Airfix

[DJ85]

That’s ok, I’ve been having a look around the site and found my way around,
I ordered one of the Ferrari sets at 1/24. Got the f50 and an f1 car to start with it was revel so came with paints and glue.

Going to try that then get the set 2

 

[Mark A]

I got this kit as a bit of an impulse buy as I saw it on Hotukdeals going for half price. I used to build Airfix kits when I was a kid and wanted to give it another go for the nostalgia mainly.

From reading up a bit it seems this kit can be a bit of a PITA as its so old, so it probably wasn't the best kit to start on after like 20 years lol.

I was just going to use the included paints and brushes to paint it, but a couple of people in the Purchased items thread in GD said it'll be hard to get it looking good without an airbrush. I'm reluctant to splash out on an airbrush and compressor, paints etc for a single kit, but if I enjoy it then that could be a worthy investment down the line. I was thinking about just getting a few small tins of Tamiya spray paints for the larger areas and use the pots of paint included for the small areas. Thoughts?

If I do decide to get an airbrush and compressor, can anyone recommend something cheap, but semi decent to get me started? I saw this on Amazon, would this be any good? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074QTDVBW/

 

[philstanbridge]

I sold my one for £60 so I imagine you must have paid about £30 or so for that which is great.

I wouldn’t say it’s particularly nasty it’s just very large. Don’t use spray cans as you can’t gauge the pressure so you’ll end up with very uneven lines. You’d be best off using large brushes if you don’t want to go down the airbrush route. However that by far is the option for the most authentic look. But as you say if you want to test the water first invest in a few pots of acrylic and some decent brushes. Stay clear of the provided paint!

All my own opinion of course. Enjoy

 

[Mark A]

Thanks, that sounds like a good plan. Yeah the kit was £33, so not bad at all. I do want to do it justice as much as possible, so I think i'll get some decent paints if they aren't going to break the bank. Even if its just the main 3 colours for the outside of the plane.

Are there any paints and brushes you would recommend in particular?

 

[robfosters]

Thanks, that sounds like a good plan. Yeah the kit was £33, so not bad at all. I do want to do it justice as much as possible, so I think i'll get some decent paints if they aren't going to break the bank. Even if its just the main 3 colours for the outside of the plane.

Are there any paints and brushes you would recommend in particular?

Hi mark, Tamiya paints are excellent for brush painting imo. 10ml pots are cheap and cheerful at about £1.50 a pop. The paints you have in the kit will be humbrol paints. A search around the internet will find you a comparison chart so you match up to the correct Tamiya ones. However, tbh, if you’re sticking with brush painting, I’d go with the humbrols. They’re fine for brush painting, but they’re not good airbrushing paints. Just don’t seem to spray evenly, no matter what the thinning ratio.

As for brushes, I like Pro Arte miniature brushes, but if you’re doing an entire body, you’re gonna want something bigger. Revell brushes come in packs of a few sizes. They’re not the best, but they’ll do the job, and you can pick them up anywhere.

You’ll never get as good as you would with an airbrush though. For a cheap airbrush, the BD-180 is supposed to be a very good airbrush for around the £40 mark. But you will still need a compressor which can add at least another £100 on to the price. But by god, the results are immense compared to brush painting. I would never ever plastic model again without an airbrush.

 

[Mark A]

@robfosters Thanks, i'll have a look at that airbrush. Whats your thoughts on this compressor to go along with it? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074QTDVBW/

I have taken advantage of the £1 final value fee deal on ebay this weekend and listed up a load of junk, so hopefully if some of it sells I could put the proceeds toward an airbrush and compressor.

Would a compressor like this be any good for other things such as an air powered stapler? That would certainly sway me to get one as I need to do some upholstery soon and it would be great to use it for more than just painting.

I'll post up some progress pics once I get stuck in. Currently just stuck the engine together.

 

[DJ85]

I just started building my first car last night and it took 2hrs to build the engine probably due to not doing it before and also doing it on top of the box. Are there any “building stations” that anyone could recommend?
I have an alcove at home I could use to build in with a socket for a lamp, could use one of the dining room chairs.......and any handy tools to have? currently using small scissors to get each part off and trim

 

[philstanbridge]

The tool I have found essential is a pair of those reverse tweezers.

Cocktail sticks
bluetac
sponge

 

[Mark A]

@David Flett 'precision side cutters' seem to be the ideal tool for cutting the parts off the sprue. You can get them pretty cheap on ebay.

 

[DJ85]

The tool I have found essential is a pair of those reverse tweezers.

