators read and follow all
manufacturer's instructions airbrushing I'm often asked through Facebook Google+
email and when people recognize me and know what I do they ask me questions
about airbrushing and usually I try to answer them to the best of my knowledge
the questions that I answer here are the ones that are most common from tip dry
lubricating the needle rinsing pipe cleaners and cleaning the cup and more
so without further ado why don't we get to the video removing tip dry as you
spray paint builds up on the needles tip this is the approved method to clean
paint off dip a cotton swab into the appropriate cleaning solution gently
insert the cotton swab into the front of the airbrush aim between the needle
point and the needle cap spin the cotton swab around in your fingers and around
the needle repeat as often as necessary until a cotton swab comes back clean
repeat until clean finally spray a little air to remove any residual
cleaning solution if you remove the needle cap you can simply twist a cotton
swab perpendicular to the needle why should I use super Lube when you're
using a substance to lubricate your airbrush needle you run the danger of
some of that substance getting into the spray and onto your project that's why
you only need a little bit the question is what will happen when that greasy
substance reacts with your paint super lube doesn't like to react with
oil-based or water-based paints that's why I recommend it I know what it will
do if you use an oil-based Lube it might react with your acrylic paints it'll mix
like oil and water why do I need to lubricate the needle the needle doesn't
really need the lube rather the needle in turn lubricates a little o-ring
deep in the body of the brush that prevents blowback it's really rather
small so it doesn't need much Lube and it only needs to be lubed every now and
then our airbrush is hard to keep clean no it's quite a simple task though it
might be difficult at first develop a regular maintenance habit of rinsing the
airbrush with the appropriate cleaning agent for the material being sprayed
between color changes thoroughly clean your airbrush
at the end of the work day check out the appropriate cleaning guide for your
brush how do I rinse my airbrush to rinse out the airbrush simply flush it
with the appropriate paint cleaning agent medea airbrush cleaner for
water-based paints and paint Center for oil-based paints never immerse or soak
an entire airbrush when using flammable cleaners never flush the airbrush near
an open flame or loose electrical wiring and always flush the cleaner into an
appropriate container to deal with these materials how often should I rinse my
airbrush you should rinse out the airbrush generally in between color
changes before taking a break and at the end of the day here's why wet materials
cleanup easier than dry materials rinse it while it's wet and you won't have to
do a thorough cleaning as often as when it's dry
rinsing between color changes is a maybe if you're blending colors and working
from light to dark then chances are good that you won't have to rinse if you need
a pure color then you will have to rinse out your airbrush how often should I
thoroughly clean my airbrush it's easy to say that you should clean your
airbrush at the end of each work day however you should thoroughly clean the
airbrush when the inevitable buildup of dried paint begins to interfere with
normal operation for some people this is once a week for others it's once a day
it should be noted that regular and timely rinsing of wet paint with the
appropriate cleaner will lengthen the amount of time between thorough
cleanings in short rinsing more means cleaning
less when I'm thoroughly cleaning out my airbrush why should I use a solvent
solvents quickly break up the molecular bonds paints form when it dries I
recommend acetone or lacquer thinner as solvents but stay away from paint
thinner paint thinner in my experience doesn't seem to work
well cleaning air brushes do not soak your airbrush in a solvent there are
parts and greases in other areas of the airbrush that don't take kindly to it
with that said you should generally use only as much solvent as can be held in a
cotton swab or in a pipe cleaner warning do not spray solvents through the
airbrush it's a bad idea what about medea airbrush cleaner can I use it to
clean out my airbrush instead of solvent there's a sane the right tool for the
right job medea airbrush cleaner is great stuff
and it works really well on wet paints and materials paint is a suspension of
pigment in an adhesive substance when the adhesive is wet you can wash it off
with soapy water when it is dry you need something to dissolve the molecular
bonds the he civ creates this is where solvents
such as acetone or lacquer thinner come into play why should I buy the expensive
pipe cleaners for the price of 50 cents you two can keep your sanity during a
thorough airbrush cleaning but wait there's a noticeable lack of detached
cotton fibers that will plug up your brush at odd moments and last but not
the least you two can keep those pipe cleaners from breaking in the most
inappropriate of places the cost of keeping your sanity at your location may
vary the real reason I say expand of pipe cleaners is to keep you from buying
the craft items the colored stuff that children make fuzzy reindeer ornaments
out of during the holiday season craft items might melt in solvent could I use
a small brush instead of pipe cleaners yes in fact that's a great thing to do
you can use an interdental brush in many other places that you regularly use pipe
cleaners however there are still times when you'll need a pipe cleaner so you
can't eliminate the need for them entirely incidentally I know that oral-b
interdental brushes don't melt in lacquer thinner one of the most useful
painting tools on a modelers workbench it occurred to me that the biggest
difference between a good-looking model and a show winner is generally the
finish the biggest obstacle that most modelers face is a lack of confidence in
their painting and airbrushing skills having been there it's my opinion that
this stems from having problems airbrushing on a regular basis which
more often than not is caused by improper cleaning of the airbrush I have
spent years figuring this out and getting comfortable with my airbrush and
since I haven't had a single issue that I
could not overcome by simply cleaning the airbrush and starting over laying
the paint down bad batch of paint is actually very very rare if you're
comfortable with the operation of your airbrush you can almost always manage a
nice even finish regardless of the paint being too thin or too thick this video
will focus on how I clean a traditional gravity-fed dual action airbrush so
without further ado why do we go to the video
Iwata airbrush company supplied me with an HP b+ dual action internal mix
airbrush for this segment when I wanted something other than my old badger
crescendo this is a gorgeous piece of equipment making minut detail
adjustments a cinch we all do this differently but here's what I have
always used and it works for me I use an old tea spoon a hobby knife
handle holds it leveled and an old screwdriver is used for mixing paint in
the bottle with thinner I pour the paint directly from the bottle into the spoon
and then add the appropriate amount of thinner I usually have about half the
teaspoon filled this allows room for mixing and checking the consistency of
the paint and is rarely not enough after mixing the paint in the spoon I place a
few drops of the appropriate thinner into the airbrush and spray onto a piece
of cardboard this is crucial because it allows me to ensure the airbrush is
working and spring properly before pouring the paint in and having to
discard it all in order to clean a gummy airbrush I use the spoon to transfer the
paint directly to the paint cup I like to have a few choices up to and
