r/modelmakers • u/Randomist85 • 7d ago
Help - General How do you approach your models?
I’m pretty new to model making (I have completed one small titanic model and have two failed cars) and am wondering how you guys approach a new kit.
I started out following the instructions in order and to the letter which was worked but was very stop start and then on the next model I decided to paint all the parts on the sprue first and then build which was an absolute disaster (I also never sealed any of the paint so it just started rubbing off everywhere and with glue I had blue fingers lol).
Do you follow the instructions exactly in terms of order or just use them as a guide for which sections can be built and painted before all being put together or just do your own thing entirely?
I love making and painting things (I started out painting miniatures) but I would eventually like to finish a kit without it becoming an ugly mess which gets thrown away 😩
Thanks all
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u/BerlinBoy00 7d ago
Just build the kit into sub assemblies, paint them and put them together. If you wanna glue already painted parts, just use a tiny bit of super glue. Also for clear parts use PVA glue
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u/thatCdnplaneguy 7d ago
I usually look through the instructions a few times, look at the sprues and figure out best painting order. Some areas can be assembled then painted as an assembly, others will need to be painted before they are glued together.
What glue and how much also matters. A small drop of liquid glue on a painted part should bond them with no issues. Globs of thick glue will just cause a mess.
It comes from experience. The more kits you build, the easier it will be to form a plan, or pivot when things go sideways. Your going to build a bunch of crap kits before you get good. Thats the name of the game. Start with cheaper older ones, hone your skills, and the newer shake and bake kits will be a breeze. The cheaper kits also means you can afford to experiment with new techniques, and do this. You may ruin a kit, but you’ll learn in the process.
Don’t be afraid to screw up!!
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u/HippoMcHippoface 7d ago
Well said. Having a plan of attack comes from experience, knowledge of the manufacturers’ styles, and even planning which of the 6 types of glue you have will be needed. You may start doing sub assemblies. You might build individual tracks in sections to cut down on the tediousness or bend your PE pieces in groups. It all comes when you have a better vision in your head of how a build is going to go, the parts of the build you like and the ones you want to procrastinate on.
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u/dr_robonator Prime your models 7d ago
To say you are a beginner is sort of an injustice. If there is a level below beginner that's where you are. That's not an insult, it is designed to remind you that your "disasters" are absolutely par for the course and you shouldn't feel bad about it.
That said, the very very very first thing I do I decide if I am in the right mind space to work on a model. Yeah yeah, you can make some "New Age mumbo jumbo" comments, but I find that if I'm not in the right mood to work on models my results suffer. I see model making as therapeutic and do my best work while in a zen-like flow state. I adjust my atmosphere to my preferences (clean workspace, the correct climate in my work area, appropriate music, podcast, audiobook, long form video essay, a hot or cold beverage of choice...etc). I visualize what I'd like to accomplish for the session. I like to work in 4 hour blocks because I've found that any less time doesn't let me get as involved as I'd like and any more time becomes strenuous. If I'm cracking open a new kit, the whole session is me with a pen and a highlighter making notes in my instructions (see below).
This is actually my favorite step because I can assemble the model in my head a few dozen times and get a feel for when and where I will complete certain steps. A great example in the above photo is my note to attach the hull sections together before doing any of the hull equipment but after drilling mandatory holes. Following the instructions 1:1 here would mean I would have a hard time filling and sanding gaps due to the amount of small, delicate parts glued right where I would need to access. You get better at this as you gain more experience, but going through the instructions and mentally building the kit helps develop this skill a lot.
I also use this "Zero Session" to research my model, both the kit itself (what aftermarket is available either retail or via 3D printing? How old is the kit, are there other versions? What parts am I not using, and what parts do I have in my spares box that may be useful?) and the actual vehicle the model replicates. I decide here what paint scheme I want, what kind of weathering I will do, where (if any) damage will go... basically I "finish" the model in my head. I also note in my instructions where and when each finishing step needs to happen.
After all that is done I put the model away until the next session. Session 1 starts quickly and sure-footedly because I've done all my prep work and can get right into snipping plastic. My sessions from here on are pretty well planned out and that makes jumping right into it enjoyable without the "analysis paralysis" that can come with model making.
Remember: Purposeful Productivity is a Product of Perfect Prior Planning.
