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I'll just get drunk and hop on Amazon with my credit card in hand. Nothing wrong with that plan. I'm still wondering why I thought I needed a label maker. I screwed up the last two models I did (1:48 Hasegawa P-51D Mustang and F6F Hellcat) from stupid mistakes and impatience. To avoid screwing up more expensive models, I'm going to start low and do that Liberator first. If my confidence is still low, I might pick up a cheaper 1:48 B-25 Mitchell and do that before moving on to the Starfighter (such a beautiful suicide machine). The siphon feed Badger 150 does not work very well at the low psi required to get a good metal finish with Alclad polished aluminum, so I will probably go with a camo pattern on the Starfighter. If I'm happy with the results of the Starfighter, then I'll do the Eagle. The gray on gray camo of most Eagles bores me to tears, so I'm not sure how I'm going to paint that one. Digital camo would be neat, but holy poo poo what a lot of work. If I am completely satisfied with the results of the Eagle, I'll move on to that 1:32 Mustang (that thing intimidates me). If not, I'd be happy to hone my skills on an F-16 or F/A-18.
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May 1, 2014 00:36
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Just got these two kits in the mail the other day. Can't wait to dive into the Nautilus kit, as I got some extra PE, and a lighting kit to go along with it. 
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May 1, 2014 01:28
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Old Revell Kits are excellent for practice, if nothing else. A long time ago I made their 1/48 Hind - it was, ah, pretty hard.
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May 1, 2014 01:29
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Just got these two kits in the mail the other day. Can't wait to dive into the Nautilus kit, as I got some extra PE, and a lighting kit to go along with it. My dad just got finished with that Nautilus and was really happy with it.
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May 1, 2014 02:21
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Kinda unrelated, but it's a prepaint. Just arrived minutes ago, and I've been waiting for this guy a while now. Something new to terrorize my tanks! 7" CA glue bottle for size reference. 
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May 1, 2014 04:26
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I think I have an idea for that F-15 paint scheme.
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May 2, 2014 01:25
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Not Starscream?
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May 2, 2014 01:58
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I bought a 1966 Ford Mustang coupe about 15 years ago and had the idea of painting it up like a P-51 Mustang with aluminum panels, rivets, checkered nose, etc. That never happened because I decided I really didn't enjoy restoring cars and ended up selling it. Still, the idea of painting cars to look like WW2 fighter planes always appealed to me. Inversely, I thought it might be cool to do a plane in NASCAR livery, but it would probably work a lot better on something like a WW2 fighter that has a side profile. There isn't much to work with on the side profile of modern fighters. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a hardtop NASCAR Superbird painted like a P-51 Mustang and a P-51 decked out in NASCAR STP livery? I don't even like NASCAR racing, but the idea of those two models side by side is something I'd love to do.
Skunkduster fucked around with this message at 02:19 on May 2, 2014 |
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May 2, 2014 02:14
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Right, that makes a hell of a lot more sense now. That'd be pretty cool alright.
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May 2, 2014 02:21
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krushgroove posted:Very nice and neat! This is mine, stuffed in the loft: Bloody Hedgehog posted:Post your hobby area! where did you guys get those 2 oz acrylic bottle racks?
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May 2, 2014 03:10
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Dalai Lamacide posted:where did you guys get those 2 oz acrylic bottle racks? I got mine from TS Hobbies. He's a regular on another forum I go to for garage kit stuff. They're good product, and go together prettily easily with just wood glue.
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May 2, 2014 05:03
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Dalai Lamacide posted:where did you guys get those 2 oz acrylic bottle racks? I got all the racks from an ebay seller in the UK: http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/wargame-model-mods the racks are meant for Vallejo and PP size bottles, but I used a Dremel to widen the holes on one side to fit Minitaire bottles.
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May 2, 2014 14:29
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Thank you both.
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May 2, 2014 15:40
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I have a very important modeling question - How do I get my girlfriend to stop giggling at me when I am building models? Also, has anyone ever had instructions tell them to glue a piece on backwards? Screwed up the front spare track clamp on my Revell Stug IV because of an improper diagram.
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May 4, 2014 01:17
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Slugworth posted:I have a very important modeling question - How do I get my girlfriend to stop giggling at me when I am building models? 1) Do it when your girlfriend isn't there, you nerd. 2) Yes, but only lovely Polish kits with useless instructions printed on a piece of toilet paper and one Russian one. You should probably look at reference photos of the stuff you're building anyway.
