# Model Kit Painters



## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

Hallo All,

I collect model kits to paint currently I paint Gundam, Warhammer 40K, WWII army units, tank and plane. I recently made my own mould for my first Knight and my Brother will cast it using melted scrap metal for me soon.

I just want to ask if you build or paint models?

My knight is based from this






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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

As I mentioned in another post one of my hobbies is model railways; working at a scale of 1:148 or approximately 2mm: 1foot.

Some buildings I make from kits but usually modify them, however mostly I prefer to make things that are a bit different to the kits.
I do the designing on some computer software which will then drive a plotter cutter (developed ffrom plotters that are used to draw plans but having a blade in place of the pen) That will cut the design from card printed with bricks, stone or tile or empossed plastic card, the result is effectively a custom kit. Things like doors and windows I usually use etched brass components which are available from a number of model accessory companies. 
This is a work in progress, the gardens, "grass" and other plants are from Chinese suppliers on Ebay, some "enhanced" in various ways; the darker grey buildings toward top right are from kits but some are modified by adding bay windows, dormers and shop fronts; the whole thing is 4'x2'6" (1200x750mm) (click for larger image)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

In my teenage years, I had dozens of Airfix 1:72 airplane models of warplanes form WW1 and WW2. Never bothered to paint them though. I blame the Biggles novels I was reading at the time.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

I had a few AirFix planes and miniature plastic armies too, but rarely painted them. 

I did a lot of drawing such tiny figures though, sometimes folding each figure and thus supplying it with a paper foot, so that it could stand on a surface, as a part of a big tableau ... but the figures were fantasies, not based on real examples.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Dorsetmike said:


> As I mentioned in another post one of my hobbies is model railways; working at a scale of 1:148 or approximately 2mm: 1foot.


That looks really nice.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I used to do that when I was in my late teens. I would build World War I airplanes from scratch (I guess because that's the most complicated thing to do, with all those cables, and I never do anything easily) and obsess over color patterns and weathering effects. Then I'd take stock figures and muck them up. Once I took a Hussar and converted it into a World War I soldier, even using a scaled-down pattern to make his overcoat.

Here's a Whippet tank I made from scratch. I don't know why the picture is upside down.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I used to love putting together and painting Airfix WWII aeroplane kits back in the 1970s - either 1:32 scale if they were fighters or 1:72 scale for the larger bombers. I wouldn't mind having a go at another one or two for old times sake but sadly most seem to have been discontinued. My favourite was the B-29 Superfortress, not least because as it was nearly all silver it was relatively easy to paint. I was banned from putting them together in the lounge or kitchen so my bedroom often used to stink of Humbrol enamel paints and varnish. There was another brand of kit called Frog but I didn't enjoy those as much.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> I was banned from putting them together in the lounge or kitchen so my bedroom often used to stink of Humbrol enamel paints and varnish.


Humbrol used to have great paint. Over here across the pond, we had to really seek out the good stuff.

The British had the best modelers back in my day. I used to read their modeling magazines and try to decipher their articles. Like, what's a pyrogravure? Oh, a hot knife.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Manxfeeder said:


> Humbrol used to have great paint. Over here across the pond, we had to really seek out the good stuff.
> 
> The British had the best modelers back in my day. I used to read their modeling magazines and try to decipher their articles. Like, what's a pyrogravure? Oh, a hot knife.


Pyrogravure - what a great word (even though I'd never heard of it until now)! Sometimes I used a hot knife on the tail and wings of a model to give the impression it had been shot at. And I used a hot needle to simulate bullet-holes in the fuselage.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> Sometimes I used a hot knife on the tail and wings of a model to give the impression it had been shot at. And I used a hot needle to simulate bullet-holes in the fuselage.


It's funny how we would take a perfectly good model and ruin it with bullet holes, dust, smoke trails, rust, and still call it beautiful.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Manxfeeder said:


> That looks really nice.


Understatement of the decade.....blimey, Mike, that's a real skill you're displaying there!!!

I don't have that much free time these days, but I have enjoyed putting together card model buildings for quite a while. Kits obviously, I don't have the talent to do my own. Have "helped" daughters with Roman Villas, Viking villages, castles, Parthenons and the like for school projects, and have done most of the work myself, much to their annoyance!

More recently real buildings, a castle on the Rhine, a set of Brutalist Eastern European eyesores, a Schonbrunn Palace.

They are never perfect, because I am left-handed, which fundamentally means I am "not very good with my hands", as I have been told regularly over the past fifty years or so....


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

Wow all thank you for the reply so amazed to see!



