Apache AH-64D

[Jarhead0331]

You're really inspiring me to get back into model building. I went to a local hobby shop today to check it out. The selection was overwhelming and I didn't really know what to get. I was hoping one of the employees would have really helped me out, but I didn't have much luck. I asked if there were any tools he could recommend for a beginner and he sort of just gave me a blank stare. Was also pretty useless when discussing paint, primer and glue. I dared not even try to ask the differences between the model brands. I was aware of the Revells, Tamiya, etc. but I had never heard of Hobby Boss, Italeri and all different kinds of Japanese and Russian brands...pretty crazy.

In any event, I walked out with a Hobby Boss LHD-7 Iwo Jima, a couple of tweezers and some plastic cement. The Hobby Boss seemed like a good place to start based on price. They had some really big ships (like 1:350 and 1:500) but they were pretty expensive. I held off on paint/primer and airbrush because the employees were so dimwitted. I think one thing that has been holding me back a little is the stress of wanting to do everything right. Build and paint properly and in the right order, but maybe I should just lighten up, build the damn thing in one shot and then worry about paint, etc.?

[Redwolf]

Ok - managed to get some bend

Used the old "finger rub" technique...generate warmth to slowly loosen the plastic by rubbing the blade between thumb and forefinger and dragging it along the length of the rotor whilst bending it to conform. Worked a treat

Excellent work.

[JudgeDredd]

You're really inspiring me to get back into model building. I went to a local hobby shop today to check it out. The selection was overwhelming and I didn't really know what to get. I was hoping one of the employees would have really helped me out, but I didn't have much luck. I asked if there were any tools he could recommend for a beginner and he sort of just gave me a blank stare. Was also pretty useless when discussing paint, primer and glue. I dared not even try to ask the differences between the model brands. I was aware of the Revells, Tamiya, etc. but I had never heard of Hobby Boss, Italeri and all different kinds of Japanese and Russian brands...pretty crazy.

In any event, I walked out with a Hobby Boss LHD-7 Iwo Jima, a couple of tweezers and some plastic cement. The Hobby Boss seemed like a good place to start based on price. They had some really big ships (like 1:350 and 1:500) but they were pretty expensive. I held off on paint/primer and airbrush because the employees were so dimwitted. I think one thing that has been holding me back a little is the stress of wanting to do everything right. Build and paint properly and in the right order, but maybe I should just lighten up, build the damn thing in one shot and then worry about paint, etc.?

What a bugger that they couldn't be more helpful.

Way to go jumping in there with a ship. Probably one of the more difficult model types to start you off (imo).

I still stress about painting. Just can't get away from it. Have I mixed the paint right. What should I paint first and last, by airbrush, by hand blah blah blah.

I can give you my tuppence worth - though I've been modelling for nearly 10 years now and I'm still most definitely a beginner.

Model Manufacture Choice
So many manufacturers and so many variations in quality and honestly - no real way of knowing what you're going to get. They are evolving more and more year on year.

Tamiya is an excellent choice. I had a Tamiya 1/35 Panther kit - cost me £20 and it went together with absolutely no issues at all. If you want a nice, easy model (by easy I mean no faffing around getting parts to fit or having to use filler and sanding) then you really can't go wrong with Tamiya.

I think Hasegawa are another realiable model manufacturer (mostly) - but I believe they are more difficult (detail and parts etc).

Revell are not great. Their new stuff might be better - but the older kits I've made are ALOT of work.

Airfix is hit and miss. Their old stuff is woeful. Their new stuff is hit and miss - but they do have excellent instructions from the kits I've seen.

Generally speaking, cheaper means an older kit or a bad manufacturer and is going to mean much more work - Revell for example are generally cheaper than Tamiya kits of the same scale - for a reason.

You can use the website Scalemates to check when a model was made and it's "history". This is what I found when I put in your LHD-7 Iwo Jima
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hobbyboss-83408-uss-iwo-jima-lhd-7--101446
As you can see, your model started out life in 2011 and had several New Parts upgrades.

Model Choice
Armour is probably the easist thing to make. They are just low parts count often and seldom is there an interior to worry about - so you just put it together and paint it, painting the little extras that hang off it on their own, sticking them on at the end.

WWII aircraft is probably next. Again, low part counts often and far fewer decals.