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May 4, 2014 04:48
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My worst instruction error so far was a dragon kit that had me make half a dozen tiny metal things and then didn't show where they went at all.
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May 4, 2014 04:59
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Revell models are notorious for bad directions, especially when they are old molds that were purchased from Monogram or any of the other companies Revell has swallowed over the years. Case in point, my latest build:    It's a Revell 1/48 scale UH-1C Huey Hog, painted up in UN Peacekeeping colors. The plastic was nearly see-through in some places- it's a wonder I didn't break anything. The fit was also one of the worst I've ever seen- I don't think there was a single part that went together without needing to be coerced. The instructions also referenced about 10-15 small parts that weren't actually included in the kit, as well as referencing a ton of small decals that didn't exist either. I'm really surprised that Revell keeps making kits as lovely as these. Even Airfix has been slowly redoing their old molds. I guess suckers like me keep buying them though. Nonetheless, It's a pretty swooshable kit. The main rotor can spin freely, and I left the second pilot unglued so he can hang out the sides. It's a shame that most of the decals were white, because they don't really show up against the UN white paint scheme.
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May 4, 2014 05:40
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I was having a bunch of fit issues too, but was chalking it up to inexperience. Good to know I might be able to blame Revell.
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May 4, 2014 05:48
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Talking of bad, I was in a second hand store today and decided to buy a model car to not finish and sit next to my unfinished tanks. I got a 1:24 Subaru Impreza from.. Airfix.. Does it fit together? Almost! Are the parts molded in a way that assures the technical accuracy and care in their craftsmanship? Not quite! Does it re-instill my confidence in the Airfix brand? Nope. Nope nope nope. Nope. Also it's a rally version so also I get all the fun of trying to work with credit card sized transfers. 
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May 4, 2014 19:46
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This is a picture of my basement work area from a year or two ago. I still use it, but it is a lot more cluttered now. There is a rack power strip up top in the back. The incandescent lighting is a couple of 4 bulb vanity fixtures I got from some overstock website that sells crap cheap. I think they were about $6 each. I connected them to a 2x4 with a light switch that also turns on that overhead fluorescent. The shelf on the left with all the paint was made from a couple pieces of plywood from some corner shelf thing I tore apart and leftover slats from some wooden venetian blinds. I had a sawblade was about the same kerf as the thickness of the slats, so I just angled the blade so it would tilt them upwards a couple of degrees. Cut the slots, glue in the slats, and done deal. Underneath the bench on the right are a couple of stacked parts bins I bought from a hardware store. They remodeled and were selling those for about $5 each and I picked up a handful. Since then, I've added a couple more under the left side of the bench. Lighting seems to be sort of an afterthought in workspace layout, but I think it should be a very high priority. At work, I do electronics repair and we have lovely florescent globes mounted on a 20' ceiling and it is difficult to solder small connectors because of the shadows and harsh light. It is like night and day to come home and work on my own bench that is flooded with light. I'd eventually like to have 3 more of those clamp on floodlights behind me aimed at the workbench to eliminate any shadows.
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May 5, 2014 03:31
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Finished my StuG IV assembly, and find myself with absolutely no desire to paint it. I didn't paint the model I did before this one, because (or so I told myself) it was 1:48 scale, and too small for my first paint job. As it turns out, I may just have no desire to paint models despite enjoying building them. Am I alone on this one? Also, as a general rule, is there a reason why a model would come with a bunch of parts labeled "Not Used"? Some pieces seem to be duplicates, others seem to be *incredibly* minor variations on used pieces. I'm imagining if it's a repackage of an older set, maybe they used to be intended to be more customizable? Why not carry that forward and explain in the instructions that you can choose either part, and explain (briefly) the difference?
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May 7, 2014 03:18
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I figure this is as good a place to ask this as any, but I'm thinking of getting a 620b Seahawk kit for my dad, since those were the copters he flew while in the military. Does anybody have any suggestions on brand? Are there any tools he'll need, besides a hobby knife and maybe a pair of nippers?
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May 7, 2014 03:35
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Slugworth posted:Finished my StuG IV assembly, and find myself with absolutely no desire to paint it. I didn't paint the model I did before this one, because (or so I told myself) it was 1:48 scale, and too small for my first paint job. As it turns out, I may just have no desire to paint models despite enjoying building them. Am I alone on this one? In my experience, since many ww2 tanks use the same parts, ie the panzer 4 with the STUG 4 and Hummel, those sprues with extra parts are also used in another kit where the parts you used are marked don't use. Painting seems to be something you eventually grow to like. I use to only like building the models and now I own an airbrush  .