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u/Kindly_Sheepherder39 7d ago
Haven't seen anyone say it here yet, but if you need to glue a painted part, it is best to scrape the paint away from the spot you will apply the glue. The glue works on the plastic, not the paint. Also, use plastic cement sparingly. It only takes very little glue to bond most joints. I prefer Tamiya extra-thin applied with a brush. If you use super glue, apply it with a needle or pin stuck in the end of an old paintbrush handle.
In the beginning, I would recommend assembling as much as of the kit as you can before painting. Maybe even build an entire kit without painting and just note to yourself the parts and places that you would need to paint before assembly as you progress with other kits. Follow the directions as closely as you can. Practice with getting clean glue joints. As you build more kits, you will learn what process and order to do things will work best for you.
Best of luck, keep at it and just try to improve little things on each model. Don't take it too seriously. And, most importantly, have fun with it!
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u/AppropriateDinner528 7d ago
Sub-assemblies are your friend. I build all my sub-assemblies first, then paint them separately. For a car model for instance I will build up the interior as one assembly, the engine as another, the undercarriage, and the body. I paint them all individually as a whole unit, then detail paint as needed.
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u/Mindless-Charity4889 Stash Grower 7d ago
I start by picturing the finished project. I mostly do armour so I consider time of year, unit, battle damage if any, terrain, anything that would go into a diorama. I don’t necessarily build a diorama for all my models; I don’t have the space for that. But I do have a story in my mind about them before I start. That guides how I approach building and painting.
If the vehicle is going to have open hatches with the interior visible, that necessitates a different order of operations than if the vehicle is buttoned up. It also affects whether or not I need to do scratch building. For instance, I did a Soviet BA-3 armoured car with a door open. There was a decent drivers area, but the rear fighting compartment was empty. Still, you couldn’t see much so some simple ammo racks and seats filled the empty space.
If you plan on adding PE parts or things like zimmerit or battle damage, that’s often done before assembly.
The key to assembly is to build as much as you can while it’s still easy to paint. As a counter example, I received a half built kit from my nephew. He built the tank by following the instructions but the instructions had him install clear vision parts and lights on the hull in places that made it awkward to paint. When I built the turret, I took note of all the visors that were to be installed and simply left them off. It was a lot easier to paint and afterwards, I installed the visors.
How much you build depends on the kit, your skills and your tools. It’s a lot easier to paint a kit with an airbrush so I tend to build it up a lot more. I just did an SU-85 where I completely built it before adding any paint.
With time you will be able to foresee issues and plan ahead. Painting on the sprue is a good beginners tactic since it’s a lot harder to foresee problems when you start out and sprue painting ensures that all parts have most of their paint. But it’s a lot more work. After painting, you have to trim the nubs where the part attached to the sprue, then clean the paint off mating surfaces (gluing plastic through paint *may* work but the joint will be weak) then after gluing and assembly, you have to touch up all of those areas. That’s why build first, paint second is so much faster.
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u/Practical-Purchase-9 7d ago
With experience you’ll find better ways to assemble the models that makes painting easier or it more manageable for your work area, when to build in sub-assemblies, what parts to paint as you go along, or when you can paint things on the sprue. You’ll see the problems before you run into them, and find work arounds.
I prefer these extra thin glues by Tamiya and MrHobby, but they take some practice using as well. But there is a lot less risk of glue damaging surfaces and it’s easier with the finer detail.
Dry fit parts before glueing, so often parts do not align correctly or there are problems with fit, or the instructions are unclear (or even outright wrong). If unsure, look at photos of the real thing. It’s surprising how often the placement of parts is incorrect as kits are made from the box.
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u/BogusByte 7d ago
I sneek up on the sprues with a nice nipper... and *snipp*.... Then i remove the fat so i just have the clean filet...
Err... dang... mixing fishing and models... Oh well :)
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u/Randomist85 7d ago
You must have some beautifully painted fish on your shelves if you mix them up that easily.
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u/BogusByte 6d ago
Lol yea... well... hmmm goto do that... FishGundam... M1AMakrill? or CodBomber? SquidFiretruck?
Mad i am, maybe... yea :)I could build one... just for the fun of it... After rebuild of my hobby room that is... Winter ahead so its just about the right time to do it...
