John

adzam

keep it comin bud

wonwinglo

Far from it Richard,I think it serves to remind us all of the correct way to do things,remember many beginners also search the internet for basic info,as it is all archived someone can easily pick it up on a search engine,just what we want,please carry on I for one am enjoying your series.

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

Bunkerbarge

Well now that we have some of the tools in place and talked a bit about paint and glue lets look at taking those first steps and actually glueing some pieces together.

Firstly one of the most important things for me, which also applies to so many things in life is preparation. Reading the instructions first may sound so blindingly obvious we all think it doesn't merit saying but it is the one most important thing to do. Read them at least twice and identify all the pieces before you even consider removing anything from the sprues. It may suprise a lot of people to realise just how many times pieces can look similar and end up being glued in the wrong place if they haven't been correctly identified first.

Next lay out your plot. Some of us will be lucky enough to have a place to work that can be left overnight but many of us will have to put things away again after a modelling session. (We all started there!) It is so important to keep a tidy work area that allows you to find all the important things quickly and efficiently. It is no good glueing two bits together than realising that you can't find the clamps you need to hold it together while it sets. So layout your work top so that you can find all your tools and pieces easily.

Assuming that you have everyting in place and you have removed two pieces from the sprues with your side cutters you are ready to start preparing the pieces for glueing. Obviously the pieces must be studied closely and all flashing, tags and seams should be carefully removed with a combination of scraping, filing, cutting and sanding. Time spent at this stage will reap benefits later when you come to paint the pieces and you suddenly realise that the seam stands out more than you anticipated after painting.

You must also prepare the pieces to fit by a combination of the above techniques. Once again do not cut corners here otherwise the two pieces when glued become animated with a mind all of thier own when they refuse to go together correctly. Getting incorrectly fitted pieces apart after the glue has set is not an option so the test fitting and preparation is of the utmost importance.

Once again preparation is significant so if you need tape, clamps, vices or any other supporting media get it ready and to hand before applying the glue.

Finally apply the glue to the two parts. Refer to the posting on glues to decide what glue is best for your application and put the two pieces together. If all your preparation has been put in place the pieces should go together easily, suport should be put in place while the pieces are left to set and the end result should be a strong effective and neat joint.

All that should be left o do afterwards is the minimum of cleaning up and, if it is a joint in two surfaces, the smoothing of the seam.

As with all modelling everything is part of a learning process but a bit of thought into some of these basics will help you to keep the mistakes to a minimum and keep a smile on your face.

Just remember that I do not offer any of these postings as a means of doing something, I simply pass on the results of my own learnings over the years, and, yes, I have made all the mistakes at some point or other myself!

Bunkerbarge

So having glued some pieces together lets have a look at what is required after that. Hopefully all the smaller detail pieces have been glued without requiring any further attention but the bigger pieces such as hulls and wings will have to be cleaned up after gluing.

I have to admit to many years of not doing very well with the dressing up of joints and to even avoiding models that incorporated such joints. This proved to be a bit of a pity as one of the most common was hull joints in ships, something I have come to enjoy very much more as time has gone on.

As with so many basic things the success of any such task depends on the preparation work done before hand. When you are gluing large components that are going to have a joint in them ensure that the pieces either side of the joint are held in the correct attitude as the glue sets.

Imagine for instance the classic situation with gluing the two halves of a ships hull. The vast majority of hulls are flat in the middle for probably about a third of the total hull length but the temptation is always to hold the two halves of the hull together with elastic, clamps, sticky tape etc and keep the halves under pressure until the glue sets. This invariably causes the hull to compress slightly and the flat bottom ends up with a slight rise either side of the keel.

This is something that requires thought into the preparation of how you are going to hold the pieces until the glue is set to ensure that the bottom is correctly flat. This then makes the cleaning up of the hull after the glue has set so much easier to deal with.

To clean up the joint the best I have found over the years that automotive “Wet and Dry” paper is the most effective. The joint may require some scraping to remove glue that has squeezed out of the faces, which can be done gently by dragging a knife blade over the area. Then, using the “Wet and Dry” in a bowl of soapy water to keep the paper clean and lubricated, wrap it round a square block of any material. Using a square block always ensures that the action remains square and doesn’t follow undulations in the surface which will invariable happen if you simply use the paper in your hand.

Start with a course grit paper of approximately 200, depending upon the size of the surface being rubbed down and gently rub until the entire length of the joint is an even matt finish with no sign of any depressions or raised areas. When the joint has been successfully dressed up in this way go to a finishing paper, of say 600 grit, and rub over the area again by hand.

Once this has been completed and the component has dried out completely a light thin coat of primer should be applied by either spray or painting over the area of the joint only. The primer will show up any imperfections in the joint and show you any point that may require a bit of further work.

Once you have mastered the technique of cleaning up joints in this way it really will surprise you just how easily a perfect joint can be achieved which, when the top coat of paint is applied, will be completely invisible.

Bunkerbarge

Well it has been some time since I added something to the “Back to Basics” thread as I thought that most of the really basic stuff had been covered. What I now find though is that as I get involved with other discussions on the forum thoughts turn to subjects that are maybe not quite as basic as the originals but can be progressed to in a sequential way, which may help modelers take their skills into new areas.

