Dry Run

[MrGotty]

Hey all I was just wondering if someone could help me a little, was wondering how I would do a Dry Run as when I try it just falls apart lol.

Also I have noticed that most modellers build and glue the model before they paint it apart from maybe the small parts.

How would I do this myself? I am making a spitfire and I want to do it well.

I usually just follow the instructions, but I would like to build and primer it first :S any help would be appreciated.

Also anyone got any tips on handling the fiddly small parts? they are such a pain! haha

Thanks

Scott

 

[munkster]

Hello Scott, I'm fairly new back to this hobby and have learned a lot off this site. Until a "heavy hitter" comes along I'll chip in with my thoughts. With regards to the Spitfire (and many other "basic" - ie. no funny/odd quirks etc - models I'm sure) I think the usual idea is you would sort out (assemble/paint) the cockpit/seat etc and paint/spray the interior expanses of the fuselage that are likely to be visible when assembled. You'd obviously have to do any weathering of the cockpit before you stuck the halves together. Then stick the seat etc inside and glue the two fuselage halves, filling/sanding any seams after sticking. I think most would then glue wings and as many other "large" bits (eg. rear wings) as possible before masking off the cockpit and priming. Small bits can wait since they're likely to get snagged on sleeves or just ham-fistedly knocked off... I'd prob stick and mask the canopy before priming I guess but some seem to get away with sticking the canopy on at the end. In my limited experience I've not always found this to be satisfactory since the canopy doesn't always join perfectly...

Is that what you meant? By "Dry Run" do you mean dry fitting? I think people just refer to briefly holding parts together (to see what join horrors might be in store) as a dry fit but again someone might be along to correct me real soon.

HTH!

 

[Vajled]

Hey Scott,

Well I will try to explain my style of work...

Dry fit... Of course is needed because when you shure you cut additional job at half (at least) If is dry fit good, after somethimes you dont need to putty at all.

Best thing to try dry fit of fuselage is cut small pieces of tamiya tape or whatever you use... aprox. 1 cm lenght and when you joint 2 parts of fuselage, put tape accros the joint.

There you will see how joint along together... for wings it depends what style of wing part you have... but try do with those tapes...

Small parts... and painting...

let me say example of cockpit... I glue almost everything on "dry plastic" I mean without paint... dont glue pilot seat and control panel...

after I finished I paint first in basic color with AB and then I'm pulling out details with ordinary brush... and of course depends what scale model is.

If is 1/72 it's easy to do like that, but if is 1/48 you can also do some parts with AB but masking other parts of "basic color"...

Next thing is how want to your plane to be detailed... with aftermarket of strach build.

My oppinion is that usually 1/72 (expecially spit) doesnt have possibility for opened cockpit (canopy) then I think it's not to mutch important to do some big build inside cockpit because almost nothing cant be seen thru canopy inside. Spare your times, nervs, etc.

Glue all together paint in basic color and then with brush pull out details sutch as silver/aluminuium rudder pedals, black handle... etc... after that take a tootpick and little sarpen it with cutter to end be like a needle... adt put end into various color... white, red, green, yellow... etc... of course not all at once... step by step, color by color... and touch with tootpick buttons on the cockpit... they are usually 90% white or some light grey... and other 10% is red, blue, yellow...

and you will get great cockpit in every scale

Glue it into fuselage what is also painted in cockpit color... and after that joint all together and glue it...

I'm using tamiya extra thin cement... for me is very good...

I dont know if I had explain it well the basic and start of modelling the plane...

Remember most important thing:

Every next model will be better and better

Try it, learn it... ask for help... If I can help I'm here

ROman

 

[Ian M]

Very solid advice Roman!

Do it along those lines and you will be well on your way.

Two very important thing you must remember though: No such thing as a silly question, except the one you do not ask.

Take your time and check every single part before committing it to glue. If in doubt, check again and/or ask.

As for handling small parts for painting, I often super glue them on a stretched sprue. After the part is painted and 100% dry, it is quite easy to snap it of the sprue as CA (super glue) is very brittle. Just make sure that you glue it to a place that is hidden or where you will need to glue it anyway. Some times you will need to gently sand the last tiny bit of CA off, as plastic glue don't work to well on CA!!! ;-/

Ian M

 

[stona]

As the others have said you need to break the build down into sections. I only really build aircraft and they break down into what amounts to three models. The cockpit,the engine(s) and the major assemblies(fuselage wings). The first two can usually be built and then painted as a sub-assembly before fitting into the third. You then need to mask them up before painting the whole model.

Masking is not always as easy as it seems. Tape is good for upper/lower or some camouflage demarcations but things like engine intakes,wheel wells,even cockpits (if you don't fit a masked canopy) can be harder. Soft sponge is good for stuffing in large spaces. For the others I use damp kitchen roll. You can stuff up that intake or wheel well with the wet tissue and leave it there. When you finish painting,usually days later for me, you can easily drag out the dried tissue with a pair of tweezers...simple.

I would leave off "dangly bits" until as late as possible in a build. Things like tail wheels,pitot tubes,aerials,mass balances have a habit of breaking off and being devoured by the carpet monster if attached too soon,when the model still needs a lot of handling.

