Cheap starter sets

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So been back modeling for a little while now keep getting disheartened that mine dont look as good as some but i no practice makes perfect. Anyhow bought some cheap starter sets from aldi the starter sets are hurricane,red arrow gnat,mustanng and curtis tomahawk discarded the paints already il buy more tamiya have airbrush fantastic paints my question is can anyone post some links to aftermarket pe or resin that i could use to improve these kits thanks
 
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dubster72

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A good place to look is on the Hannants website. With each kit they show the available aftermarket stuff.

However, you can easily spend many times the cost of a kit on AM, even in 1/72. And no amount of brass or resin will make a model look better if your basic skills aren't as good as you'd like.
 
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They were in my local store and no im not bad at the basics just dont look like some of the amazing kits some make but sometimes i rush and thats half of the problem my pride and joy is my 1/48 mosquito tamiya spent months on it and i love it but others ive rushed a tad and get abit disheartened sometimes when i see what some people doo
 

stillp

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Just popped up to my local Aldi, and they didn't have any. Must be a local deal.:sad:

I know what you mean though, some of the builds on here are top quality.
 

Peej

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Don't get disheartened mate. We aren't here to race or compete with each other. Just enjoy the building and they will start to look better. I often look at my 1st builds and think "I am improving".
 

stillp

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My local Aldi did have an airbrush and compressor for £19.99 though! Intended for spray tanning.

Pete
 
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dubster72

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They were in my local store and no im not bad at the basics just dont look like some of the amazing kits some make but sometimes i rush and thats half of the problem my pride and joy is my 1/48 mosquito tamiya spent months on it and i love it but others ive rushed a tad and get abit disheartened sometimes when i see what some people doo

Well I didn't mean to imply that your skills aren't up to the task. Merely that spending money on extras won't necessarily give you the results you're hoping for.
Even more so if you're inclined to rush things - something we're all guilty of from time to time.

In 1/72 most of the aftermarket stuff won't be noticeable unless a person looks really closely. What's better is to spend more time getting the overall finish looking good.
 
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Your right to be fair best of doing them as basic midels and saveing the aftermarket for my better models such as 1/24 spitfire so on
 

stillp

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Even more so if you're inclined to rush things - something we're all guilty of from time to time.
Patrick, when I was doing a lot more modelling than I do now, it was a pleasant change sometimes to just glue all the parts together without worrying too much about the fit. The trouble with trying to get every detail 'right' is that sometimes it's easy to feel you're not getting anywhere.

Pete
 
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Plastickitbasher

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Why not post a few photo's I'm sure the aircraft builders will soon get you moving in the right direction.
Try not to be to hard on yourself, the more you enjoy it the more you'll improve...
 

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Your right to be fair best of doing them as basic midels and saveing the aftermarket for my better models such as 1/24 spitfire so on

I reckon the best way to approach it is to try and make this kit - the one you're working on at the moment - better than the last one you built.

I'm only talking of basics though as I don't have any advanced skills myself. Things like the seams you didn't fill properly last time, or the decals that silvered. Get that kind of detail correct and it makes even straightforward OOB builds look 200% better.
 
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I got these pucs of my 1/48 mossi i didnt paint the canopy mabye come back to it at a laterdate when i have more confidence but i thort id post see what you think
 

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yak face

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Hi James , as Paul (peej) said dont beat yourself up about it , its not a competition or race , the main thing is just build em and enjoy it. They will improve with each model , we're all constantly learning and getting better. The mosquito looks great for a first effort, things like painting the canopies take a bit of courage to do but you'll soon get the hang of it . The starter kits from airfix are great little kits (just bin the paints !) and can make fantastic looking models . In 1/72 aircraft one of the main things that makes a big difference to a basic kit is seat belts , these can either be sourced aftermarket or a lot of the time home made ones from masking tape etc can look fine under a closed canopy. I wouldnt bother with anything more aftermarket in 1/72 unless you really wanted to go to town , cheers tony
 

Ian M

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That Mossie looks good to me. There are a couple of things that could be improved but all in all a good build.

The tires are to black and shiny as well. Tyres look much more convincing in a very dark grey eventually dusted over with a bit lighter grey over the tread area to show wear.. They do need to be matt though.
The canopies on aircraft are also a focal point. Everyone will try to see "whats inside". There are some that can just take a fine brush and go at it and it looks great. Others (myself included) have not got the rock steady hand that requires so its masking tape and a sharp blade.
I have also experimented with Decals for canopies. Clear inkjet decal paper, sprayed with acrylic paint then cut to the required width. After four or five years they are still holding down and look OK. A tad fiddly but if it goes wrong you just peel it off and try again! (and you can do the interior colour and exterior colour at the same time. Just spray the decal film with the inside colour first then the out side colour.
 

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When I started building I wasn't very confident about painting canopies so I used "sharpie" pens.
 
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