New member and new to model cars

[lilbuddy]

Hi All,

I've been looking for a hobby lately that I can do around the house and my wife frowns when I think video games are a hobby :-). At any rate she picked me up a model car. I remember doing these when I was a kid and really enjoyed it. I'm 38 now and looking forward to building again. I hope I can get my two sons involved as well.

I have a lot of questions so I figured I would find a forum so I can "ask the experts". 

Not sure if this is the right place to ask my first question but here it goes...... I noticed that the car will need to be painted. My wife has a bunch of acrylic paint and brushes but I would think that would leave marks on the car. So last night I started looking at airbrush kits. I see a huge difference in price. 

Now this being my first go at it I don't want to drop a ton of money in a hobby that I may not stay with. What would you guys recommend as a decent beginner airbrush kit?

I was looking at this kit http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF0MW9G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3HA1SX1WFQ5TQ&coliid=I1CUUFD0QDDCAF&psc=1

And this cleaner http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MII5RSM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3HA1SX1WFQ5TQ&coliid=IISGOC6LGGBAD

TIA for all the help and I apologize if my question should be asked somewhere else. 

 

[GTJUNIOR]

Welcome to the forum Mike. I'm sure you'll get the advice you need on this forum. Just look in the modeling questions  part of the forum. I personally got myself a reasonably priced airbrush to start with and have got pretty decent results, using alot of the advice I found here on the forum. My advice is experiment with air pressures and paint consistency until you get the best results then save the info for future reference. Best to practice on plastic spoons or card. Good luck.

Edited January 18, 2016 by GTJUNIOR

[Tom Geiger]

Welcome Mike-

I wouldn't be buying an airbrush to work on your very first model.  As you said, you may not choose to pursue the hobby.  Try hobby spray paints for your first experience.  Tamiya brand paints are probably your best choice as they are pretty forgiving.  I'm sure others will chime in with their favorite paints.

[Griff]

Hey Mike, I'm  somewhat new to the hobby also , about a year. I bought my airbrush setup from tcpglobal.com, http://www.tcpglobal.com/ABD-KIT-3AIR-20.html#.Vp01lTZlmi4, this is the exact kit. For $100 you won't find anything better. The airbrushes you get are far from quality brushes, but they let you learn, and help you decide if its something you want to build on. I have since gone with a pricey Iwata airbrush, $130 bucks! But I am using it through the same compressor and its amazing. Hope you enjoy the new hobby , its very addictive once you get going.

 

[lilbuddy]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I will take a look at the hobby spray cans for my first car. I just feel like I won't be happy with the look of the car but I guess I would save a bunch of $$.

Just as a side note...how well does the search feature work on this forum? I've been on other forums where the search was kind of useless. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I agree with Tom.

You might want to start out with spray cans just to get the feel of the painting process & then start fiddling with an airbrush as you go along.

I've been building for over 40 years & I still use a lot of spray cans as well as air brush, probably about 75% airbrush, 25% spray cans.

Testors "Lacquer System" would also be a good place to start.

I use a lot of Duplicolor spray paints as well.

The '59 Edsel pictured was done entirely with Duplicolor rattle cans.

The '60 Desoto is Testors.

 

Steve

 

[lilbuddy]

I agree with Tom.

You might want to start out with spray cans just to get the feel of the painting process & then start fiddling with an airbrush as you go along.

I've been building for over 40 years & I still use a lot of spray cans as well as air brush, probably about 75% airbrush, 25% spray cans.

Testors "Lacquer System" would also be a good place to start.

I use a lot of Duplicolor spray paints as well.

The '59 Edsel pictured was done entirely with Duplicolor rattle cans.

The '60 Desoto is Testors.

 

Steve

 

Wow Steve that is some amazing work with a spray can. I assume you purchase this paint at Lowes or something similar. 

[Foxer]

I too agree that spray cans is the way to do your first cars. I started building cars in 1958 and I still use cans as much as I can, but that's me cause I hate cleaning my airbrushes. You'll need a Hobby or Craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michael's to find hobby sprays. Many use Duplicolor auto paints and some get as good a finish with sprays as with an airbrush, I'm not one of them by any means.

Learn about the advantages of both before spending a lot of cash. There is a lot of good talk about first airbrushes here. Use Google to search for old threads ..  paste this into Google ...   site:modelcarsmag.com first airbrush

[lilbuddy]

Welcome to the forum Mike. I'm sure you'll get the advice you need on this forum. Just look in the modeling questions  part of the forum. I personally got myself a reasonably priced airbrush to start with and have got pretty decent results, using alot of the advice I found here on the forum. My advice is experiment with air pressures and paint consistency until you get the best results then save the info for future reference. Best to practice on plastic spoons or card. Good luck.

