The Art of Building Plastic Model Airplanes - Part 1 of 3

A very informative clip

Choose From a Large Selection of Model Plane Kits

There are a lot of different model plane kits that are available to choose from. Every one of them will have different features and be a different size. Some people prefer to have the smaller ones while other people like to put together the larger ones.

People of any age can be excited about getting new model plane kits. There will be different skill levels for each one. People will be able to choose one that is at the level that they are at.

Most people are not going to start out by picking something from a difficult level. If they have help from someone who is experienced, it will not be a problem but a lot of people like to do these kinds of things by themselves. They want it to be something that they can do as a hobby.


The person putting the model plane kits together will be able to match all of the parts by following the directions. They will be able to paint the parts before or after it is assembled. It is going to depend on which type of model a person will be putting together.

Model plane kits are going to make great gifts for almost any occasion. The recipient will be able to have an activity that they can do without involving others. There are many different ones that people like to collect too.

Some people will put these model plane kits together in one setting while others are going to take their time putting them together. There are many different sizes, styles and models that a person can buy. Model plane kits are not all that is available. There are cars, trucks and many more.

It is important to get something that is going to be of interest to the person who will be putting it together. They like to build model plane kits to see what the finished product will become. Even though they can see a picture of what it will be when it is finished, they think it is cool that they can create something like that.

Not only can a person purchase complete model plane kits but they will be able to purchase pieces that go along with those kits. Sometimes when putting these kits together, people can break parts or paint them wrong. Once they are glued together, it is difficult to get them apart without ruining a part even if it has been glued to the wrong spot.

There are a lot of advantages to putting together model plane kits too. These can be very relaxing to some people. It can also teach children, teenagers and adults how to put together certain things.

Some people are fascinated with certain types of model plane kits. They might be interested in a certain brand of airplane or model type. They may collect every model for that type of airplane or just put together models of airplanes in general.

Parents will often get their children excited about these models. Some of them will actually work and do different things after they are put together. Some of them are meant for sitting on a shelf to show off what a person has accomplished.

There are many different kinds of models and model plane kits that are quite popular. Young people and adults like to build things. If they can build a smaller version of something that they wish to own someday, it will satisfy their desire to own it for the time being.

When purchasing model plane kits, there are many different ones that can be chosen from. It is important to get one that is going to be easy enough to put together that someone is going to finish it. There are many skill levels and many different models to pick from.

Model Aircraft Kit Making - Simple Weathering Guide

A guest post by Frank LeGrand

For this guide I have taken the model Spitfire that I built when I was compiling my Model Kit Making Guide, and spent some time weathering where necessary to aim to make it look a bit more real.

As when making a model from the start research is one of the first things to do. I checked out the web to find some pictures of the most common places to find wear & tear on Spitfires.


The first things I had to do were remove the propellers, canopy & exhaust nacelles.

The main wear and tear from pictures I have seen appears to be around the nose, wings roots, and cockpit and around any moving parts on the wings.

A good tip that I do is paint any major wears areas silver (or whatever colour the real aircraft would be BEFORE painting). In this case I painted the nose silver and the wing roots. I dry brushed some silver paint around the cockpit where the canopy would have been sliding open & closed, and also on the tail.

Once the silver paint on the nose & wings was dry I then painted the camouflage colour over the silver. I let this dry, and then I used a sharp blade to scrape away the camouflage paint where necessary to reveal the silver below. This is very effective and I feel looks a lot more authentic than painting silver over the camouflage.

Once this way done, I used a wash to highlight oil & dirt on certain areas.

The wash that I used was basic watercolour paint, in this case black. Just paint the areas you want to highlight and the black wash will naturally run into any recesses. When dry, carefully clean off the excess wash with clean water. I used a cotton bud and a fine brush to do this.

I also painted the exhausts and the underside of the aircraft to show signs of dirt.

I also painted the leading edges of the propeller blades silver.

That's it, once cleaned up and the props & canopy replaced the model was done.

Notes:

Aim for realistic effects, remember the scale of the model and think about how much wear & tear there would actually be. Resist the temptation to do too much, STOP when it looks real, this is the point it is finished.