I will therefore help the newcomers to plastic modeling take some of those steps that open up new doors and help you to realize just how easy it can be to achieve some surprising levels of realism with your models.

Keeping the “Back to Basics” theme very firmly in mind I thought I might share a few ideas on metallic finishes and, in particular thinking along the lines of model engines etc.

As with so much in modeling you cannot beat having a look at the subject you are modeling and whilst it may not be so easy to have a Sopwith Camel or the odd Bismarck to hand most of us should be able to get to have a look at an engine in some form or another. It will quickly become obvious that there as many different engine types and finishes as there are anything else so what may be acceptable for your model Ducati would not look correct if you applied the same paints to the said Sopwith Camel.

A good starting point is to try to get an idea of what the metals used in your engine really are. Most modern engines use various aluminium and magnesium alloys and are therefore a very light metallic finish however if you are building a model of a vintage car most engine blocks would be of an aluminium material with cast iron also used for numerous components. The essence, as always is a bit of research and, of course if in doubt, ask questions. What could be a better resource than forums such as this to help with this type of information?

Lets take a pretty typical engine that you may find yourself modeling such as a Tamiya Ducati motorcycle, “V” Twin. Most of the main casing of these engines is made from a magnesium alloy and so are a bit darker in shade than aluminium and some of them are actually powder coated. Paints you would want to hand would be Gunmetal, Metallic Grey, Silver and maybe gold.

It is doing things like putting together a model engine that you realize it is time to stray away from the instructions and think things through for yourself. Following the instructions you will paint the various items and glue them to the engine in sequence but that may be not quite as logical as putting the two halves of the casing together first and painting them as one unit. I always use a piece of sprue and glue it to the engine at some point that is going to be eventually covered, such as behind a chrome cover or in the exhaust hole. Don’t use a lot of glue, as you want the sprue to break off easily when you are ready! You then have a handle to hold the engine and you can paint away to your hearts content and put the sprue into a modeling vice when you are not painting.

Most engines such as the Ducati will have a crankcase of one base colour and additional fittings of different metals. The key to bringing it all to life is using different paint mixes to give subtle shades which will highlight the different pieces.

Most modern engines being water cooled will have cylinders of the same metal so would be the same colour but in earlier engines the air cooled cylinders could well be cast iron and the crank case could be aluminium. After a coat of gunmetal on the crankcases and cylinders it is time to think of a very simple technique, which will really bring the metal to life and that is dry brushing.

Dry brushing is a technique for highlighting surface detail and enhances the way light shines on the raised surface detail of an object. The initial mistake a lot of people make is to use different paints for this and the effect can be very unrealistic. Do not paint an engine black and then dry brush silver over it as this would not work and the result would look worse than doing nothing. The key is to be subtle so shades of the same colour should be used. Take your base of gunmetal paint, add a few drops to whatever palette you use (or whichever sideplate you have managed to sneak past your mother/wife/partner!) and add a single drop of silver. This now gives you a lighter shade of the base colour, which will be the dry brush medium. You need quite a large brush for dry brushing and a good supply of kitchen roll (steal this at the same time as you steal the side plate). Dab the large brush into your highlight paint and then wipe the brush on the kitchen roll to remove most of the paint. Flick the brush in very strong stokes back and forth across the kitchen roll until you feel that the paint on the brush is “dry” enough. Too much and you will end up painting the engine the highlight colour and not enough and nothing will happen. This will only be learned with experience and experimentation so play to your hearts content. When you are happy with the quantity of paint transfer to the model engine and flick the brush in firm even strokes across the base coat. If you have it right you will not see much effect until you have made a few strokes and then you will see the highlights start to come out. When you see this move on. The most important thing is not to do too much. You would be surprised at how effective a very small amount is and you shouldn’t be able to see the highlight as a separate colour. When you have done you will surprised at just how lifelike the finish will now look.

The next step with the Ducati engine would be to add remaining detail, if a different metal is involved such as the carburetors, then painting separately and gluing on afterwards would usually be the best method. If the engine has some chrome covers or bell mouths then you will find that the final engine with its cables and pipes in conjunction with the different metallic finishes added looks amazingly lifelike. Finally the engine may well have been fitted with bolts and fastenings of yet a different metal and will almost certainly be a lot brighter. I would still not use silver as this tends to be unrealistic and too bright so mix a drop of Gunmetal or Metallic Grey into a base of sliver to tone it down. Then Paint the nuts, bolts and fastenings with the smallest brush you can handle. Take your time and be patient and remember that if one is beyond your skill then leave it. It will look better not done than attempted and smudged with a bright contrasting colour.

As with most things you can’t beat experimenting and after a few dozen engines you will find it all second nature.

Remember this is about basic techniques, simple things that will take you to new levels of realism very easily. We could also discuss various shadowing techniques, metalcote paints and other polishing processes but what has been described above will give you a bit of confidence and make you want to look into more sophisticated techniques your self.

