Modeling Tips

In this page I'll try to explain certain tips that I've found by myself or that I've seen in magazines, books or the Internet. All tips are tested by myself.

• Wire antennas
  Use hair. In case your hair is not long enough (or is curly, or the colour is not suitable), you can always borrow one from your girl-friend, couple, wife, mom, etc.. tell her that you want a souvenir for life ;-)
• Picking very small pieces
  Instead of using tweezers, even though the tips are small, better use the tip of a X-Acto blade. Gently press the part as not to break it.
• Removing paint from a model
  There are several methods. Better try it on a non-important part. Then, if a disaster occurs, it will be less harmful. Here they are ........
  Caustic soda dissolved in water.
  Put some water in a recipient and soda in the bottom. Top the model with water. Let it soak for about 30 minutes and then remove the paint with and old toothbrush under tap water stream. If some paint is still left repeat again (putting fresh water and soda). Caution, soda weakens almost all brand of putties.
  Oven cleaner foam.
  Apply a thick coat of oven-cleaner foam to the model and cover it up with a plastic bag. Let the foam on the model for about 20 minutes and then clean it with water and a brush.
  VERY IMPORTANT - Oven-Cleaner and caustic soda ARE EXTREMELY HARMFUL, ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES.
• Paint + talcum powder
  A mix of paint and talcum powder can be very useful to replicate some textures. Aluminum or steel paint plus a bit of talcum powder works great for replicating the cast texture found on some engines (1/24 scale or bigger). Dry mud can be achieved by mixing earth paint and a lot of talcum powder.
• Masking
  There's a very safe method to avoid paint creeping under the masking tape. First paint with the same colour that's under the masking tape facing the airbrush jet to the edge. Just a bit of paint will suffice. This acts as a seal. This means that if a bit of paint creeps under, it doesn't matter as its the same colour that's under the tape. Then paint with the desired colour and when you lift the tape, voilá... a perfect finish.
• Casting parts (by Miguel Ortega)
  Sometimes we need some parts to be made as there are not in the kit or we need more than the quantity supplied.
  We can make a mould from latex or silicone and then fill it up with liquid plastic (that is plastic diluted in tricolrethane) This can be made by melting sprue, slide frames, or CDs boxes in tricolrethane or lacquer thinner. You must test it before as some plastics melt better than others. Note: Beware as tricolrethane is harmful and flammable.
  To make the moulds, I cover the part to be reproduced with a coat of silicone (faster that latex). Then, as  silicone hardens I add more coats until I achieve 2 o 3 cm thickness so that the mould is strong. Anyway, it depends on the part to be made. Once the silicone is cured, I detach the part from the mould and pour plastic on it. After two or three days the plastic has become solid and we have a grand new copy. This a s quite slow process, but very cheap.
• Dirt on muzzles and some other tips (byRaul)
  Blackened ens of gun ports are simulated by mixing grey paint and graphite powder from pencil.
  Joints can be sanded with a manicure file.
  Weathering on tanks (an some other oxide as well) can be simulated bith white spirit and some brown paint.
  Grass on dioramas can be simulated with hair apinted in the apporpriate colour.
  
  
  

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Last updated 19.7.2003

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