Is this a good start for trying to get into the hobby?

[Bucky]

9 hours ago, Big Messer said:

There is/was a diorama of a modeler throwing a car against the wall but don't remember where I saw it...

If I remember correctly, the great diorama master Ken Hamilton may have built that diorama. 

[Deathgoblin]

Looks like you got a great set of tools.    Good paints and primer are musts as well.  Technique will come later.  The best tip I can offer is this: Let each build give you skills to improve the next. 

[Trainwreck]

I might add a fine, flat, metal file, some emery boards and a suggestion, if you want a good looking end result, cherry out the body 'cause that's the first and possibly only thing you're going to see when the finished kit is on the shelf.

Edited Tuesday at 03:10 AM by Trainwreck

[Radretireddad]

Bamboo skewers with some equipped with small alligator clips crimped on the pointed end. These are indispensable for holding small parts for painting.

[Big Messer]

16 minutes ago, Radretireddad said:

Bamboo skewers with some equipped with small alligator clips crimped on the pointed end. These are indispensable for holding small parts for painting.

When there is no way to hold a part with an alligator clip a loop of masking tape with the glue to the outside may do the trick.

[butterdogg08]

On 11/3/2025 at 12:50 PM, DJMar said:

1) Primer. You can go with hobby specific paint for primer (Tamiya Fine, Mr Hobby, Humbrol, etc.) as it has a finer grain and lays down smoother, in thinner coats. It's going to produce a better base for your color with less work. You can also use auto primer like Duplicolor, but it requires some extra prep & finishing steps. Not the end of the world, but something to think about.

I found a decent number of paints, mostly from Revell and Testors, but would Testors primer be good? 

 

[Mattblack]

I have a small ball of Blu-tac in my 'kit'. Can be used to hold small parts for painting, either directly or to support the aforementioned toothpicks. Useful for holding parts when mocking up as well.

[Bainford]

7 hours ago, butterdogg08 said:

I found a decent number of paints, mostly from Revell and Testors, but would Testors primer be good? 

 

I would avoid the Testors primer. I swore off the stuff 25 years ago when I discovered Tamiya. It doesn't lay down as smooth and doesn't sand as nicely as Tamiya. It may also be enamel, which means you can't put lacquer over top of it. Tamiya  and Mr Color are lacquer, and you can paint any type of paint over it. I highly recommend Tamiya or Mr Color (Gunze Sangyo) primers as a far superior product to Testors.

Also, I noticed earlier that it was suggested you ditch the Tamiya masking tape in favour of cheaper regular household masking tape or painters tape. In my personal opinion, regular hardware-store masking tape is a bit bulky and difficult for paint work, and doesn't burnish into panel lines and deep contours as nicely as a hobby specific masking tape. It has its uses, but I find the expense of Hobby masking tapes to be well worth it for paint work. I keep Tamiya 6 mm and 18 mm tape on the bench and use it constantly for many purposes, less than 20% of which have anything to do with painting. Just don't leave it stuck to a painted model surface for more than a day, as it may mark the surface.

Edited Wednesday at 02:18 PM by Bainford

[peteski]

Another vote for Tamiya (Washi) tape instead of the hardware-store masking tapes which are made for masking large things like walls in a house.  Yes, per foot it is pricier than generic tapes, but it is much thinner, more pliable, and has a less aggressive adhesive to make it easier to remove from a model.

I'm also not sure why so many modelers recommend the Frog Tape.  Frog tape is just a regular masking tape with its edges coated with a substance which swells up to seal the edge when exposed to water from acrylic/latex house paints. Not something that is beneficial in painting models.  Other than that Frog tape is just another tick and stiff tape.  Well, except I just recently found out that Frog tape is also now available as a Washi type tape which is similar to Tamiya tape, but the water-expanding seal is not very useful for painting model cars.

Don't get me wrong, I still use standard "blue" masking tape for covering larger areas, but the edges of the masked area will be done using Tamiya (or other types) of Washi tape.

I also don't understand the aversion to Testor's paints which were designed for model kits.  Perfect for someone starting to build models. That is how majority of my models were painted.  Testors enamels. But I have not used those paints for some years and there seem to be lots of online complaints about the quality of those paints due to some change in their chemical formula.  I don't know how true that is and if the problem is with the paint itself or the painting techniques of the modelers, so I can't really say "yes" or "no" for using Testor's paints. The only thing is that Testors enamels I used did take a long time to fully harden. They would probably be ok for someone who is just starting and does not use the esoteric paints many now use for painting plastic models. 