including lacquer a white squirt bottle is filled with alcohol generally I work
from harshest appropriate thinner for the paint I've sprayed all the way down
to water you'll be relieved to know that
this won't require a large investment on your part glass jar when I'm done with
the color I pour the remaining paint into a jar I've been using the same jar
for years rag used for wiping down the airbrush pipe cleaner don't be cheap
with them as the cheaper ones you might buy it could leave fibers in the brush
cotton swabs same as the pipe cleaners spend the extra money and get the ones
where the fibers do not come off dedicate a paintbrush it doesn't need to
be stiff bristled straw I actually use this to transfer my thinner to both the
mixing spoon and the paint cup for cleaning I stick it about an inch into
the thinner cap the top with a finger and then transfer it you can use
whatever method works for you I just find this cheap and easy you can also
use a pipette they may cost a little bit more but you can actually know what you
are getting with the amount that you want to transfer as it is a transparent
plastic also some pipette s– will have guides on them so you know that you can
transfer the same amount each time airbrush cleaning station just buy one
you'll have it forever and they're not that expensive your health is worth far
more generally speaking I rarely do a complete breakdown and cleaning of my
airbrush the more you use a system like I do the more comfortable you'll be with
knowing when you need to pull the whole thing apart and give it a good cleaning
a complete breakdown and cleaning will take under five minutes a quick cleaning
takes less than two I use a quick cleaning method when changing colors and
at the end of a painting session when using a clear coat over those colors I
find these tend to really gum up an airbrush so in my opinion
it's best advice to just break the airbrush down and let the parts soak pour the remaining paint into your glass
jar I always end up with a drop of paint running down the side of my paint cup so
have a rag or a cotton swab handy to wipe this off use a cotton swab to swab
as much of the paint out of the inside of the cup as you can leaving the paint
in there just means the first run of thinner you run through will essentially
just be thin to paint fill the cup a third of the way up with thinner use the
other end of the cotton swab to wipe down the inside of the paint cup again
this will mix the paint with the clean thinner you'll end up with a lightly
tinted thinner spray this entire mixture into your airbrush cleaner and use
whatever max pressure you'd normally use for spraying and move the needle trigger
from all the way forward to back repeatedly this cleans the tip of the
needle off once the paint cup is empty take a clean cotton swab and wipe down
the inside of the cup the swab should come out damp but generally colorless
spray from the airbrush and wipe the inside of the paint cup until both are
free of any color at this point use one paint cup of water to clean the thinner
out and you're done ready for a color change or to be put away for the next
session internal mix air brushes are the type most commonly used and can be
identified by the fact that they have a needle running through the length of the
airbrush body this needle controls the size and the amount of paint sprayed as
the needle is drawn back and away from the tip more commonly known as the head
assembly of the airbrush paint is mixed with air or atomized and then released
the further back the needle is drawn the more paint is allowed to exit the
airbrush needs to be cleaned only the areas which come in contact
with paint and the paint flows from the paint reservoir into the airbrush around
the tip of the needle and out through the head assembly these areas must be
kept clean for optimum performance of the airbrush between color changes you
could stop there with de cleaning and then continue to paint
however periodically and at the end of the day you will want to clean the
needle that runs through the airbrush it's not as bad or as labor-intensive as
you might think and the more often you do it the easier it becomes you'll never
have a problem with your airbrush that you can't diagnose and remedy yourself
air brushes are built so you can take them apart for cleaning so don't be
nervous in fact go take your airbrush apart right now investigate how it all
goes together and take a look at how the paint is actually drawn out of the paint
cup the more you understand your airbrush the easier it will be to
pinpoint the exact problem when one arises I generally perform this routine
cleaning after spring a clear coat upon completing a build or whenever my
airbrush is in spraying as well or consistently as usual if you're in the
middle of painting pour the paint into the glass jar and get ready to clean I
know it's annoying but the paint is far cheaper than putting a whole model aside
to never be finished after messing up on the paintwork empty paint into jar using
a cotton swab swab as much of the paint out of the inside of the paint cup as
you can leaving the paint in there it just means that the first round of
thinner you've run through will essentially just be sin to paint fill
the paint cup a third of the way up with thinner use the other end of a cotton
swab to wipe down the inside of the pink cup again this will mix the paint with
the clean thinner you'll end up with a lightly tinted thinner spray this entire
mixture into your airbrush cleaner use whatever max pressure you'd normally use
for spraying and move the needle trigger from all the way forward to back
repeatedly this cleans the tip of the needle off
disassemble the airbrush for my owada HPB plus this means I take the handle
off back the friction nut off and pull the needle out then I turn my attention
to the nose unscrewing all the individual components be cautious of the
nozzle that the needle stops in this part by its very nature is tiny and very
delicate this is also the only part which tends to fail mechanically
requiring replacement to get the brush sprained properly again you'll know this
to be the case of a proper cleaning doesn't resolve your issue now with
everything apart use the strongest thinner to clean the airbrush I always
pay attention to what type of paint I used and using the recommended thinner
for that paint I start with a cotton swab and I swipe it along the needle it
may look clean that you'll be surprised then I use a paint brush also dipped in
the appropriate thinner to clean the bottom of the paint cup this area is
normally hard to clean because the needle sits through it use the bristles
of the brush to get into the passageway in the body just in front of the paint
cup you'll add this step to your quick cleaning every now and again to use a
pipe cleaner to gently clean the various parts of the nozzle if the nozzle is too
wide on the inside to get cleaned properly then double the pipe cleaner
over on itself if you decide to take a break take all the parts of the nozzle
and leave them in a glass jar filled with the appropriate thinner to soak
them until you return reassemble the airbrush making sure you use the
appropriate Lube if the manufacturer indicates you're supposed to spray
thinner through the airbrush it should spray perfectly
at this point if it doesn't then you'll know you're looking at some sort of
mechanical failure generally in the nozzle the airbrush or a bent needle and
not an airbrush that simply gummed up I hope you have found this segment helpful
and useful I wish I had figured this out years ago now that I'm completely
comfortable with disassembling and rebuilding my airbrush I haven't had a
single issue I couldn't fix on my own the lack of frustration has allowed me
to tackle projects I never would have risked before like my first natural