Practice on an old kit or bits of plastic to get it right BEFORE trying it for real.

The wash I used was water based because the kit was painted in acrylic. Make sure the wash IS NOT the same type of paint as the kit or things will go wrong very quickly. You could use a chalk wash if you wish instead.

Painting Your Model Aircraft Kit - Hints and Tips

A guest post by Frank LeGrand

PAINTING YOUR MODEL

This is one area of model making that has to be 'spot on'. Any imperfections when painting really show up and can be difficult to fix.

Paint

There are 2 main types of paint you will use when painting model kits:

1. The first is acrylic paint. This is a water based paint meaning you must wash your brushes in water, not white spirit. You will often find acrylic paint in 'starter kits' as it is the easiest to paint with and can be cleaned off when wet with water and a paper towel if a mistake is made (although you have to be quick).
2. The second is the oil based enamel paint. This is the most common type you will find in model stores, and has the broadest range of colours so that you can 'colour match' you model for authenticity. It can also be mixed as required to produce a one-off colour for special parts or areas that need a colour you cannot get off the shelf.

It is also available in mini spray cans, more of that later.

Before you start your model, get all the paint that you are going to need. The kit instructions will have a list or sometimes it will be on the box or packaging, get exactly what is recommended and do not guess. If your model shop doesn't have any of the colours you need, get the shop to order them or get them online.

Brushes

It is also important to ensure you have good quality brushes that are in good condition. Any loose bristles or hairs on a brush can wreck havoc when you are painting, especially small detailed areas. I replace any damaged brushes before starting a new kit, brushes are not expensive and it is a good habit to get into to avoid making mistakes.
Have a good variety of brush sizes from fine upwards; I have at least 6 sizes for different jobs.

Additional supplies

There are a few more things you will need:

• Paint thinners (for enamel paint)
• Paper towels. Make sure that the bottle / tub / tray that you clean your brushes in is clean, DO NOT clean brushes in dirty cleaner. Use paper towels to dry your brush after cleaning.

Masking tape.

There is also a product available that you can 'paint' to mask areas prior to painting, this can be useful if painting around clear glass sections, I find masking tape fine for most jobs however.

Work Area

The area you are painting in must be well lit, dust free and well ventilated to avoid inhalation of paint fumes, especially if using spray paint.

Goggles and a face mask may also be worn, again mainly when using spray paint.

Try to paint your model in similar light conditions to what it will be displayed in, you will be surprised how much varying light can affect the look of paint and how different your model will look. If working under a lamp, try to get a daylight effect bulb, this is much easier on your eyes and the paint will look the same in daylight as it does on your work area.

Painting tips

• Have a good read of the instructions before painting; look out for any parts that need painting BEFORE assembly.
• Give the paint a good stir before using it, used matchsticks make inexpensive paint stirrers and you can have one for each colour.
• Try to do as much painting as possible with the part on the sprue.
• When painting any parts (especially small ones), do not overload your brush with paint, it is better to use a couple of light coats than a blob. Too much paint will lesson the detail on the plastic, and is almost impossible to fix.
• Let the paint dry completely before assembly, adhesive will damage any soft paint, leave it overnight to dry.

Spray paint

• Where possible, paint any large areas with spray paint to avoid unsightly brush strokes. Hold the can 10 - 12inches from the area to paint and use even strokes from left to right. The aim here is to build up the paint a coat at a time, too much paint in one go will cause it to run (again almost impossible to repair). Leaving 20 - 30 minutes between coats usually works well, do this until you have a nice even finish and leave to dry overnight.
• If the colour you are painting is not available in a spray, use the largest brush you have and paint even strokes in one fluid movement. Do not dab at the area you are painting. Again, aim to build up the paint in a series of coats.
• BEWARE, brush paint takes longer to dry than spray paint as brushing uses more paint than spraying, so leave longer between coats - maybe an hour depending on how mush air circulation you have and the temperature of the room you are painting in.
• It is good idea to do a test on a piece of sprue to see how long it takes for the paint to become touch dry so you have an idea how long to wait between coats.
• Finally, check your instructions for any additional information about painting, particularly if you have to mix paints look out the ratio of one colour against the other, e.g. 10:90

The best advice is to take your time, resist the urge to rush painting your model and it will turn out better.