Thanks for your reply. Can you share a link of where you purchased your airbrush from? Im thinking that my wife may want to use it as well for some of her crafts.

Welcome Mike-

I wouldn't be buying an airbrush to work on your very first model.  As you said, you may not choose to pursue the hobby.  Try hobby spray paints for your first experience.  Tamiya brand paints are probably your best choice as they are pretty forgiving.  I'm sure others will chime in with their favorite paints.

Thanks Tom.....I went to lowes tonight and all I could find were big 12oz cans of paint. I wonder if the paint would go bad before I could use all of that paint. I will try Michaels to look for hobby paint. 

So the first model I bought is a 70 challenger and from the instructions it looks like there is about 20 different colors. 

Has anyone had any luck using acrylic paint and a brush? My wife has plenty of paint which I could use a brush but I would imagine I would see brush strokes. 

Again thanks to everyone for the advice. 

[Tom Geiger]

Thanks Tom.....I went to lowes tonight and all I could find were big 12oz cans of paint. I wonder if the paint would go bad before I could use all of that paint. I will try Michaels to look for hobby paint. 

Michaels has a small display of Testors paints with their models.  I prefer to use automotive paints.  You can get Duplicolor or Plastikote paints at any auto supply store like Pep Boys.  You do need to use their primer with these because the paint will react with bare plastic.  I get great finishes with these, right out of the can.  

Stick around and you'll see the variety of paints that people use.  I have found that Walmart flat black is perfectly fine for chassis and interiors.  Some folks like those 12 oz cans you find at Lowes or Walmart.  Spray cans last forever, but you will also be surprised at how much paint you use giving a model body a couple of coats.

[1930fordpickup]

Welcome aboard Mike.

Nothing says you have to paint your first few models. I am providing kits for my Nieces boy's. they are not painting yet. Just learning how to sand and glue so it comes out looking like a car. Seems to be working for now. Their mom is a clean freak so painting for now is a no no, until they learn to put things away all the time. 

 

[GTJUNIOR]

Thanks for your reply. Can you share a link of where you purchased your airbrush from? Im thinking that my wife may want to use it as well for some of her crafts.

 

 I purchased my double action airbrush form a local building and d.i.y chain store in South Africa (Builders Warehouse, I think they are part of the Walmart group). I paid about $80 US for it about a year ago. Made in China, but sprays beautifully. Just recently purchased an even cheaper single action siphon feed, but not had an opportunity to try it yet (Life getting in the way). 

[lilbuddy]

Welcome aboard Mike.

Nothing says you have to paint your first few models. I am providing kits for my Nieces boy's. they are not painting yet. Just learning how to sand and glue so it comes out looking like a car. Seems to be working for now. Their mom is a clean freak so painting for now is a no no, until they learn to put things away all the time. 

 

I actually thought about this. 

One other thing I think I'll need to do is build a little work station. I've been putting off building a work station in the garage for some time now. It would be a multi-use station. I'll probably start to build a station this weekend and maybe run back out and buy a kit that doesn't require painting. As you said just get use to putting the car together. 

That actually brings up another question. Can I use the clear super glue or is there glue made specifically for models?

[crazyjim]

Welcome Mike.  For searching I'm told the best way id through google.    site:modelcarsmag.com . . . . . . .    the dots represent whaat you're searching for.

[1930fordpickup]

Yes you can use super glue thin medium or the gell Just do not use it for the clear part or the chrome. It May fog the clear and the chrome. . Spend some time in the Question and Answers section and look around. the tips is also a good section. Good luck with your bench . 

 

[disabled modeler]

Welcome Mike.......I use spray paint cans myself too...with a bit of practice you will get the hand of it.  Nothing needs to be rushed ether...take you own time painting or building it pays off in the end. Best advise anyone ever gave me is to treat every part as if it were a model itself.

[GTJUNIOR]

Welcome Mike.......I use spray paint cans myself too...with a bit of practice you will get the hand of it.  Nothing needs to be rushed ether...take you own time painting or building it pays off in the end. Best advise anyone ever gave me is to treat every part as if it were a model itself.

Good advice.

[Russell C]

Welcome. I've gone the airbrush route in the past with pearl nail polish colors and nasty 2-part Deltron clear, but in my old age I've reverted to spray cans out of laziness. But there is more to it than just laying down a good spray can layer - to get rid of the orange peel look, you must use a polishing kit, as in something like this. Takes a bit of time, but even a can of Krylon yellow out of the hardware store doesn't end up looking half bad with just that being the layer polished, no clear coat on top of it.

[lilbuddy]

Thanks for all the quick feedback and answers. 

[DumpyDan]

Welcome Mike