I want to try airbrushing.

Should I use PE or brass additions on my models?

Brush or Spray?

What about these other replacement bits I see at shows - like tracks and gun barrels - should I be using them?

Do I need to worry about detailing - I like to build my models just as they come

Should I build 1/72nd scale models, or just the bigger ones?

What are 'Weathering powders' and how are they used?

Why don't Airfix/Hasegawa/Tamiya/Italeri/Zvezda re-issue my favourite kit with an upgrade and some new decals - it would sell well.

I'd like to drybrush with Tamiya Acrylic paint, but it dries too fast to be any use.

I'm confused about Scale numbers on model boxes, just how big will my model work out?
Scales can be confusing at best, click here for my Talking Scale article.

I want to try airbrushing.
Good for you. I'm working on an airbrushing article which will be here soon. The simple answer is yes, try it, but be prepared to make mistakes - but do write what you do in a book, and learn from your mistakes to improve things next time.

Should I use PE or brass additions on my models?
The simple answer is yes - but. The average steel or brass etch will contain enough parts to overwhelm you - and put you off trying one ever again. I use Airwaves from ED Models in the UK. They make a range of brass PE sheets that are affordable, and give you just the basics that are useable and practical. Give them a try - I don't think you will be disappointed. There's a couple of photos here. I've also included details of the Eduard fret too - two superb steel frets and a proper kit in its own right - bit too much for the beginner perhaps but quite frankly its frightens me with their complexity…

Brush or Spray?
Again, there is no simple answer to this. I spray the base colours on my models then add details with a range of brushes. I only started using my airbrush three years ago, before that I used nothing but a range of brushes. The simple rule is whatever you do decide to use buy a good quality one. Click here for my article.

What about these other replacement bits I see at shows - like tracks and gun barrels - should I be using them?
I like to replace the gun barrels and the tracks on my 1/35th scale models. It does add up to a big bite out of my hobby funds - but it does make a model look better. As I tend to enter national competitions I build one or two models a year that have all the stops out, with resin, brass and white metal additions. But I do enjoy building a few models straight out of the box - It brings back the fun in modelling.

Do I need to worry about detailing - I like to build my models just as they come.
Read this article by Rick DeNatale - an experienced American modeller and Contest Judge. Although he's talking about the American IPMS model contest his comments apply to build for pleasure just as much as the pot hunters.

Rick DeNatale on REC.MODEL.SCALE - Talking about Out of the Box kit building in July 2003

Based on my observations, and I've been attending the IPMS/US nationals every year since 1992, and been a judge there for the past 9 years, building OOTB is the BEST way to improve your chances of winning in a competition, at least one conducted using the IPMS/US national criteria.

The primary thing which wins contests is clean construction and finishing. By clean I mean no errors. Weathering is fine but it needs to be consistent. Items like alignment, quality of finish, elimination of seams, ejector pin marks, mould lines etc. count far more than detailing. Adding details just means there's more opportunity to miss a blob of glue, a seam or something else.

The idea of OOTB sprang up in the days where detailing was primarily done by scratch building the details, and the guys who did this and won knew how to keep the model 'under control' as far as construction and finish quality. Those same guys might still win with a detailed model, but more and more contest modellers have caught on to the fact that detailing often hurts a models chances in a contest more than it helps. If you look at the results from the IPMS nationals over the years, you might be surprised by the percentage of OOTB award winning models which also place in their categories which include OOTB, against non OOTB entries, and the percentage of OOTB entries which win their category outright.

If you want to super detail your models, have at it, but if you also want them to win in competition make sure you get the basics right. I've seen lots of models with impressively detailed cockpits which lacked in basic construction or finish, as if the modeller considered the detailing to BE the model, rather than just part of the whole picture.

That said, I build models for my own pleasure, even though I do bring them to contests. But I don't usually build them for contests. I tend to put a lot of effort into research to make the model as accurate as I can, although I know that that's not a criteria for competition, and I don't let my perception of the accuracy of a model enter into my deliberations when judging it in competition.

Should I build 1/72nd scale models, or just the bigger ones?
The OO/HO scales have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years. Some of them have almost as many parts as their larger 1/35th scale brothers. So don't think of them as a poor relation. Take a look at Revell's range of new and re-tooled 1/72nd kits, their T-34 is here. Treat yourself to one - you're in for a treat. They are generally accurate, well detailed and not too expensive, being around the £5-£6 mark here in the UK. And companies like Part, Extratech and Eduard are bringing out resin and etch parts for them.

What are 'Weathering powders' and how are they used?
There are a number of finely ground powder, or coloured chalks intended for brushing onto models to give a weathered and used effect without using an airbrush. Some people prefer this technique to airbrushing so I think it's worth trying to see if it suits you.

There are powders sold especially for modelling, Carr's Weathering Powders are one example. They are sold in sets of six small bags containing around a teaspoon or so of powder ready to brush on. There are groups of colours, Mud, Rust, and Dirt shades amongst others.

You can also go to an Art shop and get a selection of coloured chalks. Using a craft blade a little heap of powder can be quickly scraped off and used. Don't go for the oil-based types as they aren't chalk, and won't make powder.

While you are at the art shop look to see if they have a selection of powder paints in tins. These are much cheaper than the weathering powders if you can find the shades you want. Next get a flat paintbrush - you're looking for a 'hake' (a flat head paintbrush) a cheap one will do to start with.

Load up the flat head paintbrush and gently brush on the powder following the way dust would settle on the real vehicle. Dust thrown up by tracks would be upward from the tracks and angled towards the rear of the vehicle. Settled dust on the top of the deck would be slight but plenty in and around the nooks and crannies. The advantage with powders is that you can remove the effect if too heavy with more brushing.

If you want to do rust remember that it goes on liquid on the real thing, and you are trying to duplicate this with dry powder, so paint a very small spot of rust with your usual enamel or acrylic paint. Mix a similar colour of powder and lightly streak the chalk down from the rust spot. Be sure to follow the natural contour of the vehicle and don't over do it.

I don't favour pastels for doing rust streaks myself, look here for my wet acrylic method, might be worth a try.

Why don't Airfix/Hasegawa/Tamiya/Italeri/Zvezda re-issue my favourite kit with an upgrade and some new decals - it would sell well.
We all have favourite kits that are either getting long in the tooth or simply not available any more. Why don't the companies simply dust off the mould and get them back on the model shop shelves..?

There's probably three main reasons why not.

a, The mould might have been sold to another company - If so it might yet re-appear under another lable. But it would simply be a re-issue without any updating.

b, The mould has been modified - AMT recently wanted to re-release the Beverly Hillbillies truck, but found that in the sixties it had been altered to a snap tite road going pirate ship - I kid you not..! That kit will never see the light of day again, as the mould changes can't be undone.

c, It's just too expensive to do. - Updating an old kit costs a lot of money. It may be that the model company just can't afford it. Believe me there ain't much profit in model kits. Read my article here for some background info.

I'd like to drybrush with Tamiya Acrylic paint, but it dries too fast to be any use.

Tamiya paint alone does dry too fast to be of any use for dry brushing. You'll end up with an unusable stiff brush. Try using artist's tube oil paints instead. These dry very slowly - sometimes days. Which is good if you want that. If you really are set on
drybrushing with Tamiya acrylics, get some Acrylic Retarder, (available at art supply stores) to your dry brushing mix. That will slow the drying time down enough to allow for dry brushing. You'll have to experiment to find the best mix.