Tips and Tricks

1.) Prepare to get messy, no matter how clean you think you can be prepare for the worst and grab a newspaper sheet to spread out and allot of napkins.

2.) Get the right equipment, I.E. brushes, paint etc. I'd suggest some very fine brushes and take a glance at your local model/hobby shop for the right paint shades you like. Again this step is trial and error, your paints are entirely dependent on what you are painting.

4.) When you are actually ready to paint decide ahead of time what you want to paint first, try to paint things that will end up the same color in the same sitting so as not to waste paint and thinner. and decide whether or not you want to wait till the model is assembled to paint that part (you should only wait till it's done if the part will be easily accessible, if not paint it while it's still on the plastic racks it comes connected to, then when dry cut it off and paint the spot that you cut.)

5.) This step is very important, Use very little paint on your brush, it goes a long way! I found this out the hard way. Wipe your brush on the side of your paint bottle after dipping and sometimes if you want a light coating brush the excess off on your newspaper.

6.) When ready to paint use a flat black on the areas of the model that you want a dark undertone on (I.E. Shadows worn down areas etc) then go over it lightly with the main color of the object, then if it's metal you can really make it look better by (VERY) lightly (and with a tiny amount of paint on your brush) brushing silver over areas that would be scratched etc.

7.) One more tip, when painting silver weapons paint the entire body black, let it dry, then lightly go over it with silver, it looks very nice in the end.

8.) Use lacquer thinner to clean brushes. It will dissolve most paints completely. Just dip the brush in and swirl about for a few seconds. Then dry it using a soft cloth or paper towel. Work between the bristles to get it completely clean. "Smushing" it on the bottom of your solvent bottle will only ruin the bristles in the long run.

9.) Use liquid glue of the solvent type. No paste types in tubes. For metal parts use either isocyanoacrylic (super glue) or epoxy. The later is better, particularly for making resin kits. Be extremely sparing in using super glue. I would recommend using a small sewing needle in a pin vice to apply it much of the time by capillary action.

10.) Make sure to deflash and remove all mold lines from parts before assembly.

11.) Wash all the parts while they are still on their sprue using detergent and water. Let dry thoroughly. This removes the mold release and other manufacturing stuff leaving clean parts for assembly and painting.

12.) When hand painting parts start with the lightest colors and work to darkest. This doesn't apply if airbrushing. If you have a part that will be silver when painted if hand painting apply a coat of white paint first.

13.) Always use an appropriate sized brush when painting.

14.) Go easy on dry brushing, washes, etc. These are usually overdone by most modellers.

 

The "Razorboy" method for making stones and stone walls.

Get some premixed drywall paste. I had a half a pail leftover from a drywall project and being the proverbial tightwad I decided to put it to use.


After picking a "form" (cat litter container lid) I mixed my desired base colour right in with the paste and smoothed the mix out as evenly as possible, filling the form with the desired thicknes of "stone" material.


Mix together thouroughly and allow to dry for at least 12 hours. After that it should look like this -


Break the "Stones" into pieces in the size you require.


I used a piece of styrene strip as a base for my wall although I am certain other material might work equally well. I used crazy glue but your brand should work just as well, so use what you like.




Once complete, I glued the rock wall 'sub-assembly' to the base.


I used the extra rock quite liberally on the base, establishing an association between the wall stone and the gound stone.


Good luck!
razorboy

 

Add some sand blasting silica next time. It gives a rougher texture.

 

very clever i like that very well done looks great
best krieg

 

What type/color of paint did you use to color the compound? I could make out that you used folkart paint, but I cannot make out the color? Was it Camel, perhaps mushroom?

 

That remindes me, what happened to Razorboy? He made good models.

 

I use Spackling. It is something you put over walls and it dries......It take about 24 hours. Then I sift through dirt with a stariner and buy whatever needed materials. I make 1/72 scale so I use moss for bushes.......heres some of my progress.

