Things you do different, things you do the same....

[JollySipper]

Since I started building as a preteen, some things have changed about how I build, some things have stayed the same. For instance, I still use the old orange tube glue that I've always used (except for glass parts and small chrome bits). How I do my paint jobs has changed a bunch, though. The subjects have pretty much stayed throughout my building, too. Muscle cars, some sport cars, and mild customs. 

Are there things that you still do that you've always done? How about things you do now that are different from how you used to do them?

Just curious about the evolution of the forum members building processes.......

[ZTony8]

I use Tamiya paint  far more now than Testor's, liquid glue more than tube glue, I color sand and polish my paint jobs( wish I didn't have to do that), and pay more attention to proper colors.

[Fat Brian]

Building semi trucks and armor really changed my build order. I used to paint almost all of the parts on the trees and then assemble them, now I'm much more likely to build large sub-assemblies and spray paint them then go back and pick out details.

[BlackSheep214]

Back in my younger years, Testors square bottles, tube glue, basic tools (Sprue cutters, tweezers, Xacto Hobby knife set, etc...) rattle can and a few Testors Model Master enamels were available in m6 teen years. Kits were mostly cars, a few aircraft, ships, sci-fi/space, armor or two.

Today... a wide variety brands of paints; acrylics and enamels - still have Model Master enamels from my younger years and square bottles. Now have Model Master acrylics, Mission Models, Humbrol, LifeColor, PollyScale, Tamiya, Gunze/Mr. Color paints

Still use the old standby tube glue. Now have a variety of glues: Tamiya liquid glue, 10 second liquid glue, CA glue (thin, medium and thick) Gorilla glue (blue cap).

A couple Sprue cutters, Xacto hobby knife sets (2), Dremel tool with different attachment and bits, micro drill bits, Hobby saw, sanding sticks/paper, airbrushes (3), and other miscellaneous tools.

Kits I do now:

Automotive, armour, ships, aircrafts, and a couple Sci-fi kits. I’ve been fortunate to acquire a few kits from my past for a do-over and others I wanted to do but never did buy in my youth/teen years.

[Snake45]

Haven't used tube glue since the mid-'70s. Now I use liquids, CAs, white glues, and sometimes epoxy. 

One thing I do the same is, I never glue anything together that doesn't have to be, and haven't since I started building model cars in 1966.. I hold the glass in with masking tape (if it has runners between the windshield and backlight), and the body, interior, and chassis are just "set together." (I think I've only had to glue one or two chassis in in my life.) This has facilitated disassembly, cleaning/repair/updating over the years, and I've been SO glad on many occasions that I did things this way. 

[JollySipper]

11 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

I never glue anything together that doesn't have to be

I started a topic about that some time back, building for ease of disassembly..... If I can't glue things cleanly, I leave them unglued. A lot of my models have to be picked up by their wheels because of this....

[Tom Geiger]

I don’t think I do anything today that I did as a kid!  When i got back to building at age 30, my models looked like the models I built when I was 15 because I still only had that skill set. Bummer! I figured that was as far as my talents would take me!

Then I found and joined a club. Several members took me under their wing and taught me how to build better models. It wasn’t raw talent I was missing, I just didn’t know the materials to use!  And the tips and tricks! My models improved exponentially!

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, JollySipper said:

I started a topic about that some time back, building for ease of disassembly..... If I can't glue things cleanly, I leave them unglued. A lot of my models have to be picked up by their wheels because of this....

I know exactly what you mean! Or picked up with the fingers and thumb curled carefully under the chassis, NEVER by the body, or you'll create--momentarily--a 3D "exploded drawing." 

One thing I do very differently now is, I use very, very little Testor Chrome Silver paint--on most models, none at all. Today I'm all about Silver Sharpie, or Molotow, or Deco Color Premium Silver Leaf, or foil, depending on which will work best or easiest in each particular application. 

[Bills72sj]

I have always built cars and Semi-trucks. Still do. Rattle cans in the 70's and still half of the time now. Never really went for accuracy but accent colors were chosen realistically. Was and still influenced by aftermarket parts colors. Gold Milodon oil pans and red "Cherry Bomb" mufflers as kind of a trademark look to brighten up the bottom of my cars. I have never painted parts on the sprue. I do not like the "wound" left when the parts are eventually removed. My technique now is to CA glue a 2" piece of sprue to the part (as a handle) then paint it. That way the wound will not be visible when the stem is removed. I also use about 4-5 types of adhesives depending on the parts to be joined. The quality of my builds has gone from below average to above average due to seeing the results of others especially on this forum and added patience. I rarely disassemble any of my models.

[Snake45]

11 minutes ago, Bills72sj said:

I have never painted parts on the sprue. I do not like the "wound" left when the parts are eventually removed. My technique now is to CA glue a 2" piece of sprue to the part (as a handle) then paint it. That way the wound will not be visible when the stem is removed. 

I almost never (and never have) paint parts on the sprue for exactly the reason you describe, also, many/most parts have parting lines and flash that has to be removed before painting. When a part can be painted on the sprue where sprue removal and parting lines/flash aren't a consideration, I'll sometimes do it, but these are very rare. 

[Bullybeef]

Well I’d have to say my skill level has increased a hundred fold since my formative years in the hobby. Now I have the patience to sit and think through the build, scratch building and modifications were like rocket science to me. I still use the testers square bottles but have evolved past the old orange tube. I’m dabbling more and more with acrylics and have evolved past just an xacto knife and nail clippers lol. My time building 1:35 scale miniatures helped me practice a steady hand for detailing. 

