Mr. Turbo Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 What was I thinking, trying to build model cars again? My name is JJ and like more than a few other people here, I decided to build something for the first time since I was a teenager (now in my 40's). I always thought the Japanese kits looked so cool with their flat boxes and art that never showed the actual model - mysterious! And all those tools and supplies with that double-star Tamiya logo - love it. So I went and looked at what I could get for the smallest amount of money which turned out to be a couple of $10 Toyotas. Challenge Accepted!! It was going great until I went to mask trim on my polished brown Crown Turbo and realized the Rust-Oleum had never cured underneath the clearcoat, even after a month. So my first post is my first experience with Purple Power, yay! It's also been my first experience with airbrushing, flocking, scratchbuilding, Alclad, window masking, making mexican blankets, and printing decals. I don't know how people find time to YouTube themselves doing all these things but I'm grateful for their efforts. That took more than a week, leaving a fascinating marbled appearance. Thought about trying to use that somehow but decided nah. Posting finished photos soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoopdog Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Welcome aboard JJ. Can't wait to see the completed model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldiablo78 Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Welcome JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteski Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 4 hours ago, Mr. Turbo said: . . . I decided to build something for the first time since I was a teenager (now in my 40's). It was going great until I went to mask trim on my polished brown Crown Turbo . . . So my first post is my first experience with Purple Power, yay! It's also been my first experience with airbrushing, flocking, scratchbuilding, Alclad, window masking, making mexican blankets, and printing decals. Umm . . . and this is your first model since you were a teen? Looks to me like you jumped with both feet and both hands into some advanced model techniques!! Printing your own decals for your first model (after about 25 years of not building)? Flocking? Airbrushing? Alclad? None of this stuff I would think a novice would use. Novice usually starts of with box-stock kit painted with brushed-on and spray can paint. I'm amazed J.J! I too am curious to see the finished model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 (edited) Welcome back to the hobby! When I got back as an adult found the same frustrating results I had when I was 16, because I was still employing the same process and skills I had as a kid. I got back before the Internet so I joined a local club, which became my lifeline to learning new skills, materials to use and what to avoid. You are eons ahead today with 24/7 internet access to some of the best modelers in the world! To start, just go simple. Concentrate on the basics and producing a clean model. Again you are way ahead using Tamiya kit since they require little if any cleanup and go together well. You already learned to avoid hardware store paint. Stick with either Tamiya or Duplicolor sprays for first projects, and keep the project all one paint company.. that is, if you choose Duplicolor, use that primer, color and then clear coat. Once you get a decent model done with the basics, increase the game with each new project. Remember, every model is just practice for the next one! Best of luck! Edited October 14, 2020 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Welcome. Too bad about the scratches. Some clear coat over that “marbled appearance” would look pretty cool. You’re getting good advice here, try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Welcome to the forum JJ!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Turbo Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 Thanks for the warm welcome! Great tips already - it's like...using the internet to grow knowledge, learn technique and make connections. Does anyone still use it for that? Makes me want to go troll a tiktok celebrity, just to balance it out. But yes - thanks already for the tips! I have learned more about paint in 2 months than the rest of my life put together. First, that yeah, it doesn't much matter how cool your details are if your paint job isn't nice. And your paint won't be nice if the body isn't prepped. Both the Fujimi and Tamiya kits needed a little TLC...minor sink marks, mold lines, the usual. Shame about Rustoleum - they seem to have all the colors I like and I haven't yet tried doing a whole body by airbrush or mixing my own colors. I've mostly been using it for interiors, window trim and small details like exhaust tips. The Tamiya paint on the other car definitely went on better. I do test the stuff beforehand on an old body. I know on real cars, I would never use coatings without hardeners and most stuff at Home Depot doesn't have em. Of course, I did exactly the same thing again, respraying with Rustoleum, because I'm stubborn and was sure I could make it work this time. It helped alot to leave it in the sun for a few hours each day for a coupe weeks before clearcoating. Not ideal though. So paint ends up being like 75% of my effort, 15% assembly and 10% fixing my screwups. Watching guys like Doctor Cranky on YouTube makes me want to cry, his paint is so good. Even glue, you know, glue, that stuff in the orange Testors tube. Even that's complicated now. I learned Tamiya plastic cement only bonds bare plastic. C/A glue can't be used anywhere near clear or chrome, so now I use epoxy everywhere during final assembly which is a pain to have to mix up every time but it's so much better it's not even a question. And the learning continues... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Welcome to the forum JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Remember to always build to suit yourself. I found out that long time ago that there will always be someone doing better work than I can,smoother paint and more details. Don't be intimidated by those builders,be inspired by them and appreciate their skills. This is still supposed to be fun isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khils Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 22 minutes ago, misterNNL said: Don't be intimidated by those builders,be inspired by them and appreciate their skills. This is still supposed to be fun isn't it? Thank you Tom! " That " is exactly what I learned from my only two visits to NNL 39 & 40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 19 minutes ago, misterNNL said: Remember to always build to suit yourself. I found out that long time ago that there will always be someone doing better work than I can,smoother paint and more details. Don't be intimidated by those builders,be inspired by them and appreciate their skills. This is still supposed to be fun isn't it? Also remember that it's OK to push yourself to be the best builder on the planet, if that is part of what you enjoy. I'm pretty sure Gerald Wingrove was having "fun", and his exquisite scale creations were built primarily to impress only one person...himself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Welcome to the forum, JJ. I only just started building again too since I was a teen, now 42. My first build a few months back was a quick blow over with aerosol paint, even the interior was all one colour with no detail picked out. After looking through this forum and picking up a mountain of tips I'm getting close to some of the builds I've been