What was that one thing that was a complete game changer?

Hello!

It's a bit like that for me too. Except it was 30 years ago and instead of other glues I started using lacquer thinner. It works great, too!

Have a nice day

Paweł

My first airbrush, about 45 years ago, a Binks Wren with medium and fine nozzle sets. Still have it and it works fine, but long since retired. Can't just ditch an old friend.

OK so make fun of me, but it's been this magazine and this forum. I have learned so much about how to approach modeling more like cooking from a recipe. Understand the attribute of the final product, line up all of the ingredients and use a method that makes sense. As opposed to snapping all of the parts off of the sprues, holding stuff together while the glue dries, and painting all in one go.

GMorrison

OK so make fun of me, but it's been this magazine and this forum. I have learned so much about how to approach modeling more like cooking from a recipe. Understand the attribute of the final product, line up all of the ingredients and use a method that makes sense. As opposed to snapping all of the parts off of the sprues, holding stuff together while the glue dries, and painting all in one go.

 

   I have to agree with GM, living in the Inland Northwest model clubs, shops, and places to talk models are few and far between. These forums are fun and educational.

     The real game changer for me however is....disposable income. The ability to get what I need or want when I need or want it. Still working on it but someday it will happen.

GMorrison

OK so make fun of me, but it's been this magazine and this forum. I have learned so much about how to approach modeling more like cooking from a recipe. Understand the attribute of the final product, line up all of the ingredients and use a method that makes sense. As opposed to snapping all of the parts off of the sprues, holding stuff together while the glue dries, and painting all in one go.

 

I think GM says it here best. I agree with him, my game changer has been this forum and the magazine too. One can see how others organize their stashes, all the way to how their completed builds are displayed. With every detail of how to build a model in between. A holy grail of styrene knowledge. IMHO!

H.O.Scale fine plastic : 

  Box-car roof walkways , Sanded thin and converted to railings for Revells ships ! . A cheap alternative to P.E. When handled right . It's made by Tichy Train Group !

 Sorry , I had a lot on my plate when I answered yesterday .Definitely a change to Tamiya " Thin " and regular green label Glue , haven't spilled any since .

  Airbrush , Now fifty and going strong . And of course P.E. in all sizes and shapes , best looking cockpits I ever did !

The first game changer , for me anyways , was switching from Testors Orange label glue to CA . ( also started to use Tenex liquid cement about the same time. )

The second game changer was figuring out how to weather stuff. Being a model Rail Roader helped me "Practice" this. ( 50 year old equippment dont look right without some Rust on it ! )

And yes, This forum was a great find ! I learned a few tip's I never would have thought of on my own ... And a few thing's I could actually do differently.

ALL of the above, for darned sure...but the single biggest 'game changer' for me, far and away, has been being able to (easily) design and print good-quality decals at home.

It's allowed projects I never even could have considered before.

What a great subject and I have to agree with GM, this forum has been the single biggest game changer in my modeling experience. As far as techniques, I would say oils. I use them for washes, stains, rust and anything else I can think of. I can't build a nice kit without them anymore.

Tamiya Extra Thin for sure. That is #1 in my book. It's a game changer from the old days of testers gloppy gloopy slow drying glue. With Tamiya you can even run the glue on the exterior of the pieces and not mar them. Wow. Try that with Testers tube glue of old. Game changer.  A close second is the internet. It allows access to information and resources undreamed of when I was growing up. While I am yammering here. I really enjoy sanding sticks, air brushes, improved paints/thinners, and in some cases, improved kits. Just my opinion, of course.

Learning to use weld-on liquid cement and the capillary action.  Revolutionized seems for me.  I thank Mark Knowlton at a san diego ipms meeting for the demo years ago...so clubs as well. 

Ditto to all above!  Since I primarily model Luftwaffe subjects, I’d say learning how to apply mottling was a game changing technique for me.

Wow, you all have said it very well. If I had to choose just one thing, I believe I would fail. Here are my top three... the purchase and use of an air brush, The introduction of CA glues, and the internet. 