Cocktail sticks
bluetac
sponge

Thanks, picked up a set of 4 precision tweezers off eBay for a few pounds what do you use the cocktail sticks,Blutac and sponge for?

@David Flett 'precision side cutters' seem to be the ideal tool for cutting the parts off the sprue. You can get them pretty cheap on ebay.

Also picked up a pair of these and some Krystal klear glue the supplied revell glue seems to melt the plastic a bit and left some marks on the windscreen. Going ok for first attempt so far

 

[paintguy]

I know it's a bit like asking how long a piece of string is, but I wondered if anyone could recommend a decent starter kit for me to feel my way into scale model bulding.

I did some train and RC car stuff as a kid but now that I'm getting on a bit I'm looking for a hobby to fill up some spare time. Normally I dive right into things with an "all the gear, no idea" approach, but I'd rather start with something simple and see if it's for me before I start investing in stacks of equipment. I'm very interesting in the painting side of modelling. I paint full size stuff for a living and have a good compressor/air supply set up already, so will almost certainly be going the airbrush route.

Sorry if that's all a bit vague, but thought you guys might have some suggestions. I can't even decide between cars, planes or military vehicles, so anything goes really!

Thanks.

 

[robfosters]

I know it's a bit like asking how long a piece of string is, but I wondered if anyone could recommend a decent starter kit for me to feel my way into scale model bulding.

I did some train and RC car stuff as a kid but now that I'm getting on a bit I'm looking for a hobby to fill up some spare time. Normally I dive right into things with an "all the gear, no idea" approach, but I'd rather start with something simple and see if it's for me before I start investing in stacks of equipment. I'm very interesting in the painting side of modelling. I paint full size stuff for a living and have a good compressor/air supply set up already, so will almost certainly be going the airbrush route.

Sorry if that's all a bit vague, but thought you guys might have some suggestions. I can't even decide between cars, planes or military vehicles, so anything goes really!

Thanks.

Firstly, if you are airbrushing, the starter kits are useless. Best to buy kit and equipment separately.

This is a good kit to get started on. It’s not too complex or big and it’s very cheap, so if it goes wrong, you haven’t wasted too much money https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-03959-spitfire-mkii--981656

If you going to airbrush, I would recommend Vallejo Model Air paints. No messing about with thinning needed, just drop them straight in your brush. You can buy them singly or they also sell them in sets suited for certain models like RAF or Luftwaffe planes.

As for the other bits needed to get started, your shopping list would be:

Reverse tweezers
Craft knife (I like Swann Morton scalpels. Handle number 3 with 10A blades)
Side cutters
Some sanding sticks (emery boards work well, and are cheap as chips. I use Revell cheapo sticks)
Tamiya cements (I think it’s best to have both normal and extra thin)
Tamiya masking tape
Mikro Krystal clear (for gluing clear parts)
Decal setting solution (I use Revell decal soft)
Filler (Again, Revell does me fine with their Plasto filler)
Primer. Loads of different primers. I use Vallejo red brown surface primer)
Cocktail sticks, blu tack and a bog standard piece of polystyrene for painting small parts.

Sounds a lot, but all the assembly bits are usually only a couple of pounds or less. The lot shouldn’t cost more than £30-40.

 

[paintguy]

Thanks for the detailed reply, that model looks just the job to ease me in.

I've probably got most of the tools and sundries lying around already, but I'll look into the glues, paints etc. My mum used to work for Swann Morton so I have plenty of "sample" blades and handles that didn't make it through the sterilisation process

First job is to sort out my workspace. I'll be doing this in my shed which currently has a large workbench that I can cut down to sitting height, I'll probably need some task lighting and I'll knock together some kind of temporary extraction. Plenty to do before I even get started!

Any particular online retailers you recommend? Can't seem to find much around where I live.

 

[robfosters]

Thanks for the detailed reply, that model looks just the job to ease me in.

I've probably got most of the tools and sundries lying around already, but I'll look into the glues, paints etc. My mum used to work for Swann Morton so I have plenty of "sample" blades and handles that didn't make it through the sterilisation process

First job is to sort out my workspace. I'll be doing this in my shed which currently has a large workbench that I can cut down to sitting height, I'll probably need some task lighting and I'll knock together some kind of temporary extraction. Plenty to do before I even get started!

Any particular online retailers you recommend? Can't seem to find much around where I live.

Emodels is my go to shop for modelling bits and kits. I tend to go to Element Games for the model air paints.

Wonderland models are good too.

 

[koolpc]

Thanks for the detailed reply, that model looks just the job to ease me in.

