New to Modeling

We will all take you under our wing newbie. This is a great informational and friendly site so any and all questions you may have will be answered here. Welcome and happy modeling.

There are quite a few books on scale modeling. Kalmbach publishes quite a few.  Look on their web site- I'll bet there must be a link to it from the Forums page.  I have no connection with Kalmbach, but do recommend their books.

Also, for a newbie, I would recommend looking over the whole list of forums here.  Too many new people find one forum and stick with it, missing many other good forums.  Take a special look at the group titled Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials.  There are great forums there for tools, techniques, painting and airbrushing, etc.

 

My  worth. 

When you start the build of the P-61, go to the "Aircraft" section of these forums and post a photo of how it's going (WIP [Work in Progress]). If you have any problems or questions, just ask for help and the members there will be happy to help you. You will see a lot of WIPs there. If you check some of them out, you might see someone doing just what you need. 

Hope everything works OK for you. Glad to have you with us.

Jim  

 

Don't put too much hope in that Widow. It's a really old kit that never went together well to bagin with. Build it, but don't fret it too much.

I agree with Don, try lots of different subjects. A year ago I built a Tamiya Tiran 5, part of their T-55 family. I don't build much armor, but man that was a fun one.

Also, just my two bits. Don't worry about "after market" stuff too much yet. A $ 25 model can turn ito a $75 model quickly, but if it's not a good kit or a solid build by you, it's kind of a waste.

Welcome, and have fun!

I agree with Don, Fox and GM here. Don't fret over your first few kits, the learning curve on some of the stuff you see on the forums can be steep I.E. airburshing those perfect panel lines LOL, after 52 years I still can't get it right. Mostly all the techniques you see are trial and error and a lot of the time. You will eventually find your own way of doing something. Like GM said, try different genera's. You may really like planes or cars but find that armor or ships are really your thing. Most of us build everything but tend to stay with a certain genera or two that we know we can do well. I stink at figures, but I like to venture out of my comfort zone on occasion and give them a whirl. Then I run back to momma and go back to building planes and ships.

Also, YouTube is a good source but there are many "tubers" that are just a waste of time. BTW, I'm doing some tutorial vids on my water technique, they won't be a waste of time , poor editing and silly confused sounding host, but not a waste of time.

I like Andy's Hobby Headquarters and PLASMO just to name a couple, there are several others. Andy is quick and dirty, but his stuff looks great when completed (I do get a little tired of the same classical music though) and PLASMO is a young Rembrandt IMO.

As Don said there are several publications from Kalmbach that are excellent as well.

Above all else, this hobby is supposed to be relaxing. When you're finished with a build, if you like it that's all that matters.

So I'm into the Widow and...yes...it dosent go together well. Frustrating but I'm still plugging away. Also...I just bought a Central Pneumatic compressor and airbrush from Harbor Freight. Haven't tried it yet though. I figure i can practice on the Widow since im just starting anyway. So advice on that?

The Harbor Freight AB will work in a pinch, at least you can practice the basics with it. At some point you'll want to move up to the next level. If you have a Hobby Lobby in your area you can use the 40% off coupon to buy up.
The secret to air brushing is thinning the paint to the correct consistency. You will be looking for the consistency of milk. Always use the manufacturer's thinners. They formulate their paints and thinners to work with each other, so most paints won't work well with different thinners.
You will eventually find your favorite type, either single action, double action, suction feed or gravity feed. Most modelers prefer double action gravity feed but some don't.

Other than that, enjoy and have fun.

Welcome newbie, 

Speaking from experience,you will find a lot of talent on this forum- no matter what you are putting together. You might check and see if you have a local model club and become involved in shows and such.I can't tell you how much I have learned since I joined our club 7 years ago. Become a judge at shows,it's fun and you will learn a lot . On line you can go to IPMS( International Plastic Modelers Society) and check were there is a local chapter.If there is not one near you-you can always get correspondence with a "closest" chapter.Happy modeling from all of us!