Building Ideas

[olschoolkid]

Hello everybody. I've been building models since I was about 8 or 9. I am now 26. My model builds have been mostly out of box and maybe a little kit bashing occasionally. I was wondering what would be some good ideas for ways I can expand from just building out of box. Please keep in mind that I don't have a lot of money or resources. There are not too many hobby shops in my area. Hobby lobby is perhaps the closest and Hobbytown USA is almost 50 miles away. 

[afx]

I would suggest buying various shapes of Evergreen or Plastruct and start scratch building.  Using various size round & hex rods, tubes and flat stock I created the engine on the left compared to what is included in the kit on the right. 

You can find more progress photos here if you are interested.

 

[Harpo]

I've had the same thoughts lately, wanting something different.  My last two builds follow this theme:

Pirahna Land Speed Record Car - DONE!

68 Mustang 2+0 Short Wheelbase

[thatz4u]

9 minutes ago, Harpo said:

I've had the same thoughts lately, wanting something different. 

The best ideas are from your own mind!!!!! or Google, type the brand of car & add custom, ratrod, drag race, or what ever...loads of inspiration....

[olschoolkid]

Thanks everybody. I appreciate your ideas and input. 

[Snake45]

23 hours ago, olschoolkid said:

Hello everybody. I've been building models since I was about 8 or 9. I am now 26. My model builds have been mostly out of box and maybe a little kit bashing occasionally. I was wondering what would be some good ideas for ways I can expand from just building out of box. Please keep in mind that I don't have a lot of money or resources. There are not too many hobby shops in my area. Hobby lobby is perhaps the closest and Hobbytown USA is almost 50 miles away. 

I feel your pain. My closest full hobby shops are also about an hour away, though I do have a Hobby Lobby which is good for some stuff. 

Do you have a credit card? You obviously have internet. If you have the net and a credit card, the world is your hobby shop. Yes it's a pain to have to special order things like paint, supplies, and tools and materials, but sometimes there's no other way. I don't mind ordering kits or buying cool old stuff from eBay. Probably 80% or more of my non-paint supplies and materials come from Walmart, drugstores, and places like that. I've become pretty good at finding stuff that works great for modeling, and often costs only a fraction of what equivalent "hobby" or "model" products cost. 

[olschoolkid]

I use my cell phone for internet which is okay since it's a Samsung Note 8. I do occasionally order items online. I found that sometimes ordering kits online is actually cheaper than buying them from Hobby Lobby, Michael's, etc. Sometimes I'll buy spray paint from Walmart or a local hardware store or place like Lowes or similar. 

[High octane]

Check out the contest issue of Model Cars magazine and get ideas, go online and type in hot rods, gassers, dragsters, customs, exotic, cars and you'll get LOTS of ideas. You have to look beyond the box.....................................

[Fat Brian]

I strongly agree with afx about getting some Evergreen and Plastruct materials. Nothing has improved my builds more than having the raw materials on hand to build whatever modifications I want to make. I built this entire bed out of plastic sheet and a few bits of rectangular rod and C channel, the only kit parts are the bumper, Jerry cans, tool box, roll bar, and stacks. You'll be surprised what you come up with once you've got the tools.

 

[disabled modeler]

Like you I am on a almost no budget...one has to get creative when they are.  Good places to find supplies and parts cheap are...

any extra parts from models or damaged ones

Old radios for wiring supplies

some toys have parts that can be used on builds

Plastic scratch building stock is a great idea if one has or can acquire it

I have built many from just junkers before...did a 69 Plymouth 4 door wagon from a pile of extra parts and a couple of busted up glue bombs. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

A great inexpensive resource for kitbashing parts, as well as random idea generating, is what a lot of sellers on eBay refer to as "junkyards". These can range from several built-up models in pretty good condition, only missing a few parts, to bags or boxes of mixed and unidentified parts, to hopelessly broken or bodged, painted-with-a-dirty-pinecone gluebombs.

When I first got back into hobby model-building in 2005, I found these were a good way to get a resource of parts to swap for building something different than the kits as-boxed allowed, and also a source for almost complete models usually much cheaper than an unmolested kit would cost. And sometimes you'll find something really nice hidden in with the junk when the stuff arrives.

In some cases, it's a roll-of-the-dice, because assembled models MAY have so much glue they're almost not usable, but even the worst trash can become something cool.

And as far as ideas go, I had no intention of ever building a '61 Dodge Dart Phoenix until this arrived...

For the build thread, click below:

 

Edited October 14, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[<profile removed>]

Sorry, I'm a bit late to this party...I have found some great stuff at general flea markets  (not necessarily toy shows, but sometimes you get lucky). Often at general flea markets people will have an eclectic collection of stuff, and if they are dealing in old teacups, books, tools, etc a model kit is apt to mean little or nothing to them. I'm sure we all have stories of great deals we've gotten. In the last year, I got an unbuilt Jim Hurtubise NASCAR chevelle and a 1960 Corvair 4 door for $1.50 each because the seller found them in her attic and assumed nobody builds model cars anymore. She thought "kids" were only interested in "video games".

I also come up with crazy ideas just about everywhere...plastic coffee stirrers make great drive shafts, exhaust pipes, axles, etc (though we may not find those anymore...thanks to anti-straw protesters.) Another bonus...they are free with a cup of coffee. I have also used medical tape to make grill screens, the texture of the mesh looks to scale by my eyes. Plastic prescription bottles can be cut to make wheel arches or wheel tubs for drag racers. Those little round price tag stickers make great roundels for sports cars, and they're less than $2 for like 100 vs $12 for a single decal sheet. These are just some ideas. Be creative, let your mind go wild. I'm really not nuts, but I have been modeling so long, I swear that I think to myself "gee, that would make a great (fill in the blank)" with just about everything.