metal finish and all sorts of weathering techniques that I wasn't just simply
with five minute epoxy on either end and you can also see the tubes are still in
the raw form as basic colors that I have used all over the bust itself and all
over the head now the reason why I'm missing lake coats of the enamel all
over that's because I simply want to tie in all the colors together and I
explained that further in the video the first thing that I want to do with the
model master graphite metallic before I even bother putting it into my Iwata
airbrush is I want to take some of the the testers universal enamel enamel
thinner and thin it down what I want to do is sent it down to the consistency of
milk and I do this by just using a pipette and it's as simple as that the reason
why I need to thin it down so much or so that it's able to atomize and be shot
out the airbrush without thinning it it will clog the airbrush hey now that I
have the paint mixed I will add a few drops into the paint reservoir and test
it out to make sure that it's bringing properly and it looks like it is I'm planning on
spraying it in light coats just like I'm doing on here now I've shown this in the
previous video of the space jockey or engineer helmet and as you can see I've
sprayed the graphite metallic all over the helmet basically what I'm trying to do is give
the illusion of an alien metal something that's not of this earth I wanted to
kind of expand on what was on camera and what what's seen in photos and here's
the actual bust itself with various hues of blues purples in yellow now I could
leave it it's very shiny like a beetle or hot metal but I don't want it to be
as pronounced or as vibrant as it is I want to dull it down and kind of be able
to blend the colors together so that's why I'm using the graphite metallic by
model master turned out my fan the window fuse India here we go all they want to do is put on
lightness I don't want to stay in one particular area for very long see by doing this I am far away from the
model itself and that should be it for now I did several passes of the graphite
metallic heat by metal master over the entire body and partial of the head on
the back around here in the front area the neck and all the way around now the illusion is still there of a hot
burnt metal look or the look of a beetles shell and I had achieved that by
using for transparent calm art colors but I watt on the data and those colors
were transparent kelly green transparent altmer een transparent violet and
transparent candy am yellow after I got my desired look then I did several
passes light mists of the graphite metallic over the transparent colors and
that's that I'm gonna let it dry now and I'll get on to doing the canisters
finish those up and attaching them I also have tubes that I need to spray
with the graphite metallic so those will be next also and that's it for now as I
had mentioned at the beginning of the video I've attached all four hoses and
they are ready to receive a lightness of the graphite metallic model master
enamel paint after that I will work on the four canisters they are painted gold
and I started painting on the black ooze that comes from the top or bubbles from
the top of each canister and runs down so I'll show you how I go about painting
those and then I will be ready to start painting
and now that they have I have seen variations on the coloring so what I'm
going to do is I am going to kind of mix up the coloring a little bit the overall
color is white with highlights of pink in certain areas and even a little bit
of purple so I'm going to work that into the head I'm also going to show you how
I'm going to go about masking the rest of the bust so that there won't be any
overspray and I'm gonna achieve that with saran wrap and silly putty I get
back to working on the Prometheus engineer by época Delhi way basically
everything is completely done with the overall paint job of this buffs
including the helmet the only thing that's left is
in itself and basically what I'm going to show you is how I messed everything
off with saran wrap and then around the head the detailed areas I use silly
putty now we're ready with the masking process of the Prometheus engineer bust
and basically what I'm going to do is I'm going to start with using the cling
wrap and it doesn't matter what type of cling wrap you're going to use it
doesn't matter if it's name brand or off-brand it all primarily does the same
thing and what I'm gonna do with this because I'm gonna start at the neck and
I'm gonna go all the way down and I'm gonna wrap it so that overspray won't
get all over the finished paint job that I've already put on then I will take
silly putty and with a sculpting tool or two I will go all around the chin area
and up the side of the face and all the way back around just exposing the head
and the face so that I can use my iwata airbrush and start airbrushing on the
white base and the pink and purple details so why don't we start now that the first step is complete with
entirely covering the engineer bust with cling wrap I am now going to start on
using the silly putty around the head so that all I have to do is just airbrush
the top of the head and the face now that the major rep is complete it's time
to go on to applying the silly putty all the way around the head and just to let
you know you can actually buy a five-pound block of silly putty just
depends how much you're going to use it and what kind of projects you may need
for it I decided that all I need for this project is probably at one small
egg of silly putty which only costs me a dollar and I have a second one just in
case I may need it so the first thing that you need to do is you really need
to kind of exercise it like mush it and get it nice and malleable so that you
can use it if you don't do this it's going to be very hard for you to get
into certain areas and as you see as I'm doing this it's
stretching out now remember this is silly putty so it can stretch and now
that I'm done with this all I have to do is start putting it around the head it's
a good idea to help either death doh sculpting tools or regular sculpting
tools to help you get into certain areas and creases and crevices that you need
masked off also it's a good idea to make sure that you spray a topcoat down in
the areas that you're going to be putting the silly putty on as there is a
bit of an oil residue that is inherently silly putty and now that I have it to where I want
it I'm gonna start tearing it into chunks and applying it I have everything set up that I need in
my work area in my paint area and that would be reference materials for color
with the skin the masked off bust I use calm art opaque white airbrush ready
paint and pretty much I'm ready to go i have my fan in my window which i'll turn
on right now to get any type of fumes out of the room
and that's it I'm going to airbrush on several light white coats so why don't
we get on with the painting now I'm done putting on several late
coats of the comm art will pay quite next step is I'm going to spray on
several light coats of testers dull coat lacquer the reason why I'm doing this is
because once I start airbrushing detail in around the eyes nose and mouth and
they had because I plan on airbrushing some veins in on the head and around the
cheek areas if I screw up or don't like it then I can actually just take a wet
rag or paper towel and wipe it away next up I'll be applying calm art will pay
cred to certain parts of the face and head mostly it will be the mouth around
the eyes the brow and both ears and that's it for the read on to the
purple veiny now in order to get on the top of the head I took it off of the
base that I've been working on so that I can use my stencil from Iwata and like
the airbrush little squiggles all over the head and some on the cheeks and I'll
