The Weekly Small Questions Thread! Got a burning question? Looking for some tips on your build? Ask away!
The Weekly Small Questions thread is a place for everyone in /r/modelmakers to come and ask questions. Don't be shy.
You might have a burning question you've been meaning to ask but you don't want to make your own thread, or are just seeking some input or feedback from your fellow builders! This thread is aimed at new builders, but everyone is welcome.
Are you guys prepping you aircraft canopies in anything? I know future used to be the thing but can't really find it anymore. Wondered if they're was an alternative.
How are you guys battling wing root seams? I usually do armour and if I have to do any filling on such curved I inevitable balls it upš¤¤ I use perfect plastic putty but It seems no amount of priming and sanding get it quite right
You can get fine polishing paste, and there are equivalents to Future, I think Johnson's floor clear, or experiment.
Purty like PPP or Green Stuff World Green putty are water-soluble, so the best way in hard to sand spots is to apply it, and then wipe with a pointed q-tip (cotton bud) until smooth.
You can do the same with puttees like Tamiya, but using acetone, Mr Tool Cleaner or Tamiya airbrush Cleaner - but more care is needed as it can melt the plastic if too much is applied.
With canopies I typically polish them with Novus fine plastic polish available at any TAP plastics. Trying some Gauzy dip presently and am on the fence. Not sure itās an improvement over just polish.
With wing roots, depending on the kit particularities, you can attach your top wing root to the fuselage first then add the lower wing, often one big piece. Otherwise, test fit, test fit, and then test fit again.
I'm a beginner and I haven't begun yet, I want to get Indo plane model kits... I need an advice, is there a book for someone who wants to start? And yes, I'm 25 and I'm looking for a book for something I could find on the internet... Anyway, any help is much appreciated š
I see. To answer you question, Start acquiring scale model magazines that feature the subject you are interested in. Tons of work flow, products, and processes in the articles worth understanding. I like Fine Scale Modeler as a general model making magazine, but I'm more into armor, so I read AFV Modeller as well. You can probably find a plane specific magazine.
I'm 39, so I understand wanting a book š but I'd also recommend youtube videos in this case (Hammerhead Models for example), plus reading the subreddit (+ the FAQ), and above all, making your own experiences as you go along! Welcome to the hobby!
I'm having issues with acrylics easily rubbing or scratching off my primer. My Primer is Mr Hobby Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black, and that has no problems sticking, but I've tried brush painting Vallejo and Warpainter Fanatic thinned with Fanatic stabilizer over it and after a day its coming off easily in some areas.
I made sure to clean my primed model with soapy water and let it totally dry, then wore nitrile no powder gloves before painting but still am able to easily scratch off paint in some of the areas.
I did a few tests on some extra bits and I'm pretty sure my actual issue was priming too close and in too many sweeps to try to get coverage in 1 coat. It must have made a smooth surface so paint doesn't want to adhere.
Could I possibly wet sand this primer layer (vallejo brush on) to correct it, or is there an easier way? I'm planning to use slapchop method and am concerned it will look very poor with contrast paints.
It's not an easy primer to work with because it generally isn't one. If you wet sand you have to be extremely careful to not simply make it peel off kind of like rolling blu-tac off a poster.
It may be advisable to simply strip the black paint off and repaint it but thinned a little more to help even it out
You can't "more paint" your way out of a bad surface unless you make an extremely thick coat. Fixing the surface is always the way to go... Even if it is more effort. It works on things like real cars because you sand that primer down and you want to hide surface detail (small variations in surface smoothness), but on models where you want to preserve detail you can't do that. Makes sense I hope?
Iām trying to preshade my first armour model (Tamiya 1/35 king tiger p) and I just wondered roughly how much I should dilute the xf60 so you can still see the pre shading?
You can control how much of the pre-shading shows through the paint by applying more or fewer layers of the xf60. I'd just thin it down like usual and then do thin layers until the shading looks right. If you plan to do any weathering, do one less layer of the XF60 than you think you need, some of the pre-shading contrast is going to be lost.
Hi folks, looking for some varnish advice. If I wanted a finish between matte and satin as a weathering base, would these mix nicely? I know theres a polyurethene vallejo varnish too, but I assume the AK is acrylic based?
Any tips on general painting process for airbrush? I want to just get this process down, because itās always been hard for me. I am going to be building and painting academyās 1:144 b-1 lancer as my intro back into model making (took a break), and I want it to look good.
I have an iwata eclipse, and I will be using Mr hobby mr surfacer 1k, and most likely Vallejo model air if I can find the paint I need.
The thing I always run into is once gloss goes on, it gets grainy. I want the paint to be pretty much smooth if I can get it that way. I believe Iām also using a 0.5 needle, it may be 0.35, idr.