envying over. There are builders here I can never even hope to come close to, but I'm not aiming that high. I feel I'm close to where I want to be, each build is an improvement over the last and a boost for the next. Keep it simple to start and you will improve with each build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Turbo Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 Thanks again all. I've given some thought as to how good I want to try to be. Granted, there are heights I shall never reach. But I decided I wanted to at least better my teenage goals of "good enuf" and "pretty much looks like the box". It's a daunting personal and philosophical question: how good do I want to be? How good can I reasonably be expected to be? It's mind-bottling. Well, I found a good gauge. Last night I was going through the photos I had taken of the brown car when my girlfriend looked over my shoulder and said "Wow! Is that your car? Looks so real!" This is a woman who has had her eyes in a permanent eye roll since I started this again in the summer. She wasn't too impressed with any individual part I completed and she's seen the thing go together, but that reaction at the end was worth it. So that's the level I'll work to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 14 hours ago, misterNNL said: Remember to always build to suit yourself. I found out that long time ago that there will always be someone doing better work than I can,smoother paint and more details. Don't be intimidated by those builders,be inspired by them and appreciate their skills. This is still supposed to be fun isn't it? 28 minutes ago, Mr. Turbo said: Thanks again all. I've given some thought as to how good I want to try to be. Granted, there are heights I shall never reach. But I decided I wanted to at least better my teenage goals of "good enuf" and "pretty much looks like the box". It's a daunting personal and philosophical question: how good do I want to be? How good can I reasonably be expected to be? It's mind-bottling. Amen. It’s said that every model is just practice for the next one. And you will find that the very best modelers in this board are the most approachable and down to earth guys! They’ll tell you exactly how to do it yourself when asked. That’s the essence of NNL. And you will find that a lot of what we do is all about the basics and finding the right tools, materials and techniques. I know that within a year I went from my teen age skill level to approximately double! Everyone does need to decide the lengths they will go to. For me, I wanted to be good enough to create the image in my head. It’s very exciting when I see it starting to emerge on the bench in front of me! When buying a lathe became the thing to do years ago, I made a conscious decision that I wasn’t going there. I decided that learning that skill wouldn’t be fun for me. You do find your place in the hobby. The other evening I was on Facebook and someone asked f they needed to prime every part. I replied that it was an important part of the process in cleaning up parts, explains the why and how. Almost immediately some clown responded that he never primed anything and his models were just great. He added that “some guys” just want to make building complicated to feel important! I looked at some photos of his models and they looked like toys. He didn’t even paint or foil small items like lettering or keyholes. He just didn’t get it. And you won’t find that attitude on this board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterNNL Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 (edited) Not trying to hijack this but sometimes we have to appreciate where we started and how far we have come In developing our individual skill levels and where we are now. When I started(1958) we lived in rural mid-west-central Ohio there was no one else that did what I was attempting to do. This pre-internet, no hobby shops and no model magazines for guidance or inspiration. All I had was a desire to re-create what I saw on/in the small pages of those 25 cent hot rod magazines of the day. I used paper straws for lakes pipes and hair comb teeth for grille bars. My first paint jobs were done indoors in a dirt floor basement. I did what I could with what I had at hand. I cut door open with one of my mom's old paring knives heated over a candle(I still have that knife in a frame on the wall near my model workbench). My body putty was called Plastic Wood in a tube,.Today there is maybe one other model car builder near me....but there are thousands a few key strokes away here on the forums. Ask any question and within a very short time someone will step up and offer whatever help or suggestions I have. I personally never encountered any "attitude" in modeling until the MPC contest series started. I'll admit I was more that a little surprised. Those "chip-on-their-shoulder" types were not about to share Anything With Anyone for "fear" of divulging some "secret" that might cost them an award. I see very little of that today thankfully. Keep having stress free fun on your workbench/card table/garage work space during these social distancing times and continue to make your scale dreams come true. These just may be the "golden years" of model building my friends. Enjoy your chosen hobby and sharing it here with other like minded crazy people! Edited October 15, 2020 by misterNNL Forgotten word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Turbo Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 On 10/15/2020 at 11:12 AM, misterNNL said: I used paper straws for lakes pipes and hair comb teeth for grille bars. My first paint jobs were done indoors in a dirt floor basement. I did what I could with what I had at hand. I cut door open with one of my mom's old paring knives heated over a candle(I still have that knife in a frame on the wall near my model workbench). Love it. I've always been partial to re-purposing. I just recycled the insides of an old Flashcube for headlight cups. And I found a 50 cent rainbow anodized titanium nose ring that works perfect for a shift knob - thanks goth kids! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Amen, Tom!! When I started out it was tube glue and paint brushed from a bottle. When I graduated to spray painting, I rigged a coat hanger on an old phonograph turntable and sprayed like crazy in the basement! Those thin, twin pipe plastic stir sticks were great sources of modification material (didn't have plastruct or evergreen back then). When I wanted to add a radio antenna, a well formed glob of modeling clay held a spaghetti strand just fine (not yet boiled, of course). Cut up sprue made all kinds of necessary car parts - so long as one's imagination wasn't stunted. Scotch tape made suitable windows, and thin cardboard made great panels. You could even "plasticize" it by smearing tube glue on the cardboard and massaging it into the pores. Yep, we didn't know we were bad modelers back then (there was no internet to point out our flaws or skill-shame us), we just knew we were modelers! Oh, yeah, skills developed and progressed as we kept building and practicing. Hey, that still works! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 11 hours ago, Danno said: and thin cardboard made great panels. You could even "plasticize" it by smearing tube glue on the cardboard and massaging it into the pores. Yep, we didn't know we were bad modelers back then I just had to chuckle.. I remember it well! And even have an example to show! A while back someone gave me this old original to restore. Note the cardboard cab back panel and pickup bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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