Why We Love Building Plastic Model Airplanes

Wood, paper, plastic... all of this can be used to build model airplanes. Paper airplanes are preferred mostly from kids because they are easy and in practice free to make. Older kids and adults often prefer to create or collect wooden model aircraft because wood allows you to start from scratch and build very precise models. But wooden airplanes are usually static.

People from all ages like plastic model airplanes because they can be both static scale or flying models, they are affordable, and there are thousands of kits for builders.


The free flight plastic airplanes are simple and cheap, and best of all, they can fly. This kind of aircraft has no engine - it's usually thrown by hand and flies using the initial power given by your hand. Plastic is very appropriate material for them because it's light and robust and the models usually can survive many flights.

If you are buying a ready free flight plastic airplane, prepare to spend from $2-$3 to $20-$30. If you want to build one yourself, it's not much of a challenge - there are kits which can be assembled for minutes.

It's very popular to build static scale plastic airplanes from kits. Such kits can contain a lot of parts and may need to be painted or can come painted, but not assembled. Building a scale model from a kit is a lot more challenging than building a free flight plane.

Some of these kits are a bit more expensive ($20 - $100) because of the large number of details in them. The expenses can add up quite quickly, because there is a large variety of civilian and military airplanes and helicopters available as plastic kits. It's very easy to get addicted into buying more and more kits.

Finally, a large category of plastic model airplanes have a battery or gas powered engine and can fly under your remote control. The RC airplanes usually don't copy exactly real aircraft - at least not in such details like the the scale models. The RC models are very popular within the kids and teenagers because flying them is very exciting.

When you become a really advanced hobbyist, you may even build an RC aircraft yourself from scratch. Of course, you are not expected to build the engine and remote control yourself - just assembling all from a kit is challenging enough.

Quality Time? Try Building Plastic Model Airplanes

It's sometimes hard to have some good quality time with your kids, especially when it doesn't involve a game console. If that's the case with you, it might be time to introduce them to the joy of assembling and painting plastic model airplanes. Besides the all important quality time we all want to have with our kids, assembling model plane kits requires your child to develop skills which they'll use throughout their life. Skills such as;

• Planning and decision making (Do we follow the directions step by step or assemble and paint sections in our own order)
• Patience (waiting for glues to set and paints to dry)
• Hand/eye coordination (way beyond the button mashing hand eye coordination touted as a plus by video game companies)
• Perseverance (Working Through the frustration of assembling a particularly intricate portion of the model)

You may be wondering if your child is old enough to take on a project like building a plastic model airplane. You'll be happy to know that model planes have been designed with a very broad range of ages and difficulties in mind. There are even companies that develop and sell snap together models which require no paint or glue.

The hobby of assembling models is also (at the low end) very inexpensive to get started in. For just a few bucks you and your children will have hours of fun and good quality time together.

There's no reason not to introduce your child to this fun, inexpensive, and rewarding hobby.

Plastic Model Aircraft - How to Choose a Suitable One

Model aircraft are used for many purposes. They are used as a marketing tool for airlines. You can notice huge models of world's popular airlines at many travel agencies. Aircraft models are also used for aerodynamic research and modeling. Collecting and building models is also a popular hobby among the people of all age groups. Aircraft models can be made from different materials like metal, wood, paper and plastic. Plastic model aircraft are generally more popular because they are affordable and are available in both static and flying models.

There are a number of plastic kits that are offered in the market. It is important that you choose a kit that is suitable for your purpose. You should also consider the level of your model building expertise before choosing a particular kit.

Static Plastic Model Aircraft:

Static models are also known as scale models. As its name suggests, static model aircraft are not capable of flying. You can either purchase an already built one or choose to build one by yourself. It is far more satisfying to build your own then purchasing one. You can find many Snap Fit Kits that are comparatively inexpensive and are very easy to use. These kits enable a person to assemble and build it in a very short period of time.