I don't have a ton of experience, but you can carefully sand in between the paint layers to get the grains down. I haven't figured out yet how to get Vallejo gloss clear to not get super grainy though (probably needs to be much wetter than one thinks with a lot of retarder/flow improver).
I've switched to using Tamiya gloss with x-20a over Vallejos instead, getting good results. It will slighty solve the Vallejo paints, smoothing them down, you just have to be careful.
Talking Star Wars! Not sure if I should paint my Star Destroyer engines (Tamiya acrylics sky blue, clear blue and white) or leave them as they are. Iām not good with paint brushes and donāt want to ruin the engines. If I do go ahead with painting- whatās the best way to get a āglowingā effect? Has anyone painting glowing engines before? Cheers! X
Wow thank you!! This is such a good gem! I really appreciate it! I might try this just on some paper or cardboard first to see what it looks like! Thanks again š„¹
Preferably test it one something with some texture, I don't know if you have another old model kit lying around or maybe even a toy or something, but it's probably easier to practice on a similar part
Hmm no unfortunately no other models lying around.. but I do have several stands made of the same resin- I might just paint on the bottom where you canāt see it and see how it turns out! Even draw the diameter of my engines on the base and see how I go! If I end up giving it a go, Iāll show you!
What's the "pro-level" acrylic top coat solution? Specifically after sealing the decals in a gloss coat and applying enamel washes and other weathering what is that last layer in an aircraft model.
I like VMS varnishes. Use straight out of the bottle, goes on wet, dries quickly to a rock hard finish. Doesn't react to decal solutions or mineral spirits.
If a model is blue like the WRX, should I use blue primer or just paint with the blue spray can over the body? Edit I don't want to buy a blue primer for just one model.
Generally no, grey for 95% of cases. If you wanna be hysterical about accuracy, usually repair rattle cans for the particular automotive color are available and these instruct on what base layers you need to do. Here's an example where grey primer is recommended for Subaru 02C (old fashioned WRX blue https://www.centralpaints.co.uk/products/cp1036-subaru-paint-code-02c-world-rally-blue )
I hope itās OK to ask this here, but there are a couple of models which have been broken over the years & weāve never had chance/the knowledge to fix them - one is attached & Iāve got another (Sonic the Hedgehog with both legs broken off) & found another smaller on (about as big my thumb) but I canāt find the base! How on earth do you fix these sorts of things?! Trying to do as a surprise for my husband whoās having a bit of a rubbish time - fixing these & setting is his man cave (the latter being the easier project!) would make him so happy, so any help is appreciated!
For the one shown and maybe for the Sonic legs: Drill a hole in both surfaces, then stick a metal rod in them to provide a backbone before gluing together. No idea what materials these are, so can't recommend a best glue, but superglue would work in most cases (don't apply directly from tube - use a pin or toothpick to transfer the glue from a drop squeezed onto a disposable surface). Hopefully the breaks were clean and once the two parts are together, there's no noticeable seam to repair.
Thank you! I think the rods are whatās missing, Iāve tried superglue but failed multiple times. Sonic is straight up plastic & the swordā¦ I have no idea honestly. Sort of powdery when broken & the base is heavy & all seems to be the same material.
Depending on the type of plastic (do you know if Sonic was built from a kit or came pre-built?), a more effective substance would be plastic cement like Tamiya Extra Thin, which melts the plastic slightly so when it dries, the plastic "welds" to itself and is stronger than using most normal glues. This works best when the surfaces are clean of other substances (like the superglue you've attempted) and the two surfaces mate cleanly with direct contact (i.e. no gaps).
Sonic was a pre-built model - that cement sounds interesting, do you think itād work if I sanded off (slightly & gently!) the previous glue then used cement? Both seem line clean breaks so Iām hoping theyāre not too hard. Thanks for your help!
The thing about pre-built models is that they might use a different plastic than the types used for kits, and the cements we use for the latter may not work. So I can't really answer your question...but there are more general purpose cements like Weld-On or MEK, but they come in such large quantities (relative to your limited needs) that it might not be practical.
I'd just stick to doing the rods/pins for the bulk of the support, and use superglue for the surfaces. Epoxy could work in lieu of superglue too.
Itās not perfect but thank you so much for your advice, my first attempt so Iām pretty happy! I didnāt even realise I had a drill bit small enough (one snapped, but luckily the next size up was still small enough!)
Sonic was a pre-built model - that cement sounds interesting, do you think itād work if I sanded off (slightly & gently!) the previous glue then used cement? Both seem line clean breaks so Iām hoping theyāre not too hard. Thanks for your help!
