Trying to restart an old hobby

[Oldboychas]

Hi, I'm oldboychas and I haven't done a model since the mid 60's. The other day I saw a 51 Anglia (Revell) and coulden't pass it by. Came home and found this site on the computer. WOW....You people are so over the top it's unreal. The attention to detail is amazing (and a little intimidating!) What I kindly ask for is any tips or suggestions that you can share with me. This old shakey handed reading glasses wearing boy needs all the help he can get.

Thanks,

oldboychas (Charlie Bower)

[diymirage]

well, let me be the first one to welcome you back to the hobby

i consider myself a small fish in a large pond here but the great thing about this site are the people on it

every one is ready to help with tips, advice and when needed even parts

so...what exactly are you looking for ?

what do you want to acomplish with the anglia and what do you want to know ?

i suggest spending some time in the "workbench" section to see how others build their models

then spend some time in the "under glass" to get some inspiration by looking at what other modelers finished models look like

also, if there is something specific you are looking for read this section (tips and ideas)

also, in the top right corner of you screen is a "search" button

left click on that and then click on "more search options"

now lets say (just for fun) you want to know about how to shoot a pearl paint

you write "pearl paint" in the box

then you highlight "tips tricks and ideas"

decide if you want most relevant or most recent

and finally click "perform the search"

then you get this page (click on the link to open)

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.p...ite=pearl+paint

and you read and see which on works best for you

now, if that doesnt awnser your questions just make a new post in here

[Oldboychas]

Thanks Eelco, the workbench area added a lot of fuel to my fire! (Idon't remember the parts being so darn small.......)

[diymirage]

Thanks Eelco, the workbench area added a lot of fuel to my fire! (Idon't remember the parts being so darn small.......)

this place is great for that

i remember looking around on here and finding this picture :

i thought it looked really cool and it was the inspiration for this challenger i build :

[noname]

I have a great tip for you Oldboychas. Do all your prep work before you paint. I still have to remind myself of that quite a bit. Test fit everything and leave the painting for last when you have all your modifications, scratchbuilding or detailing done.

[Oldboychas]

this place is great for that

i remember looking around on here and finding this picture :

i thought it looked really cool and it was the inspiration for this challenger i build :

Eelco....Don't tell me that Challenger isn't real! All kidding aside, that's some beautiful work.

Thanks for the tip Matt. You don't know how bad I want to grab a rattle can. OOPS!

[mr moto]

(Idon't remember the parts being so darn small.......)

Yeah, when I started building 1/25 was as big as 1/12 is now!! Must be those bleepin' **!#@?^ bean counters tryin' to cut costs on plastic!!

[Jantrix]

In no particular order-

1. Test fit everything

2. clean up parting lines, injector pin marks and flash on every piece.

3. gap filling super glues (CA)

4. spray paint as much as you can. brush paints are for minor detailing. WalMarts Krylon section is your best pal.

5. don't worry about adding extra detailing until you have the basics of clean building down

6. take your time. make sure glues are set and paint is dry.

7. regular old elmers white glue for transparent pieces

8. wash all parts in a bath of dish detergent to clean off any mold release agents

9. humidity has a huge effect of the finish of gloss paints - choose your dryest days to paint the bodies.

10. automotive lacquers from AutoZone are fantastic (Duplicolor/Plasticote). Just make sure you use the same brand primer and primer completely inside and out.

11. don't get upset if you make mistakes (my dad retired two years ago and has tried three times to restart his modeling hobby but his hands shake and he's such a perfectionist, *sigh*)

12. the kits you built back then are still available and most of those aren't any better now. Find out what the newest kits are and enjoy.

13. harbor frieght is a great place for hobby tools, files, clamps, magni-visors etc.

14. enjoy yourself. if you're not enjoying it that makes it work, and that's not what we do here.

[diymirage]

Eelco....Don't tell me that Challenger isn't real! All kidding aside, that's some beautiful work.

thanks

that is one of my better ones indeed

it was also my first attempt at using Bare Metal Foil (BMF) and i was very pleased at how ti came out

[BigGary]

thanks

that is one of my better ones indeed

it was also my first attempt at using Bare Metal Foil (BMF) and i was very pleased at how ti came out

I got back into cars after being out for 10 years and in and out for many years before. The biggest surprise for me was the details that were not molded in and the absence of metal axles. I didn't slow me down because I'm so slow anyway. I'm delighted with current generation kits and the invention of BMF after spending so much time with silver paint and brush trying to paint chrome trim and always messing it up.

I read a lot of complaints about BMF but it must be people who didn't build models before BMF>

Gary

[Trans Am Erik]

Oldboychas, welcome to the site. I'm just getting back into it after the summer. I've been playing with my full size Bandit Trans Am. One good thing about the hobby is that the quality of the kits and especially paint has gone way up. I prefer using the Boyds or Model Master colors in spray can. Testors has recently come out with a whole line of one coat laqures that work great and dry fast. I typically use enamer paint with a laquer clear. Also, I use flat light aircraft grey paint or flat white paint as my primer, it wet sands great.For body filler check out Tamiya basic putty or two part epoxy putty. I use a lot of the basic on my crazy bodywork.

One cool thing on this site is you can just click on a member's name to go to their page, find their topics, or even send them a personal message. To post pictures from your "Photobucket" or "Fotki" account copy and paste the image (IMG) code of the picture to your post. Have fun with this site, I know we all do.

Don't pass up the "real or model" game too!