Other advanced kits come with hundreds of parts that require detailed assembly, construction, coloring and gluing. These kinds of kits are more popular among individuals who are expert at building and constructing customized model aircraft.

Static aircraft model kits come in various sizes or scales for an aircraft. Some of the most notable scales for an airplane include 1:72 and 1:48. You can also find more detailed models that are available in higher scales of 1:32 and 1:24. The scale refers to the relationship between the size of the scaled down version and the size of the actual aircraft. For example, the scale of 1:72 implies that 1 inch of the model aircraft represents 48 inches of the actual aircraft.

Flying Plastic Model Aircraft:

Flying aircraft can be divided in three groups, namely, free flight, control line and radio controlled. All of the three types of flying aircraft models are available in varying sizes and scales and are generally made of plastic material. They have battery or gas powered engine. You can find many handy kits to build these kinds of models.

Free flight Plastic model aircraft are easy to build and are considered as a good option for beginners. This kind of model is not capable of flying at a very good speed but is designed to be stable in a flight. They are not controlled by any external device either. They are durable and can last for a long time.

Control Line aircraft are also known as U-control model aircraft. This kind of model flies by means of thin wires that are connected to a control handle. The wires are 20 to 30 feet long. The control line aircraft flies like a kite but in a circular path. Control line models generally have high power to weight ratios as compared to the RC models.

The Radio control model is a very popular type of flying aircraft. The movement of these model planes is controlled with the help of joysticks on the transmitter. They are not only popular among enthusiast hobbyists but are also used by military and scientific organizations for experiments, modeling and testing.

Finishing Model Aircraft Kits With Two Simple Painting Techniques

Scale models are intended to portray the original version of a subject, an aircraft, actually. Rarely will you see a real plane without chipped paint, or stains from exhaust or fuel spills. Models can be finished to exhibit the wear and tear of the real thing. The process of making a model look old and used is called weathering. The most common methods of weathering a completed kit are dry brushing and washes, two easy painting techniques.

Both of these techniques are used after the piece or model airplane has been painted and had decals applied. It is also a good idea to consider the paint types used. Use an acrylic or water based paint for weathering. If the finished model aicraft was painted in a water based paint already, make sure it is well cured before weathering. An enamel or solvent based paint used to finish the model kit will not be harmed by using the water based paint in weathering.


The first technique, dry brushing, is applied using a paint brush with moderately stiff short bristles. Dip the brush in paint then dab most of the paint off on a rag or card. Only trace amounts of paint should be left on the brush. Quickly and lightly flick the brush tips over the raised feature of the kit to highlight the detail.

A common use of dry brushing uses silver or aluminum paint on raised detail like rivets, metal framing or radial engine pistons to show worn or chipped paint. A flat dark red or rust color paint can be dry brushed over exhausts on inline aircraft engines to show rust or heat damage. Black can be lightly dry brushed on the model aircraft to show exhaust staining or powder stains from guns.

The second weathering technique is the opposite of dry brushing and is the application of a wash. Soft bristle brushes of varying widths are used to apply a wash to the finish of the model kit. Washes are made by thinning the acrylic paint to a watery consistency. Load the brush with the color paint for your wash and then dip the brush in water to thin.

Apply the wash and let the watery paint run into recesses on the model like panel lines or the grooves among wood planking. Washes accentuate these recessed areas. Any excess can be quickly dabbed off. Broad washes are used for general staining such as from spills of fuel and other liquids. The broad wash lightens as it dries to provide a subtle stain effect. Let the wash run down from areas where spills would occur like caps on fuel tanks. The flat dark red paint can be well thinned and allowed to flow down the sides of a weathered ship or submarine model to show rust stains.

Weathering a completed model airplane kit using any combination of dry brushing and washes makes the model look much more realistic. The model becomes a scale replica of the kit subject by showing lifelike wear and tear.

Building Plastic Model Airplanes Kits - Tips & Thoughts

Building plastic model airplanes kits is a fascinating pastime. Any modeler will tell you that what he builds is absolutely not a toy. The vast majority of models are from history. The accuracy of models is typically what is measured during contests.