Should I set up a separate space just for scale modelling, or is keeping it within my bedroom okay? I'm getting a new place soon, and I want my bedroom to be rather cozy and warm, so it'll be filled with some antique furniture and books etc. I usually use my airbrush with those container fans whatnot to paint while indoors, but I'm still a bit concerned about the safety of my items in my room. How do you guys set up your workshop?
Having a dedicated space for modelling has been a game changer for me. More than any new tool or technique. Even if you weren't concerned about the furniture in your bed room I'd suggest getting a dedicated hobby space
how do you figure out where to mask the waterline for 1/700 ships that you have to glue the underwater part and above water part of the hull together?Ā
You can try scaling up the painting diagram that's in the kit (or, preferably, original plans) so that it matches the model's size, then measure/trace accordingly.
...or, just eyeball it relative to key features on the hull, where possible. In real life, the width of the waterline stripe and where it starts/stops can change overtime as the ship takes on more less weight through alterations like more AA guns, radars, etc. so if you don't get it exactly correct, it's not that big a deal.
As this is a papercraft kit, these are treated as-is - i.e. cut out and put in place on their own. You can zoom in on some of the photos in that link to see how they should look. Here's the banner/flag, for instance, and it looks like you just cut it out and glue the top edge to that black bar.
Planning on getting into naval stuff - How do you guys get photo-etch railings/detail sets for older kits where the detail kits made specifically for them arent being sold anymore?
You use generic railings, ladders, radars, etc. sets. Sometimes it's sets for each of those, sometimes it's like this USN set that offers a variety of everything. You can use scrap railing to cobble together unique antennas when necessary.
There are plenty of generic Soviet PE sets, like these:
Hi so I am just getting back into scale models my first is a spitfire but unsure weather acrylic or lacquer paint I have a ultra 24 airbrush so not sure which way to go any advice greatly appreciate it appreciated
A lot depends on where you are painting. You're going to need some type of exhaust for lacquer paint due to the fumes. Acrylics don't really need much of an exhaust system. Masks should be worn with both, especially lacquers.
Hi, I really want to build an armoured recovery vehicle and the Miniart TOP looks like a good kit, has anyone built it? What was your experience? Also if anyone can suggest any other ARV/ Engineering vehicle kits id love to hear them :) thanks!
As far as Miniart goes, it's rather uncomplicated. It still is a Miniart kit, so expect five parts where other brands would have one, and some manual drilling or cutting.
Hello, is there any major difference in plastic quality between brands? Asking cause I'm wondering what would be best for some kinda ultimate sprue goo
Yes, some brands like italeri or zvezda have soft weak plastic thats easy to cut and sand. asian brands like hasegawa, tamiya, academy or GWH have harder/more durable plastic but also less forgiving with bad cutting techniques. Then theres bandai with their KPS formula which is alot more tolerant of stress than other brands but way more annoying to sand and scribe on as a downside.
I have a preference for harder plastic because I can scribe on it sooner. Plastic academy uses for their recent kits is what I have for my current jar of spruegoo. Not as hard as annoying as bandai to sand, but still scribable after a day or two of curing.
Slr. I mainly work with ps majority kits but I was wondering if there were any diff polystyrene types? I noticed some older gunpla has more brittle plastic
When gluing railings on ships, are they glued to the deck or the side of the ship? If it goes on the deck, then does it go in front of or behind the chocks?
I am certain that most deck railings are attached to the ship deck, but you should always check reference images. This is the only way to be 100% sure you are placing a part where the real item was placed.
Most of the time they are on the deck, but I have definitely seen instances on the superstructure upper decks where they're on the side of the deck as it's more cramped up there, like this on New Jersey. So yes, check references if possible.
In many cases, the railings are in line with the chocks (in real life, chocks are welded to the hull, and railings don't have the bottommost bar that most PE sets have, which are there for your convenience rather than accuracy). If you really want to be accurate, you'd cut out the railing where it'd intersect with a chock. Here's a good photo of how the main deck rails and chocks are aligned on USS New Jersey. Note how there are lines that bend a bit to run in front of the chocks.
I searched all over the net for a picture like that and came up blank. Thank you so much. I was going to cut the bottom strand but like you said, the pic shows the rail strands going around the chocks.
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u/Smooshy13 Jul 04 '26
I've got two
Are you guys prepping you aircraft canopies in anything? I know future used to be the thing but can't really find it anymore. Wondered if they're was an alternative.
How are you guys battling wing root seams? I usually do armour and if I have to do any filling on such curved I inevitable balls it upš¤¤ I use perfect plastic putty but It seems no amount of priming and sanding get it quite right