Modelling newbie?

Welcome to the hobby. We're glad to have you around and will try to help where we can.

First, try This Link It is a PDF file that FSM makes available that gives the basics of scale modeling. It has some good information for the first-time builder. There is also a Hobby FAQ At This Link that will answer many of your questions.

There are three ways to paint a model, and most models will involve at least two of them. They are:
o Hand Brushing
o Air Brushing
o Using a spray can (commonly called a "Rattle Can")

Hand brushing is the least expensive and basically you just brush the paint on straight from the bottle. The disadvantage is that until you get some practice in using it you will get brush strokes and a rough finish. Air brushing is probably the most flexible but it requires that you have an airbrush, an air source, and some practice with them. Spray cans are good for the beginner and give a nice, smooth finish. The disadvantage is that you need a little practice to be able to make them work well. The common thread among them all is practice and experience.

For painting with a brush or spray can you don't normally need to thin the paint. It will usually be at the correct consistency for painting. Be aware that there are three general types of hobby paints; laquer, enamel, and acrylic. For hand brushing by a beginner I'd recommend enamel even though the cleanup is more difficult. Hand brushing acrylics is not an easy thing to do well, but they do clean up with just water.

Priming serves several purposes. It prepares the surface so that it will hold the paint better, and also allows you to see mistakes in the sanding and filling much better.

when I first started years ago I found that spray cans worked the best for me.. I didnt feel I was ready for an airbrush (actually didn't know I could afford one either, thought they would be more expensive) so I would paint the main color with a spray can and any other color with a brush or later a cheap 'paint sprayer' (I hesitate to call it an airbrush)

Brush painting is possible, my father used to do beautiful models back in the day, but it takes practice and a learning curve to not get brush strokes...

First thing first, welcome!

Painting, and model-building in general, can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. It's a personal decision. You will see pictures of numerous fantastic, beautiful builds on the forums here. On some of them, people pull all stops and spend a lot of time, money, and effort to achieve the end results, while other people just do the basics and build OOB (out of the box). My point is, do what makes YOU happy, and not what you think others expect or want.

MusicCity and tho9900 covered the basics well. The only things I will add are that Testor paints are fine for what you need. My guess is that they are enamel (check on the bottle to be sure), and if this is the case then no thinning is needed for painting by brush.

You might want to consider using a spraycan for this model, assuming you don't have an airbrush. I don't do modern jets, but I'm guessing the F-16 is a single exterior color and if so then a spraycan well serve you well and the exact or a close color is probably available (I'm sure someone can correct me if I'm wrong). A spraycan will give you a much better finish than brushing, especially for a beginner. The main thing you want to remember about a spraycan is to not spray too close to the model and to not try and paint the model with one coat of paint. Spray a light, thin coat, let it dry, then another couple of light, thin coats until you get the coverage you want. Otherwise, the paint will run and drip. Spraycans give out a lot of paint at once, so it's easy to apply too much.

Thinning paints is usually necessary when you airbrush, but not when using a paintbrush (you'll notice the caveats: "usually," "rarely," etc....there is little that is 100% in this hobby!)

MusicCity filled you in on priming. It's usually (here I go again!) reserved for airbrushing, especially when using acrylics, or when you use fillers to fix seams and blemishes on the model. If it were me (and this is just my personal feeling), building a model for the first time and either handbrushing or using a spraycan, I wouldn't worry about fillers and priming at this point. I would use my first model as a learner for the basic assembly, glueing, and painting, and then move on to more learned tasks! Then again, I don't know the cost of a Tamiya F-16 off the top of my head, but if it's a rather expensive kit (all relative), I might first practice my skills on an inexpensive model in which any mistakes aren't as upsetting or critical.

But as I said at the beginning, the main thing to do in this hobby is to have fun.

Mark

I would also recommend several excellent books for modelers of all skill levels published by Kalmbacjh Publishing.

1. Painting And Finishing Scale Models by Paul Boyer
2. Building and Displaying Scale Model Aircraft with Paul Boyer
3. How to Use an Airbrush By Robert Downie

These books and the various forums here at Finescale.com will help you develp your skills. The books are available from Kalbach at the following link:
http://store.yahoo.net/kalmbachcatalog/scale-modeling.html

I forgot about this one too... Testors also puts out a good set of guides you can download off their site... a lot of very basic to more advanced techniques... they were good refreshers and learning tools as well for me when I got back into modelling this year.


---edit---
here's the link

http://www.testors.com/hobbyist_guides.asp

I too am a modeling newbe. At first i used a basic brush set for my models but recently have moved on to airbrushing. I have found airbrushing to give very good results but its a bit tricky to use. So wut i do is use a brush for all painting but the exterior body of my models. As far as getting marks left by brush strokes goes my advice is too remain patient and brush LIGHTLY dipping your bush in the paint often. Good Luck with the F-16 its one of my favorites!!

Welcome to the forums Izzy! good to see you here!

I too am a modeling newbe. At first i used a basic brush set for my models but recently have moved on to airbrushing. I have found airbrushing to give very good results but its a bit tricky to use. So wut i do is use a brush for all painting but the exterior body of my models. As far as getting marks left by brush strokes goes my advice is too remain patient and brush LIGHTLY dipping your bush in the paint often. Good Luck with the F-16 its one of my favorites!!

hmm ... two can play at this game.

Welcome to the forums Izzy! good to see you here!

welcome to the forums, izzy and eagle. i think everyone above has covered the basics in links and such, just remember, we are here to help,ask us questionsm and dont be afraid! plunge boldly into this fun hobby

Yes plunge boldly indeed. Since you are just starting, I guess you'll be hand paining? I don't think any priming will be necessary if you're hand painting really. not in my experience anyway. so, I always find thinning the paint with some thinner gave me better results when I was hand paining. Also, I would stay away from the acrylics if I were you. (for hand painting i mean) eventually you can get yourself an airbrush and start really getting into those awesome camo schemes. remember, have fun with it.