Building A Hobby for New Starters

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Jan 4, 2020
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Gary
Just bought an airbrush and an AS186 compressor which has cost £100 all in. Airbrush was from Alan even though the AS186 comes with a couple of "cheapos". Bit nervous about this in terms of paint mix and cleaning but nothing gained etc. Also I am working in my study as I dont have a dedicated workshop area I can use. That space is one of the loft double bedrooms which is now my daughters art room so thats her "private" area. So I've bought a nice desk which will go in place of the filing drawers you can see. So a bit of rearranging with drawers going on other side of the room. Why am I telling you all of this ? Hopefully some will recognise the process and maybe it will help other new starters

Well, starting from scratch I wanted to do it properly or at least as best I can. But it's a gradual process of discovering you need, or rather want, another piece of kit. Not having a good sized workshop is a hinderance but with a little re-planning it will work OK. I will also make a small cardboard spray booth which I will use until I become practiced. I've stopped looking for every paint I need from the start and will get the model, look at the paint colours and then act appropriately. There are hundreds of paints out their and it seems each model manufacturer has its own paint. Not all of them are covertable to other makes via modelshade.com or at least they vary too much. But ultimately I will do my best without being too bogged down by historical accuracy. But it is part of the enjoyment to be honest and already I'm getting great satisfaction out of it. Adding the small desk with a shelf and rail I can put my common used paints out and keep everything else in the shallow draw in the desk and the box I bought from Ikea.

Whilst I had a lot of the tools from working on electronics I bought some more quality tweezers, side cutters, sanding sponges, an A3 sized cutting mat and other bits and pices. I have a cordless Dremel but still bought some micro drills and a vise. With the other bits and pieces I certainly have enough to make a start and finding out, for instance, that Tamiya Extra Thin cement is a miracle product for fine glueing and a good set of 0 and 00 brushes are just perfect for the detail painting is all a learning curve. All of this really would have been difficult without the fine people here and reading the various methods and techniques is invaluable. I found You Tube very useful but sometime a bit misleading and some of the techniques and demos are way, way above my current capability. I don't want to go too far in recreating realistic weathering and chipping but really enjoy seeing what people here are doing. It is inspring and even if I dont want to go there it is a form of art and I can appreciate it for that.

So basically a little potted history of my time here over the past few weeks as I've ramped up. You can do it slow, semi big bang or just buy the whole shop. Like photography, which I've spent many thousands on this is a hobby that will cost if done properly but so far every penny has been worth it. No need to go too far and I would advise, if I may, anyone starting to have a think about what you want to do before spending the money. I hope I'm as bushy tailed in,say, two years time. But so far so very good and a thanks to everyone here for helping
 
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Joined
Jan 4, 2020
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Location
Bramley, Hampshire
First Name
Gary
Yes, not forgetting a good scalpel and decent side cutters. Luckily I have a couple of those already. Dont ask......
 

Bortig the Viking

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Mark
Hi, I only got back into modelling last spring and saw something and bought it, now have cleaned out the stuff I dont use so your right to buy when you need it. Size 1 brushes are a good one to have, Winsor & Newton Sceptre Gold II are a good brush in my opinion. You'll find on here a thread where members showed there work benches to show what others have done, tidy bench club application no 326. Enjoy the hobby, doing models and listening to some good rock music and I'm in heaven. :smiling3:
 
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takeslousyphotos

No Tears Please. It's a Waste of Good Suffering.
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Gary,
one item I could NOT do without is a sharp knife - I use Swann Morton Scalpels - No.3 handle, with 10A blades.
VERY sharp ( I have several, including one with a fat handle for comfort! ), you can draw blood without noticing!
Dave
When I did my apprenticeship many years ago the Mantra was "Sharp Tools Never Cut You". They'd never met a Swann Morton Blade. :dizzy:
Peter
 

Tim Marlow

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Pete mate, sharp tools mean less effort and so more control, so less chance of the tool slipping and cutting you instead of the work...mind you, when they do slip and cut you they make a better job of it....scalpel blades are made for cutting flesh after all ;)
 
D

Deleted member 6559

Guest
Scalpel story.

My friend John, who is model maker working on big budget sci-fi movies (Prometheus, Alien 2 etc) is always cutting himself and repairing the damage with CA. Once he took the top of a finger off, but before fainting, very calmly took his glasses off, made sure he had the floor-space, adjusted his collar, then collapsed. His colleagues said it was so typical of his meticulous approach to things.
 

Tim Marlow

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I think that’s what CA was developed for...I had a double hernia op when I was younger, and the wound was glued up rather than stitched.....made me think twice about sneezing for a while :tongue-out3:
 

Bortig the Viking

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Mark
I think that’s what CA was developed for...I had a double hernia op when I was younger, and the wound was glued up rather than stitched.....made me think twice about sneezing for a while :tongue-out3:
I believe, if my father is correct, it was developed in WW2 for clear canopies and gun sights, then they discovered how sticky it was and it was used in the Vietnam war to stick people back together whilst in transport to medical hospital. Good stuff.
 
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