Here is a Little Video I have put together of some great Models I've seen, and a few are ones that I have created.
These Airfix Models are inspiring me to quickly finish of my latest Ship, and get into some other's as you'll see. I love this and hope you enjoy in as much as I have putting it together.
Thanks. and enjoy :)
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
5 Reasons You Need Plastic Model Cars, Like the Airfix Models.
5 Reasons You Need Plastic Model Cars
ByPlastic model cars have been popular for a very long time. In recent years, they have been making a strong comeback, and kids of all ages are rediscovering how much fun it is to make and have plastic model cars. Why let someone else have the fun of putting your toys together? Here are five good reasons.
1) A chance to build something
Building something requires patience and skill. As you put together more models you will get better and better. The models are all sorted by difficulty levels. As a beginner model maker it is best to start with a simple model. A working engine or a car with 1000 parts is quite difficult and you should work up to it. There are simple models that you can snap together and put on the decals. No glue required. Once you get used to the process you can move on models that need glue to be put together. You can also add more parts, decals and paint. As an adventurer putting together something new you do not know where the path will take you.
2) A chance to be creative
Just because the picture on the box shows the paint job to be a certain way who says that your car has to look like that? Have you ever wanted to get a Porsche with flames on it? Or shark teeth? Now you can make your very own flaming shark Porsche. Every racing team has their own color scheme and decorations. You can start your own race team with a fleet of race cars, all with your custom paint scheme and decals.
3) A chance to have pride in your craftsmanship
As you build more models your skill level gets better and you can build more complex models. Completing a difficult model is a source of pride and makes you feel great. The time it takes it part of the joy.
4) A chance to race them
Depending on the types of models you have built you might be able to race them against your friends. In order to race them you are going to need gravity or a working motor that comes as part of the set. By racing them you can learn about power and what it takes to make a car go faster. Does it more or less weight? Does the rear spoiler speed you up or slow you down? Now is your chance to find out.
5) A chance to display them
You will be very proud of what you have created a no doubt want to show them off to the world. By putting your best work on display you invite others to see what you have created. No doubt they will be very impressed by what you have created and ask how you got to be so good at building models.
By building plastic model cars you have a chance to have a lot of fun and learn something at the same time. It seems that there are as many models to choose from as there are people building models. You are sure to find your new favorite car available as a model.
Richard has been building plastic model cars since he was young and still enjoys it today. By bringing creativity and passion to the hobbies you can build something special. The best place to find new models to build is Plastic Model Cars where you will find a wide selection of models at great prices.
Airfix Models are also a great choice and have a great selection as you may know.
1) A chance to build something
Building something requires patience and skill. As you put together more models you will get better and better. The models are all sorted by difficulty levels. As a beginner model maker it is best to start with a simple model. A working engine or a car with 1000 parts is quite difficult and you should work up to it. There are simple models that you can snap together and put on the decals. No glue required. Once you get used to the process you can move on models that need glue to be put together. You can also add more parts, decals and paint. As an adventurer putting together something new you do not know where the path will take you.
2) A chance to be creative
Just because the picture on the box shows the paint job to be a certain way who says that your car has to look like that? Have you ever wanted to get a Porsche with flames on it? Or shark teeth? Now you can make your very own flaming shark Porsche. Every racing team has their own color scheme and decorations. You can start your own race team with a fleet of race cars, all with your custom paint scheme and decals.
3) A chance to have pride in your craftsmanship
As you build more models your skill level gets better and you can build more complex models. Completing a difficult model is a source of pride and makes you feel great. The time it takes it part of the joy.
4) A chance to race them
Depending on the types of models you have built you might be able to race them against your friends. In order to race them you are going to need gravity or a working motor that comes as part of the set. By racing them you can learn about power and what it takes to make a car go faster. Does it more or less weight? Does the rear spoiler speed you up or slow you down? Now is your chance to find out.
5) A chance to display them
You will be very proud of what you have created a no doubt want to show them off to the world. By putting your best work on display you invite others to see what you have created. No doubt they will be very impressed by what you have created and ask how you got to be so good at building models.
By building plastic model cars you have a chance to have a lot of fun and learn something at the same time. It seems that there are as many models to choose from as there are people building models. You are sure to find your new favorite car available as a model.
Richard has been building plastic model cars since he was young and still enjoys it today. By bringing creativity and passion to the hobbies you can build something special. The best place to find new models to build is Plastic Model Cars where you will find a wide selection of models at great prices.
Airfix Models are also a great choice and have a great selection as you may know.
