Comments + Advice On My First Car

[ULTIMATESKYLINE]

Well I managed to get some pics in, but it will only let me post 2 pics at a time . Here's some pics! Advice + Comments would be greatly appreciated!! Edit: Im trying to post more pictures, but it says that I already used 1.76MB of 1.95MB in only 2 pictures!!!! I'm pretty sure I saw others who could post more pictures.

Edited November 24, 2007 by ULTIMATESKYLINE

[Aaronw]

I haven't built that Ferrari but I understand it is not really a beginners kit but you still did a nice job, particularly for your second kit.

The photo issue is because you haven't resized them, all you need for internet pics is 72 dpi and usually 800x600, it looks like you downloaded the full size photo from the camera. Somebody did a really good how to on posting photos. I thought it was a sticky but I can't find it.

[Brendan]

David,

You did a really good job for your first model. Some advice for clear plastic: Do not use the regular model glue. The stuff that most people use is Elmer's white glue or any white glue. It doesn't fog up the clear plastic and dries clear. And if you make a mistake on it, it doesn't etch the plastic either. You can always wipe the white glue off with water. Another thing is to read through the instructions very carefully since some of the instructions can be a little confusing. Ask questions if you need help. Also use the search feature on this forum since some questions you have might have already been posted. That's what great about this forum. If you have a question, just ask and you'll get some help.

As for the picture posting, I ran into the same problem. I signed up with http://photobucket.com/ It's a free site.

Jairus posted a good tutorial on how to use that program to show pictures. I can't find where it's posted though. Might want to send a message to him.

Hope this helps.

[ULTIMATESKYLINE]

Thanks for the tip! I have tons of Elmers glue somewhere in my basement Just one question i had was that I was looking around and saw many different kinds of model cars, but I find that most good ones have like a shiny touch to it. When i paint my model cars, the color is dull and flat. Others have a metallic kind of look and I am wondering how you guys get your paint to be like that.

[MrObsessive]

Not bad for a beginner David..............Like Aaron said, you might want to start with something that's not quite so hair pulling!

As far as posting pics................here is the link for it. It was a sticky originally, but a small change was made on the board a while back and it got dumped I guess.

When you're gluing in clear glass, you may want to consider 5 min. epoxy also. This is good if you're putting in glass that goes in from the inside and needs some strength to keep it from popping out.

I've used white glue, but only found it strong enough for "flush" mounted glass where it's resting on something. It's perfect though for headlights, as 5 min. epoxy can yellow over time giving your headlights an "old" appearance.

[CAL]

Well I managed to get some pics in, but it will only let me post 2 pics at a time . Here's some pics! Advice + Comments would be greatly appreciated!! Edit: Im trying to post more pictures, but it says that I already used 1.76MB of 1.95MB in only 2 pictures!!!! I'm pretty sure I saw others who could post more pictures.

Looks pretty good for your first one, considering the Enzo isn't a beginner's kit really.

Advice, keep building.

[CAL]

Thanks for the tip! I have tons of Elmers glue somewhere in my basement Just one question i had was that I was looking around and saw many different kinds of model cars, but I find that most good ones have like a shiny touch to it. When i paint my model cars, the color is dull and flat. Others have a metallic kind of look and I am wondering how you guys get your paint to be like that.

Polish the finish.

There are some good polishing kits for model cars.

[MrObsessive]

Thanks for the tip! I have tons of Elmers glue somewhere in my basement Just one question i had was that I was looking around and saw many different kinds of model cars, but I find that most good ones have like a shiny touch to it. When i paint my model cars, the color is dull and flat. Others have a metallic kind of look and I am wondering how you guys get your paint to be like that.

Speaking for myself David, I use mostly automotive acrylic enamels/lacquers to get the finish I want. If the color is a solid one (non metallic) then I'll rub out the finish with a polishing kit and wax.

If the color is metallic, I'll clear coat the topcoat first............then when fully dry, rub out the clear coat. You don't want to directly rub out metallics before clearcoating as this can "disturb" the metallic flakes leading to a swirly, mottled appearance.

One basic rule of thumb when painting is that paint alone doesn't substitute for improper bad prep. In other words, you'll want to get the basics down for a good paint job. Kinda like laying a good foundation for a house lest it come crashing down on you later on!

This'll mean getting rid of mold/parting lines, filling in sink marks and or waves in the plastic. Block sanding around door lines to get rid of troughs, and checking the fit of front/rear fascias and bumpers to ensure a good looking model before you paint.

[kurth]

I built a different boxing of that 1970 Chevy last year

It was a fun build and went together pretty easily. It's a good kit for a beginner.

