Just a hello, and some questions!

 Hello and welcome to FSM ukalali. Looks like you caught everyone sleeping over here. I'll  see if  I can  offer you something helpful.

 I don't build much in the way of Gundam but the principles are the same pretty much what ever you're building. For plastic kits I use MEK (found in most hardware stores and much cheaper then the small bottles) to glue all parts together. MEK is the same stuff you'll find in the Testors brand of liquid glue. It sets much faster then the tube glue so sub assemblies go a little quicker. It also seems to be a cleaner glue to use on the surface.

 For putty I really like the green stuff from Squadron if you can find it. If not the Testors red putty works ok as long as you work in thin layers and give it plenty of time to cure.

  It never hurts to build up a project in sub-assemblies if you can. Just test fit everything and make sure your not working yourself into a corner.

 My suggestion with paint is to play with both on some scrap. See how they respond and if you get the results you are looking for. With some use you will most likely find that you will be using both acrylics and enamels on projects to attain the the finish and weathering that looks right to your eye. Before long you'll be adding inks, oils, pastels, and just about anything that will stick.

 It sounds like you have a good plan in place so build on that. Other then that just have fun and welcome back to the hobby.

Hello and welcome.

My 2 cent's worth.  I prefer Testor's liquid brush-on cement for most uses wh one exception: anything likely to get broken in a fall ( like weapons pylons on airplanes ) gets superglue.  This allows the parts to "pop apart" at the seam instead of breaking and needing reconstruction after a fall.  I haven't built and Gundam kits but from what I've seen of the designs I'd use the cement foir most of it and use the superglue for things like the decorative spines in the head.

My experiences with filler range from great to catastrophic.  What's been posted already is probably better than most of what I can tell you.  One thing I've done on occasion for tiny gaps is avoid the usual putty and use the old gel-style cement.  If the gap's small and you don't mind the extra drying time I've found it's a little easier to carve down excess before sanding.

Paints.  Here's the tricky part and I'd guess it's more a matter of available options for the colors you're using and personal preference.  Here's my humble opinion.

I avoid gloss paints whenever possible.  The longer drying/curing time leaves more chance for something to foul the finish and unless I'm using an airbrush or spray it's a bear to get an even coat without brushstrokes showing.  If I can I use a flat version of the color and then use a gloss lacquer as needed.

The other factor is acrylic vs enamels.  I use both and both have their good and bad points.  Acrylics usually dry faster but aren't as durable as enamels.  Acrylics are also easier and cheaper to clean up after.  The big thing to remember is if you use both, try to save the acrylics for the later coats because an enamel coat over acrylic can sometimes pull the underlying color through.

I like to use welding types of glue for assembling styrene kits. Plastruct makes a good one called Bondene, but many manufacturers have similar types of glue--Tamiya, Humbrol, Ambroid, Tenax are some brands. For putty, I like to use either a 2-part (resin and hardener) putty like Bondo or Mori Mori (japanese brand, kind of hard to find, but great quality) or spot glazing putty, like Bondo Spot Glazing Putty, Nitrostan putty, or 3M Red putty. They work like the Squadron putty, only I think the quality is better, and you get a HUGE tube for cheap.

As for technique, I would recommend a couple of basic books:

The Basics of Scale Modeling
http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/12251.html

and

Building and Displaying Scale Model Aircraft with Paul Boyer
http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/12151.html

They are not specifically Sci-Fi Fantasy, but the examples and techniques are solid.

Welcome Ukalali to the forums, you came to a great place!

I will head you to another site that has GREAT tutorials---

http://www.gamerabaenre.com/gameramodelpage.htm

and

 http://www.fichtenfoo.com/

as well as

http://www.mahq.net  

you can use these as your references as well as thier butt kicking tutorials! I love going there, they are very talented and helpful.   

 One tip i picked up from several of my Mooks from Japan such as Mobile Suit Gundam Master Grade Data Book is to cut away the long pegs that join parts together, leaving only a small angled peg so you can test fit but get the parts BACK apart. Then when you are satisifed with everything, glue it all up and (if needed on a True MG) putty up th epart. There are some MGs out there that arent really MGs at all but more of an upgraded High Grade from several years ago.   The RGM-79MG is a perfect example it does not have the fit and panel lines that fall on real panel lines that its cousin the RGM-79C does, and putty work is needed. My primary putty is Tamiya Basic putty, and next in line is Gunze Mr. Sufracer 500 & 100, quickly followed by 1200 in the spray can.   

 I paint my internal mechanics metallic black (tamiya black and a touch of metallic grey)  and seal it with a coat of Future floor acrylic. I have my parts pre-positioned on long bamboo skewers with poster putty and segregate them by color, so I am painting as much as I can in complete assemblies and smaller subassemblies. I primarily use tamiya paints for Gundams, followed by Gunze and Model Master enamels. I apply the kit decals (unless I can get the replacement decals from Bandai, I got a DEAL on Ebay once!!) On a nice gloss finish,  Itake the kit  sticker (UGH!) and cut it as close as I can to the color, just like any other decal, pull it off the sheet, and soak it in HOT water for a minute, then apply it to the kits glossy surface with a drop of water underneath the marking. This helps me float it into position before that adhesive grabs. Then i burnish it out with a smooth toothpick and work it into any seams. If you are using hot (NOT boiling) water this will work. Yes, I realize this IS a sticker, but if you check out various Mooks by Hobby Japan you will see the same technique and IT WORKS! Just cut all that extra film away, cuase that just looks awful.  I airbrush moststuff but you can hand paint carefully as well. Use clear paints such as clear green, orange and blue on the inside of sensors on GMs and clear red on Zaku's.  Gamera Bandrae has great tutorials on how to get candy effects and he is doing killer work with that. Im currently working up a scheme to go with a cloud type antartic camo for a MG Kempfer.

Hope this all helps, welcome to the forums and you will get some great advice by reading ALL of the forums here, and not limiting yourself to one or the other. All disciplines have something they can teach to other modelers !

David

Another great resource I'd like to point you to is Starship Modeler.  Specifically, their Site Map page - scroll down to the How-To Articles portion of the page.

 HTH,

Go over to SSM.. And ask for a member by the name of F-91.. If he doesnt know it, then I dont know who does?

Cheers, Chris 

Griffworks wrote:

Another great resource I'd like to point you to is Starship Modeler.  Specifically, their Site Map page - scroll down to the How-To Articles portion of the page.  HTH,

I forgot all about the Anime and Mecha Forum at Starship Modeler, as well.  LOT's of knowledgable folks there who can help.