'Modelblokez.org.au'

Hints and Tips

On this page you will find some basic tips and hints

• Filler
• Glues
• Masking

Filler

FILLER TYPES

By far the most common filler is the normal Plastic Filler, you could use Squadron Green/White Stuff as a preference although it is very expensive. Other choices are the wonderful Tamiya Body Putty closely followed by the Humbrol product.

LARGE GAPS.

For large gaps it is probably best to first of all use a sliver of plastic card, strip or rod to fill the gap. This is a very useful method around wing roots for example where the join is usually less than adequate. Once this has dried then it can be sanded and fill if required. This method can also be used with larger fuselage gaps to add the correct diameter to a fuselage shell. By inserting a sliver of plastic card between the fuselage halves and then using filler if required the correct dimensions can be obtained.

Another way is that the inside of the join can be lined with plastic card then resultant gap filled with filler. This method is a little easier than the sliver or card as you don’t have to be exact with the cutting.

For a more normal gap normal filler will do. But to save on filler, sanding and surrounding detail try masking the area with tape then using the filler fill along the masks carefully. Then when dry remove the masking tape and voila only a small amount of sanding is required. When masking for filling, layer the putty into the gap, until the putty is proud of the masking tape. This will compensate for shrinkage. Once fully cured, use a sharp chisel type blade to scrape off the excess putty, then sand smooth. The above method is also good for sink marks and injector pin marks. Try it out sometime.

One Tip you could try is to make your own liquid filler or "Goop" as it is sometimes called. Using a bottle of liquid cement such as Testors^tm liquid cement, and add some Tamiya putty to make a Goop/Glue Soup. Use the Testors integral brush on the bottle lid to apply. Just keep adding putty to replace used gloop. This type of filler tends to shrink significantly during application, hence apply in layers, with cure time between.

Glues

• Polystyrene cement - commercial modellers glue such as the Humbrol ^tm and Revell ^tm needle packs, Humbrol/Revell/Testors Tube glue - Used for general modelling work but can spoil a model by using too much.Like all Plastic Glues they work by melting the surface and bonding the melted surfaces together as the liquid evaporates
  Less is better.
• Liquid Cement - A highly volotile liquid such as MEK (methylEthylKetone). This is excellent for any modelling task on polystyrene plastics. It evaporates quickly and minimise marking of the model surface. Some name brands such as Humbrol ^tm are thicker but do the same job. Use an old paint brush to apply by pressing the surfaces together, with tape or similar, and flooding the join. This lets the capillery action take the glue into the join, melt and bond the surfaces. Again less is best as too much can leave a lovely molded finger print on the surface of a model.
• Super Glue(cyroanalate) - Sticks almost anything to almost anything. Comes and a wide array of types from the $2 shop last one session type to the super super glues using accelerators. Some types have gap filling qualities that can be quite handy for some modelling requirements.
• Epoxy Glues - For us in Australia that means Araldite ^tm. Usually a two part adhesive that is mixed in the quantities required. Again will glue most surfaces especially good for metal parts, such as figures and undercarriage legs
• Wood Glue - Ordinary white glue can be used for a multitude of tasks from gluing grass down to a diorama base, coating tissue to make tarpaulins, all the way through to filling small gaps on the surface of a model. Also is used for fixing aircraft canopies, as it will not fog the clear part like some cyronanalate glues can.
  Tip ** When using wood glue for canopies, let cure for a few minutes, wipe to a smooth contour with a damp cloth to fair in the canopy.

Special purpose Adhesives and Masking agents -

• This covers the Kristal Kleer ^tm Humbrol ^tm and Testors ^tm products that are sold specifically to fix clear parts. All do the job admirably with the added bonus that openings can be filled with the substance to create a clear window. Just get a blob on a toothpick and swirl it around the opening until it fills. Let it set and it will dry clear. One warning. It is water based so if you wash your models it may disintegrate.
  Maskol ^tm, Mr Masker ^tm and similar are rubber based masking agents that when painted on dry to a surface that can be painted
• These products are very usefull for masking off models for camouflage and canopies. Just paint it directly on the model where you want to protect and remove after painting. There are a couple of tips that may help though. Remove this stuff as soon as practical, because if left for extended periods it can become difficult to remove. It will also stick to delicate items and cheerfully pull them off as well so exercise some care then applying this stuff.