Dorsetmike said:


> Dorsetmike
> View attachment 112287


This is so cool Father also has train in our attic here also at home he liked yours greatly.



elgars ghost said:


> Elgars Ghost


I do love B52 as well (even if it was American plane). I made an anime story based off a "flying fort/castle" not very original but I was much younger. Much disappointment when I found Ghibli.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Manxfeeder said:


> I used to do that when I was in my late teens. I would build World War I airplanes from scratch (I guess because that's the most complicated thing to do, with all those cables, and I never do anything easily) and obsess over color patterns and weathering effects. Then I'd take stock figures and muck them up. Once I took a Hussar and converted it into a World War I soldier, even using a scaled-down pattern to make his overcoat.
> 
> Here's a Whippet tank I made from scratch. I don't know why the picture is upside down.
> 
> View attachment 112291


It is a well-guarded secret that the British had gravity-defying equipment during WWI. Well, it was until someone here let the cat out of the bag.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

.................................... deleted, sorry


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I started model building about five or six years ago. There are only two scale model shops in the entire metro area here. I work next door to one of them. That's how I started. I've already posted these on the hobbies thread.

My first scale model. The Bounty, scale 1:110









My third scale model. Nieuport 17, Scale 1:48









My fourth scale model, completed September 2017. A DC 3, scale 1:72

















My fifth model I'm still working on it. A 1910 omnibus scale 1:35. It will take another month to finish 









I really enjoy doing this. I put some music on and spend an hour or two each evening. (2018 I didn't do any scale modelling). The photos were taken on my mantlepiece with a large white paper as a background.

I prefer making civilian models, not war models. My next model will be a 1950s Chevy. But it's difficult to find models that aren't war themed.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Very impressive models, Senza Sordino ...


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

3D jigsaw bust of J.S. Bach arriving today perhaps should I paint it white?


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Maybe-maybe if the material is obviously different-looking than gypsym or marble, one could make a more colourful, collage-like version as regards the colours. Here's one example - just an idea. Anyway, you decide .


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Here you go! Eastern European Brutalist Architecture at its "finest"!!


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

CnC Bartok said:


> View attachment 112445
> 
> 
> Here you go! Eastern European Brutalist Architecture at its "finest"!!


Very Kieślowski-esque. OwO


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

A Short Film About Glueing????

The second eyesore from the left is in Wroclaw, btw!


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

When I first read the title of this thread I thought, "Wow, cool name for a band."

Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together and give a great big welcome to, _The Model Kit Painters_.:guitar::guitar:

Oh, the memories of my youth! I put together an F4U and suspended it with mono fishing line over my bed......while I was reading _Baa, Baa, Black Sheep_ at way too young of an age.


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

I hope no one will mind me shoehorning in a bit of Cold War history and interservice rivalry. In 1961 the New York Times launched a scandal when it reported that the Revell model kit of the Polaris class nuclear-powered submarine, George Washington, was so accurate that the Russians could learn classified details about the U.S. nuclear submarine by just buying the kit. (I believe among the sensitive details was the number and placement of the missle tubes). The explanation was that the Navy wanted to advertise its technical prowess by making sure the kits were accurate. In doing so it unwittingly gave away military secrets. It certainly was a publicity gift to Revell.



I was never into kit building, lacking both patience and manual dexterity. My kid brother, however, was a whiz. He never bothered with directions. He once put together a battleship model. What puzzled me when he finished was that there were several pieces left over; however although I intently studied both the directions and the completed model I couldn't find places to fit any of them. Everything about the ship just looked "right". My amusement today is tempered by his death two years ago.


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

Room2201974 said:


> When I first read the title of this thread I thought, "Wow, cool name for a band."
> 
> Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together and give a great big welcome to, _The Model Kit Painters_.:guitar::guitar:
> 
> Oh, the memories of my youth! I put together an F4U and suspended it with mono fishing line over my bed......while I was reading _Baa, Baa, Black Sheep_ at way too young of an age.


Sorry that name is trademark of

Zofia Anna Maria Clara Petra Theresa Mayer von Strauss


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

geralmar said:


> I hope no one will mind me shoehorning in a bit of Cold War history and interservice rivalry. In 1961 the New York Times launched a scandal when it reported that the Revell model kit of the Polaris class nuclear-powered submarine, George Washington, was so accurate that the Russians could learn classified details about the U.S. nuclear submarine by just buying the kit. (I believe among the sensitive details was the number and placement of the missle tubes). The explanation was that the Navy wanted to advertise its technical prowess by making sure the kits were accurate. In doing so it unwittingly gave away military secrets. It certainly was a publicity gift to Revell.
> 
> 
> 
> I was never into kit building, lacking both patience and manual dexterity. My kid brother, however, was a whiz. He never bothered with directions. He once put together a battleship model. What puzzled me when he finished was that there were several pieces left over; however although I intently studied both the directions and the completed model I couldn't find places to fit any of them. Everything about the ship just looked "right". My amusement today is tempered by his death two years ago.