take the comm art opaque violet and I'll start applying it I have applied three layers of Dell coat
over the patterns of red and purple that I previously airbrushed on now I'm going
to go back with three light coats or mists of white opaque over this and that's it it's as simple as that
all you have to have is some saran wrap and some silly plate and you can mask
off anything that you wish and you don't use a lot of materials in the process
plucks the silly plate doesn't leave a residue behind it's easy to put on easy
to use and easy to take off what more are you on wing nut wings offers some
great license decals with their pimps and the Fokker d7 is no exception the
pattern looks very good but lacks structure and to me personally the
lozenge is a little bit on the vibrant side the wing nut wings lozenge comes as
a big and I mean big detail I considered using an aftermarket decal for this
project but in the end I decided to use the kit lozenge and tone it down a bit
here's a brief step-by-step overview of the process I prepared the plastic with
a coat of Tamiya gloss varnish over which the decals were applied the top
side and bottom side each have three decals I detailed the bottom side first
the top side is used to show you the weathering process here you see the top
side of the wing this is how the wing nut wings decal looks straight from the
box I took a light gray color and thinned it
down considerably with thinner I then started misting this paint by airbrush
gradually building up the gray color I was looking for a faded effect which is
very noticeable if you compare this to the first picture the step was
finalized with a coat of Tamiya gloss varnish the second batch of decals has
been applied thin arm push here decals on the wing tops and Fokker factory
stencil in the center above the cockpit again everything was sealed with Tamiya
gloss varnish I cut one millimeter wide strips of Tamiya tape and placed them
over the ribs I then started airbrushing Tamiya smoke over the tape allowing
overspray on either side carefully building up the darker color until
satisfied but beware this is easily overdone after the tape has been removed
I airbrush yet another coat of Tamiya gloss varnish the result is what you see
here the last step of the weathering process is seen here the wing has been
dotted with white raw umber warm gray yellow ochre and dark blue oil paint
seen on the most left part of the wing let it sit for half an hour and then
with a wide brush moistened not wet in turpentine start streaking the dots in
the direction of the airflow start of this step is seen on the center section
continue this procedure until the effect is subtle as on the most right part of
the wing after the oil paints have dried the wing is finished with a layer of
extra color matte varnish take note that the varnish will push back the painting
effects so use this effect to your advantage it is now ready to be
installed on the struts the whole procedure is relatively simple and I was
quite happy with the result the different layers of gloss varnish allow
you to wipe off paint without damaging earlier steps if at a certain stage you
are not happy with the results I needed to make a 1 35th scale parachute for a
diorama but how was I going to do it I had to decide what material to use and
it had to be something sent after attempts with handkerchief paper plastic
bags and even a window curtain I saw something in the kitchen
that I've used before another use for plastic cling wrap planning how to add
the parachute lines was done by using a technical drawing of the lines and
transferring it to a long strip of paper shaping the plastic cling wrap material
was another challenge I used a balloon and positioned it on a
round container then I covered it with the plastic cling wrap wrapping the line
strip around the balloon and secured the plastic cling wrap with a rubber band
the upper half on the balloon will be the parachute canvas now the fun part
begins white glue has to be spread all over the upper canvas part but very thin
the first layer of white glue was mixed with water but just a little add some
paint to the white glue mix this will make sure any gloss white from the glue
won't show through anywhere the first layer is very thin the second layer was
pure white glue and paint the strings have to be attached over the canvas the
strings are plain thread for sewing which was run through candle wax to keep
the thin wisps of thread from separating use the guide strip attached earlier to
help position the strings grab the string from one side over the top to the
other side once again white glue was brushed on but only over the strings on
the canvas after that let dry then paint some thin wire is inserted under the
canvas to help give it shape this helps to make it look like it's inflated with
wind instead of painting or using decals to represent computer screens CRTs or
heads-up displays in modern aircraft model kits try laying a
of reflective confetti over a painted background one type is a clear
semi-transparent confetti made by an scan called Stardust you might be able
to find it in craft stores in the gift wrap aisle in package costs just over $2
and will most likely last the average modeler a lifetime the confetti has an
interesting property in that when viewed from different angles changes color and
reflectivity the confetti is thin and very easy to trim and shape using a
hobby knife or scissors to apply as a screen optics or CRT start by painting
the kits green black and follow that with a coat of Tamiya clear green other
colors can be used depending on the effect hereafter cut the confetti to the
exact shape needed and tack in place with future floor wax covering the
entire screen area when dry you'll notice that as you move your head around
the screen it will indeed change as you move for heads-up displays or HUDs
simply cut to shape and place in the appropriate frame this is a very simple
technique that fellow modeler Dave roof discovered for making your CRTs and
modern jets look very realistic and really give some life to your cockpits
the product is clear looking confetti made by AM scan and it's called Stardust
it may appear in other shapes as well but this is what I found in my local
craft store in the gift wrap aisle a package cost just over two dollars and
it will probably last the average modeler a lifetime the confetti has a
reflective property that when viewed from different angles changes color and
reflectivity the confetti is thin and very easy to trim into square shapes
using a sharp hobby knife or even a quality pair of scissors start by
painting the kits screen black and follow that with a coat of Tamiya clear
green cut the confetti to the exact shape needed and tack in place with
future floor wax covering the entire screen area when dry
as you move your head around the screen it will indeed change color as you move
for the purpose of this video attacks them down on several different colors to
see if the effect would change it seems the different underlying colors do have
some effect especially the red which kept a generally gold tone the black
looks best to me for the purpose of the CRT screens you can also use this
product to make a realistic HUD screen I did so in a 148th scale 8 h 1s and it
looks fantastic just cut it to shape and glue it inside the frame in place of the
clear kit part another use is realistic optics use a punch and die set to punch
out tiny discs or cut rectangles and use them on your armor kits I'm sure with
some imagination there are many other uses it's a very simple technique with a
very simple product but the results can take your model to that next level many
thanks to Dave roof for sharing this with us instead of finishing a scale
model with various types of metal ice and silver paints in an effort to
achieve the much-sought-after natural metal finish or as it's known as an MF
metal foil presents a unique and valuable alternative this video outlines
