Questions, questions, questions... Pros and newbies please POST!

bilbirk wrote:

Welcome to the Forums .Try out this site swanneysmodels.com I go there all the time.

First off Shawn Welcome to our silly place, uh, forum. Please post often and share your wisdom.

Don't feel clueless or anything else. I had similar questions before and the great bunch here helped me through it. This is why it's here.

OK, silvering is term where the decal is not set to the model correctly. Air is trapped under it and the clear part "looks" like it has a silver color to it. A decal 'prefers' a gloss surface do stick to. Think of gloss finish as a fresh sheet of ice. Very smooth. No high spots. Think of flat finish as the road. Looks smooth from a distance, but is rough. Has several high spots and low spots. The decal will stick to flat finishes, but only to the high spots. The air gets trapped in the low spots, causing silvering. On a glossy surface there are no, or minimal low spots for air to get trapped in. The decal is flat down on the surface so air doesn't get under it as easily. Can still happen, but it minimizes the risk of silvering.

Paints. Oh boy. Colors from different companies will not be the same shades. I know, even with the FS number the same, the do differ. It is good practice to not mix different types of paint. No two acrylics use the same liquid to carry the pigment color, often called vehicle or carrier. Enamel are a bit more compatible, but you never know. Once paint has cured, two days for flat paint, a week for gloss, you can paint over top with what ever brand you like if you spray with light coats and build up the color slowly. The paint may affect the paint underneath otherwise.

Future is a cheap, durable clear gloss we use. Look here for uses an Future. There is tons of useful info on this site. I have it bookmarked for emergencies.

Prismacolor pencils are available in most art supply stores and large craft stores.

Loosing parts is a problem that gets all of us. Evergreen plastic, found in hobby shops, is our friend. Try to only cut one part, glue it on, then get the next one. It helps me. Casting parts in resin is not that cheap. Mold rubber can be difficult to use, and small parts are very difficult to make without air bubbles in them. The equipment needed is not cheap and not worth it to most modelers.

Hope it helps;

Drew

It worki, I just used it. Try the one in my thread and just click on it. Click on the word "here" that is highlited in red

Your air support has arrived!

Drew