I've probably got most of the tools and sundries lying around already, but I'll look into the glues, paints etc. My mum used to work for Swann Morton so I have plenty of "sample" blades and handles that didn't make it through the sterilisation process

First job is to sort out my workspace. I'll be doing this in my shed which currently has a large workbench that I can cut down to sitting height, I'll probably need some task lighting and I'll knock together some kind of temporary extraction. Plenty to do before I even get started!

Any particular online retailers you recommend? Can't seem to find much around where I live.

Remember to post some pics of the build etc.

 

[paintguy]

Remember to post some pics of the build etc.

Will do, although I doubt that my first attempt will be much to shout about

I'm already surprised at how much stuff I need just to get started. To say I wanted to start out cheaply just to see if I took to it, I've already amassed a fair amount in basic lotions, potions & paint. I've also had to order a dedicated airbrush compressor as my existing one is far too loud for working at night, but I guess most of the gear could be traded on if I really don't settle into it.

Several of the guys I work with are into collecting, modifying and painting die cast cars and Hot Wheels which is kinda what got me interested and I figured it would be a low cost hobby to keep me entertained, but it seems like it might be yet another slippery slope!

 

[plasmahal]

I got this kit as a bit of an impulse buy as I saw it on Hotukdeals going for half price. I used to build Airfix kits when I was a kid and wanted to give it another go for the nostalgia mainly.

From reading up a bit it seems this kit can be a bit of a PITA as its so old, so it probably wasn't the best kit to start on after like 20 years lol.

I was just going to use the included paints and brushes to paint it, but a couple of people in the Purchased items thread in GD said it'll be hard to get it looking good without an airbrush. I'm reluctant to splash out on an airbrush and compressor, paints etc for a single kit, but if I enjoy it then that could be a worthy investment down the line. I was thinking about just getting a few small tins of Tamiya spray paints for the larger areas and use the pots of paint included for the small areas. Thoughts?

If I do decide to get an airbrush and compressor, can anyone recommend something cheap, but semi decent to get me started? I saw this on Amazon, would this be any good? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074QTDVBW/

Hi Mark A,

As a beginner/returnee, I would highly recommend getting either an Airfix starter kit or try and well priced Tamiya kit.

This 1/24 kit came out in 1970 and while it can be built into a respectable model, it's not for the feint hearted and could put you off modelling.

But if you want to go for it, do so and have fun.

 

[Mark A]

Hi Mark A,

As a beginner/returnee, I would highly recommend getting either an Airfix starter kit or try and well priced Tamiya kit.

This 1/24 kit came out in 1970 and while it can be built into a respectable model, it's not for the feint hearted and could put you off modelling.

But if you want to go for it, do so and have fun.

Thanks, yeah I have been told this by a few people. What in particular would be so hard about it? I have a dremel and a bunch of other tools if anything needs modifying to fit properly. But I will go for a smaller kit first as I still havent got around to building this yet. Is there a decent kit for the Euro fighter? Or Harrier?

 

[plasmahal]

99% of the new Airfix kits are great. I use scalemates to look up the history of any kits I don't know much about (https://www.scalemates.com/kits/airfix-a50055a-supermarine-spitfire-mk-vb--143144).

This is a blinder of a kit:

https://www.emodels.co.uk/airfix-1-72-hawker-hurricane-mk-i-gift-set-55111-plastic-model-kit.html

Here's one i built recently:



No filler, just glue and paint. If using the included humbrol paints, thin them with water and put 2-3 thin coats on.

There are lots of good you tube videos.

 

[paintguy]

Remember to post some pics of the build etc.

Well, I totally forgot! I found myself a home at a more modelling focussed forum and this topic went completely out of my head

I started out with the Spitfire kit recommended by robfosters and it went together pretty well. Nowhere near the standards of you experienced guys but I was happy for a first attempt.



I then moved on to a SAR Sea King kit. My little brother served on these for several years (including the one depicted in this kit) so it had a bit of a personal meaning to me.



Again, I was pretty happy with the result to say that I'm so new at this. My brother was happy to point out where the kit instructions got plenty of details wrong, but I'm far too new at this to be able to do much more than a straightforward out of the box build. I did use an airbrush and Vallejo Model Air instead of the supplied paints though, and even managed a bit of an exhaust streaking effect.





I'm currently building an A-10, which is an old kit first tooled in the 70's so fit & finish weren't the best, but with a bit of filling and sanding I'm getting there.



All in all I'm really enjoying this new hobby! Clearly there's a massive learning curve and a huge difference between what I can build now and what's possible with aftermarket parts, scratch building, paint effects, weathering etc, but slowly does it