some of the methods and techniques I have come to find useful over the years
while researching this elusive sometimes difficult finish as with many modeling
pursuits there is probably much more to grow and expand upon these methods and
each modeler may find variations on the theme to better suit their specific
project or abilities the basics outlined here should suffice to get any
intermediate or above level modeler off to a good start on soil based and
and as usual practice will greatly improve results and use of alternative
tools and methods may be required for the specific needs of a given project
well oil does have some superior characteristics to any form of paint
medium in certain areas it cannot be used in extremely irregular and high
relief applications for these cases using a mixed-media approach is
recommended to appropriately blend the finishes of foil with paints my
experiences one of the most resilient and M&F finishes achieved by paint is
from El Klan tool applied over an appropriate base coat primer so without
further ado why don't we get to the video any brand of household aluminum
foil can be used sometimes the cheaper brands are better because they are
thinner try several and see what you prefer other metal foils will work
equally well these include things like candy wrappers gift wrap foils and even
the really shiny my Lars however the mylar will not bend to fit
compound curves like metal foils examine the foil to see what finish you will get
from it most foil has a dull and a shiny side or
grain and sometimes a texture you can get variations in the finish on the
model by applying the adhesive to the dull or shiny side changing the
orientation of a panel by rotating the foil or using foil with a slightly
different tone the adhesive that I normally use is either micro scale or
super scale foil adhesive I have tried varnish white glue and future floor wax
as an adhesive and they did not give good results for me the best method to
apply the adhesive is by a lint-free cloth or a very soft brush
I have found that spray application causes the adhesive to bead on the foil
and that will show up as bumps on your finished model the goal is a very smooth
layer of adhesive if you can see ripples in the glue when it is dry you will see
ripples in your panel on the model try to flow the adhesive onto the foil I
pour a bit on the foil sheet and then spread it with the brush or cloth once
you have selected the foil you want to use
lay it out on a smooth flat surface a piece of glass or plexiglass will work
fine be sure it's as smooth as possible the foil will pick up scratches glue
blobs dirt or any other junk on the surface prepare only enough oil for one
work session I usually work with a fairly small piece about 8 inches by 10
inches or so it is easier to handle that way use a lint-free rag to smooth the
foil out on the glass and then tape the corners or the edges now apply the
adhesive by brushing or rubbing it on in one direction then rotate the glass 90
degrees and apply a second coat if you are going to be working with compound
curves or difficult angles the third coat will improve the grab in the
adhesive note that you don't want to rub the under coats with a brush or rag as
that will make blobs in the glue be very gentle as you flow on later coats when
the glue has dried from the milky appearance to a smooth clear finish you
are ready to cut and apply it the adhesive works like contact cement
it will remain usable for several hours without losing its tackiness cut the
foil into slightly larger pieces than the panel on the model usually you will
have a straight edge where you are butting up to a panel edge use a
straight edge and cut the foil from the sticky side
a pair of dividers can help determine panel size and a good straightedge is
important don't lay the straightedge on the glue
or it will adhere to it a very sharp exacto blade is important if the blade
drags or tears the foil replace it cutting foil will dull the blade rapidly
and the foil will then tear you're now ready to begin the foiling process this
works a lot like hanging wallpaper place your foil panel on the model panel to be
covered start on one edge or in the center and work toward the end or to the
outside edges this helps to avoid wrinkles and tears the point is to
gently but firmly rub the foil down on the model be patient and methodical this
is not something to do when you are tired angry or distracted by something
else use a tool to work the foil down smoothly remember you are working with a
very thin and malleable metal it can be gently persuaded and stretched a small
amount to cover curves rivets panel lines etc the tools I use are q-tips
round toothpicks blunted with sandpaper and flat toothpicks cut to a chisel edge
Brown paintbrush ends can be useful also sometimes very small wrinkles will
appear these can usually be worked out by continued gentle firm rubbing when
you are working with compound curves the foil will sometimes begin to curl back
on itself you can make small slits in the excess foil when this happens to
relieve the stress in the foil and enable it to curve better when the panel
is fully covered burnish all the edges down firmly work the foil down around
the rivets into panel lines and into recesses this is what
we pops out the detail now using your very sharp exacto blade trim the panel
to the final shape use a straight edge the panel lines on the model or
whatever's convenient as a guide for the blade carefully peel away the excess and
that panel is done sometimes an edge will pop loose and will not burnish back
down a small drop of crazy glue will help in that case before you begin to
lay in adjacent panel you need to clean up any excess glue that was left where
you peel away the excess foil if you do not do this it will show under the next
panel I use a q-tip dampened with mineral spirits to do this work away
from the panel so the liquid does not get under the panel you just completed
rubbing alcohol will also work to remove excess glue if you somehow have a thin
sliver showing where two adjacent panels meet up touches of silver paint will
usually work out just fine if you really botch up a panel tear it find a big
wrinkle or some other disaster just remove the panel clean off the glue with
alcohol or mineral spirits and put down a new panel when you are working on
major join line areas such as wings or horizontal stabilizers or other joints
to major parts work toward these joints from both sides and then trim the foil
along the joint this works better than attempting to cover the join line the
join line usually involves a major change of direction for the foil and
that is difficult to do in one piece when covering wings or other air foils I
recommend wrapping the foil over the leading edge whenever possible wrap it
over from the top side and do some point on the lower surface where you can make
a cut along a panel line this makes a more solid connection of the foil to the
model and reduces any problems with the foil pulling away
from handling it it also puts the cut line on the bottom of the model where
any mistakes are less obvious if you have a really difficult area to cover
the lip of an intake the very front of an engine nacelle or a wing tip for
example it's sometimes better to just paint it sometimes you can work the foil
in small sections to cover those really tight curves but usually paint will work
out better in the long run and we'll give you another texture or tone to
improve the model drop tanks would be another good example of something better
painted than foiled if your model has major painted parts such as anti glare
panels de-icer boots or major stripes paint those first and then foil up to
them and trim the edges foil will adhere to painted surfaces but it will also
show up any imperfections in the paint like grain brush marks etc foil does not