Edited Wednesday at 04:03 PM by peteski

[mcs1056]

1 hour ago, peteski said:

The only thing is that Testors enamels I used did take a long time to fully harden. They would probably be ok for someone who is just starting and does not use the esoteric paints many now use for painting plastic models. 

This is the only bit I'd question. 

As one just returning to modeling, I first found myself a bit impatient. Slow drying paint would have been destroyed by premature handling. 

[peteski]

5 minutes ago, mcs1056 said:

As one just returning to modeling, I first found myself a bit impatient. Slow drying paint would have been destroyed by premature handling.

To each his own.  I didn't find that to be a problem for me, but it seems we now live in instant gratification times.  We want it ready yesterday.  Actually Testors enameled didn't take very logn to dry for handling, but as with any other enamel paint, they take much longer time to fully cure hard.  That is how enamel paints work.  I don't sand or polish my models, so I have no issues with the paint taking longer to harden. If you are old enough, all we (the modelers) had back in the day were plastic compatible hobby enamels from Testors and Pactra. We all dealt with them without complaints about the hardening times.

Momin is a new modeler. I think he would be ok going with the the basics before doing any advanced modeling. As I see it, none of us started as (or ever became) instant award-wining modelers.

[DJMar]

3 hours ago, Bainford said:

I would avoid the Testors primer. I swore off the stuff 25 years ago when I discovered Tamiya. It doesn't lay down as smooth and doesn't sand as nicely as Tamiya. It may also be enamel, which means you can't put lacquer over top of it. Tamiya  and Mr Color are lacquer, and you can paint any type of paint over it. I highly recommend Tamiya or Mr Color (Gunze Sangyo) primers as a far superior product to Testors.

Agreed. Enamel primer is fine for enamel color coats, but the Testors spray definitely leaves noticeable surface texture. Will the Testors primer work if you're planning enamel color coats? Sure. If that's all you have access to, then use it. It will probably take some extra dry time and and a bit of sanding to get rid of the texture, but it's not the end of the world, especially for your first model.

If you can get your hands on Tamiya FSP or any Mr. Color primer, it's certainly the way to go. Personally, I would use Duplicolor primer over the Testors stuff, but that's just me.

 

3 hours ago, Bainford said:

Also, I noticed earlier that it was suggested you ditch the Tamiya masking tape in favour of cheaper regular household masking tape or painters tape. In my personal opinion, regular hardware-store masking tape is a bit bulky and difficult for paint work, and doesn't burnish into panel lines and deep contours as nicely as a hobby specific masking tape. It has its uses, but I find the expense of Hobby masking tapes to be well worth it for paint work. I keep Tamiya 6 mm and 18 mm tape on the bench and use it constantly for many purposes, less than 20% of which have anything to do with painting. Just don't leave it stuck to a painted model surface for more than a day, as it may mark the surface.

As I said in my previous posts, this is just my opinion.

IME, Tamiya tape has a nasty habit of marking up Tamiya TS sprays when used over the top of it. Doesn't matter if it's on there for 1/2 hour or a full day, I've consistently gotten ghosting in paint jobs when using it. That's one reason why I don't recommend it. Maybe it works for y'all, but my experience with it has not been good.

Another, much more germane reason is that the OP is a brand new modeler trying out their first kit. I'm pretty sure that there won't be any complicated masking coming down the pike, at least just yet. Painter's tape, even low tack versions, will work just fine for masking off interiors, engine bays, windshield tint strips and other small areas, or holding parts for painting, or helping to line up decals...you know, what we use masking tape for 90% of the time when building a model.

Would I suggest painter's tape for laying out a multicolor, flake & candy paint job? Of course not, there are much better products to handle that. But that's not what we're talking about here. 

 

[Beans]

Considering most probably started with an exacto knife, tube glue and a model kit only, I think you are more than set with what you outlined.

Now onto the idea of paint and some unsolicited advice from my, not so vast, experience.

Figure out what type of paint you want to use and the delivery method.  Everyone will tell you their ideas of what paints work great and what is horrible.  

If you want to go with lacquers start with lacquers.  If you want to go with enamels...same.  Figure out what is available within your time constraints and price range.  

