How many models are you working on at one time?

[rossfox]

So, I was wondering how many models most guys are working on at the same time. I have only been working on one. Maybe I should start another kit while waiting for the paint to dry on this body. Speaking of paint. I cannot understand what is happening with my Tamiya acrylic that I painted my 56 Ford with. It was Tamiya blue acrylic. So, I painted it two weeks ago. Put it in the dehydrator for 3 separate times at 6 hours each. Let it sit on the table for days. Yesterday I laid it roof down on a microfiber cloth. When I picked it up, the roof had the imprint of the microfiber cloth. Just like the paint is very soft. I know now that I can put it back in the dehydrator for a few hours and it will go back smooth again. ??????????? And finally someone suggested that I can contact the kit manufacturer and maybe get replacement windshields front and back for my 56. I did't know that was possible.

[hedotwo]

For what it's worth, I use my dehydrator often but I don't put stuff in right away after painting but rather give the paint time to settle in the open air beforehand... maybe an hour or two.  Not sure why it would make a difference but maybe the dehydrator dries the top too quickly and kind of keeps the lower coats from drying sufficiently??  I use a hand hair dryer between light coats to gently dry them before heavier coats.  Works good for me.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I use lacquer for my bodies, so there's no need for a dehydrator.

The paint is dry to the handling point within an hour or two, and there's always something that you can work on during that period.

Paint is fully cured and ready for polishing within a few days to a week.

 

As far as working on more than one model at a time, it's a near impossibility for me as I do a lot of modification and scratch building, so I need to have a LOT of parts floating around on my workbench as I work on engineering parts to fit for swapping and scratch making.

If I had a hundred different parts laying around for more than one project, it would be total confusion.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Zoom Zoom]

  On 5/1/2025 at 2:19 PM, rossfox said:

So, I was wondering how many models most guys are working on at the same time. I have only been working on one. Maybe I should start another kit while waiting for the paint to dry on this body. Speaking of paint. I cannot understand what is happening with my Tamiya acrylic that I painted my 56 Ford with. It was Tamiya blue acrylic. So, I painted it two weeks ago. Put it in the dehydrator for 3 separate times at 6 hours each. Let it sit on the table for days. Yesterday I laid it roof down on a microfiber cloth. When I picked it up, the roof had the imprint of the microfiber cloth. Just like the paint is very soft. I know now that I can put it back in the dehydrator for a few hours and it will go back smooth again. ??????????? And finally someone suggested that I can contact the kit manufacturer and maybe get replacement windshields front and back for my 56. I did't know that was possible.

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I might do a bit of work on several concurrently after I finish a project, but try to focus on one build at a time to keep from being too distracted. 

What did you thin the Tamiya acrylic paint with? I assume you applied it with an airbrush? Tamiya gloss acrylics are famously SLOW to fully cure. It might take months, perhaps even longer than old-school enamels. 

[rossfox]

  On 5/1/2025 at 5:03 PM, Zoom Zoom said:

I might do a bit of work on several concurrently after I finish a project, but try to focus on one build at a time to keep from being too distracted. 

What did you thin the Tamiya acrylic paint with? I assume you applied it with an airbrush? Tamiya gloss acrylics are famously SLOW to fully cure. It might take months, perhaps even longer than old-school enamels. 

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I think it with the Tamiya thinner and I was at 50/50 with airbrush. It sprayed on really nice. So, if it might take months to fully cure, sounds like not a good paint to work with????????????????????

[Rbray47]

Not usually, but I frequently put one away and start another. I recently put a shelf above my work area just for the purpose of working on two or more at the same time. When I put them away I often forget about them, so hopefully staring at a build all the time will help me finish them up. 

[forthlin]

One, from start to finish.

[Ace-Garageguy]

When I was at my building peak I had as many as 60 going at any one time, in "rotation", with 3 or 4 or more getting actively worked on, and I've never had a problem staying current in my head with several projects running concurrently.

This was possible because I had several benches where I could leave a project undisturbed while I worked on another one, and in-progress shelves immediately adjacent to the benches.

My projects usually involve heavy modifications, scratch-building, problem solving, and much scale-engineering, so pushing one through to completion really isn't a realistic option.

When I'd get to a major stopping point or run up against a complex problem that I needed to work out, before boxing things up for the "resting" shelves, I'd make notes to record exactly where I was.

Probably not an approach for everyone, but it works well for me.