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May 7, 2014 03:52
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Slugworth posted:Finished my StuG IV assembly, and find myself with absolutely no desire to paint it. I didn't paint the model I did before this one, because (or so I told myself) it was 1:48 scale, and too small for my first paint job. As it turns out, I may just have no desire to paint models despite enjoying building them. Am I alone on this one?
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May 7, 2014 05:10
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Slugworth posted:Finished my StuG IV assembly, and find myself with absolutely no desire to paint it. I didn't paint the model I did before this one, because (or so I told myself) it was 1:48 scale, and too small for my first paint job. As it turns out, I may just have no desire to paint models despite enjoying building them. Am I alone on this one? If you make a 75 mm L/43 gun sprue for instance, you can use it on a bunch of vehicle, as well as a towed version. The mountings will be slightly different for each version, but it's cheaper to make the same sprue for each kit than fiddle with three slightly different sprues, so you get more parts for free! Also painting is fun, but I find it really depends on the kit. Painting some kits feels like a chore, but others I can't wait to do, for instance. No idea why.
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May 7, 2014 05:24
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Slugworth posted:Finished my StuG IV assembly, and find myself with absolutely no desire to paint it. I didn't paint the model I did before this one, because (or so I told myself) it was 1:48 scale, and too small for my first paint job. As it turns out, I may just have no desire to paint models despite enjoying building them. Am I alone on this one? Nope! RillAkBea posted:...I was in a second hand store today and decided to buy a model car to not finish and sit next to my unfinished tanks... I kinda like the painting part but still find it incredibly tedious at times, especially when I have to set up a production line to paint the few thousand road wheels for a tiger then mess the paint job and get angry at it. That said I have been finding painting a sports car a little more fun because you get to work with super shiny glossy metallics and such. So shiny.  Edit: Question, what's the best way to clean up tiny mistakes without repainting the whole model? Said shiny glossy metallic car required me to paint in the rubber seals for the windscreen and such but I went over a little because I've got neither the steadiest hand nor the most precise brushes. Aside from the obvious repaint those bits with the other color method. RillAkBea fucked around with this message at 16:51 on May 7, 2014 |
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May 7, 2014 14:35
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If you happen to be painting with enamels you could brush thinner onto the mistake (assuming the top layer hasn't cured and the bottom layer has). Otherwise, you might have better luck just using masking tape to avoid mistakes. I've been slowly making my way through a couple of old Airfix kits. A Hurricane Mk.I and a Mosquito Mk.XVIII. Just a couple of details left before decals and a wash. I added nav lights to the wing tips of both models, although they're barely visible on the Hurricane.   I scratch built some bits in the undercarriage bay which noone will ever see, rounded off the radiator hood, and added a fuselage nav (?) light.  Yes, the Mosquito's props keep getting knocked off.   Notably I replaced the cannon and extended the blister. I also removed the two outer nose guns and replaced the inner with staples.
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May 8, 2014 23:22
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So I'm moving into a new apartment tomorrow, and I love it...but it's looking like I might have to leave my modelling table at my dad's house  I just have no idea where I'm gonna put it, and I definitely don't wanna build on my kitchen table since I tend to make a mess of tables. How are you guys in tight spaces managing? I'm hoping I can find space somehow, but if not, then I guess it's diecast collecting for me.
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May 10, 2014 05:53
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When I lived in an apartment I just sacrificed a cheap folding table as a build surface. It's not the best but at 30-40 bucks it'll do.
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May 10, 2014 06:15
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How small a space are we talking here? Studio/loft, one-bedroom, two? My condo is fairly small, only something like 850sqf, but still have a corner of the room where I have some Ikea tables set up in a U-shape.
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May 10, 2014 06:37
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George Zimmer posted:So I'm moving into a new apartment tomorrow, and I love it...but it's looking like I might have to leave my modelling table at my dad's house I live in a tiny Japanese apartment so I have absolutely no room for any hobby space whatsoever. Instead I just have a big cardboard box which works fine as a little hobby area. You can put it anywhere you like and if I take it out onto the balcony I can even airbrush in it.