take paint well at all so attempting to put stripes or other
markings over the foil is difficult unless the other markings can be done
with decals you will find that decals adhere well to foil however they also
tend to reflect edges worse than on a painted surface you may want to revert
to an older practice of trimming decals close to the design to reduce the clear
area this reduces the possibility that the clear will be an eyesore on your
finished model I have not found that any of the decal setting solutions affect
the foil so the small bits like data plates no step markings etc can be set
well without major problems of trimming you can use metal polish such as Blue
Magic on your foiled model however remember that you may polish out the
differences between dull and shiny panels and wind up with a totally
polished model airplane you are working with metal
and we'll do the same things as on the full-size object you can use overcoats
on the foil but it is not necessary I would try it on a scrap of foil first
you would not want to spoil your finish if your flat coat or gloss coat beaded
on the foil I sometimes use a coat of future floor wax to seal the decals and
even out the surface on a sidenote foil also makes an
excellent masking medium you can burnish it down around a curve no need to worry
about minor wrinkles here trim the curve or mark your need and paint as usual in
most cases when you remove the foil you will find a sharper edge than you can
get with the Icarus spaceship is a solid written model kit that was designed and
manufactured by Wilco models and was inspired by the ship that was shown at
the beginning of the movie the Planet of the Apes from 1968 they're shown for a
very short time in the movie and only after the crew crashes into a lake as
they are making their escape you can see the ships sinking the first thing that I
do whenever I start a new model kit project is make sure that all the parts
are accounted for and to make sure that they are all in one piece it's always
discouraging to find out later in a build when a part is either missing or
broken it can slow down the project and make it more difficult than desired
let's take a look at the parts there are a total of 22 resin parts the
right wing the left wing the nameplate the upper hull the lower hall the right
upper sleeping chamber the left upper sleeping chamber the rear wall the rear
airlock door the stand for seats to large Bell engine cones for small Bell
engine cones the small right upper wing and the small left upper wing other
parts of the model kit include one small piece of thin plexi glass from the two
front windows and a color waterslide decal sheet now that I am done checking
the parts it's on to cleaning them I hand wash all the resin parts with hot
dish soap and water using both a scouring pad and a toothbrush the
scouring pad gets all the large areas and the toothbrush will get into all the
areas where the scouring pad can't get into by doing this I remove any mold
release agents that are left behind from the casting process this needs to be
done because if there is any mold release left on any of the parts there
could be a possibility that glue would not set up properly and or paint will
not dry or even worse flake off so make sure that when you build model kits that
are made with plastic or resin to always clean them before doing anything else I
then rinse off the soap and let the parts air dry overnight now the real fun
begins after carefully looking over all the parts I had decided to cut off all
the flash since this model is a garage kit and not made of styrene plastic the
flash is much thicker than most kids the bulk of the flash was located on the
wings engine bells and the pour spouts where the resin was poured into the
rubber the spouts were left on the two halves
of the main hull at the very tip of the cones I had to use my handheld motor
tool to cut off the thick flash right now I just want to get the basic parts
shaped the way they need to be I decided to work on the interior of the ship
first then work on the outside all-in-all the interior is done pretty
nice the lower section of the hull is cast fairly well the control console and
the two sleeping chambers are cast nicely and there is a good amount of
detail very little cleanup work had to be done using my motor tool I trimmed
away any excess flash when I was done I changed the tip to a tapered sanding bit
and returned to the same areas that I just defleshed like the two forward
windows I use my engraving bit to redefine areas that had previously
flashed taken out and sanded down just to keep the details consistent and
looking good even though the smallest detail might not be seen
it is good to cover all angles of a build just because you may not see
something in the final look of the build someone else might next I go ahead and
work on the base it has a cool 1960s retro look to it and seems pretty sturdy
I go about sanding it the same way that I did the previous part the only
complaint that I have about it is that the ship just kind of sits on top of it
and can easily fall off plus the front hold section is not contoured to cradle
the front lower hull of the ship so I'll have to be reshaped so that the lower
hull sits on top of the debtor the first thing that I do is mark off
the area that I want to cut off then I take my motor tool and cut the area away
next I sanded in shape by hand and now it fits I do a little more sanding on
both hull halves on the tips the upper sleeping chambers and both sets of wings construction reconstruction of the
inside detailing with the stasis chambers and just get done with the
inside since the ship has a highly detailed interior I will be working from
the inside out starting with the chairs I sand down and smooth out all the seam
lines and cut off the extra flash I then fill in all the pinholes and air bubble
holes with five-minute epoxy and sand those areas down to make them look like
the rest of the part next I start wet sanding the two large wings and the
forward tips of both halves of the cones I do not want to leave any trace of the
excess flash where the pour spouts work this is most important because when the
time comes I will need to fit both parts together meeting the best fit possible
for those of you who haven't try it or knows what wet sanding is its when you
squirt a little water either directly onto the model or onto sandpaper and
begin sanding wet sanding will give you a nice smooth finish please make sure
that you use a very fine grit say paper and always go in a circular motion
if you go in a back-and-forth motion you may end up scratching the surface that
you are trying to get smooth also make sure you don't skimp on the water
if the sandpaper gets dry it can also scratch up the surface you are trying to
get smooth I decided that it would be a good time to test fit the rear wall and
hatch unfortunately the area where the rear hatch is to fit into is off-center
also when fit in between both hall halves there are major gaps that will
have to be taken care of while I have both halves of the hull together I take
a look at how well they will fit and by the looks of it they don't that means
when the time comes I will have to do quite a bit of filling with five-minute
epoxy and a lot more sanding both wet and dry but that will be at a later time
ice and a little bit more of the inside of the cone tips and do the same on the
outside the rear hatch door is in a little bit of rough shape I take my
motor tool with my engraving bit and redefine some of the detailed areas I
also wet sand the inside of the hatch a total reconstruction of the inside
sealing had to be done the casting was so poor on this piece it had to be
totally stripped away and scratched built the details in the upper section
are lights and reinforcing beams the problem most likely consisted of how