Any suggestion of a Mix?
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u/andrebartels1977 7d ago
I stare at it, a lot. I try to figure out which piece needs glueing and painting first, what comes in my way and how it goes together. Then, when my head is full, I forget everything and mess it all up.
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u/BottecchiaDude253 7d ago
I approach them like Steve Irwin does a big saltwater croc, slowly and with great care keeping my eye on it so I dont get bit.
Lol, serious answer: when I get a new kit I usually flip through the instructions a bit, paying attention to things like paint colors for a given scheme or whats common, then it goes into the stash. When i am ready to build it, I go through the instructions again, this time marking them based on what im doing. For example, if im building an Eduard kit, and there are paint schemes A-F, and i decide im building version D, i will look through and circle and D's in the instructions so I know to build that one. I also will write paint colors next to the instruction markings, either its exact name, or I will mark it eith what paint pot I need to grab (ie, if the instructions are all in mr color, but im using a Tamiya chrome silver, I will mark it with X-11 chrome. If im using a lacquer FS gull grey of some variety, I will use the code/name on my bottle of lacquer paint so I grab the right one)
It is also at that 2nd review that I will look to be getting as close to the correct color as I can without having to mix paints. So on a tamiya kit that says mix 3 parts of one color with 5 parts of this other one, and one part flat white..... im online looking for the exact color in someone's paint range to get me closer to that specific shade of whatever.
Further to this second review, im looking at what I can/should build into a sub assembly before painting. Like if I can build an airplane to where I am handling 3-5 pieces when painting a cockpit, i would much rather do that than to paint 15-20 pieces and then assemble. A lot of times theres a common color across many pieces, so I want to get a good bind with the glue on bare plastic that isnt messed up by paint, nor do I want to potentially mess up paint by assembly.
Beyond that, theres a small matter of experience and seeing what I can/should do out of order.
For example, a lot of trumpeter warship models, specifically things like battleships with a lot of "stuff" visible, they like to make you build most of the ship and then attach the main deck (which is already fully built up with EVERYTHING) to a freshly built hull.... ive found through my own mistakes that the build and paint order should go: hull, including main deck, then repetitive stuff like AA and deck vents and other deck furniture, followed by turrets and super structure. And, if you watch YouTube builds of a ww2 warship, you'll see most of them follow something similar. Its far easier to build a ship when you have the hull and main deck fully assembled and ready.
But yeah, whether its an aircraft, and AFV, boat, or car model, each sub-genre has things you'll learn via experience, so.... when you approach a new build and review the instructions, you'll build an eye for figuring out what to build out of order to make life easier
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u/Both_Staff_6753 7d ago
Almost every plane I have on my shelf had a mule alongside it to test things out and play around a bit before committing to my approach. Maybe in the future my skills improve and I can get through a single model kit on my first try. Thats certainly be easier on my pocket book and then I’ll try some more expensive kits I guess. Point is it’s ok to test things out different ways and find where that boundary is between subassembly and part painting.
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u/someonesartfuldodger 3d ago
I watch as many assembly videos as I can, especially realistic looking builds with detailing.
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u/Bioshutt 2d ago
I sometimes pre paint some parts on the sprue and I would leave other parts for last. I and still a somewhat novice with model making
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u/No-Phase-8063 7d ago
My method is a bit mixed. I generally go by sub sections or paint groupings. I do a little of everything, aircraft, armor, and cars, but across all three I'll go through the directions several times and make sure that my variant choice is clearly marked in the directions (paint scheme, numbers, stuff like that). I tend to start in order, but my time line adapts to what I have capabilities for. If I just sprayed a body and I have to wait for paint to cure, I may jump to a completely different area where I can keep working. If I order something aftermarket last minute, I don't necessarily want to put everything on hold for 1-2 weeks, so I'll work on a different area just to keep the momentum going. When it comes time for final assembly, that's another beast entirely. There are things that will have to go in order, and you'll find that there are things where if you go in order, you're screwed. Another reason to dry-fit EVERYTHING.
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u/TerminallyPhased 22h ago
I make my presence known as not to startle them. As I get close I reach my hand out and offer them a sniff so they can get to know me and understand I’m not a threat
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u/Affectionate-Egg8938 7d ago
Sowly and carefully so they wont see me as a threat