Figure out if you want to air brush or rattle can.

Then get to know your choice and practice.  Get a technique down.  Master one before moving onto another.  I wish I would have done this earlier and instead just kept jumping from type of paint and delivery method to another because I was expecting instant results.  

There is a lot of great product advice on this forum but there is just as much minutia that can completely overwhelm someone new to the hobby.  

My only other advice is get a cheapo back up kit.  There will be times when you just need something else to work on or test some idea on.  Experiment and have fun.  As they say, it's only plastic.

[NOBLNG]

You are pretty well set. Now jump in with both feet and start building.😜 You will ALWAYS need more stuff. Remember this applies to both paint and primer.

[Lunajammer]

Good Lord people. Airbrushes, putties, dental tools? I built several respectable models at the beginning of my journey with a #11 exacto blade, sandpaper, a tube of Testors glue, clothes pins, toothpicks, one paintbrush and flat black and silver paints. Besides a couple spray paints of choice, that's all you need to complete a fine first model. Everything else will come along as needed.

Edited yesterday at 02:11 AM by Lunajammer

[butterdogg08]

16 hours ago, Bainford said:

I would avoid the Testors primer. I swore off the stuff 25 years ago when I discovered Tamiya. It doesn't lay down as smooth and doesn't sand as nicely as Tamiya. It may also be enamel, which means you can't put lacquer over top of it. Tamiya  and Mr Color are lacquer, and you can paint any type of paint over it. I highly recommend Tamiya or Mr Color (Gunze Sangyo) primers as a far superior product to Testors.

I see. I looked around and I found a store that sells Tamiya primer, would it be this one? Also, which clear coat would you recommend? Thank you. 

 

[NOBLNG]

7 hours ago, butterdogg08 said:

I see. I looked around and I found a store that sells Tamiya primer, would it be this one? Also, which clear coat would you recommend? Thank you. 

 

Unless you are doing a white or otherwise very light color, I would use their light grey primer as it will help to reveal mold lines and imperfections better than the white. I have had good luck with Mr. Hobby clears….both the UV Cut and their premium topcoat in the green can. I recently did a test paint job with Duplicolor perfect match clear and it worked very nicely over Mr. Hobby paint. It is a lacquer though, so can’t be used over enamel. It may work over water based acrylics, but do a test first.

[oldcarfan]

No matter how good your eyes are, I recommend a pair of cheap drug store reading glasses. I'm always amazed how a part I'm working on looks good until I put the glasses on and see something I missed. I would also add a jumbo pack of #11 blades. Sometimes I go through one a week or more. 

[peteski]

Yes, this very simple  and basic question has turned into overabundance of of hints/ideas (for becoming an instant master modeler). Didn't we all start small with very basic set of tools and materials?  All the other stuff comes later with experience.  What if Momin realizes that model building is not for him. What will he do with his hobby-shop-size amount of tools/materials?  Yes, I'm exaggerating, but I think his idea to just start with some basic tools/supplies makes the most sense.  All the other fancy stuff can come later.  That's how I see it.

[Rick L]

I’d suggest you open the box and just get started. Unfortunately, in the beginning you’re going to have to make that extra trip to the hobby shop now and then but you may also find innovative ways of making use of what you already have. All of the items suggested come in quite handy but what would happen if you purchased all of these items and realized you didn’t need half of them? Even worse, what if you decide your new hobby doesn’t appeal to you anymore. Unless you have no concern about total cost I’d take the purchases slowly and buy as I needed. 

[peteski]

What I should  have also mentioned to Momin, is that on his first model forget things like clear coats (and if using plastic compatible paints), you can forget primer too.  Just prep (sand) the bare plastic and spray some glossy paint of your choice,  It will be more than sufficient for a first model. Primers and clear coats are for when you get into more advanced modeling. As a kid I used to brush-paint my models. Then, as an adult I got back into models I started with spray paints (those Testors enamels) on bare plastic. You don't need any advanced modeling tools or finishes to build decent models.

Some of my early models (enamels over bare plastic and no clear, no sanding,  polishing or waxing) look like this:

These are all 1:32 scale models. Photos taken over 30 years ago with my Nikon 35mm SLR camera (and more recently the 4x6 prints were scanned on my computer)

Edited 4 hours ago by peteski