There are quite a few build blogs on the site which you can have a read through and see how others go about it. Everyone develops their own little systems. There is no one right way to do it,if it works then it's right

Most important is as Roman says to learn from each model,they will get better and better.

Don't forget to have fun too!

Cheers

Steve

 

[MrGotty]

Thanks so much guys, really good advice

Il get practising now!

Scott

 

[Vajled]

Scott,

I have good idea... I can start build of F-4 corsair in 1/72

I will do it step by step and you can follow my work?

I will do photo build blog, maybe somethimes video build?

Roman

 

[phalinmegob]

think we would all enjoy that roman

 

[Vajled]

ok guys... i will start with it from tomorow

Roman

 

[aaron]

yay ill follow forsure .

 

[MrGotty]

That sounds great Roman, can't wait! That should help a lot

Thanks

Scott

 

[tecdes]

I got into a whole host of difficulties when I started Scott in this business of procedure.

In the ends it is up to you as we all, as experience gains, have our own methods. I have found that patience is a number one priority. Hold off glueing everything in sight with out thinking about the consequences.

A lot has to do with the paint used, hand painting or air brush as they all are contenders in the procedure plan. I run through as much as I am able in the brain plus fitting things as you have suggested on a dry run.

Getting for instance where you can not get at a part which should have been painted prior to construction.

Best not to treat the instructions you get with each model as gospel. They are I have found a good guide but not to be followed to the letter. But they give you the great clue as to what is going on.

Also I have found that to help to amend pieces. For instance gun turrets I have amended so that they can be fitted after painting of the main aircraft frame. Trade off, as the turret no longer revolves. In my case I do not want people handling my models so not a problem. Where you do have to fit fragile pieces I have constructed a scaffold around them to protect using sprue & foams pieces.

Each model is different & it is best not to follow religously a previous procedure. Watch out for landing gear it is a number one crash/folding/squashed item.

Laurie

 

[stona]

Good post Laurie^^^.

Trying to see a few steps ahead is very important. You can only dry fit ahead to a limited extent as no matter how well you tape the bits eventually the whole lot will fall apart like a house of cards and anyway large tolerances are possible before proper construction. Some models can be quite unforgiving and an error of a millimetre or two at an early stage can have a knock on effect ending up in a lot of remedial work at a later stage when suddenly other parts won't fit properly.

In less well fitting models you have to figure out the best way to compromise the fit in order to get the best result,have a look at the wing fit on my PCM Hurricane.

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/summer-2011-group-build-photograph/13021-le-d-another-ace.html

The wing issue was resolved from page 3 if you don't want to go through the whole thread! It illustrates another of Laurie's points too. If you build this model as per the instructions you will be in serious trouble at the wing/fuselage join!

These things do come with experience but remember that there are always people here who will offer advice. It's free,friendly and you don't have to take it.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Vaughan]

That's a great idea Roman I think we will all learn from your expertise.

Vaughan

 

[Deisenaut]

this is a very cool thread and very cool of you (Roman) to take the time to go through the steps - will follow it with interest

 

[andygh]

I'll be following this too as my aircraft building technique has hardly improved since I was slapping Airfix kits together in my youth :goodidea:

 

[Gern]

I'll be watching as well 'cos its always nice to watch the experts at work - thanks for giving us the opportunity Roman.

Only problem with watching of course is that while you're doing it, you're not actually building and practising the techniques for yourself! I think the reason I'm so slow is I do too much watching. Then I see how well others do and get frustrated when my kits don't come out as well as I'd like!

Some day though - soon I hope - all the bits I've learned from sites like this and all my practice will come together and I'll be making models to be proud of. Meantime I'm having a whale of a time and enjoying myself, so that's a good enough reward for now.

Gern

 

[tecdes]

I like that Dave. I could not mirror better my attitude.

It is a fascinating pastime (sorry full time). When I started I thought glue & paint that is it.

How wrong those play a useful part but when I consider the amount of time I spend finding & practising a technique, finding how others do it, research both the colour & what colour a part would have been glue & paint take a back seat.

On this subject I was amazed when building my Mosquito to find that on some aspects, think it was Mossie (sorry probably got spelling wrong) who showed the construction of the same model, how we differed in approach. His undercart construction procedure was far superior to mine ( he did not follow as I did slavishly the printed instructions). Couple of other smaller items thought mine was better, just. Lateral thinking & I missed out on this main one but a good lesson.

Spent time as an exhibitor yesterday (6 hours of boredom) at a wedding fayre. Mentioned to another exhibitor who I knew well & he smirked when I mentioned that I constructed aircraft models. As you have said Dave it is the reward you get & this chap had no idea of the returns in so many ways.

Laurie

 

[stona]

Mentioned to another exhibitor who I knew well & he smirked when I mentioned that I constructed aircraft models. Laurie

You soon get used to that reaction.

Sometimes it works the other way.

I had a chap around,who I didn't know,to measure up and do some drawings for a loft conversion. He saw a couple of my models and that was it! It turns out that he is a competition winning automobile modeller,well known for his trucks. We had great fun discussing modelling and later when it turned out that what we wanted doing wasn't possible due to the latest building regulations and that therefore the plans weren't going to be needed,he refused to charge me for the visit. Top bloke and a great modeller.

Cheers

Steve