Masking for a good finish

Masking of models is essential for a good finish be it for colour demarcation, crisp camouflage or keeping paint off transparencies. Several types of masking “tools” exist in the modelling world today and each has a use, advantages and disadvantages. Some we have tried and others we have not, ask around to get opinions or better still try them out.

1. Masking tape.
Firstly cheap is not good. A good quality masking tape is essential for several reasons.
Firstly cheap masking tape can leave its adhesive behind on the model it can also strip paint off a model as well. Good tape can also strip of paint as well as any so a handy tip is to cut the tape off the roll and apply to a strip of plastic or similar, you could use a sheet of perspex. Take the tape on and off a couple of time and the “tack “ of the tape will decrease. This makes applying the tape easier for positioning but also decreases the chance of paint being lifted. Masking tape also has a rough edge so for a straight, fine line whilst the tape is on the sheet use a steel ruler to strip off the outside edge and use the cut surface as the masking edge. Using Masking tape thinly is much easier than a wide strip. Accurate masking can be done with strips of less that 1 mm, especially on canopies or compound curves like fuselage/car body sections. Once this thin strip is settled it can be filled with more tape or other masking mediums.
Masking tape cut thinly is surprisingly flexible and can be used for very tight curves. Masking tape is cheap (even the good Bear stuff is cheaper than a botched paint job), versatile and probably by far the most used masking media. There is a low tack masking tape on the market, more expensive but very good.

2. Maskol (or similar)
Maskol is a propriety Humbrol product and is basically a liquid rubber that can be brushed onto a surface and when dry painted over. Other manufacturers make a similar product under other names but for the purposes of this article I will use Maskol. This has a miriad of uses as well from covering canopies to marking out camouflage.
It probably best used in concert with tape or similar, particularly on canopies because one of the inherent problems of Maskol is that it is almost impossible to get a straight line when brushing it on. When used on canopies it is excellent as it gives good coverage with lots of control. Maskol does have its problems though as if left on the model for too long it tends to become hard to remove and also it can pull paint off the surface next to where the Maskol is leaving a rough edge. But for sheer convenience of masking irregular surfaces such as windows in fuselages, lights etc Maskol is pretty hard to beat.

3. Paper.
Common paper, particularly laser printer paper is a good masking medium for covering large areas. By masking with tape thinly cut, then overmasking with tape edged paper you can cover a heap of surface without using heaps of tape. Obviously it can also be easily cut to any size and used in a similar fashion.

Another tip (from last meeting actually) that some have tried for a camouflage job is to blow up the kit instruction sheet paint diagram to the same scale (or as near as practical)as the model. Then cut out the camouflage from the photocopy and use these cutouts on the model to achieve an accurate masking job.

These cutouts are then dampened and applied to the model. This then blotted off so that no excess water remains then sprayed. This method will really only work for Airbrush painting as a paint brush would tend to disturb the sit of the mask. If left unhandled both paint and paper may dry allowing the paper to be removed with little damage to the surface underneath. You can see that this method has several advantages namely cheap, accurate to pattern and has no chance of pulling paint from a surface. However water is the natural enemy to airbrushing and water can destroy a good paint job so it must be well blotted and ensure the placement doesn't change or some damage to the new paint work may eventuate.

This method works great for British WW2 or Luftwaffe and other, similar, colour schemes

4. Tissue Paper.
The humble tissue can be used for blocking up areas in a model such cockpits, intakes, engine compartments and wheel wells to name a few. Simply stuff tissue paper either dry or dampened (damp tissue paper “behaves” better than dry) in the open area and it will protect prepainted surfaces however the filling must be complete or you will get overspray. Still tissue paper is another good, cheap masking medium.

5. Others
There are other masking mediums such as Frisket paper, plastic bags even rubber bands can be used to mask of parts of a model but some such as Frisket paper is expensive, and plastic bags etc can be fiddly. Most modellers tend to use more tape and Maskol than anything, but feel free to experiment but remember that masking can make a model.