Scratchbuilding - The Pros and Cons .
Hello , fellow modelers :
Now , here,s a subject that I live for . I have scratch - built for so long ,it amazes me when I build a kit ! You might say why ? well , I look at the kit parts and say to myself "self , you should,ve bought this instead of making all those parts " The first thing about scratch-building is subject matter .
I always say " If you know your subject matter well , then build it " If you don't ,then get ALL the info BEFORE you start your project . Lack of information ,maybe , can mean the difference between a class or category win , or the inevitable downward spiral into obscurity.
As you,ve gathered from my older and previous posts ( even the hard to read ones ! ) ,I don't compete much .When I do though , the subject is displayed with plans ,photos and any other info that is germain to the model .
This of course is the bane of many modelers. "where do I get the info I need " ? is the often asked question.Use F.S.M. , your local LIBRARY and everyone on line or book form item you can find . My next statement says it all ."How serious and detailed do you want to go in the build ?" .I know many modelers who do kits , superdetail the daylights out of them and no one sees it but them .
Why do that ? Well , the answer is actually quite simple , "because I know it's there !" Many years ago , I did a ship and detailed the daylights out of the pilot house (bridge ) on it .This became my company trademark ,because I enjoyed folks looking at my 1/400 four-piper and saying "Wow,did you see the inside of the pilot house , everything,s there "
Now , for your model. do you have ALL the info you think you need ? Are you up to , in skills ,to the task ? Many modelers get started and think about halfway through " Why did I start this , what a waste of materials ". and pull it apart , never to go there again . I want you to avoid this pitfall .
So , if the FSM folks and you modelers will bear with me we'll get started. This can be a long piece ..Choose your subject .What era , what scale , and how much detail ? This, you have to ask yourself . Don't ask anyone else . You are the master-builder on this project .Let your mind relax and then start in .Okay , got the info and scale set in mind ? Now what are you going to build it out of ?
There is so much out there ,you can and will get confused .I, for instance , find it faster to build in sheet styrene a 1/96 scale 5" 38 gunmount for a FLETCHER destroyer . Why ? well I am actually faster doing that than trying to make the after-market resin pieces match the rest of my work .
Yes , skill-set does play a factor here and all the way through .I build in .010 , .020 . .030 . all the way up to .080 and 1/4" and 1/8" Lexan or PLEXIGLASS . I do this where I need strength .Keels and frames are a good example . None of the vessels I have built have hogged and some are now hitting the thirty year mark age-wise . Bye the way . When a vessel hogs , she sags at the ends , not the middle .
Okay now glues . Do you like working with the cyanoacrylate glues (super glue ) ? I do for certain things . Now , on that ,I do have a prefference for the gel types available at my local HOBBY TOWN or my fave LHS . I do NOT use ZIP-KICKER (accelerator) if I don't have to .I found out this does actually WEAKEN the joint . Sort of a molecular crystalization effect .ie. Brittle joints .
Don;t get me wrong , it is very useful in places where the glue used , is thin to almost non-existant at the join . Now to patterns . Do you make patterns , and if so , out of what ? I use thin poster-board type material. Bright white on one side .This way I can actually number and make notes on the pattern ,WITHOUT weakening it . You can spray both side with craft clear satin spray (this will make them last for years ).
The styrene I use comes from my long time favorite folks ,that's ,EVERGREEN . They have every shape I use , and they never have presented me with a quality or scaling problem . Their product takes paint well too . Especially if you scuff it with 200 grit first .This gives the paint "bite " This works with my favorite K&S brass , special shapes too.
I use many paints to do the job. from my least liked (TAMIYA ACRYLICS ) to VALLEJO ,TESTORS and TESTORS MODELMASTER , then there's POLLY-S and FLOQUIL . I mention FLOQUIL last because it is strong chemically so as to impart almost an iron hard finish to H.O. train rolling stock . I especially like brushability of the product .Remember there was years ago , a paint that GUARANTEED ," NO BRUSH MARKS ". That spoiled me . I remember now it was "PACTRA "
Sanding and finishing are important as well as the initial work , cutting shaping , etc . Here is the way I start this . First and most important , Tha old adage in model work proves true ."You will get cut more with a dull or damaged X-ACTO blade ".Use fresh ones.You can get the fifteen -pack of either X-CEL brand (HOBBY LOBBY ) and of course X-ACTO just about anywhere .
For sanding supplies , I use for heavy removal ,strictly 3-M "wet or dry" Automotive bodywork paper starting with 240 . I cut off a quarter sheet and sand till nothing gets removed .This , under running water with a fine screen in the drain(in case you drop the smaller parts) . The same source can be used for 2000 , 3000 , and 4000, 5000 grits too.
How about filler ? Well , there's a split school of thought here .I like 3-M glazing putty OVER ,SQUADRON white .Then the RUSTOLEUM spray primer on top , followed with a wet exam and a light exam .if the model passes this ,its finish coat time for the parts , if not add more glazing material .What era , what theater , all come back to hit you now .
Did the vehicle , plane , ship etc. serve in a particular place and what year ? Where in history do you want your model ? These go back to research . Base colors first . Then we can get exotic . Are you up to trying shading , weathering and such with washes and dot filters ? if you've read FSM faithfully , you have the training manual right in your hot little hands .
I laughingly tried dot filters ,not to long ago on a 1/200 ARIZONA model for a client . My friends , who don't know about dot filtering thought I had gone over the edge . Here's this almost $200.00 (P.E. Included) model and I've painted little grey , white , purple and rust colored dots all over the thing . Now , when the model was photographed in the local paper , no one was laughing then .
With the right camera angle , it looked like you were approaching the side of the real ship prior to DEC. 7 1941 . That's what you want to happen to your model too. If you have any questions , please feel free to e-mail me through the thread . I will try to give you a timely and accurate answer . Thank You for reading and I hope this helped .For a final word , I don't build ARMOR much , but these FRUILMODEL tracks are a challenge ,even for me . I have had to set them aside more than once . Happy scratch-building Tankerbuilder P.S. Will I see your finished piece at the upcoming ALAMO SQUADRON / I.P.M.S. Show and contest in SAN ANTONIO ? Hope so , I do .