[jaymcminn]

The way I do things evolves continuously as I learn new tricks and techniques and my repertoire of skills and collection of tools and supplies continues to grow. The desire to build something I'm proud of is the same at 51 as it was at 11. 

[iamsuperdan]

I think almost everything has changed from how I built in my youth to how I build now.

The biggest change is that I'm far more patient. I can take the time to sand and smooth everything, and wait for paint & glue to dry properly. I spend a lot more time on paint. Back in the day, I often wouldn't bother with paint. Red body? I guess the car is red. Good enough for me. On occasion, I'd hit it with a spray can of Testor's, but never primer, never clear, never sanding or polishing.  These days it's sanding with multiple grits, priming, painting, clearcoating, curing, more sanding, more polishing. 

I'm also more into detailing. Adding carpets, seatbelts, underhood details, etc. 

 

One thing that hasn't changed is the enjoyment I get from doing this. I'm closing in on 50, and I still get excited to get a new kit, to open the box and check it out. The build still excites me, finishing a kit is still a great feeling. 

 

[BeakDoc]

Nearly every technique I currently deploy is either different or vastly more refined than in my youth. The biggest difference between then and now? Two words.

Patience. Efficiency.

With scant amounts of bench time as an adult, figuring out how to maximize it’s value is a must. Patience certainly plays a role in that as well.

Also, my “allowance” allows for the purchase of much better tools and supplies. 🙂

Edited October 13, 2021 by BeakDoc

[Rodent]

Something that I have done for 50 or so years is to use a bent coat hanger as a painting fixture (as those MPC kit hints told us). I agree that hanging the parts upside down helps minimize the dust. However, if you saw my post in What Irked You, I recently had a JoHan body detach itself as the primer was drying in the kitchen. Body fell about 7 feet and must have bounced off the countertop before landing on the floor. Top of the passenger side A-pillar broke cleanly and I think it will be OK. Going to be more careful in the future to make sure bodies are securely attached though.

[doorsovdoon]

Before I picked up the hobby again in 2020 the last model I built I think was a '57 Ford Thunderbird in the 90's. Brush painted with Humbroll pot paints. Humbroll was a good paint back then and give a good finish. I used the same cement for the glass as I did for the body and the glass would look all fogged up, lol. I'd buy a kit, a couple of paints and some glue and I build it that day. I didn't think of using aerosols, primers or different glues back then. I wish my builds survived so I could compare them to how I build now.

Edited November 28, 2021 by doorsovdoon

[espo]

Like many builders I started building models when I was still in school. At the time kits were starting to change from soft wood to plastic Promo type issues of current passenger cars. Everything was brush painted and you used as much tube glue as possible. Single edged razor blades were considered high tech tools before high tech was considered a term. Today we have so many specialized tools along with other repurposed tools. We have a wide selection of adhesives at our disposal. A rainbow of colors from a number of suppliers. We have spray can paint that will give you a finish far beyond what we ever thought possible and to now have an air compressor driven spray gun and a spray booth with it's own exhaust fan. Now we're even 3D printing our own parts.  Should be interesting to see what will come next. 

[slusher]

Many things have changed for me.  I use Tamiya, and Krylon  spray pant.  I have a forum for help. I can buy kits I couldn’t years ago. I don’t use Testors spray paint but still use orange tub glue even on glass. I have more patience then I ever had..

[stitchdup]

The biggest change for me is I dont sit at the kitchen table to build, now i have a room just for building models. The kits are still generally the same but now theres a much bigger aftermarket so the build options are becomming greater with every passing week. With 3d printing added to the mix its almost harder not to find the part you need than to find it now. The biggest change for me though is I'm marginally more organised than I was before, even if my bench looks more like allepo after a russian airshow than a workbench

[JollySipper]

5 hours ago, stitchdup said:

The biggest change for me is I dont sit at the kitchen table to build

I still do that! In fact, I don't have a table to eat from, I have to eat standing up..... How's that for dedication?

[Tom Geiger]

Reading the last few responses.. yea today I don’t take apart my finished models. As a kid it was difficult to get models, and I didn’t have a big parts hoard, so my next great idea may have required the engine or wheels off my last finished model.

We made do with things we had around the house. I’ll bet I’m not the only one who painted models with Q-Tips.  And if my father had a spray can of anything, that’s what the color of my new build would be!  That’s why my T’rantula dragster was Christmas green!

[bbowser]

As others have said, the biggest change is patience.  Now when I get the urge to throw it across the room I can put it up and come back to it later😎

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Tom Geiger said:

I’ll bet I’m not the only one who painted models with Q-Tips. 

Back in the '70s I thought a Q-Tip might be the perfect "brush" to achieve that mottled camo effect on WWII German fighters. It wasn't. Mostly it just left a lot of fuzz in the mottles. 

[bluenote]

Several things for me.  I used to use Testors enamels, now I use Tamiya enamels (yes, enamel, not their acrylic.  Similar square bottles).

I now only use Tamiya liquid cement, vs Testors tube glue.  My builds are so much cleaner now!

I never used spray paint/airbrush as a kid.  I either brush painted the bodies (turned out awful!) or left the body unpainted.  Now, I use Tamiya spray paint and sometimes Scalefinishes.

I think I actually enjoy building more than I did as a kid.   It seemed when I was younger, I was always screwing something up and getting frustrated.  I still make mistakes, but not nearly as much or as bad as when I was a kid.  

[Lunajammer]

On 11/29/2021 at 12:06 AM, slusher said:

I have a forum for help. I can buy kits I couldn’t years ago.

This.