Last time I was building seriously I had 5 going, but most of them are now boxed up for a cross-country move, the benches are stacked high with packed kits, and the atmosphere in my house right now just isn't conducive to building much of anything...and the modeling space that's clear is tied up making parts for a custom full-scale instrument panel for a client.

[Hi-Po]

I build both automotive and aircraft, with an occasional odd subject that has caught my attention.  I normally have two builds going at the same time.  By doing it this way, when I am waiting on paint or glue to dry on one, I can work on the other.  To keep the builds organized on the workbench, I alternate the builds.  One build is a car and the other is an aircraft.  No chance of confusing which parts go to which build.

[stitchdup]

I tend to have about a dozen on the go at a time. My tastes vary and some days i'll feel like something 30s and the next might be modern japenese or 70s saloon. I find having more than one on the go lets me switch as the mood takes me. For example I have a model a phaeton, a 37 lincoln, a 49 merc, a 55 ford pick up, a vw brasilia, a vw type 3 notch, a vw bay window pick up, a 75 ford escort, a t3 vw custom pick up, a holden hq, a 86 monte carlo, a r32 skyine and a r36 gtr liberty walk in various states of play and some others i might pick up for a day now and then. Only the model a is anywhere close to box stock

[hedotwo]

Before I was retired I only had a couple of hours a day at the most on the bench between long work hours and plain old life.  I've been retired now for 7 years and now have easily 6 hours a day or more to spend on the hobby.  While working, I only worked on one at a time and it worked well.  Now I will usually have 2 or 3 going which keeps me always busy even with drying paint and drying adhesive.  Having a few going at the same time also keeps things fresh on longer, detailed builds.

[gtx6970]

2 at a time

Is pretty much my max at same time. And are usually 2 very similar subjects 

 

Although I have started builds from as far back and 15 years ago

 

 

Edited May 5 by gtx6970

[Zoom Zoom]

  On 5/1/2025 at 5:43 PM, rossfox said:

I think it with the Tamiya thinner and I was at 50/50 with airbrush. It sprayed on really nice. So, if it might take months to fully cure, sounds like not a good paint to work with????????????????????

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It's good paint to work with, with caveats. The flat colors dry faster. Tamiya developed a mild lacquer thinner for builders who wanted the acrylic paint to spray like enamels/lacquers, it was first aimed at aircraft/armor builders who use mostly matte finishes, but it works equally well to reduce the gloss acrylics and have it flow out on a model body like enamels/lacquers. Meanwhile many have found that Mr. Hobby Mr. Color Thinner/Mr. Leveling Thinner work as well (very similar to the Tamiya thinner), and I've even tried hardware store lacquer thinner to thin Tamiya acrylics and it worked well (at least for flat colors), and is good to clean out the airbrush, but using Tamiya/Mr. Hobby lacquer thinners make the paint spray smoother than hardware store lacquer thinner that tends to have a lot of acetone in it. Tamiya also makes a new range of lacquer jar paints (Tamiya LP line) for modelers, they're not as common as the acrylic colors that have been available for decades but for car modelers they are ideal for airbrush users, as good/better than their TS line of rattle can paints for those who don't airbrush. 

Get some of this and try it out, if you liked spraying w/the acrylic thinner you should like this better, and it'll dry faster. If you still find it too slow to cure, consider getting some jars of their LP lacquers. Great paint for beginners and experienced builders. 

[michelle]

i generally have 4 to 5 different builds going at a time though sometimes i have 6 to 7 different builds going at once 

[rattle can man]

Define working on! I've got three with major mods, two I'm trying to finish, and 15 to choose from on when the first 5 get me frustrated or are drying. 

[Fat Brian]

Two is the usual, three is the max these days. This gives me flexibility if one step gets stalled on a build but not enough options to never come back to a project. If I get too many things things going at once I never finish anything and jump from kit to kit.

[R. Thorne]

2 or 3.