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May 10, 2014 11:24
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I recently decided to take a break from meticulous pretend war machine construction and play around with some pretend sports cars. I started off by chance when I saw an Airfix Subaru Impreza WRC '01. I was wary of it at first as I remembered all the problems I had with Airfix planes when I was younger. I didn't even know any better back then and I was still quite sure it wasn't my fault that the bloody Bristol Blenheim didn't fit together. However I figured the thing was made in at least '01, how bad could it even be? The answer, as I've already revealed earlier, is pretty bad. Though thanks to a bit of second hand shopping, I've been able to put together a quantifiable comparison series to evaluate how bad it is. A sort of.. Pretend Plastic Top Gear First of all, The Contenders: Subaru Impreza WRC '01  Made by Airfix, the instigator for this comparison. The box art is admittedly the most exciting of the three. There's no year on the box or model, but likely to be at least 2001 for obvious reasons. Molded in white plastic. Bought for roughly $15 Mazda RX-7 (Advan, GAB, Rigid Livery)  This kit is made by the Japanese company Fujimi, which will be acting as our middle ground for the purpose of this comparison. Along with Aoshima they produce most of the all ages aimed kits in Japan and come up about average in quality and construction. The only one of our box arts to actually feature a photo of the car in question. No dates on the pieces but the box and instructions list the copyright as 2003. Molded in black plastic. Bought for roughly $15 again. Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32)  Made by good old Tamiya, this will be the top grade kit for the comparison as Dragon aren't particularly concerned with making us stick individual radio knobs on in a 1/24 scale at the moment. The parts and packaging are both dated 1989, and between the moldy box and instruction manual I'm very much inclined to believe this particular kit is of the era. Between the age and the second hand store's strict pricing policy of 2/3rd original retail price I was able to pick this up for less than $10! That's some inflation I can get behind. Molded in grey and metallic grey plastic. Admittedly while it would be more fair to compare the same car from three different manufacturers, both Fujimi and Tamiya maintain the same basic construction style across the all their car models. With all three introduced, let's start off with the most important piece of all, The Body    At this level the kits are all pretty much on the same level and all appear to be molded in the exact same fashion judging by the mold lines. Even the Airfix is managing to keep up at this level with their molded hood pins and washer nozzles. The Tamiya however is the only one to come with a separate hood, which interestingly came on the clear plastics tree. Presumably so you can choose not to paint it to show off Tamiya's real crowning glory: A modeled engine bay, complete with properly marked cam cover. Next let's look at The Undercarriage    It's at this stage that we really start to see the disparity in construction. On the left the Airfix undercarriage is nothing more than a flat plate with a few molded details of the drivetrain. The wheel arches were molded separately and the rear suspension was molded into those. Overall you can see the hints of what is supposed to be where but compared to what the other companies are offering, it's just a little bit embarrassing. In the middle, the Fujimi kit has the major details of the drive train and chassis molded in full. Interestingly the bottom of the engine is molded and room has been left for a modeled engine bay but it's non-existent. On the right, Tamiya is everything you would expect from a kit of it's level. Only the actual chassis bottom has been molded with all of the drive train and suspension details being in part form. And it certainly wouldn't be a very good model without Wheels and Brakes!    These are from the Airfix kit. The brake rotors and calipers are very nicely molded despite the simplicity, however, continuing in their already apparent trend of "if you can't see it, don't bother" the backs of the brakes are completely blank. And yes that is a square hole. The Airfix kit has the most convoluted system for moving wheels/stationary brakes imaginable. Half of the wheel sits and rotates on a round portion of the back of the brake. The brake clips onto the square clip on the bearing while allowing the half wheel to rotate behind it. The rest of the wheel is then glued on over the brake and the tire slides over the top to complete the illusion. The Fujimi and Tamiya both just use the good old Japanese standard of polycaps. The outer wheel piece itself is fairly well molded but there's not a lot to go wrong there. The tire is ok, the grip could be a little better as it's just a bumpy surface, and the plastic is a little shiny for a tire though.    Here's the Fujimi kit. The brake assembly this time is molded onto the struts, but despite this the detailing is quite good on the visible side with all the tiny air holes. Though unfortunately the reverse side is fairly blank. On the tire and rim fronts however the Fujimi model really excels. Strangely the model was packaged with the tires already half slid onto the rims. The rims themselves are coated with a gold metallic plating which really looks the part but unfortunately doesn't follow through to the back. The tires are certainly my favorite of the 3, they require a little trimming but the cut of the grip is perfect, the tire markings are all molded on and, as an insignificant aside, they even have the right kind of rubber smell.   