Modern jets are a different bag. They are generally tougher having to work out what parts to paint when, when to assemble parts in order to get the paint right etc, etc./ Plus they often come with a ton of decals.

How to build and when to paint
Generally speaking, you build and then paint (obviously) - but depending on the kit, you'll perform different bits at different times.

So for example, with my helicopter, I've painted the cockpit and got that installed then I've built the main model. I've left off weapons and wheels and the rotors because I'm going to paint them separately (if you think if I stuck the rotors on, and started spraying them black, over spray would likely land on the model)

So I'll spray (or hand paint) all those separate bits and stick them on at the end. I also don't want to add certain pieces because whilst handling to paint, I may knock them off. I'll next get the canopy on and mask it, then I'll prime the main fuselage and paint that, remove the mask from the canopy, I'll maybe touch up some bits - do some hand painting for things like the undercarriage strust, then put on all the extras (rotors, weapons, wheels). cover it all in clear to protect the paint, then weather it.

Tanks are far, far easier. Just build the thing, leaving off all the ancillories, paint it, paint all the ancillories, stick them on, protect it with a clear coat, then weather it. Simples.

What you'll need as a minimum
A hobby knife (with swappable blades - you'll use them alot)
https://www.emodels.co.uk/modelcraft-medium-duty-hobby-knife-2-pkn3302.html
A pair of modelling clippers - you don't need to get these - there are cheaper - I just wanted to show you what they were
https://www.emodels.co.uk/godhand-ultimate-nipper-5-0-tough-model-spn-120-tg.html
Glue
https://www.emodels.co.uk/tamiya-40ml-extra-thin-cement-quick-setting-87182.html
Sanding sticks
https://www.emodels.co.uk/model-craft-dual-grit-sanding-sticks-x10-1500.html
Paint brushes
https://www.emodels.co.uk/modelcraft-fine-quality-pure-sable-brush-set-size-000-0-2-3-2200-s.html
Paints - I use Tamiya and Vallejo Model Air Acrylics - and I do use these for both hand painting small parts and spraying. I wouldn't recommend these for hand painting big pieces...for that you could use Vallejo Model - I'm not sure of the other makes out there because I don't hand paint apart from small parts.

You don't need an airbrush, but you will get much better results with one. There are loads out there - but I use the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS which gets great reviews
https://www.emodels.co.uk/iwata-hp-c-plus-airbrush-hp-c-plus.html
And of course you'll need a compressor to operate the airbrush

If you do use an airbrush, you'll need appropriate paint thinner (Tamiya for Tamiya paints, Vallejo for Vallejo paints) and airbrush cleaner

There's so much more to tell...minor things that can come up as you go on.


When I'm building and painting - I use

• Some smallish art brushes to use for manually painting small parts.
• An airbush and compressor will give you a very nice finish...far better than hand painting. A decent airbrush that I recently picked up is the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. Excellent brush. They're about £160 - so not top of the range but they have excellent reviews and since I've been using it, I've been super impressed with the results.
• I use Tamiya acrylic paints and also sometimes Vallejo acrylics. You'll need some tamiya/vallejo thinner and cleaner. You'll also need some airbrush cleaner.
• For glueing, I wouldn't use anything other than Tamiya Extra Thin. It's superb. You can put pieces together and then apply the glue across the seam - hold for a short period of time and boom - it's stuck. Other paints take longer to dry - though I would use other glue (like Revell's cement) for bigger pieces (because Tamiya Extra Thin dries quite quickly).

There's ALOT to take in there - and I can understand - in a way - why the guy thought "How am I going to explain what this guy needs for starting out" - there's so much to mention.

Of course, going back to the 70's when we used to make them with my dad, we had a model, a tube of glue, some Humbrol paints and a brush. That was it. So you could always take the 70's route 

Sorry if any of that is teaching you to suck eggs. Best to include everything "reasonable" I could think of rather than try and guess what you did and didn't know about.

I generally find it really, really relaxing - up until I get to paint - then I stress. But often that goes without a hitch anyway. Everything can be "touched up" and if it really goes south, you can always restart the paint job.

Goos luck with your ship.

[Jarhead0331]

^Thanks for the great write-up. Very helpful and confirms some of what I've read independently.

