Model Building Basics

I think it might be time for a refresher course on some of the basic nut's and bolt's in model making.


Too often we get wrapped up in a build and forget the basics. The basics are the things that don't cost anything other than time and make the biggest difference in the finished product.


This will be general across any type of kit you are building.


I will try to keep things in more or less sequential order.


Crack open the box and give it a look over, pull out all of the plastic trees and make sure all the parts are there. ( this is when you find if the manufacturer short shot any of the sprues or if there is any problem with any of the chrome.)


Wash the kit parts: Fill a shallow pan with some warm water and a little bit of dish soap . I say a pan because this is something we don't want to do in a sink as if parts fall off while washing they will be hard to retrieve. Submerge the parts in there and let them soak for a short while. Using a soft sponge give the parts a once over being careful not to knock any parts off the tree's. Rinse the parts with clean water and set aside to dry. ( some people omit this step saying it is not necessary, all it takes is one time having a paint job ruined with fish eyes from oil or mold release. why take the chance of having it happen to you?)


Cut, don't twist: When removing the parts from the sprue, don't just twist or bend them off. When you do that, it damages the mating edges making more work for yourself as you then have to fill and sand those areas to obtain an acceptable appearance. Better to use either a hobby knife to cut them off the sprue or a set of flush cut sprue cutters. Both will leave far less damage than twisting them off, making your work easier.


Trim flash: Many kits nowadays are repops from older kits. this leads to older molds that don't mate together the way they did when they were new. This results in more than normal flash, trim or file it away to the best of your ability.


Stock the proper Adhesives: Contrary to what some people want to think, super glue is not suitable for building an entire model kit any more than elmers school glue is. Styrene kits are meant to be glued together with styrene cement, thick or thin is your own discretion. i keep both on my bench at all times.


The uses of the other adhesives are listed in my other article https://www.kitbashkorner.com/post/glues-and-adhesives-in-modeling


Properly line up parts to be glued into sub assemblies: i will use car modeling as an example here. Engine block halves, seat fronts and backs, differentials. anything that has 2 halves, can be built up before painting. If you use proper liquid cement, you apply your glue to the seam line and apply light pressure. As you apply the pressure, the cement actually melts the plastic and welds it together. A small amount of plastic will ooze up in the joint. this makes it so you will need little or no filler to make the seam line disappear. Just a quick couple passes with a file or sanding stick and its ready to prime and paint.


Inspect single sided parts for seam lines: especially on parts that will be visible in the final product like radiators. clean these up with either files or sandpaper before moving to prime and paint.


Prime everything: this one is going to cause a bit of a problem for some. Some don't think you have to prime anything...ever....


In a nutshell two benefits alone make it worth it to prime everything every time. Primer makes all the small imperfections easy to see, and offers a uniform surface for your paint to adhere to. Have you ever went through all the trouble to build a kit, lay down an awesome paint job and then notice that there are still seam lines near the rear B pillars to the fenders that you couldn't see when it was bare plastic? Primer eliminates that risk.


Sand mold lines: The area just below the B pillars is notorious for mold lines as well as the top of the rear fenders, also check the front fenders where they join the A pillars.


Once sanded, re-prime so you have the uniform surface for paint again.


Once sub assemblies are painted and you start assembly:


Don't use too much glue: using glue directly from the tube is asking for a problem. None of the tubes or bottles on the market are foolproof enough to trust to put the right amount of glue right where you want it. With the exception of the extra thin varieties applied with a brush. Excess glue can ruin the appearance of a build and in extreme cases, damage it beyond repair. Something i use daily is a post-it note pad. I put a drop of glue on the top sheet, use a tooth pick to pick up just enough glue and put it right where i want it.

Nice thing about the post-it's is that you simply peel off the sheet when you are done and you are ready for the next round.


Interiors: Biggest tip i can give for interiors is subtle contrast. I don't care what colors you use. Look at real vehicles with one color interiors, they all have one thing in common. While things may be the same color, they look different because of the gloss. use varying levels of gloss in your interiors to add visual interest. Think about how the real thing looks. Do real cars have shiny carpets? You can even vary the gloss levels on the same pieces like on door panels. many in 1:1 have both vinyl and fabric on the same panel. so that would be semi gloss and flat to differentiate between the two and add interest.


Tires: Kit tires look plastic. There are a couple ways to treat them to make them look like 1:1 tires. First , get rid of any mold lines on the tire surface using either a piece of sandpaper or a sanding stick. The easiest way to make tires look better is to spray them with a layer of dull coat or flat clear. The second way is to sand the sidewalls to knock the shine off them. I have seen people have good luck with certain compounds but one i have used myself is by making a paste with borax washing powder and applying it with a toothbrush in small circular motions. This will give a uniform dullness to the sidewalls without removing any of the details like lettering. As a last resort, you can use actual sandpaper but i kind of caution against that. it is too easy to sand off details and leave the surface with a non uniform appearance. Lastly, there is always someone out there that says ' I sandblast mine' , sadly i don't think most modelers have access to a sandblaster.


I am purposefully bypassing anything having to do with actual painting in this article. Too many variables to cover and it deserves its own spotlight when the time comes to write it.


Kit glass: something i think is fairly importance when looking at a finished build is how clear the windows look. There are steps you can take to assure your glass stays clear and clean.

When dealing with the kit glass, use gloves. You don't want to go through all the hassle of building a kit and getting the body in place to find out you have a finger print on the inside of the rear window. Gloves will prevent that. When i install windows i use 5 minute epoxy. Its cheap, dries clear, and gives me time to line things up without damaging the clear plastic. I start by mixing a small amount of the epoxy on a piece of my post it pad, i then set the glass where it belongs on the kit. Using a toothpick, i apply a small amount to each of the 4 corners of the glass being careful to make sure there is contact between the clear plastic and the styrene body. i then let this sit for 10-15 minutes. Once it dries, you can either leave it as is or apply more epoxy along the edges. Windows do not flex or move so i normally just stay with the four corner approach.


That is the list of what i would call the fundamentals of basic building.


You can have the best paints, all the high end aftermarket goodies, hours upon hours of build time, and still have a mediocre model for display at the end of it because you didn't pay attention to the basics.


They cost nothing but time, well worth that investment.


cya soon