Bunch of questions for the newbie modeler

This is for #2 i and alot of other people use microset and microsol this helps in the decal conforming to the surface theres a thred on here for microset&microsol for begginers.

As for #3 its best you get an ech-mate for bending Photo eched parts but they are not cheap by nomeans ive seen benders for as little as $18-$70 dollers all i can tell you on that is shop around as for painting normal model paints work fine. and iam shure there will be other people with more info that can help you out. so i hope that helps.

andto the forum and you can check out the auto section there are some guys that build bikes might be some info that helps you out.

wolfpac wrote:

I just found this website after searching through many web pages for how to tips.  I just started building 1/12 scale motorcycles on and off for about a year.  I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping you guys/gals can help me out with. 1.  Crease removal.  I have spent more time sanding putty than I care to admit.  The most frustrating part of it is after I spend a stupid amount of time sanding it down and paint it, the crease line still shows.  What can I do to eliminate them?  I pretty much use Tamiya Acrylics exsclusively. 2.  Decals.  The smaller decals I have no problems with.  It's the large decals that cover areas of curved body work that I have trouble with.  Either the clear connector part of the decal starts to fade to white, or I cannot get the decal to seat smoothly around corners and edges.  I've tried using q-tips dipped in warm water to try and smooth things out but I really have no luck. 3.  Photo etched parts.  I would like to start trying to use the photo etched parts.  I ordered a set several months ago and when I recieved it I looked at it like it was a box of rocks.  What tools are best used to bend them and what type of paint is best to apply to them? 4.  Painting.  I have been looking for a primer to use for the acrylic paints in hopes to try and solve problem number 1.  Is there a primer on the market I can use for acrylic paints? Thank you for any help or input you could provide.  The links below are to my latest project I'm working on.  If you don't mind please tell me what I could do to make it look better. Erik

1.& 4. Use a primer first to make sure you can't see the seam. Tamiya makes some good primers, you can find them at your LHS, or online. It will show the flaws before you spend a lot of time wiht a gloss coat. You can use any primer with acrylics, just remember, if you use an acrylic primer, you can't use lacquer over it or it will eat the primer, and it must be fully cured before you can use enamels over it. The Tamiya primer is a synthetic lacquer, so you shouldn't have any problems like that with it.

2. To get your decals to settle better, try using Micro Set and Micro Sol. These products actually soften the decal and cause it to wrinke up and look horrible, but make it so soft it will settle into the little depressions and fit tight to the corners, so much that if there is a hair under the decal, it will show up after it dries! Just like the primer, these can be found at your LHS or online.

3. For bending PE, I have just used a good, smooth pair of pliers, however, they make tools for this called the etch mate, it has braces you can clamp the PE down with and bend it using a razor blade or a pair of tweezers. Tamiya also makes a pair of PE pliers that are used to bending.

I think your bike looks great! I didn't really see anything to comment on, your level of detail is very impressive! Some websites to check out for the tools and primers, www.hobbylinc.com , www.greatmodels.com , www.tamiya.com Oh, and to the forums

Wolfpac… welcome to the forum. I only build aircraft but most of the tings you ask abut apply to just about all subject matter.

Creases - What to you mean by creases?  There are 2 kinds in lines on a part… one is the mold line made be the 2 halves of the mold together and the other is a seam… when joining to pieces.  For mold lines I will lightly scrape the line with a sharp Exacto blade then a light buff with a green Scotch Brite scouring pad.  Seams require a bit more attention… sometimes.  There are many different techniques that can be used.  If the part has good fit and you use a “welder” like Tenax, a little squeezing will push some of the softened plastic out of the seam and when that has hardened, a light filing or sanding stick will usually do the trick.  If there is still a gap you will need some filler… Squadron, Tamiya, Mr. Surfacer and so on.