To Build a Woodern or Plastic Model Boat like Airfix Model
Wooden Or Plastic Model Of A Boat
ByMany years ago Sterling had a wooden kit of the USS Missouri in a fairly large scale. Unfortunately Estes bought the assets of Sterling and the Missouri is not currently available. I hate to think what one might run on EBay. About the only option today would be a plastic model and about the biggest is 1/350th. Tamiya has a good kit, but if you want wood you will pretty much be out of luck.
While I have seen some hand painted models it is a skill I have never been able to develop. Most really bang up jobs are done with airbrush. For that I would recommend a Paasche model "H". It is good, durable airbrush that is packaged with three different tips. It is cheaper than an Iwata, though some Hobby Lobby stores carry both and you can usually score one during Hobby Lobby's 40% of sales.
Acrylic paints are something that I have not gotten into and do not know much about. The advantage is that you do not have to use special thinners. Some modelers use Windex to thin. My experience is mainly with enamels. I have a friend that uses finger nail polish thinned with lacquer thinner on his cars, as he likes the range of colors and fine grain of the metallic/metal flake ones.
You do not have to have a compressor, some people prefer to use a CO2 bottle, but that seems somewhat expensive. Some of the discount tool companies (like Harbor Freight) stock inexpensive compressors. Probably the most import thing to a good finish is good surface preparation. In other words a good clean. Smooth surface.
As I have gotten older I have developed a tendency to prime the surface and after that dries well to sand it with very fine grit paper. Try 3200, 2500, in that range.
Afterwards I wash it and allow it to dry thoroughly. Thinning the paint is an art, not a science. That is something you just have to experiment with.
The best (smoothest) finish should be obtained by applying a good color coat first. After that has dried well you can polish out any irregularities with fine grit sand paper (2000, 3200, something of that order.). If additional coats are needed you can apply them lightly afterwards. I would wait for clear coat until the finish is blemish free. If you are using gloss paint for the color coats make sure that the coats are thoroughly dry between coats. Sometimes that might take a day or two. A trick that a friend uses for his funny car models is to use finger nail polish as it dries very smooth.
I have managed to get fairly smooth finishes by polishing the surface prior to my first coat and building up the paint in light layers. I also sometimes use flat paints and a final gloss coat that usually results in a smooth finish. There really is not a science to good paint finish; it is more of an art that each person develops on their own.
I am not sure what scale architectural models are build to, but 1:200 does not equate to inches very well. 1/48th works out to 1/4-inch equals 1 foot, and 1/72 equal 1/6 to one foot. The scale should be divisible by 12 (i.e. 1/144th scale would be 144 divided by 12 which gives 1/12 of an inch equals one foot). You could always go with 1/192 (1/16 of an inch equals one foot), which is a popular scale for ship models. Another choice would be use metric where 1/200th would work fine.
As far as materials you have a good choice. There is always the old standby: balsa wood. Balsa is light and easy to cut. A better choice might be plastics, in which case I would recommend using plastic from Evergreen Scale Models. That company produces a wide variety of shapes (sheet plastic, I beams, corrugated, etc.). Plastic also produces plastic in many construction type shapes.
Three possibilities come to mind. One is the old standby balsa wood. Balsa is fairly cheap and easy to work with. Several glues can be used with balsa: Elmer's, wood glue, super glue and even an adhesive that is used it wooden model construction. Balsa can be cut with an Exacta knife, or razor blade using a straight edge for straight lines. Sheet plastic is the second material.
Super glues, or solvent type glues work fairly well and plastic is very easy to cut in straight lines, you need only score it with the blade and then snap it along the line. The third possibility is solid foam like that used in insulation. The first two are available at any hobby shop and the foam is available at a hardware store. There are always the old standbys paper and cardboard, but they do not offer any more ease in construction and will not have the strength of the other three I mentioned.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant at http://www.SellModelBoats.com/. Sell Model Boats is a community of various independent model boat sellers from around the world. Each model boat seller represents a unique style of products all their own. If you have a model boat to sell, click here to create a Boat Account.
While I have seen some hand painted models it is a skill I have never been able to develop. Most really bang up jobs are done with airbrush. For that I would recommend a Paasche model "H". It is good, durable airbrush that is packaged with three different tips. It is cheaper than an Iwata, though some Hobby Lobby stores carry both and you can usually score one during Hobby Lobby's 40% of sales.
