New modeler asking for advice.

Welcome to the forums. Where abouts in the world are you, this will help people suggest retailers for you.

Yeah, location matters a lot.

Here in the US, Sprue Brothers, Great Models, and Squadron are all solid (though I find searching Squardon's site to be exactly as much fun as stabbing myself in the hand). I've also had some good-ish experiences with ScaleHobbyist, though their selection's more limited.

Honestly, though, I've found I tend to order from a small cadre of online retailers, since nobody seems to have a lock on perfect coverage.

As for history, it depends on what exactly you're looking for. Hitting Google and following the research rabbit hole where it leads is a pretty good place to start, and noting sources can help you build up a reading list if you're so inclined.

I am located in the central US. Southern Illinois to be more specific. My closest "hobby shop" is a crappy hole in the wall in a town about ten minutes from my home. So im looking to online retailers possibly actual stores i can visit. I wish there was a Wal-mart for modelers. That would rule!

I just hope i can get to the point i can make some of these models like i see the japs do on youtube and more recently the contest builders out of FSM.

Also a question i just realised. How abouts do these guys i see make these amazing models find out how exactly to do this stuff? Where can i brush up on some finer points of: weathering, painting finer detailing scratch building, dioramas, things of that sort????

Hello,

I have purchased several items from http://www.plastic-models.com/   and have had pretty good luck.  All though recentlly i have been poking around sprue brothers and squadron and i like what I see. 

Check out the Shop tab up top on this web site and look at some of the books and down load articles you can buy through FSM, i just bought "How to build Dioramas" and cant wait to get it.  Think thiers some stuff their about Armour.

Returning to the hobby a few years ago, I found trawling forums the best method of digging up plenty of information - & if you cant find what you are looking for you can always ask. In addition;

Youtube is also a useful place as it has plenty of relevant tutorials on it,

http://www.swannysmodels.com/ has much usefully advice,

http://www.scalemodeladdict.com/ is also good, although you will either like or loathe it.

http://www.kalmbachstore.com/fspdf008.html

http://www.kalmbachstore.com/scale-modeling-special-interests-scale-modeling-digital-downloads-downloadable-articles-how-to.html

These might be worth a look.

Bit out of your general area.

Hobby Search(Aoshima) and Hobbylink Japan do stock a large amount of kits and stuff from manufacturers across the globe, both are reliable to order from.

Buying online will be where you can feel comfortable.  I've bought from Squadron before there was an "online".  I have good luck with them ordering online or on the phone.  I've talked to some of the nicest English speaking Texans anywhere at Squadron.   That said, have you ever looked at ebay.  You'll get opinions on both sides about ebay, but my side of ebay is positive.  There are some great buys there if you are patient and do not get into the trap of "bidding wars". 

The how to do's are a cumulative process.  The Forums, You Tube, Google all provide an unbelievable wealth of information.  Good grief, if you need to see an example of the detail of the left landing gear wheel well on an F6F-3 Hellcat, ask Google.  It's somewhere.   Depending on how into the details you intend to get, the great fun of the hobby is researching history and discovering the techniques and procedures that will draw out your skills.  Good luck, grow your skills and have fun doing it.  But remember, no matter how good you become, there will be days.... and you will never build a perfect model.  Rick.

I would say to start out easy and don't go for kits that are overly complicated (too many details, complicated color schemes and so on.) And read up! FSM does have articles that can be helpful, and they also publish several books from basics to weathering and detailing. And make the hobby what YOU want it to be! Some folks are into ultra-detailing and rivet counting and others are happy to just do OOB (out-of-box) builds. I fall somewhere in-between these two. And don't be afraid to ask a question. The only stupid questions are the ones you never asked. I've been doing this for almost 20 years and still have much to learn.

Coalmann

200+ Tamiya flat and standard acrylics, acrylic thinner,

If you are restricted to brush painting, I would suggest looking at a more brush-friendly brand of paint. Don't get me wrong, I love Tamiya's acrylics and they airbrush very well, but they are a bit finnicky when it comes to brush painting and a new user may find them frustrating. Vallejo's ModelColor range brush paints very well. They are a little more expensive but the results are worth the investment. Also, do not feel compelled to buy an entire range of paints as there will be some which you will very rarely use.

Hmm, sounds like you got your first tricycle and you want to win the Tour de France.

One of the few things I learned when I wasn't selling insurance was K.I.S.S. keep it simple, stupid. Start easy. There are few builders who succeeded on their first models. A Sherman is a good start. Mostly one color paint job. Get the basics down first. Lay the paint on evenly, Get the decals to snug down, Fill the approporate seams. Make sure wheels and tracks are straight. Don't worry about advanced techniques yet. Learn to walk before you try to climb Everest.

Buy tools and paint as you go along. 200+ bottles of paint? Not a good move. First, your talking something like $600 or more. And many of these colors you won't need. For a closed up Sherman you'll need a WWII olive drab, very dark gray (for the rubber on the wheels and tracks if there's any), black (for the viewing ports) gun metal, silver (headlights), red (tail light) and clear gloss and flat. A decal solvent is good, too, Solvaset, MicroSol or MicroSet. You'll want a good cement...Tenax 7R is my choice. Don't bother with the tubes and get a technical pen like this as an applicator instead of the brush in the cap. It will last forever, is easy to cleanand provides extremely precise applications of cement to seams. Possibly a filler material, Squadron green or white, for example. Fine sand paper, sprue nippers, aka wire cutters, an X-acto handle with #11 blades. If you're brush painting, don't skimp on brushes. Lay out some dough for good ones. Sand  paper, preferably wet and dry typs with some pretty fine grian. You'll get this at a hardware or automotive parts store. In fact, start by doing most of your tool shopping at the hardware store.