Also. I get a picture frame and measure it and get a piece of wood at the home depot cut to fit it.....That 3rd picture is what the second picture became (little trench) when I added dirt and what not.

 

Oh yes.....and always mask the frame of the picture frame so spackling doesnt get on it or have another frame

 

the "Razorboy method" helped me out a lot, its very simple and easy! =)

 

............... Fantastic. Congratulations on such a good job. ​

 

1 tip first paint then atatch

 

Here's one for any scale: How to make trees fast and cheap.

Need mass produced trees? This works great. Enmasse this system makes wonderful looking trees. I use if for wargaming but you could use it in modelling too.

Materials: Bailing wire, rough sisal or hemp rope, flat black spray paint (I buy a quart can of cheap acrylic or enamel at Home Depot and use my sprayer), a can of matt varnish (buy a quart for small trees, a gallon for bigger ones, say 1/35th... get the cheapest stuff you can find) and, flocking like woodlands scenic or, make your own out of sifted sawdust and dye or paint.

1. cut the bailing wire into lengths twice as long as the trees you want to make. Use varying thickness of wire as appropriate. Bend it in half to form something that looks like a bobby pin.
2. cut the rope into lengths that are a bit longer than the width of the tree you want.
3. Unravel the rope and loosely stick pieces between the wire over the length of your "tree" leaving a base for the trunk.
4. clamp the closed end of the wire in a vise or other similar holder.
5. using lockwire pliars, pliars, vice grips, or if you have this down a power drill, spin the wires together over their entire length. This will trap, clamp and, spread the "branches" in all direction.
6. After making the number of trees you want, trim the "branches" to shape using sicssors.
7. Spray paint the whole tree black.
8. Put your flocking in a large paper or plastic sack.
9. Dip the tree into the varnish and let the excess drip off. Then put the tree in a large paper sack (not the one with the flocking) and spin it to get off the rest of the excess varnish.
10. Put the tree in the sack with the flocking, close it up holding the tree around the closed end of the sack and shake vigorously for a few seconds.

Out comes a finished tree that looks great. I can make about 100 of these in an afternoon with someone helping.

 

Contest Modeling.

I used to be an IPMS National Judge. One of the things we used to find, was armor models with unfinished undersides. The modelers would claim no one could see it, so why bother?

We'll we could see it. Unpainted under the hulls. Bogies and wheels unfinished on the inside, etc.

In contest judging, that's the kind of thing that will separate a winner from a loser. How do we see this? With pen lights and getting down to table level.

 

I'm not sure if this is the right place but it's really urgent that I seek some advice right now. Currently I'm working on a plastic model and there is this one thin stick like piece that is attached to the overall plastic frame where you cut out each individual piece.

Well, my dilemma is that this one stick piece is connected by 3 places where you must cut it off from the frame. However the stick is so thin that I'm afraid that when I cut one connection then the stick will break. I've faced this before and in the end I had to glue the stick back together. I'm sorry that this seem so confusing but I could really appreciate a tip or a trick to get this stick piece off the plastic frame in one piece.

 

Use a pair of flush cut diagonal cutters like you would use for cutting small leads on components on a circuit board. If you don't have those I suggest a pair of fingernail cutters and that you cut the part off back from it just a bit initially. That is, take some of the sprue (the "frame") with the part to get it off.
Once off, you can then use a sharp razor blade or razor knife to cut the remaining sprue off close to the part. Finish cleaning up the spots where it was attached using either a flat jeweller's or die riffler's file or, use some very fine (440 grit+) sandpaper and wet sand them off on laying the sandpaper on a hard flat surface.

 

Thanks very much. The only thing I did have were fingernail cutters and the razor blade but it worked out fine. Appreciate it.

 

I just found out that Razorboy posted this on another guys user: "Sure kasper I'll be your friend, unfortunately I'm leaving because of the amount of jerks here."

 

some good tips here guys thanks

 

Here's a place every modeler should know about: Micro-Mark: The Small Tool Specialists