Acrylic paints are something that I have not gotten into and do not know much about. The advantage is that you do not have to use special thinners. Some modelers use Windex to thin. My experience is mainly with enamels. I have a friend that uses finger nail polish thinned with lacquer thinner on his cars, as he likes the range of colors and fine grain of the metallic/metal flake ones.
You do not have to have a compressor, some people prefer to use a CO2 bottle, but that seems somewhat expensive. Some of the discount tool companies (like Harbor Freight) stock inexpensive compressors. Probably the most import thing to a good finish is good surface preparation. In other words a good clean. Smooth surface.
As I have gotten older I have developed a tendency to prime the surface and after that dries well to sand it with very fine grit paper. Try 3200, 2500, in that range.
Afterwards I wash it and allow it to dry thoroughly. Thinning the paint is an art, not a science. That is something you just have to experiment with.
The best (smoothest) finish should be obtained by applying a good color coat first. After that has dried well you can polish out any irregularities with fine grit sand paper (2000, 3200, something of that order.). If additional coats are needed you can apply them lightly afterwards. I would wait for clear coat until the finish is blemish free. If you are using gloss paint for the color coats make sure that the coats are thoroughly dry between coats. Sometimes that might take a day or two. A trick that a friend uses for his funny car models is to use finger nail polish as it dries very smooth.
I have managed to get fairly smooth finishes by polishing the surface prior to my first coat and building up the paint in light layers. I also sometimes use flat paints and a final gloss coat that usually results in a smooth finish. There really is not a science to good paint finish; it is more of an art that each person develops on their own.
I am not sure what scale architectural models are build to, but 1:200 does not equate to inches very well. 1/48th works out to 1/4-inch equals 1 foot, and 1/72 equal 1/6 to one foot. The scale should be divisible by 12 (i.e. 1/144th scale would be 144 divided by 12 which gives 1/12 of an inch equals one foot). You could always go with 1/192 (1/16 of an inch equals one foot), which is a popular scale for ship models. Another choice would be use metric where 1/200th would work fine.
As far as materials you have a good choice. There is always the old standby: balsa wood. Balsa is light and easy to cut. A better choice might be plastics, in which case I would recommend using plastic from Evergreen Scale Models. That company produces a wide variety of shapes (sheet plastic, I beams, corrugated, etc.). Plastic also produces plastic in many construction type shapes.
Three possibilities come to mind. One is the old standby balsa wood. Balsa is fairly cheap and easy to work with. Several glues can be used with balsa: Elmer's, wood glue, super glue and even an adhesive that is used it wooden model construction. Balsa can be cut with an Exacta knife, or razor blade using a straight edge for straight lines. Sheet plastic is the second material.
Super glues, or solvent type glues work fairly well and plastic is very easy to cut in straight lines, you need only score it with the blade and then snap it along the line. The third possibility is solid foam like that used in insulation. The first two are available at any hobby shop and the foam is available at a hardware store. There are always the old standbys paper and cardboard, but they do not offer any more ease in construction and will not have the strength of the other three I mentioned.
Victor Epand is an expert consultant at http://www.SellModelBoats.com/. Sell Model Boats is a community of various independent model boat sellers from around the world. Each model boat seller represents a unique style of products all their own. If you have a model boat to sell, click here to create a Boat Account.
Airfax Models are so fun, and addictive once you start.
Fun Hobbies For Children
Keeping children occupied can sometimes seem like a difficult task. One great way to keep children entertained is to find them a hobby, providing a means of enjoyment and also an educational experience.
Many hobbies only achieve one of these two aims, being either entertaining or educational. Finding an activity that does both may seem difficult to achieve, but it needn't be.
Building modelling kits is one hobby that is perfect. Kits, produced by manufacturers such as Airfix, are relatively cheap to purchase and can provide hours of fun.
The basic concept behind Airfix models is that they are boxed kits, containing all of the parts required to make a scale model.
There's a large range of model kits available, from trains and planes to historical characters, soldiers and battles.
Putting the models together is relatively simple, but it's challenging enough to leave children with a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed. There is nothing more exciting than building something from scratch.
Building model kits often leads to children wanting to enquire about the machines or scenes that they are constructing. They can, in effect, provide a great introduction to a wider selection of information.
Constructing a military aircraft can, for example, lead to an interest in the historic development of aeroplanes and the historical context in which they were built and used.
Airfix model kits can provide a great hobby. By getting your children involved in the excitement of building kits, you can also stir their interests in a range of historical subjects and issues.
If you're interested in purchasing Airfix models online then you can find out more information, including more articles by Keith Barrett. This article may be published on any website but this resource box must be included in full. The author retains all copyright.
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