General Model Kit Building Thread

I put the first coat of paint on the hood for the dart, but it looks like I won't get any further because of weather. :indiff:

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Is it possible for mould to grow on plastic models? Yesterday I spotted some white dots in the engine compartment of my Mercedes SLR (shown with a red circle in the photos below), and if you zoom into the photos, you can vaguely see they are mushroom-shaped.



It's the second time I've seen such phenomenon happening (both of which are in the SLR's engine bay), and I've cleaned it already with a dry cotton, but it is likely they will grow again. Is there any way to prevent them from growing on the car again, and could applying too much paint be the cause of this? If not, what do you guys think could be?
 
Is it possible for mould to grow on plastic models? Yesterday I spotted some white dots in the engine compartment of my Mercedes SLR (shown with a red circle in the photos below), and if you zoom into the photos, you can vaguely see they are mushroom-shaped.



It's the second time I've seen such phenomenon happening (both of which are in the SLR's engine bay), and I've cleaned it already with a dry cotton, but it is likely they will grow again. Is there any way to prevent them from growing on the car again, and could applying too much paint be the cause of this? If not, what do you guys think could be?

Yes, it is. If the level of moist in the display is too high and the plastic kits are not protected with a clear coat of paint, this may happen. I have several of model kits displayed and I use those little silica gel bags:

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They can be bought or sometimes come with the purchase of certain jackets/clothes. I use it to prevent moist in my display and it works.

Its a technic of mine, so its only my opinion... đź‘Ť

:cheers:
 
Another question.

When I was working on my model last weekend, some of the silver paints from a part (which has already dried) got onto another part which was painted black, as the silver paint 'flaked off' onto my fingers, which was holding the black part at that time (Actually, the paint didn't really flake off. It kind of resembles the situation when you touch the gold sparkles on a Christmas tree ornament). This left a rather distinctive silver mark on the black part, as the picture below shows:


Is there any way to completely remove the silver acrylic paint from the part painted in black enamel paint? I don't want to use thinner, as I believe it won't remove the paint completely and will make the patch of silver even bigger. Neither do I want to paint another layer of black paint to cover it up, as one will be able to tell such work has been done if he squints into the part carefully afterwards. Also, is there any way to prevent this from happening again, apart from washing my hands every few minutes? Is it common for acrylic paints with a metallic appearance to 'flake off'? The paint in question is Tamiya's XF-16, if that is of any help.
 
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Do any of you have an answer to my questions above?


Also, since it's unlikely that there will be any major progress on my DBS model kit in the next few weeks, here are 2 pictures of the rear suspension of my DBS. The parts are not glued together, and the painting is not finished for some of the parts, though:



 
Have always considered getting into the kits, but never had the time. With diecast collecting being somewhat easier, I wanted to find any hobby stores that may have something. Didn't find any good diecasts that weren't NASCAR. But did find these two kits. Nearly $30 each and I don't think I'd want to start with these. :lol:
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They also had a larger Nissan R390 kit that was about $150...
 
Oooh! I must try to find those as well. Pleasantly surprised to see a Supra model (even if it is a kit) that isn't totally FnF-ized and ruined. Didn't think we had Skyline GTR model kits here, either.
 
Finishing my build on Tamiya's RX-7 R1 (metallic black body is finished and buffed, with lots of detail added to the engine compartment and the engine itself as well as all weathering done on the underside), and screwed up the big clear plastic piece.
Don't even know how, really... Masked it normally with Tamiya's tape to paint the black trim inside, and when I removed it (about 1 & 1/2 days later) it had left the inside of the plastic all messed up with glue residue that simply didn't come out with anything. Other than all I've tried, the only alternatives left are products that would damage the plastic itself, so basically, it's scrap now. :banghead:

Does anyone know a place to order just that part, that isn't too expensive and also ships internationally?
 
First of all sorry for bumping this thread.
I got into these 1:24 models about three years ago and these are the models I've done so far:
(sorry for the chaos you can see around them and for the bad quality)
IMAG2387_1[1].jpg

The first one was the 458 Italia and it shows it. They're all Revell models except for the LFA which is made by Tamiya.
Anyways, I recently bought one of these:
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and I would like to make a Bullit Charger replica, does anybody know where I could find some good quality pics for interior and engine bay?
 
I don't have any specific websites in mind, but I often check the internet for car sales of the car I'm building. A good seller will take a lot of pictures, especially the interior and engine bay.
Good luck.
 
I don't have any specific websites in mind, but I often check the internet for car sales of the car I'm building. A good seller will take a lot of pictures, especially the interior and engine bay.
Good luck.
Thanks for the tip, went through the ones I know but couldn't find a good one. Maybe some "Bullit" forum could be a good help.
 