If you think you want an airbrush...wait. To get a good set up, you'll spend no less than $50 (Paasche H) and at least a hundred for a compressor. That's a lot of money to get into a hobby you don't know if you're going to like.  Forget canned air and the under $20 starter airbrush. Save that cash towards the real thing.

I find www.towerhobbies.com to be, pretty much, a one-stop-shop, if you will.  They have almost all of the supplies you'll ever need and a very large selection of kits.  The only thing they really don't deal in, is aftermarket parts (i.e. AM decals, resin, PE, etc).  Prices are comparable, shipping is a flat rate (IIRC) and items are delivered quickly.

As for paints, I would not order 200 bottles of Tamiya acrylics, for 2 reasons; 1) you'll never need a majority of the colors and 2) you may not like the way they handle.  They're great for airbrushing, but can't brush on, worth a damn.  For regular brushing, I prefer Testors' Model Master acrylics.

If you want to order a few bottles and you have a few kits on hand, go through the instructions and see what colors you'll need and order those.  You'll find that if you do armor, or aircraft or whatever, that after a few kits, you'll have almost every color you'll ever need - and it will be well under 200 colors.  If you don't have kits on hand, try looking here http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/plamo/.  If they sell the kit, they scan the directions and post them online.  You'll see what colors you'll need and get a preview of the construction.

-Fred

Hey, go spend $ 600. Then I'm sure you'll have the Japs beat good. At least they'll get the last laugh.

I've been modeling for 40+ years and I think the best websites to obtain almost everything you're looking for are towerhobbies.com(plastic-models.com) ,  megahobby.com, hobbylinc.com, greatmodels.com. Also micromark.com for tools and supplies. There are many dedicated websites for almost any particular machine or historical moment you're trying to recreate. Just Google the name or title and you should get many links to research. There are also many history and documentary books available from the above mentioned websites such as Squadron Publications. Sounds like you're on the right track and experience is the best teacher but articles from FSM and their extra releases "Paint & Weather Scale Models I &II help also. Good Modeling! 

Since your from S Illinois, there is a model show in St. Louis this Saturday. http://www.ipms-gateway.com/invite2010.htm

 I am from Central Missouri and going to drive 2 hours hoping to pick up a lot of stuff from the vendor tables.

I also go to Amazon.com or Yahoo shopping and type in what I am looking for. They have a lot of vendors and they will search for the cheapest price.

Coalmann,

I feel your pain. I got back into modeling a couple years ago, after being away from it over 20 years. Damn, things sure have changed. I have have good luck with these web sites:

Squadron, MegaHobby & Internet Hobbies.

You mentioned living in central Illinois. Is there a Hobby Lobby near you, I saw they had several in your state. Yeah, they are more of a craft type store, but the one here in Fort Wayne, has a fair amount of modeling supplies. Kits, glues, paints, airbrushes, they also carry Woodland Senics grass & bushes, plus balsa wood and styrene for your diaramas. Another nice thing is that (at least here) they have a 40% off one item coupon in the paper every other week. I got my airbrush that way.

Other than that, Google is your best friend for reach and finding supplies. I was looking for some Blackn-it for some tracks I was putting together and just typed blacken-it into google and found all sorts of suppliers.

Hope I helped - have fun.

Bugg

Yeah, I agree with iraqildman 100%.  You will find great deals at the model shows... unbeatable prices... especially on kits and tools & paints.  And you don't have to pay for shipping at all!  For example I was able to get MIG pigments for only $5 each at the show last time... it will be worth an hour or two for you if you want to make a big investment in this hobby.  And you get to meet this wild man from Iraq!

Well that sucks I cant get to that modeling show saturday. Im very strapped for cash right now. There is indeed a hobby lobby near me. about an hour 10 minute drive from me. I wasnt aware they carried sheet styrene or adheasives. Im going to go back eventually with a very good idea of what i want to purchase. Like i said im very low on money so im going to have to start by saving money. I really like the idea of going to an actual store than ordering online even if its for the exact same thing. I got a very cheap exacto knife with a few different blades sprue cutters a few paints and a few crappy brushes there but not much else.

Im glad everyone on this site is so helpful I already have forgot about f n up my sherman and im ready to start over with a very different very patient and very informed build.

I think Im going to pick up the $7.50 german 75mm anti tank gun. I feel like its a very easy build but a good place to start really taking my time to get it very very right.

If you have a Hobby Lobby nearby, go there to stock up on supplies & tools... You can get "40% Off  Anything in the Store" coupons at Hobby Lobby's website... They run every couple of weeks and are good for the entire week, just print them out...  

http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/weekly.cfm

At Hobby Lobby, you'll find a few good kits, but more importantly, you'll find EVERYTHING you need in the way of tools, brushes, scratch-building materials, diorama landscaping materials,  and paints, pastels, and more paints (don't get hung up on buying only "Model" paints.  The artist's oils and arts & crafts acrylics are as good as, cheaper by far than "Model" brands, and if you make full use of the coupons, you'll save a helluva lot of money... 

Also, they routinely run "30%-off sales" on artist's brushes and paints when it's a "No Coupon" week...  Don't skimp when it comes to your tools... And take care of your sables... They'll last a long time if you do, and are worth the expense...