What is the deal with primer? Do I have to use it? One thing the guy at the shop did say is that on military vehicles, I don't really need primer. He said most of the colors are flat and you really only use primer when you're going to use gloss colors. is this accurate? To prime or not to prime...that is my question.

[Redwolf]

I once made a 1/72 F8 Crusader in whiteout as paint :)

[JudgeDredd]

^Thanks for the great write-up. Very helpful and confirms some of what I've read independently.

What is the deal with primer? Do I have to use it? One thing the guy at the shop did say is that on military vehicles, I don't really need primer. He said most of the colors are flat and you really only use primer when you're going to use gloss colors. is this accurate? To prime or not to prime...that is my question.

I seldom ever used primer and when I did, I used the big spray cans you can get rather than primer in my airbrush and that was because the primer always seemed to clog my airbrush. That may not be the primer's fault - I am notoriously bad for gauging whether I've thinned my paint properly.

Lots of modelers use a base coat - to help them give some depth. Andy of Andy's Hobby Headquarters always seemed to use Tamiya NATO Black as a base coat before painting his models.

Almost all the models I've made in the past, I've not used primer and I've never had an issue with paint going on or staying on.

I am using primer on this model, but I've never seen a "need" to use primer.

The guy at the shop might have a point about only using it for gloss finishes. I've never painted anything gloss (like a car or motrobike etc) so I wouldn't know if it was needed for those - all I do know is I've never "needed" it for my builds - and I have always used flat paints for my kits.

[JudgeDredd]

I once made a 1/72 F8 Crusader in whiteout as paint :)

[undercovergeek]

If painting vehicles army painter killed 2 birds with one stone and came up with army green primer - it's exactly the colour you would have painted the vehicle and acts as a primer for any dry brushing and shading you want to do - used it for all my Shermans

[JudgeDredd]

I'll have to give army painter a look. Do they need thinking with anything special?

[undercovergeek]

I'll have to give army painter a look. Do they need thinking with anything special?

Nope - just a spray can, I think there is a air spray version as well - I couldn't do it but I saw people who did just literally spray a tank army green and put decals on done - bolt action ready

[Jarhead0331]

Thanks for this. Just ordered some Army Painter primer in Matt Black and Uniform Grey. I'm definitely going to build this damn ship!

[undercovergeek]

Thanks for this. Just ordered some Army Painter primer in Matt Black and Uniform Grey. I'm definitely going to build this damn ship!

Perfect - uniform grey is also the German equivalent of army green - spray your tanks with the grey, black wash for shade and light grey dry brush - instant pre camouflage age panzer

[JudgeDredd]

One last thing on primer.

I have just remembered there was a time I wished I had used primer - when building my F-14.

As you may recall, I painted the model then masked off around the cockpit for the black section to be painted. When I peeled that Tamiya masking tape off (which is excellent tape), it took some of the paint off.

So - contrary to what I said earlier - if you are going to have to mask off some of your model for any reason after painting (for example, painting a different section) then I would recommend primer - because primer does give your paint something to grip onto.

As I said before - it's no big deal normally. I've never had an issue with paint being applied or staying on my model - but in this instance it does make a difference.

For example, JH, if you were going to paint the deck of your carrier and then mask off bits so you could put the yellow lines down, I would defo use primer - or on the side of the hull where you might paint the bottom bit red and then the top bit grey and have a black line around it between those two sections of paint.

[undercovergeek]

One last thing on primer.

I have just remembered there was a time I wished I had used primer - when building my F-14.

As you may recall, I painted the model then masked off around the cockpit for the black section to be painted. When I peeled that Tamiya masking tape off (which is excellent tape), it took some of the paint off.

So - contrary to what I said earlier - if you are going to have to mask off some of your model for any reason after painting (for example, painting a different section) then I would recommend primer - because primer does give your paint something to grip onto.

As I said before - it's no big deal normally. I've never had an issue with paint being applied or staying on my model - but in this instance it does make a difference.

For example, JH, if you were going to paint the deck of your carrier and then mask off bits so you could put the yellow lines down, I would defo use primer - or on the side of the hull where you might paint the bottom bit red and then the top bit grey and have a black line around it between those two sections of paint.

Hard core model painters do it by hand 😂😂

[JudgeDredd]

Hard core model painters with hands that don't shake like an 80 year old alcoholic do it by hand 😂😂

FTFY