What Do You Do First?

[Clay]

When you start a new kit, what do you do first in the process of building?

I get the body painted, because thats what usually decides what color the interior is gonna be.

[Dave McFly]

me as i do my body painting in the warmer weather as my work area is in my basement of a brick house in NY. i paint all the parts that are the same colors first when they are on the trees. then i assemble and touch up where the parts were on the trees.

[Olle F]

I usually check all the parts in the box to see what I need to replace, modify or scratch build to make it look right. Then I clean up, dry fit and adjust the major parts as needed, to make sure that I don't have to carv on a freshly painted body or chassis later to make it fit. I usually start the build itself by gluing together engine, rear axle and other assemblies to give them time dry for a while before I prep them for paint. Prepping small parts is so incredibly boring that I want to get it out of the way asap, so one thing I try to do is to cut all the small parts off the sprue, clean them up and bag them according to color. I usually air brush most parts, so by sorting and bagging them I can usually avoid a lot of the clean-up you would have to do by using the same paint several times over.

The rest will be done in my usual random fashion...

[Harry P.]

I almost always start with the engine. No particular reason, just my habit.

[MrObsessive]

Depends on the type of build I'm doing.............I'll have the exterior/interior color chosen before I begin the kit. Bodywork is top importance------which can range from complete reworking of bodylines to simple filling of sink marks, parting lines. etc.

After bodywork will come the engine, followed by the chassis work, then the interior----particularly if the model I'm building has opening doors, I'll build the interior on the flip side of the chassis floor.

Painting the body is the last thing I do since I want to make sure everything will fit with ease, and have the least amount of drama after the body is painted. I'll already have the chassis floor oversprayed with the exterior color so this no issue choosing a color.

Small parts I paint as I go............sometimes I don't always follow the same sequence when building and I test fit parts numerous times before painting just the same. I also have to scratchbuild parts at times so I definitely want to test fit before painting.

[Bainford]

My aim is to get paint on the body as soon as possible, to allow as much time as possible for it to gass out before I polish it. This means doing everything necessary to determine what mods or adjustments are needed on the body, such as mocking up the major subassemblies to check for tire clearance and fit problems, check the fit of bumpers, lights, and grill, etc. The front and rear valance and facias are glued to the body, and chassis mods are made where necessary to allow it to fit the body with these glued on. Then I do all required body work, such as cleaning up mold lines, opening vents, and making the adjustments as indicated by the mock ups. Any small parts fitted to the body will be pinned, so the holes for these are located and drilled. Then the body is prepared and painted.

[Darin Bastedo]

Ok this is going to sound really anal retentive, but the very first thing I do is research. Too often the kit is inaccurate, or if the kit is ok, the box art model is detailed incorrectly. A case in point is the AMT new tool 57 Chevy. In just about every version of that kit, the air cleaner was put on backwards. If I went by the box art I would have made that mistake too.

But when it comes to the first step of the build, the first thing I do is a dry build of the major assemblies (assembling everything with out glue) This helps me make adjustments for fit, before it's painted. Once I know everything fits, I make any needed modifications to the stance. I feel that whether you are doing a custom, a drag car or factory stock, getting the car to sit on it's wheels the way the 1:1 car does is most important to making the car look real. Once I get it sitting right, I tear it down and start building it.

usually the next step, and the one I usually spend most time on is prepping the body. If stance is the most important thing, the bodywork & paint are a very close second.

[randx0]

the first thing I do is figure out a way to make the model so complicated that it will never be completed .or I just start with the major sub assembilies which allows me options of working on whichever area suits my fancy. I save the painting for last if it requires alot of bodywork if it is a straight forward build painting the body early on helps keep the motivation up.

[Raul_Perez]

Depends on the type of build I'm doing.............I'll have the exterior/interior color chosen before I begin the kit. Bodywork is top importance------which can range from complete reworking of bodylines to simple filling of sink marks, parting lines. etc.

After bodywork will come the engine, followed by the chassis work, then the interior----particularly if the model I'm building has opening doors, I'll build the interior on the flip side of the chassis floor.

Painting the body is the last thing I do since I want to make sure everything will fit with ease, and have the least amount of drama after the body is painted. I'll already have the chassis floor oversprayed with the exterior color so this no issue choosing a color.

Small parts I paint as I go............sometimes I don't always follow the same sequence when building and I test fit parts numerous times before painting just the same. I also have to scratchbuild parts at times so I definitely want to test fit before painting.

Bill, I think that you and I are twins separated at birth! That's EXACTLY how I build! being an ex-bodyman, my favorite part of any build is doing custom bodywork. My second favorite is the engine and the chassis. My least favorite part, but one that I'm getting better at, is the interior. Unless it's a convertible, I just don't get that excited about it.

How's mom and dad?