- the air brush introduced me to various options not previously available with the old rattle cans or brushes. It also challenged me to improve my modeling skills.

- What can you say about the CA glues when comparing them to the old tube cements? The accuracy and speed of building increased for everyone.

- The internet provided a new research tool not previously available. It also introduced all of us to modeling forums like this so we could enjoy our hobby and meet new friends on a whole new level. And it gave us access to hobby kits, supplies, and techniques not previously available to many of us.  

Oh!, lets not forget that the quality and selection of paints and decals which have greatly increased. We could also add somewhere in this thread the introduction of photo etch and resin detail materials, they have also been a game changer.... 

P.S.   This is a good thread... please continue somebody...

v/r,

Ben

That moment when you hook your airbrush up to a compressor after using multitudes of propellant cans. You switch it on, dial the pressure down and think "Yeah, that's what it's all about."

Also, as already mentioned, switching from tube cement to liquid cement. The first few attempts, when you apply to one surface, press the parts togethe and watch them promptly fall apart. And then you learn to hold the parts together and allow the cement to wick into the joint.

There were a few game changers for me.

1) photoetch parts - enabled detail that wasn't possible before

2) lathe and mill - enabled precision parts to be made for subjects like these:

Of course there are many other small things like the internet (if you can call that small) and an airbrush.

In chronological order:

1) The internet;

2)  The World Wide Web.

Murph ! 

 Haven't you heard ? In modeling , there is no such thing as a dumb question ?

Tanker - Builder

Murph ! 

 Haven't you heard ? In modeling , there is no such thing as a dumb question ?

 

Joining a modeling club.  I now belong to three local clubs.  I gather inspiration from looking at the work of others. It is a great source of help when problems arise.  And, the mutual support.

I also find entering contests sharpens my skills.

Game changer is definitely joining a model club. Another big plus is becoming a judge at shows and this forum!

Joining the local model club.  This forum is a very close second.  At the club you get personal interaction, but only once a month.  Here it can be every day, but it's second hand, by way of the computer.

Have to say that all of the above helped. Joining a club and going to contests with all the meet and greet and hands on really got the juices flowing.

Jim  

For me is the Touch N Flow Applicator and either Tenax or Plast I Weld. This stuff has reduced the use of fillers big time For me. 

I love how the applicator can deliver pin point accuracy with water thin glue application.

A close second is Tamiya extra thin followed by the internet. There is so much information by just clicking a few keys making research a breeze.

Great topic-and all great answers.

For me it's been FSM & these forums, followed by the internet.

I've learned a lot, participated in many GB's with great and helpful people and advanced my skill set-still many miles to go but it's a fun journey.

I'd say one thing that was a game changer was the widespread mainstreaming of Japanese kits into the US in the 70s. While Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi, etc. were around already, they became much more widely distributed in the 1970s onward. Subjects and scales ignored by the Western manufacturers became available. 

Just as an example, I'll cite 1/35 armor. Revell/Monogram produced a few halfhearted armor kits and gave up on the genre more or less. Tamiya stepped in with an ongoing, and steadily quality improved range of WW2 and modern armor. There was a good stretch of time that people forget these days, that pretty much every 1/35 armor kit of any note was either Tamiya or Italeri. 

As someone who took a 25 year break from the hobby, I’d say the internet is the single biggest game changer for me. All of the other improvements I can cite, from techniques to better products, stem from easier access to information.

The ability to have instantaneous access to almost any product, or to have an answer to almost any question or to watch videos demonstrating techniques is invaluable.

As to more specific items which were gamechangers for me:

Tamiya Extra Thin:

The improvement over the old tube glue is like night and day.

Airbrush:

Bought my first airbrush at age forty, and immediately thought “Why didn’t I do this years ago?”

Better Quality Kits:

When I returned to the hobby I started with the kits I remembered from my childhood. These were mostly ol Revell and Lindberg kits. I honestly had no idea that there were differences between manufacturers. I was running into the same issues of fit and finish that I remembered from years ago, and asked for advice from a guy at my LHS. He said “Why don’t you try one of these instead?”, and handed me a Tamiya Mustang. 

The rest is history . . .