poorly the reinforcing beams were cast the lights did not need any work done to
them they were fine again it took my motor tool and sanded away the thin
brittle beams once I was done with that I engraved the panel lines that were the
detail behind the now that the beams were completely
removed and the panel lines reached it was time to add better-looking and more
accurate beams taking strips of square plastic styrene rods I cut them down to
size to fit into the areas that were now bare and void of the reinforcing beads
first I cut the two spines that went the length of the ship from bow to stern and
glued them into place next I carefully cut the ribbed sections that fit in
between and on the outside of the two spines from aft to port some sanding and
trimming had to be done in order for the parts to fit pro weld was used to join
all the sections together for a seamless fit there are two sleep chambers that
need to be trimmed and sanded down so that they can properly fit inside the
ship right above the other two sleep chambers that are in the lower half of
the model there are notches in both sleep units that are supposed to fit
around the main beams that run from bow to stern but either they are not in the
right area or are they are too small so with that said I cut and sand the two
notches to make them bigger so that they will be able to fit above the lower
sleep chambers and into the upper half of the model once I finished sanding all
the parts I washed them once again and leave them to dry overnight the next day
I airbrush on three coats of gray primer and let dry for a couple of days after
the primer coats dry it's time to start painting in the details of the interior
the overall color of the interior is a light sand color
I paint the floor and olive-green the control console silver and the escape
hatch red the ceiling is also painted with the lights and color and the lights
are painted gloss white next it's time to paint all four of the sleep chambers
the front part of a sleep chamber is painted silver with gloss white panels
the figure shaped bed is painted flat black on the inside and gray on the
outside the safety straps are painted gloss black and the buckles silver a
small rectangular control panel is painted gloss red and a circle that
represents a light is painted gloss blue the back part of the sleep chamber is
colored like the front silver with gloss white panels the chairs are colored flat
black will silver arm rests and base all the controls and buttons are colored
various colors of red yellow green and blue Plexiglas is added to the bottom
sleep chambers the upper sleep chambers also receive Plexiglas and are attached
with five-minute epoxy to the ceiling Plexiglas is cut to size and epoxy into
the window slats at the front of the ship both the upper and lower halves of
the ship are glued together using five-minute epoxy the interior is now
complete now you might be asking yourself why I decided to take so much
time and care in doing an area of the spaceship that won't be seen that much
basically the outside is going to be more than the insight there will be a
door in the back that you can take off and be able to take a look on the inside
so it's more detail that can be showing off to people that are looking at the
get in it it's a nice touch so I think that it was worth the time and worth the
effort and gives the model that little bit of extra care and basically detail
that um it goes a long way especially for a game garage resin kit such as this
now this part of the bill is going to Center on a lot of sandy wet sanding
priming of the kit and painting of the kit and construction of the simple water
base now that all the parts are primed and are completely dry I can work on the
final paint applications for the exterior of the ship if you noticed I
had said applications that means that it will take more than one layer of paint
to achieve the look that both the client and myself are looking for
before I begin with painting I apply a thin bead of five-minute epoxy around
the inside edge of both windows as they want to make sure that the windows will
not pop out now or in the future now the most challenging work begins while
trying to put the two halves together it was very apparent that the two halves of
the ship did not line up correctly and besides that problem the halves did not
even meet from the bow to the stern there was anywhere from a 1/8 inch to a
quarter inch gap so in order to correct these problems at the same time as there
wasn't any other way to do it I had decided that mixing two-part epoxy and
filling in the gap was the right thing to do I had to start in the front or the
bow of the ship that was the area they had the smallest gap I would slowly work
my way to the back or the stern and along the way and rubber bands around
the ship to keep the two halves in place the step is repeated over the next few
hours until the gap on both sides are completely filled in once the epoxy has
become a hard resin it is time to sand and shape it to the contours of the ship
this part is very important as the ship needs to look like one-piece and
seamless now that the two halves are together and the gap on both sides have
been filled in sanded and shaped to the contour of the main hull it is now time
to attach the wings the first order of business is to find the direct center
running from bow to stern once that is done it takes some two-part epoxy and
put a little on the inside of the large wings I put the wings into place and
hold them there once the large wings are in place and to my liking I fill in the
gaps between the edge of the wings and the hull of the ship I also start
sanding the area in between the two parts to make them look like one-piece
and seamless I repeat this step with the smaller wings that are located in front
of the larger wings I use my handheld motor tool for most of the sanding as
well as different grits of sandpaper to smooth out the gaps now it's time for
some major sanding and reshaping of the kit this will entirely consist of
sanding the epoxy joints that connect all four wings
this step is done on eight sides the larger wings and smaller wings top and
bottom while doing this the three original primer applications will be
sanded off entirely followed up by more sanding
and reshaping as I am finishing up on the larger wings I noticed that the nose
did not line up very well when it was glued so before I work on sanding the
smaller wings I have to reshape the nose of the ship I do this with my handheld
motor tool and by wet sanding I noticed that on the inside area near the rear
bulkhead on both sides both gas can clearly be seen so I decide that the
best way to cover them up is by cutting to length square plastic rod and
attaching it with epoxy when the primer coats are reapplied and the actual color
is also applied you will not be able to notice that there were gaps there at all
the model looks like one piece but it won't be noticeable until the first
primer coat is airbrushed back on the final stage of the sanding is to spray
the entire model bottom with water and sand the wet sanding will make the model
and all epoxy joints even smoother now it's time to prep the model for three
gray primer coats I apply blue painters tape to both windows and to the rear
bulkhead the entire model gets three more coats of primer unlike the first
three coats of primer that I applied these three are airbrushed on a little
thinner as this will speed up the drying time after the last coat I let the model
sit for a couple of days now that the three grey primer coats are completely
dry I airbrush three thin layers of flat white once the coats of flat white are
dry I do some wet sanding to smooth out the flat white
I then airbrush three coats of gloss white and let dry overnight I mask off
the entire model by using both blue painters tape and paper towels I