How do you prevent dust from coming into contact with a surface that has drying spray paint on it? Right now I'm using a transparent plastic box to cover the parts, but a speck of dust often sticks onto the drying surface. Although it isn't entirely intolerable, it will be better if such thing can be avoided.
 
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Build yourself a hermetically sealed room? Realistically, it's impossible to stop something like that happening, but probably the best way to do it would be to clean the room before you start, and especially the plastic box. If you are using a thin sheet of chipboard as a modelling table, try covering it with sticky back plastic, or even using a thin sheet of polycarbonate instead, something hard and non-porous that you can wipe over with a static-free cloth.
 
Build yourself a hermetically sealed room? Realistically, it's impossible to stop something like that happening, but probably the best way to do it would be to clean the room before you start, and especially the plastic box. If you are using a thin sheet of chipboard as a modelling table, try covering it with sticky back plastic, or even using a thin sheet of polycarbonate instead, something hard and non-porous that you can wipe over with a static-free cloth.
I'll stick to my transparent plastic box, then. :lol:
Thanks for the reply. đź‘Ť

Does anyone know if Tamiya produces these bottled acrylic/enamel paints anymore? I'm asking this because yesterday I went to my local modelling shop, but I couldn't find the colours I wanted. The shopkeeper told me that they've been out of stock for quite some time.
Also, did any of you see these Tamiya cements in your local modelling shop? Again, I couldn't find it yesterday, and the shopkeeper told me that they're banned from being imported into Hong Kong. Since it's likely that I can't find these Tamiya cements anymore, do any of you know of a good substitute?
 
I'll stick to my transparent plastic box, then. :lol:
Thanks for the reply. đź‘Ť

Does anyone know if Tamiya produces these bottled acrylic/enamel paints anymore? I'm asking this because yesterday I went to my local modelling shop, but I couldn't find the colours I wanted. The shopkeeper told me that they've been out of stock for quite some time.
Also, did any of you see these Tamiya cements in your local modelling shop? Again, I couldn't find it yesterday, and the shopkeeper told me that they're banned from being imported into Hong Kong. Since it's likely that I can't find these Tamiya cements anymore, do any of you know of a good substitute?

They look like these here and I'm pretty sure they're still sold.

Pretty much any plastic modelling glue will do. I don't know what's available in Hong Kong though. Why don't you ask in the modelling shop?
I use Revell, but I believe Mr. Hobby/Gunze Sangyo make their own glue. That could be available there.
 
How do you prevent dust from coming into contact with a surface that has drying spray paint on it? Right now I'm using a transparent plastic box to cover the parts, but a speck of dust often sticks onto the drying surface. Although it isn't entirely intolerable, it will be better if such thing can be avoided.

To the rear of my paint area is a 20x20 box fan with a furnace filter attached to the back. It works like a back draft type spray booth, all the overspray and dust get pulled to the fan and caught in the filter. After I paint I put a polycarbonate box over the drying body so no more dust can get to it.
Similar to this
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But really, you're always going to have dust, that's why wet sanding between coats and polishing is so useful. I use the Novus line of polishes.
 
Pretty much any plastic modelling glue will do. I don't know what's available in Hong Kong though. Why don't you ask in the modelling shop?
I use Revell, but I believe Mr. Hobby/Gunze Sangyo make their own glue. That could be available there.
Today I asked the modelling shop what cements were available, and and the shopkeeper showed me 2 brands, one made in Korea, and the other one being this. Do you (or anybody else reading this) know if it can be used on ABS plastic?
But really, you're always going to have dust, that's why wet sanding between coats and polishing is so useful. I use the Novus line of polishes.

What is 'wet-sanding'? I've seen this term a few times before when searching on the Internet about modelling, but don't really know what it means. What is its purpose? What things do you need for wet-sanding?
 
Today I asked the modelling shop what cements were available, and and the shopkeeper showed me 2 brands, one made in Korea, and the other one being this. Do you (or anybody else reading this) know if it can be used on ABS plastic?

That's the Mr. Hobby cement I mentioned. Should work exactly like Tamiya cement. I've never used it, but pretty much every modelling cement works the same.
 
I have always thought this was for model kits really, no matter the scale/what of.
 
Plane away.













1/72 Messiah VF-25 F/S by Hasegawa.
Fictional plane from Macross Frontier.

Didn't do the white or the flat grey. I used Tamiya's Gun Metal. Full post and story here if you're interested.
 
Day 2 build progress

Finished the F430 but...

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It'd a trainwreck.

Partly down to rookie errors but also partly down to Revell. The chassis is way too short for the car, as you can see snapping it in at the front and rear causes the middle to sag down. The wheels also confused the hell out of me, which tyres are for the F430 and which for the Enzo? Who knows. They're not clearly labelled.
 
I've done the f430 kit, it's a pain, but decent. Something isn't right on yours, my chassis snapped up nice and tight. When I'm done unpacking, I can post some pics.
 
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