Decals – The white part you mention for the carrier film sounds like silvering.  Apply decal to a gloss surface.  A gloss coat of Future or other gloss coating will give a smooth surface that will not allow and air under the decal.  That is what causes the silvering.  A top coat to seal and the clear bits should almost disappear.  For the curve surfaces there are many products t help the decal snuggle down and conform to the shape.  Micro Sol, Micro Set, Solvaset to name a few.

Photo Etch (PE) – Size and complexity of the part may determine best folding methods.  I use a small pair of squared, smooth pliers for most.  Larger or longer pieces and be taped to some glass of a smooth ceramic tile,  a metal ruler of straight edge held along the line to be folded, then carefully slide a single edge razor under the part and fold it up.  There are after market (AM) tools to do that too such as an Etch-Mate.  I use super glue, usually applied with a tooth pick to the part and tweezers to place the PE part in place.  I made a small tool to apply tiny drop of accelerator if needed.  I tool a sewing needle, cut off the end of the eye, making a very tine little 2 prong fork.  I mounted it in a wood dowel handle and use it to dip into the accelerator and apply to the superglued part to get it to set instantly.  And yes… sometimes you need 4 hands.

I will defer on the primer question to someone that uses acrylics since I only use enamels.

The link below is to swanny/s site that has lots of tips and technique.  Do a search in the forum of some of the individual things I mention and that should give you plenty to go on.

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Tools.html

And very nice work on the bikes.

wing_nut wrote:

(I hate it when the fast typists get their posts in so quick.  There was nothing here when I started to type)

Smokingguns beat me by seconds! AHH!!! I thought I had it to!

I am a very low typest i one finger jack the keyboard go figure i took typing in school and got kicked out of class

Here give squadron a go real good online hobby shop http://www.squadron.com/SearchResults.asp?ScaleList=everything&TypeList=everything&ManuList=MY&Key=&Submit=Go

http://www.internethobbies.com/internethobbies/index.html

http://squadron.com/

http://greatmodels.com/

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=60531

These shoud get you atarted.

And don't stop asking questions,  not a bother at all.  In fact it is more difficult to get US to shut up usually.

smokinguns3 wrote:

I am a very low typest i one finger jack the keyboard go figure i took typing in school and got kicked out of class Here give squadron a go real good online hobby shop http://www.squadron.com/SearchResults.asp?ScaleList=everything&TypeList=everything&ManuList=MY&Key=&Submit=Go

I am a pretty decent typer, I took typing in High School to, but I didn't learn much Don't worry about asking to many questions, that is how you learn and that is what everybody is here for, to help answer questions!

I started to use the method of crease removal as described in swannysmodel link you posted.  I'll post up some pics and let you know how it's going.  I also picked up some future and will be ordering the micro set & sol today.  Hopefully by the time it arrives I will be done with the body work and post some pics up.

I cannot thank you guys enough for the help.  I tend to get irritated and impatient when I make big mistakes, and I think this will help me prevent a lot of them.

I also saw people mention a paint product called altol (sp?).  I've seen it used for exhaust systems.  Is this stuff as easy to use as regular paints, and is that the brand name or the general name for the paint?

I'll keep up with the updates.

Erik

wolfpac wrote:

Here's a pic showing the method of seam removal I used.  It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than what I was doing. I am pleased with the results (for now).  Thank you again for the links and help! Erik

Hmmm... let's see.... No line in the middle... nice smooth painted surface... looks like it was molded as one piece...What coud be better than that?

wing_nut wrote:

wolfpac wrote: Here's a pic showing the method of seam removal I used.  It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than what I was doing. I am pleased with the results (for now).  Thank you again for the links and help! Erik     Hmmm... let's see.... No line in the middle... nice smooth painted surface... looks like it was molded as one piece...What coud be better than that?

Thank you!  When the light hits it in certain directions you can still somewhat see the crease (seam) in a reflection.  It is harder to see than the completed model on the left,

so I am relatively pleased with the results.  The use of primer (duplicolor grey) also helped out a lot, allowed me see where the surface was uneven.