[JoshaWaRX]

I build the engine first followed by the chassis. Then once I have a completed rolling chassis I move onto the interior and lastly finishing.

I do the body work here and there throughout the entire build, and then usually finish it up last. I do this so that I can take advantage of what mother nature gives me.

[Nick F40]

the first thing I do is figure out a way to make the model so complicated that it will never be completed .or I just start with the major sub assembilies which allows me options of working on whichever area suits my fancy. I save the painting for last if it requires alot of bodywork if it is a straight forward build painting the body early on helps keep the motivation up.

hahahaha thats me!

Bill, I think that you and I are twins separated at birth! That's EXACTLY how I build! being an ex-bodyman, my favorite part of any build is doing custom bodywork. My second favorite is the engine and the chassis. My least favorite part, but one that I'm getting better at, is the interior. Unless it's a convertible, I just don't get that excited about it.

How's mom and dad?

that's funny!

[Semi Trailer Mechanic]

What's goin' on...

I'm w/ Darin.

I'll obtain as much 1:1 reference that I can find save it in my computer and then as I assembly the kit refer to that info to scratcbuild or modify details the kit lacks.

[Clay]

I guess that I dont go into that much detail is because I dont really know whats wrong with the model.

[curt raitz]

Betraying my manhood...I read the instructions

I photocopy the origional, gather as much info as i can on the model

notate paint colors, detail, changes, etc on photocopy (instructions)

test fit the parts as much as I can, build up engine and chassis, get the body to fit correctly...then paint the body

kinda strange...I usually sell or give away most of the models I have built, but still have the origional instruction sheets for'em all

[randx0]

kinda strange...I usually sell or give away most of the models I have built, but still have the origional instruction sheets for'em all

[MrObsessive]

Ok this is going to sound really anal retentive, but the very first thing I do is research. Too often the kit is inaccurate, or if the kit is ok, the box art model is detailed incorrectly.

Yes! I'm totally with you Darin!

I might spend as much time on the 'net (sometimes hours) trying to get good large photos of a particular car. Everything from body details to under car shots.

For the Ford for instance, I bought a reprint shop manual for some other things that the pics can't show.

Here's a screenshot of just some of the pics I keep in my folders for reference.............

There's many more, but that's all that would fit on the screen!

[Zoom Zoom]

Count me among the ones who primarily search Ebay Motors and Google Images and Autocolorlibrary for good reference in between preliminary grokking and actually starting to prepare the body for paint. Body prep/paint is the first actual step of real work on the kit. The better it looks painted (or primed), the better chance it has to get done w/o being shoved aside for something else.

[CAL]

I used to start with the engine - chassis - body - interior, but now I do bodies first. That seems to make or break the model right there.

Edited March 14, 2008 by CAL

[CAL]

Betraying my manhood...I read the instructions

Strange... I always thought instruction are for when all else fails.

[CAL]

the first thing I do is figure out a way to make the model so complicated that it will never be completed .

been there done that. :ph34r:

[CAL]

I am with Darin on references, as well.

It's a never ending search. Sometimes I will go looking for pics so I have them when I do get around to building the model.

But it never seems to fail that in the middle of a build I am searching for a pic I don't have and or can't find.

[robertw]

Research...then some more research. Using the research I then start looking over the kit which usually leads me back to the internet or books to confirm some missed details.

When I finally get down to actually working on the kit my first work will involve sanding the body, removing mold lines, correcting what needs to be done on the body, test fitting and finally priming.

I'll usually paint the body before I begin working on the interior or engine since it gives time for the paint to fully dry before polishing.

Somewhere during this process the model usually goes back in the box for awhile as I'm drawn to other new or old projects.

I think this all explains why I get so few models completed each year. LOL

Rob W

[CAL]

Research...then some more research. Using the research I then start looking over the kit which usually leads me back to the internet or books to confirm some missed details.

When I finally get down to actually working on the kit my first work will involve sanding the body, removing mold lines, correcting what needs to be done on the body, test fitting and finally priming.

I'll usually paint the body before I begin working on the interior or engine since it gives time for the paint to fully dry before polishing.

Somewhere during this process the model usually goes back in the box for awhile as I'm drawn to other new or old projects.

I think this all explains why I get so few models completed each year. LOL

Rob W

Yeah, that's why I don't like to over do the research. I get to the point of no way possible to build the model with TOO much information.

Somethings I would have been better off not knowing because there is no way that's happening in 1/25/24 scale.

[crispy]

I'm no different than the majority.

I too work on the body first. Research is another tool. I've got many pictures referenced for builds coming up. I'm just not prepared to build them at this point.

But, body first and then I usually like to hi the interior with engine being last.

Chris

[Kenny]

I'm totally random with painting and detailing sub-assemblies. But final assembly usually goes in the order of the instructions.