airbrush a flat black around and forward of the windows I found out later that
the correct color for the areas in front of the
is close to an olive-green so please keep that in mind I mask off the entire
model except for where the cone area is which is one and a half inches from the
very forward tip or bow of the ship I airbrushed a copper color on the cone
area and let dry overnight please note that the correct color for the tip of
the cone is a light gold eye airbrush around the rear bulkhead olive-green
take a spray can of clear lacquer and apply three even coats for protection
and let dry for a few days well the clear coats are drying for the next few
days I decided to work on the rear bulkhead the piece that is supplied with
the kit does not fit properly as a matter of fact it is too small so what I
do is take the rear bulkhead part and trace around it on a piece of a hundred
and ten pound paper I cut out the template and dry fit it into the open
area the template is a little big so little by little I trim away at it once
I get the right fit I traced a template onto a thin sheet of plastic strut
plastic board and with an exacto knife cut it out there is also a supplied door
with the kit that it will keep but will change it slightly I will sand off the
handles and replace them with something a bit more beefy once the original
handles are completely sanded down I take a handle of a thumbtack grind some
of it down and glue it to the door this will be repeated on the other side the
reason that I did this is because the customer wants to be able to open the
door and look at the details inside I then airbrush three coats of gray
primer on the door and the rear bulkhead I marked a plastic with a t-4 top an L
for left and an R for right so that I know where the exact placement will be i
dry fit the piece to see if it fits and by the looks of it it's a little small
an easy remedy for the gaps will be to fill them in with five-minute epoxy once
dried ice and smooth I airbrush three thin primer coats on then let dry
overnight and then airbrushed the olive green color on and let it sit to dry
overnight I attach the engine bells with two-part epoxy once the engine bells are
in place I airbrush them with a flat black the inside of the cones are hand
painted silver the small triangle areas recessed in the back part of the main
wings are hand painted flat black small engine cones are epoxy Don painted flat
black on the outside and silver on the inside now that all the major colors are
on I spray on Kryolan clear coat over the entire model to protect the paint's
finish I decide to do this twice as my next step needs a smooth surface I will
let the coats completely dry for around two hours total putting on the details
are next there are nine decals in all and are printed on a home PC printer so
the decals are pretty thin I take a damp lint-free cloth and wipe down the model
to make sure that there is not any dust or particles on the model I airbrushed a
light coat of future floor wax onto the decals I do this so that when I begin to
slide them off the paper backing they don't come apart I then brush on
Microsoft's setting solution onto the areas that are going to have decals
placed on them I cut all the decals to size and one at
a time place them in warm water mixed with a couple of drops of white glue to
prevent the decals from silvery over time when the decals begin to separate
from the paper backing I carefully slide them off and onto the model using 8 damp
to near dry paper towel I carefully soak up any excess setting solution and water
if there are any bubbles trapped under the decals I take a sharp point of a
hobby knife and gently press into the bubble I take a damp paper towel and
carefully press down on the decal to smooth it out once all the decals are in
place I dry the model off to make sure that there are no streaks once the model
is completely dry I airbrush six thin layers of future floor wax to seal the
decals in on the inside of the engine bells I had decided to add thumbtacks to
fill the void and color them a transparent blue to give the illusion
that the engines are hot and in use I decide to cut thin strips of
double-sided carpet tape to the size of the outer part of the door this will
make it easier for my customer to take off the door to look inside and to put
it back into place it looks like the model is done or is it
it has a brand new showroom finish and looks great but that is not how it
looked in the film or the way my customer wants it since I will be having
the icarus placed in a diorama to represent the beginning scene from the
movie the ship should look burned like it just traveled through our atmosphere
becoming very hot giving it a scorched look I choose a medium grit sandpaper
and give the model a few quick swipes from the bow of the ship to just behind
the windows all the way around I do this so that I get some grooves
made so that I can dry brush black powder from shaved pastels into them
once I am done with the dry brushing I will see you the model with krylon flat
sealer three times with the coats of primer drying I decide to start work on
the one of a kind base that the customer had ordered I will be ditching this
applied base as it does not fit well with the model and looks like it belongs
with a nautical model instead the new base will consist of a box frame painted
flat black green foam for stability of the model and to be used as filler
inside of the frame also a plastic sheet of ready-made water used for doing
landscaping for model railroad dioramas I cut both the green foam and the
plastic water to the length and width of the frame the foam also gets cut to the
depth of the frame so that the model has something to lean against and so that
the plastic water has some tit to lay on top of the plastic water gets airbrushed
with transparent green paint on the underside the side that will touch the
phone I went with the color green because the lake that a ship crashes
into is that color when the paint dries a hole is measured and cut out so the
model can fit through the plastic water set in place under the lip of the frame
and using hot glue is tacked in the green foam is placed behind the plastic
water and has also set in place by hot glue where the hole was cut out of the
plastic water there now is foam the foam has to be cut at an angle so that the
model can rest safely inside and give the illusion of the icarus sinking like
at the beginning of the film the base is completed by printing out a
nameplate complete with the name of the ship the destination of the mission and
the name of each crew member I had the nameplate to the front of the diorama in
the bottom right corner and that's it that diorama is complete I hope that you
enjoyed this video as much as I have putting the model together the model is
by no means for a beginner only an experienced model builder should tackle
this type of kit if you are looking for a challenge in model building then this
kind of scale model kit is for you I hope you enjoyed watching me put it
together as much as I enjoyed actually putting it together it was fun and
challenging I enjoyed building it very much adding the simple but effective
base really added a little bit of a mood factor to the kit itself it kind of tied
it all together just didn't make it a spaceship build but it actually tells a
little bit of a story and it helps tie it to the original 1968 movie so model
itself was a little wrong obviously the rubber silicone malts have been used
many times that's why I had to do some reconstruction of the inside of the
cabin I and the roof area and I had to do a lot of filling and
sandi to get the seems to disappear and to get a nice overall look on the sides
that eventually were concealed by the wings on the side overall I enjoyed the
bill it was a pleasure the building paint and I would build another one you

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