Getting back into the hobby after 25 years

I'm hardly a pro, getting back into the scene much like you did, after many years away from it.

I find building the kit, then painting it works for me, but many pros paint-as-you-go. So with one of my tanks, I will try that.

Unless you have good eyesight, I'd pass on the 1/72, much has changed since you last built kits. 1/35 is easier on our eyes (but not our wallets)

After building, I put on a base coat, always working with water-based paints, my cleanup, esp on the airbrush, is much easier that way, then the camo scheme, put on decals, then weather it with a pin wash and pastels, then seal it up.

      we are terribly serious and dedicated to our craft; we don't talk to anyone and we never give and opinion..........NOT!

 You'll be welcome in any of the forums- armor for your main interest, (great group of guys full of help and encouragement- just speak up as the awful clanking of their stuff has made them hard of hearing ). However the other forums have great guys and information too, so don't ignore them altogether.

There are forums in the HOW TO section (see the link in the black bar above) that lead you to lots of great information.  So enjoy your  return to the good life of modeling.

Remember; if it looks good to you,  it is good and the next one will be better still.

If you feel like spending money on some books, throw down the $88.16 (on Amazon) for;  F.A.Q.: Frequently Asked Questions on AFV Painting Techniques by Miguel Jimenez. ISBN: 84-96527-62-X. 250 pages packed with color photos of just about every model finishing technique known to man, by one of the best modellers in the world. If that is more than you want to spend, take a look at Squadron's Applied Modeling Encyclopaedia, Armor [sic],  200 pages, ISBN: 0-89747-496-1, about $30. Both are excellent manuals on painting and finishing techniques.

More good stuff .......

Give  ☞THIS  a click.

As good a place as any.

Wow we're very glad you're here, I think you'll find some of the best builders and best advise on anything you'll need.

To answer a question on paints, I think you'll find Tamiya acrylic paints and Model Master enamels spray very well but they should be thinned a bit, there are some formulas out there but just experiment a bit and  Vallejo makes a Model Air brand thats pre mixed for air brushes straight from the bottle.

As to brush painting, I think a lot agree that Model Master enamels brush well while Tamiya doesn't. You can also use regular Vallejo paints mixed with a bit of distilled water, this goes on nicely if you use a good brush. This is not to say that these are the only good paints, they're certainly NOT, just a few of the more mainstream brands that work and readily available.

This is a fantastic time to be a modeler, so much info, so many great kits and so many aftermarket products, and theres no reason why you can't get up and running in no time. You can also find a lot of good information in the monthly FSM magazine.

All the best and just enjoy.

Terry

What is your budget like? For instance I have 4 different types of glues on my workbench, Tamiya in a thin and thicker consistency, SuperGlue and Tenax 7R depending on what I am gluing. As well as some good old white glue for small clear parts.

Everyone has mentioned some very good advice and linked good resources, most right here at FSM forums. I find reading someone build blog will give you a number of good tips. And of course some people are very entertaining and gifted at passing on their knowledge while they are adding to their blog.

Welcome again to a great hobby. Keep your first few projects small so if a major mistake happens, you may not feel like you've wasted a pile of cash and time.

Happy modelling

Dear acctingman,

I am in no sense a pro, but in a similar position as yourself.

In addition to the above...

My own experience says that the days of 1/72 are gone (+50).

I have built my acrylic color range around Tamiya paints so far, but am moving towards Vallejo.

The Tamiya range is of excellent quality, but sometimes difficult to match one to one to the exact FS or RAL specification ( vendor trick in here, itemize each color to a specific vehicle ultimately).

First kit: Tamiya Hetzer!

With Kind Regards

Utoshita

I also am not an expert by far. I haven't really tried Vallejo too much, only because I have so much of the Tamiya and MM. Once those are used up I'll give Vallejo a try as I here good things about them. As far as painting armor, I USUALLY use acrylics because of the dry chalky appearance it gives IMHO, however with that being said, I will use enamels if that is what I have on hand. Again in my opinion, the acrylics do seem to take and hold pastels better (a weathering process I just started a year ago and am very pleased with).

As far as an airbursh, I just received, as a B-day present, a Badger Patriot which I am happy with. Prior to that, I was using a cheepo suction feed from Harbor Freight that surprisingly did't do all that bad. It worked very will with 1/35 armor, and pretty dog gone well with 1/72 aircraft. I actually have pictures to prove it.

There has been and will continue to be good advice from others with far more experience than I. This was just my 2 cents   and I wouldn't pay any more for it than that if I were you.

I highly recommend "Modelling Realistic Tanks and Artillery" published by Kalmbach (who also do FSM).  It should be available at your local hobby shop.  Or go to www.bookfinder.com.  Right now, there's one for $7.84, postage included, from a bookseller in Ohio.

Can't go wrong with that.

Hi my friend.....and welcome back... I'm not an expert model..any other guy here can provide you lots and lots of advice. Me being also new to the hobby I will tell you what has worked for me...

There are tons of videos on youtube, several books, and forums like this. Before I started my firts model I must have watched 100s of hours of videos which provide a lot of advice, I also read tons of books and of course FSM magazine.  

I highly recommend on buying and airbrush and compressor it gives 50% of the good quality of the model. Painting a model with a brush instead of an airbrush gives same results as painting your car with a brush...eeewww...

I mostly use Tamiya paints, but Im starting to use Vallejo airbrush for details.

Go slowly, do not try to do all technics in your 1st kit... initially get comfortably with you airbrush, then do some mud in other model, then rusting in other model, etc..etc..

And above all....have fun and pride in your work...yeah it may not be a model for FSM cover, but I will guarantee it will be a model to be on display on your home.

Welcome back!

Roy's suggestion is excellent, and I might add: Start modestly, pick up a couple of inexpensive Tamiya kits or maybe a Trumpeter KV series, experiment, learn, then make the investment in supplies, tools, kits, etc. There's so much out there now in the way of techniques, new paints, kits, references, your problem may be sensory overload.

Above all, have fun!