[rossfox]

  On 5/1/2025 at 9:05 PM, Zoom Zoom said:

It's good paint to work with, with caveats. The flat colors dry faster. Tamiya developed a mild lacquer thinner for builders who wanted the acrylic paint to spray like enamels/lacquers, it was first aimed at aircraft/armor builders who use mostly matte finishes, but it works equally well to reduce the gloss acrylics and have it flow out on a model body like enamels/lacquers. Meanwhile many have found that Mr. Hobby Mr. Color Thinner/Mr. Leveling Thinner work as well (very similar to the Tamiya thinner), and I've even tried hardware store lacquer thinner to thin Tamiya acrylics and it worked well (at least for flat colors), and is good to clean out the airbrush, but using Tamiya/Mr. Hobby lacquer thinners make the paint spray smoother than hardware store lacquer thinner that tends to have a lot of acetone in it. Tamiya also makes a new range of lacquer jar paints (Tamiya LP line) for modelers, they're not as common as the acrylic colors that have been available for decades but for car modelers they are ideal for airbrush users, as good/better than their TS line of rattle can paints for those who don't airbrush. 

Get some of this and try it out, if you liked spraying w/the acrylic thinner you should like this better, and it'll dry faster. If you still find it too slow to cure, consider getting some jars of their LP lacquers. Great paint for beginners and experienced builders. 

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I was looking at the Tamiya Lacquer Paints and maybe considering switching over to them instead of Tamiya Acrylics. I did build a car last year, and used Tamiya Acrylics and seemed to have the same problem as now, with the paint seeming to be soft and easily marred one way or the other. I read some good reviews on Tamiya Lacquer Paint and it seems like they do everything the acrylics do, but better?????????

[Bills72sj]

I am usually build ONE semi rig (tractor OR trailer) AND 3-4 similar cars in a "batch" build. With the cars, they get parts swapped amongst them to get the options I want with each one. One build usually lags due to a paint snafu or a ambitious modification.

I have done a batch, of Challengers, a batch of Chevelles, a batch of Mustangs and a batch of B-body Pontiacs. A made feeble attempt at a batch of C3 Corvettes but lost enthusiasm. I am ready for paint on a slump-buster batch of car trailers. But the slump came back.

Presently my bench is clear as I am working on slowly rebuilding a 1:1 Pontiac 455. I got the engine block back from the machine shop last week. I am presently grinding on the combustion chambers to unshroud the valves and reduce the compression a little.

[bobss396]

I have around 7 or 8 going on now. I try to keep parts and assemblies organized. I do a complete bench cleaning about once a week. Wash my sanding sticks, clean my files, put back plastic stock and so on.

Paint, I use only lacquers and acrylic lacquers. I haven't used my dehydrator in a while, it takes up too much counter space. 

Right now I need to put away my painted body collection I have out on my big kitchen counter before something happens to them. 

[TonyK]

Several builds going at the same time. I can work on whatever I'm in the mood for when I walk up to the bench. Detail painting, sanding, prepping parts, glue parts together, etc.

I can paint a body and set it aside for a week if I want because I've got plenty of other things to keep me busy until it's good and dry.

[Zoom Zoom]

  On 5/2/2025 at 1:12 AM, rossfox said:

I was looking at the Tamiya Lacquer Paints and maybe considering switching over to them instead of Tamiya Acrylics. I did build a car last year, and used Tamiya Acrylics and seemed to have the same problem as now, with the paint seeming to be soft and easily marred one way or the other. I read some good reviews on Tamiya Lacquer Paint and it seems like they do everything the acrylics do, but better?????????

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The LP's are amazing. I got to test them for a magazine article about 5 years ago prior to becoming available in the US. I was instantly hooked...and then they were greatly delayed due to pandemic. I assume if you'd tried them before acrylics you'd never look back. They cure pretty fast, they apply smoothly, you get better results much faster. You could have done your masking, painted the blue, put the body aside while you cleaned your airbrush and work/spray area, done a fingertip test on the masked area to see if it's dry enough, removed the masking and put the body in the dehydrator for 6 hours, and be working again on it the next day. Especially if you'd applied the white first over the entire body as a base coat, and masked that area before applying the blue, therefore only doing the masking task once. 

[Mike 1017]

3

[Beans]

"working on" to me would mean actively doing something with.  So working on would be 2.  Started and put back in the box is like 8.  The status can and does change often from working on to started.  In the box, out of the box, back in the box and son on.

[Spooker]

I try to limit myself to 3 or so, but usually end up with 7 or 8 going at once.  If I get frustrated or stymied on one, it goes away for "thinking" or "ordering" time and I'll get out another to replace it.  Bench gets a little crowded at times, but that's ok.  Been trying lately to finish up older, started projects rather than new ones.  I've collected a LOT of kits that were butchered in my youth that I would like to do a good job on this time around. Many of these were started but put aside while I regained or acquired the skills to do them justice.