Just like any other hobby, there are people at all different levels of experience. However, the type of person that enjoys model building will likely stick with it for years to come. The time, precision and overall dedication to make one model is just part of the puzzle. There is also the relatively high cost of the hobby. Not necessarily the models themselves, but the tools required to do a quality model.


Here is a list of tools that most modelers have in their tool box for their hobby:

• Brush (some modelers use airbrushes for a smooth effect) 
• Tweezer 
• Plastic side cutter 
• Pliers 
• Craft knife (think Xacto) 
• Mini-Drill 
• Sandpaper 
• Putty

Obviously some plastic model kits require different tools, but all models require these basics. Every time you get a model aircraft there will be some flash to deal with. Flash is a bit of excess material that needs to be cut off and smoothed out. Model pieces are typically made out of polystyrene plastics melted into molds. Somewhere along the line, every modeler will find excess plastic from the mold.

Another time that excess material needs to be taken care of is with waterslide decals. These special decals are made specifically for models as they are much more flat than regular stickers. They also have a different adhesive backing.

The size of models obviously varies with genre. Typically each genre has a common scale, but not always. For example, most battleships are made to a 1/350 or 1/700 scale. When someone builds a battleship to 1/350 scale it is still a few feet long. Other common scales would be 1/48 and 1/32 for aircraft or cars, 1/35 or 1/72 for tanks, and 1/16 or 1/6 for figures.

Each modeler has complete control over his scale model aircraft no matter what is in the box. Though traditionally modelers work toward historical accuracy, some items are completely up to them. For example, whether or not to have people on your model is totally up to the modeler. In fact, models that include people tend to have them in pieces. That way a modeler can even decide the tiny person's hand gestures. It really is quite remarkable!

Some plastic model airplanes kits can take on many of the characteristics of the life size item. For example, many car models require sanding, painting, etc. All the things you would need to build a real life car are required when making a model.

Next time you visit your local hobby shop, or shop online, ask about different brands for plastic model kits. Some have been around for ages, some just in the last ten years or so. The truth is that models have drastically upgraded in the last 15 years. Lots of modelers have group meetings or showings, get involved and ask around about what other brands people are using.

And like most things that take time, dedication and bit of money, your finished product will be around a long time. Many people even pass plastic model kits down to future generations. Start a tradition of modeling; it will be an amazing gift for ages to come.

Model Airplane Kits Basics

Making, collecting and flying model airplanes is a fascinating and addictive hobby, which is attractive to all age groups, and is undertaken by thousands of people each year. It can be very relaxing and you get to enjoy the satisfaction of having built your own aircraft. There are a great range of model airplane kits in the market from a simple build to the more complicated ones. Once yours is built, there are a number of specialist groups and clubs of which you can join to learn more techniques about building the airplane.

All model airplane kits come with step by step fully illustrated instructions and there are different types, according to a person's age, competence and the features required. Some kits are self build and come with all necessary parts, glue and paint. A beginner to this hobby would therefore have to coagulate their thoughts carefully; deciding which kits to buy, their particular interest, and how much time is available to dedicate. It's important to get this right because when it's built, you will find that it is a very satisfying experience.


Each model kit requires a particular skill level, so before you make the choice of what to buy; remember to get what suits you. The basic kits, which would best perhaps suit a child, would have just a little bit of assembling, taking about four hours, whereas the regular model airplane kits, more popular with adults would require a commitment of ten to twenty hours. However, someone who's fortunate enough to learn the secrets of an expert in model airplane kits would spend a considerably less amount of time, up to 10 hours.

There are three types of kits available for sale: scratch built; which is assembled right from scratch and is recommended for the expert only as it is very complex and time consuming. Kit built; these come with die cut parts and are relatively cheap, compared to pre-assembled; ready to fly models that only require you to install the main components. You will learn the techniques of building, and the knowledge of how and what to repair in case the plane gets damaged when in flight.

Before you buy the model airplane kits, it's necessary to ascertain which features you need in a plane and where and when it is to be flown. A kit is only the means of building your aircraft and you will certainly enjoy the hobby of building a model airplane, as it's very rewarding. Taking advice from other model builders and looking into certain products can be very helpful if you would like more information about a certain airplane.