Have fun with it

[Brendan]

Thanks for the tip! I have tons of Elmers glue somewhere in my basement Just one question i had was that I was looking around and saw many different kinds of model cars, but I find that most good ones have like a shiny touch to it. When i paint my model cars, the color is dull and flat. Others have a metallic kind of look and I am wondering how you guys get your paint to be like that.

Bill,

Thanks for reminding me about the epoxy. I use that stuff all the time.

Dave,

As for getting a real shine to the paint, there are a couple of things that people do to do this. It all depends on what paint you use. A lot of people just shoot what they call a clear coat or gloss coat over the top of their finished paint job. What most advanced modelers do to get the shine is that they rub or buff the paint out to a high shine like they do on a real car. This requires thicker coats of paint to do this. It takes a lot of time to learn how to do it properly. I'm still learning this process. There are other ways as well. To also let you know, there are three main different paint finishes. A gloss would be shiny, a semi gloss would be like shiny leather, and dull or flat. Make sure you look on the cans and on the paint to see which ones you're picking up because sometimes it's in small print.

As for metallic and pearl essence paints, there are many varieties to choose from. Testors makes quite a few of their metallic paints in enamel and also in their lacquer line of spray paints. (Try to use the lacquer. It has a quicker drying time.)

But some of the odder colors are done through custom mixing through airbrushing. The pearl paint is a clear coat with a metallic or a tinged translucent paint that you put over a silver or over a metallic paint or even solid color paints. There's other types as well, but those are the easiest for me to explain. The way I used to do this with spray cans is to spray the body with silver and then spray a clear red or blue or other types of color over the silver.

Hopefully I explained it so it made sense to you.

[ULTIMATESKYLINE]

Woot! I got the pics! This is just a practice, but anywas heres more pics hahaha

The hummer was my 2nd model, and it turned out pretty horrible... bleeh!

ANyways, thanks so much for the great advice! I will definetely go out buying some clear coat! And thanks for everyone kindness and dealing with my noobishness

Edited November 24, 2007 by ULTIMATESKYLINE

[LDO]

David-

It's hard to go wrong with Tamiya spraycan lacquers. Like others have said, you've got to put in the prep time on the body, but follow that with Tamiya spraycans and you should get good results.

Polish the paint with this: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...ct&ID=80939

Give it a final gloss with this: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...ct&ID=82456

Followed by this:

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...ct&ID=82455

The price may seem kind of steep for all that, but it's a lifetime supply. If you only polish clear gloss and only wet sand, the sanding films will last forever...well...a long time anyway.

BTW if you build another Enzo, I posted some detail pics of real Enzos in the 1/1 Reference forum.

[Nick F40]

For your first and second model, those are really good. You can't go wrong with Tamiya paints, I use them and have had no problem yet and they dry rather quickly.

My dad built the Enzo and he had some trouble with it, you did a good job.

[Dr. Cranky]

Both of those kits you have built are tough ones even for seasoned builders, so you have to pat yourself on the back for having built them and they look good. Bill G. is right on the mark about the paint . . .

Nobody on this planet has starting building models and come off the starting block building great-looking models . . . it's a learning process and that's where the fun is . . . I say if you have the bug to keep building, you will see what amazing progress you will make over the years . . . oh, and remember to keep these two in your collection so that a few years from now you can look back and say: WOW, I've really come far in this hobby!!!

Congrats & cheers.

[62rebel]

whenever using Testors' spray paint, follow these rules. warm the can in warm not hot water; it makes the paint flow better and smooth faster. light coats! seal colored plastic (i.e. red, maroon, etc) to keep the color from bleeding through. and give Testors paint time to cure! mild heat will speed it up BUT may cause the plastic to warp or the paint to craze. give it TIME; my rule of thumb is when the odor of solvent is GONE, it's half dry. i have even brush painted some bodies with thinned bottle paint and a GOOD flat sable brush.

use painting stands to keep from marring wet paint. mine are usually soft drink cups stuffed with paper (sometimes crappy instruction sheets) or spray cans. whatever works!

and now is the best time to buy a storage container for leftover parts; i have a BUNCH of compartmented plastic tackle boxes that i keep extra parts in. you will find that there is NOTHING like a well stocked parts box!

[ULTIMATESKYLINE]

Thanks! Actually, the Ferrari was pretty easy to make, just kinda took a long time haha. Thanks for the painting tips! They really came in handy!

[Dave McFly]

oh great, another david

just kidding, glad to have you abord

nice models, love the ferrari is that the revell/monogram one? if so i have the same model, i don't feel like attempting it for a while

[ULTIMATESKYLINE]

Sup Dave! The ferrari is a Revell, and you should definetely start building it soon! It looks really great once you're done with it. The engine is the best part to make too