AKRoast
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2024
- Messages
- 9
HI - 2nd post:
I just got "back" into scale modeling after 45 years or so ("back" meaning I did a few messy models as a youth and pre-teen, w/ testor's paint and cement).
I am jumping back all-in w/ air gun(s), spray booth, lots of supplies, and YOU TUBE and forums to learn from! Lots more information out there these days.
Have been trying Vallejo and Tamiya Acrylics, Testors enamels, and some lacquers, pigments, pin washes, etc.
Four builds so far, an F/A-18 (not sure which kit it was), then a Tamiya Tiger I Mid-Production, then a Tamiya A-10, then an Italeri Chinook, now working on a Tamiya Leopard II. Photos attached of completed models. Next one I want to do is an aluminum finish P-38 I will be using lacquers for.
Unfortunately we only have one real hobby store left in Anchorage, not counting Michaels ;-), and they only get a few haz mat shipments a year, so are often out of popular paint colors and limited in their kits.
Amazon Prime ships up here for "free", but many other hobby outlets either do not ship to Alaska, or charge more for shipping then the item costrs Almost nobody will ship individuals flammable stuff like enamel paint or glue, or aerosals, including Amazon.
All in all so far it is a really nice new hobby after getting into puzzles, RC cars, and archery the last few years.
My OCD makes it a good fit, but also frustrating in pursuit of perfection. Some issues I have had: 1) super tiny little details my fat shaky fingers cannot put together even with tweezers, or I put together and they are a gluey mess. 2) tiny little decals that are impossible to me to apply, and don't seem to really serve a purpose at the scale model is in unless you have extreme OCD, 3) anything clear plastic, 4) having weathering issues even when all steps/layer rules are followed, like cleaning up enamel washes and having it rub thru the acrylic gloss coat and into the acrylic paint below, 5) not thinking thru order of tasks well enough, and 6) anything that is tiny metal bits.
Specific issues I had: The Tiger's individual track links turned into an exercise in super glue, instructions and link designs were very bad, the A-10 said apply weight in nose, which I did, during the build, in the form of steel nuts super glued into the spot they had reserved for it; but they did not say how much weight, and it wasn't enough. I ended up making a little clear plastic sprue piece to hold up the tail, not in these photos yet. The F/A-18 I thought I built cockpit correctly but canopy would not close, so it is "open canopy" now. On the Tiger I ended up making up my own angled camo job, on the A-10 I ended up doing my own idea of a Desert Storm paint job. I also had lost the gun muzzle on the A-10 and made a slightly oversized one out of a piece of tube with lot of tiny drilled holes.
Anyway, I appreciate this forum as a resource and place to share my work (beyond my immediate family- who just think or say that everything looks great ;-). Thanks
AKRoast (Ross)
I just got "back" into scale modeling after 45 years or so ("back" meaning I did a few messy models as a youth and pre-teen, w/ testor's paint and cement).
I am jumping back all-in w/ air gun(s), spray booth, lots of supplies, and YOU TUBE and forums to learn from! Lots more information out there these days.
Have been trying Vallejo and Tamiya Acrylics, Testors enamels, and some lacquers, pigments, pin washes, etc.
Four builds so far, an F/A-18 (not sure which kit it was), then a Tamiya Tiger I Mid-Production, then a Tamiya A-10, then an Italeri Chinook, now working on a Tamiya Leopard II. Photos attached of completed models. Next one I want to do is an aluminum finish P-38 I will be using lacquers for.
Unfortunately we only have one real hobby store left in Anchorage, not counting Michaels ;-), and they only get a few haz mat shipments a year, so are often out of popular paint colors and limited in their kits.
Amazon Prime ships up here for "free", but many other hobby outlets either do not ship to Alaska, or charge more for shipping then the item costrs Almost nobody will ship individuals flammable stuff like enamel paint or glue, or aerosals, including Amazon.
All in all so far it is a really nice new hobby after getting into puzzles, RC cars, and archery the last few years.
My OCD makes it a good fit, but also frustrating in pursuit of perfection. Some issues I have had: 1) super tiny little details my fat shaky fingers cannot put together even with tweezers, or I put together and they are a gluey mess. 2) tiny little decals that are impossible to me to apply, and don't seem to really serve a purpose at the scale model is in unless you have extreme OCD, 3) anything clear plastic, 4) having weathering issues even when all steps/layer rules are followed, like cleaning up enamel washes and having it rub thru the acrylic gloss coat and into the acrylic paint below, 5) not thinking thru order of tasks well enough, and 6) anything that is tiny metal bits.
Specific issues I had: The Tiger's individual track links turned into an exercise in super glue, instructions and link designs were very bad, the A-10 said apply weight in nose, which I did, during the build, in the form of steel nuts super glued into the spot they had reserved for it; but they did not say how much weight, and it wasn't enough. I ended up making a little clear plastic sprue piece to hold up the tail, not in these photos yet. The F/A-18 I thought I built cockpit correctly but canopy would not close, so it is "open canopy" now. On the Tiger I ended up making up my own angled camo job, on the A-10 I ended up doing my own idea of a Desert Storm paint job. I also had lost the gun muzzle on the A-10 and made a slightly oversized one out of a piece of tube with lot of tiny drilled holes.
Anyway, I appreciate this forum as a resource and place to share my work (beyond my immediate family- who just think or say that everything looks great ;-). Thanks
AKRoast (Ross)
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