Another newbie asking for advise....please

rtfoe

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Nail clippers are still useful as they can still get into awkward areas for a clean cut.

Cheers,
Richard
 
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..Ok so most of the stuff has now arrived and I have been busy clearing the spare room in preparation.

The actual kit arrived today so I opened the box....and then quickly put it away again! My current excuse is the room isn't "prepped" yet, and I am still awaiting the glue and filler....(I may need a lot of filler!!)

I have taken the added precaution of buying a cheap/budget 1/72 scale Airfix Tiger tank starter kit, (includes glue, paint and a brush), as I thought it may be a good idea to have a little practice on something first! (Seems to be a newish moulding as the sprues are very clean with no flash).

Still dreading the first dab of the paint brush though, (and not sure what to paint on the sprue and what to paint post assembly!!)

If I feel brave I may give the sprues a good clean as recommended ...(it may take a few days for them to dry thus putting off the inevitable "first steps" for a little longer...).
 

dave

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There is no hard and fast rule about painting and assembly. I always remove parts from the sprue and clean up. Then I assemble as much as I can without causing problems painting. Then I paint the sub-assemblies and continue the build.
 

Archetype

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Just get stuck in! You don't know until you try and as long as you learn from any mistake you'll keep getting better.

Starting a blog is a great idea for getting help and tips along the way.
 
D

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Yes, I'm afraid I have the monopoly on negative waves Stu, so you'll just have to crack on and enjoy yourself :tongue-out2:

The Doctor did once say something about manic depression, but I'm not sure which one of my personalities he was talking to....
 

Bobby Conkers

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Now look young Stu. We don't allow 'Negative waves'! ;) Ask Andy, (Paintguy)

Positive only.

I thank you.

Absolutely.

Get the thing out and anything which looks dodgy, you claim as "customised". If you break something it's "kit-bashing" and if you destroy the whole thing it's "gone to a museum".
 
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Hi all, and thanks for the positive vibes...not been called "young" for as long as mt somewhat limited memory can remember!

I have found a cracking youtube vid of a chap building an almost identical kit, (King Tiger I think). I will take some pics of the "build" as I go...

....odd that as I was clearing out the spare room, at the back of a cupboard I found an Airfix Red Arrows starter kit that a friend brought me for Christmas about 2 years ago!.......so something else to practice on....(why did they use grey plastic for a red arrows kit that is 99.9% red?!)
 

spanner570

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Stu, wait until you try and build a kit in red plastic.

Then you will understand why the Red Arrows kit is grey! ;)
 
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rtfoe

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Hi all, and thanks for the positive vibes...not been called "young" for as long as mt somewhat limited memory can remember!

I have found a cracking youtube vid of a chap building an almost identical kit, (King Tiger I think). I will take some pics of the "build" as I go...

....odd that as I was clearing out the spare room, at the back of a cupboard I found an Airfix Red Arrows starter kit that a friend brought me for Christmas about 2 years ago!.......so something else to practice on....(why did they use grey plastic for a red arrows kit that is 99.9% red?!)
So you can splash money and buy paint. :tears-of-joy: Or give you guys with negative vibes something to practice on.:smiling3:

Cheers,
Richard
 

Jakko

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(Seems to be a newish moulding as the sprues are very clean with no flash).
You can tell “modern” Airfix kits from old ones by looking at the shape of the sprue: if it’s a tree that all the parts hang off of, it’s an old kit, while if it’s a rectangle that goes all the way around the parts, it’s a modern one.

Old:

IMG_0731.JPG

New:

IMG_1050.JPG
 

Tim Marlow

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Top one is a FW 189 isn’t it? I made that about fifty years ago LOL...nice kit I thought at the time! Bottom one looks like a higgings boat....never made that!
 

Gern

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Methinks you're worrying too much Stu. In the whole history of modelling, I'll bet there hasn't ever been a modeller who was perfectly happy with their first build. Even if you get it built all neat and tidy with everything in the right place and painted the right colours, you'll look at it after you've done another few models and think "I could have done that a bit better." Sometimes it will be things like missing a seam line or not drilling out a gun barrel. Other times it will be the weathering doesn't look as realistic as it should be, or maybe "I should have spent a bit more money and added that aftermarket set".

Just accept the fact that your builds will get better as your skills improve - but you will ALWAYS say "I could have done that a bit better." after they have sat on your shelf next to your latest build.
 

GerryW

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Methinks you're worrying too much Stu. In the whole history of modelling, I'll bet there hasn't ever been a modeller who was perfectly happy with their first build. Even if you get it built all neat and tidy with everything in the right place and painted the right colours, you'll look at it after you've done another few models and think "I could have done that a bit better." Sometimes it will be things like missing a seam line or not drilling out a gun barrel. Other times it will be the weathering doesn't look as realistic as it should be, or maybe "I should have spent a bit more money and added that aftermarket set".

Just accept the fact that your builds will get better as your skills improve - but you will ALWAYS say "I could have done that a bit better." after they have sat on your shelf next to your latest build.
And so it goes on - the 'everlasting search for perfection', which you either follow and end up losing interest or you accept that it isn't going to be a perfect miniature - when I was doing a few 1/9 motorcycles, I'd paint all the individual bolt heads that were molded into the engines, just to 'get them right', coming back to the hobby, I'm starting off with a 1/35 BMW and got to the engine stage and thought "Oh, what about the engine bolts?" luckily for my sanity, I decided against it!
 
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..well that's the first hurdle out the way....after a mere 10 mins I managed to work out how to get the end cap off the glue!!....(Luckily I twigged as I was about to trim the plastic cap with one of my new knives!!)

.......that's probably enough for one night....
 
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rtfoe

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..well that's the first hurdle out the way....after a mere 10 mins I managed to work out how to get the end cap off the glue!!....(Luckily I twigged as I was about to trim the plastic cap with one of my new knives!!)

.......that's probably enough for one night....
Oh dear Stu...you're one of those :tears-of-joy: okay I see the apprehension. For goodness sake just plod on like the rest of us and make the same mistakes we did or else how did we learn :smiling2:

Please post a picture of your latest adventure with the glue cap. :smiling5: I've had some run ins with sophisticated caps especially the child proof ones. Spent precious time to open them.

Cheers,
Richard
 

Gern

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..well that's the first hurdle out the way....after a mere 10 mins I managed to work out how to get the end cap off the glue!!....(Luckily I twigged as I was about to trim the plastic cap with one of my new knives!!)

.......that's probably enough for one night....

Looks like you're gonna have lots of fun with your first build Stu! :smiling3: It'd be really nice if you could keep us up to date with your progress.
 
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