And finally the Tamiya. The brake calipers are nicely molded on both sides with a molded Nissan logo on the outer side, as well as the appropriate number of pots for back and front. The rotors are featureless but given the age, it's most probably period correct. The rims were not plated unfortunately, only molded in metallic plastic. However a little research reveals that since 1989 Tamiya too have started plating their rims. The tires here too have a nice clean cut on the grip and molded manufacturer logos. All 3 models are made so that a) the wheels rotate, and b) the front wheels turn in unison. The front wheels are linked by a simple bar. On the Airfix model the instructions suggest you melt the tops of the pegs to keep the bar in place but mobile, while the Japanese cars just go with a very simple clip-on link. Of the 3 models, while the Tamiya has the most detailed suspension pieces, the Fujimi also has a lot to offer. As well as being allowed to rotate by a polycap, the Fujimi suspension also includes washers to smooth things out, and even includes a metal rod that slips inside the rear axle parts to address any extreme nitpicks you probably didn't have anyway about symmetrical wheel rotation. As much as I sound like a stuck record by now, the Airfix suspension pieces really are pretty appalling. As can be seen in the undercarriage photo, the front struts are just there, barely attached to anything and the real struts are rather faintly molded on. But how about those Interiors?    The interior is a tricky area, you're going to be able to see it, but on a closed roof you're not really gonna be looking at it a lot. So, did Airfix skimp out on this area too? Yes and no. They didn't bother with side panels, but they have the most detailed seat models and included molded on fire extinguishers and a full set of decals for the dash displays. They also bothered to include a roll cage as well. While somewhat more pedestrian than the Airfix's racing interior, the Fujimi and Tamiya interiors are nicely molded too but only the Tamiya molded the AC grills and radio buttons. While I sort of get that perhaps Airfix has simplified the kit slightly for an all ages audience, the small pieces of the Airfix kit are as small as the small pieces of the other kits and the drat thing comes with more than 50 decals ranging from so big you're never gonna get the wrinkles out to so small you that you'll definitely lose one. So overall it's not really any easier to make and just looks ugly when you start to peek at the places the designers didn't want you to. Even if that GT-R was the first good car model that Tamiya ever made, Airfix still had an entire decade to watch and learn. 
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May 10, 2014 21:16
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RillAkBea posted:
Considering the real Top Gear has a set decorated with giant plastic sprunes of a car model, it's even more appropriate than you would think. Nice job, BTW.
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May 10, 2014 22:11
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SkunkDuster posted:I bought a 1966 Ford Mustang coupe about 15 years ago and had the idea of painting it up like a P-51 Mustang with aluminum panels, rivets, checkered nose, etc. That never happened because I decided I really didn't enjoy restoring cars and ended up selling it. Still, the idea of painting cars to look like WW2 fighter planes always appealed to me. Inversely, I thought it might be cool to do a plane in NASCAR livery, but it would probably work a lot better on something like a WW2 fighter that has a side profile. There isn't much to work with on the side profile of modern fighters. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a hardtop NASCAR Superbird painted like a P-51 Mustang and a P-51 decked out in NASCAR STP livery? I don't even like NASCAR racing, but the idea of those two models side by side is something I'd love to do. I did a Spitfire Vette, similar to what you were talking about doing. 
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May 17, 2014 23:12
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That is awesome. Making me reconsider my stance on painting
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May 18, 2014 00:25
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Painting camouflage is always more fun than just a flat coat. Edit: speaking of, a Ferdinand!     This is the Dragon model (the non-Kursk edition). Seems like fairly standard Dragon stuff: link to link tracks, only the gun inside the superstructure. The gun only moves up and down, lazy, lazy! In order for it to move side to side, the sight on the roof would have to move as well, and it moulded in place. The rear periscope hatches can be glued on in open or closed positions, which is a nice touch. The kit comes with plenty of track links, so you can make them sag as much as you want. The painting and marking guide is lacking (only one camo scheme for three of the decal sets? Boo), so I made my own, loosely inspired by the Kubinka ones. I don't know if it's new paint or what, but none of the decals managed to stay on after the water dried. Oh well. Ensign Expendable fucked around with this message at 00:55 on May 18, 2014 |
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May 18, 2014 00:40
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Did you use the gloss varnish, decal, gloss varnish, matt varnish method?
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May 18, 2014 01:47
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Nope, I usually put them straight on the paint. Also I didn't have any gloss varnish to try it with once the decals fell off.
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May 18, 2014 01:52
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On the rare occasions that I bother I use that method. It really helps.
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May 18, 2014 01:57
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Darth Brooks posted:I did a Spitfire Vette, similar to what you were talking about doing. That is sweet! I love the green/gray RAF camo.
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May 18, 2014 06:26
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