I always loved submarines I have written and illustrated an anime seires about a young girl who is U-Boat captain in fictional war setting...


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Zofia said:


> Sorry that name is trademark of
> 
> Zofia Anna Maria Clara Petra *Theresa May*er von Strauss


So that's where our Prime Minister has been hiding.....:angel:


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

CnC Bartok said:


> So that's where our Prime Minister has been hiding.....:angel:


oh sh..

sudo apt-get install - DANCE.exe


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

CnC Bartok said:


> A Short Film About Glueing????
> 
> The second eyesore from the left is in Wroclaw, btw!


I recognised it looks very similar to the buildings used for his mini series. Sadly I would most likely watch aforementioned film.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Disappointingly, "Thou shalt not glue" is absent from the Commandments, so would not have fitted into Kieslowski's series.....

Perhaps our lovely PM should stick to dancing. She seems better at it than what she's doing now, dragging our country back into the dark ages....

One of the contributing factors in the success and value of his series/films, including Dekalog and Three Colours too, has to be the beautiful and haunting music of Zbigniew Preisner. Really impressive stuff. Explored some of his music when I found out it was him who composed that wistfully tragic waltz theme music to People's Century....


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

CnC Bartok said:


> Disappointingly, "Thou shalt not glue" is absent from the Commandments, so would not have fitted into Kieslowski's series.....
> 
> Perhaps our lovely PM should stick to dancing. She seems better at it than what she's doing now, dragging our country back into the dark ages....
> 
> One of the contributing factors in the success and value of his series/films, including Dekalog and Three Colours too, has to be the beautiful and haunting music of Zbigniew Preisner. Really impressive stuff. Explored some of his music when I found out it was him who composed that wistfully tragic waltz theme music to People's Century....


I agree he is in my top five directors I really love all time. Technically we could see model kits as icons no if we bent the rules a bit "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image nor miniature".

I do not wish to derail my own thread but I see this a lot people think UK leaving is going to mean you lose all Human Rights did you not have them before you joined the common market?

As a German I think EU needs UK Germany and UK are more alike than UK and France or Germany and France. That said what I have read about lack of food and medicine no workers rights and or women's rights seem total no sense. To be clear I dislike May, Merkel, Macron and Juncker but I sympathise for the UK also.

Although I really wish you would not leave I think more should be done to give more power back to the member states. My Polish family are less Pro EU than the German side.


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## Zofia (Jan 24, 2019)

Found a Witch King statue online it is well made by looks bad by the paint job. Might buy it and strip the paint and do it myself..


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I've made some more progress. I put the wheels on today. I still have up to a month to go. More parts to glue, the second deck isn't glued on, the stairs are not glued on. More painting and all the decals. And I have a cobblestone base to work on that the omnibus will sit on.



















Plus, you get to see my messy workbench.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

My cardboard Eastern European Brutalist models are now all done! Now to find some 3mm high people to inhabit them, so I can dash their dreams and fill their lives with utter drabness...


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

senza sordino said:


> I've made some more progress. I put the wheels on today. I still have up to a month to go. More parts to glue, the second deck isn't glued on, the stairs are not glued on. More painting and all the decals. And I have a cobblestone base to work on that the omnibus will sit on. .


I had a model like that back in the day. I turned it into a WWI troop transport bus, so it was all olive drab with wooden slats for the sides. You model is more attractive in its proper colors.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Manxfeeder said:


> I had a model like that back in the day. I turned it into a WWI troop transport bus, so it was all olive drab with wooden slats for the sides. You model is more attractive in its proper colors.


I know the model you're talking about. I'd rather construct non military themed models. But the overwhelming choice available is military themed. I've got a couple of cars to make next. I did find an old pre WWI fire truck online, but no longer available.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

senza sordino said:


> I know the model you're talking about. I'd rather construct non military themed models. But the overwhelming choice available is military themed. I've got a couple of cars to make next. I did find an old pre WWI fire truck online, but no longer available.


I think at my present stage of life, if I got back into modeling, I would probably not be attracted by military themes, either.


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