5thelement

Some great advice in here! all much appreciated, i'll definately be coming back to read through these again.

Bunkerbarge

Many thanks for the encouragement.

Probably about time I added a bit more but the idea was to keep with basics here which seem to be reasonably well covered.

I have a couple of more ideas for some postings but I may be near to considering it done.

Bunkerbarge

Strangely enough I have been thinking about what I could write about for the next “Back to Basics” topic for a while and was thinking a Diorama posting would be useful. Then I see we have suggested a separate topic for just this subject so I thought it may be time to put something together.

Taken from the Cambridge “On Line Dictionary” a diorama is as follows:

a model which shows a situation, such as an historical event or animals in their natural surroundings, in a way that looks real because the height, length and width of what is being shown are accurately represented in comparison with each other.

I tend to think of it as a snapshot in time, a scene or setting captured in modeling mediums of an actual picture in three dimensions. This all sounds all well and good but we are talking about basics here so the trick with diorama’s to me is how you can create one to suit your needs, skill levels, pocket etc.

We have all studied in awe the diorama’s in model magazines that just have us staring in amazement. Tamiya Magazine regularly have them reviewed and the U-Boat one pictured in the latest Model Boats magazine is just stunning. These things though take many hundreds, if not thousands, of hours to make and are beyond most of us as regards the time involved.

Lets think a bit more down to earth though and ask ourselves what we want from a diorama. To me it more often than not simply is the desire to present a favourite model in a more realistic setting than on a wooden base or plinth, nothing more involved than that. This is where we can start to put the real thought into not just how a diorama can be created but just how simple and basic it can actually be. Lets start with something we have all made, a 1/72nd fighter kit. If we decide we want it displayed with the undercarriage down what sort of diorama could we incorporate it into to bring it to life. It may be no more than putting it on a base to represent a piece of runway or depending on the period a piece of grass. We can then go on to deciding how we can create a concrete surface or a grass effect and place the model on the base. It will look 10 times better than sat on a shelf or a polished wood base for doing no more than that.

What will really make it jump out though is the addition of some other item or other that puts the model into a setting. If you are talking of a WWII Spit what about having the pilot, instead of sitting in the cockpit, sat in an armchair next to his plane waiting for the alarm to go. Very simple, very easy and yet the model takes on a complete scenario that has the viewer thinking about the snapshot in time as much as the aircraft itself. You can also show off the lovely cockpit detail and have the door open. These little additions are what gives the scene that extra dimension and puts the model into a setting rather than on display. Airfix knew this years and years ago when they incorporated a tractor and rack of bombs with their Short Stirling kit, included a team of RAF personnel with the Bloodhound kit (including dog!) and produced such models as the airfield control tower and refueling bowser.

What about motorcycle models. I have a number that I put onto a diorama base that were very simple to make put give the model a whole new life. One of them, a racing Honda, is with a figure, stood next to the bike ready to jump on it. This to me needed to be on a starting grid so to put this into a snapshot in time I wanted a starting grid base. I used a sheet of wet and dry paper, glued it to a base, masked and painted some white lines on it and dirtied the area with some rubber streaks from a black wash. Couldn’t be simpler but the model looks so much better. Another very simple one was a motorcycle cornering with a rider on it. Once again I used a sheet of wet and dry for the road surface and incorporated an arc of plywood with some curbstones cut from plasticard and covered it with railway grass. The curbstones were pained red and white and the model placed on the “corner”.

Probably the most commonly thought of types of model when we think of dioramas would be military vehicles. We regularly see these incorporated into diorama’s of breathtaking complexity where you find you are looking at many many different scenes incorporated into one model. Once again though it may take no more than a simple setting to bring your model to life rather than a huge project. I once built a Tamiya field gun that came complete with about four figures, ammunition and a few other detail bits. It was crying out for a diorama setting so I made a base, painted it with contact adhesive and sprinkled real dried soil onto it. I made some sand bags from modeling clay, rolled into round sections and cut into ‘bags’ and built a sand bag emplacement with them. The figures and the gun required no more than placing in the setting to instantly give a scene from the second world war rather than a model of a field gun.

The real objective of this post is to get you to think of just how easy it is to create a diorama once you have put the required thought into its planning. More often than not it is thinking of just how easy it can be that is the trick and how you can incorporate easy to obtain household materials to put it together. I now nearly always use a cheap picture frame as the base. All you need to do is remove the rest from the back and take the glass out and replace it with a piece of hard board and mask the frame. Make your diorama on the hardboard then remove the masking tape. You have a neatly secured diorama with a perfectly fitted varnished wooden edge to it. Once again simple, easy and cheap but most of all very effective!!

5thelement

Another great installment of advice!

Im considering making some type of basic diorama base for my Messerschmitt when it's finished. I just want something basic, such as grass or a runway to display on it and hopefully learn some stuff while doing it.

I guess a good place to start would be to look for photos of german ww2 airfields and see what type of setting the planes were typically in, and try base something around that.

Hmm, you've got me thinking now....i love the idea of using a cheap picture frame as the base aswell, i've got a perfect sized one lying in a drawer