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.

All You Need To Know About Static Model Aircraft

Static model airplanes, as the name suggest are non-flying models. They are not meant for flying but are mostly built for those whose hobby is to collect and keep these pieces. Static model airplanes are also used as show pieces or placed on strategic places in a room or office to add beauty to the place.

Static model aircraft are made of various materials. These materials include wood, canvas, die cast metal and plastic. Some models may be made with a combination of some of these materials too. For those models that are made from wood, Mahogany and balsa are the commonly used types of wood. These models are normally hand carved and though they are not so detailed to scale, they represent the real planes in many outer details like windows and shape. Plastic materials are more detailed that the wooden models and gives the buyer a wide range of sizes and forms from which to choose. The most detailed models are the ones which are die-cast. These are metallic and are so detailed that they represent the real airplane in exact scale.


As mentioned earlier, static model planes are mostly meant for display. To ensure easy display, most models come with a base which enables them to be placed on surfaces like tables, cabinets etc. Depending on the size of your plane, you can decide also to hang it from a ceiling to give it a flight facade. But care should be taken not to expose these model planes to direct sunlight, since it may cause discoloration. Some models also need to be assembled before displaying or at least, some parts like propellers and attached ammunition need to be attached in case they came dismembered.

Static model planes come in different sizes. Some are tiny pieces while others are as big as 5 feet or more. Though it's not so common in model planes, some models are scaled to size. In other words, the model size is, say 1:40, means it is 1/40th of the real plane. Some models also come decorated and others undecorated. The decorated ones are mostly plastic models and die cast models while the undecorated ones are wooden. These models are unique since they reveal the original carving and one can also paint them!

Static model airplanes are mostly maintenance free but still need some care. First, they should be kept away from direct sunlight and should be dusted regularly to avoid discoloration. They should also be handled with care especially while picking them. Do not pick them up from the wings, but always do so from the fuselage or from the display base. The price of these models depends on the size, the material used and the details of the model. The most detailed models come at a high price, but are worth every penny.

How to Fill Seams and Sand Model Airplanes

When building model airplanes, it is important to remove the seams and the joint lines. For most assemblies, crack and gaps become common through fitting. The most common issues pertain to the mating lines and wing roots of both sides of the aircraft's fuselage.

Materials you'll need for this project include different grades of sandpaper, a paint brush, sharp hobby knife, a container with some water and a paintbrush. You can also add the Tenax-7R and model putty.

If you'll be utilizing hazardous materials as you build model airplanes, make sure there's plenty of ventilation throughout your working space. Check the labels and warnings on the containers of these chemicals.


The first step is to weld the right and left sides with the Tenax-7R. Using medium pressure, hold he two sides of the fuselage together. Then, touch the whole seam with the use of a paintbrush.

When you're done with the application, gradually add more pressure for the next ten seconds. Then, add another five minutes to let the weld dry up. Use the hobby knife to lightly scrape away excess chemicals.

If there are imperfections on your model airplane like pits, scratches or gaps, use a toothpick to apply some model putty. You can mask off openings or cracks with some tape. Afterwards, apply some putty and wait for 30 minutes until it dries.
When the putty has completely dries, use a 600 ALO sanding paper to sand the area to the tape's level. You can re-apply more putty if the gap didn't get filled or if the putty didn't dry up or contract to a groove in-between the parts. Just repeat the sanding process.

As soon as there's a level surface, take off the tape and start to fine sand your work. This is the most important step in building model airplanes.

Use 600 ALO paper to sand the aircraft model over sections where the Tenax-7R and putty were used. Then, use a paintbrush dipped in water to moisten the whole sanded area. Repeat this moistening process until it turns smooth. Before moving on to the next step, fry your model airplane using a paper towel or rag.

When you scale mode completely dries up, check it thoroughly. Check for some rough patches. If you find any, use 320 SIL paper or 400 ALO paper again. To complete this sanding task, you can use fine 150 SIL sanding paper in repeating the process. This will ensure a smooth and natural looking model airplane.
The last step is to paint your model aircraft.

Static Scale Model Aircraft

As the name implies,"static scale model aircraft" are scale models which do not fly, but are pleasant to look at. They are generally the models in travel shops & airlines, museums and collectors. They are made in a number of materials, including plastic, metal, wood and paper. The most common material for kits is injection moulded polystyrene plastic. Injection moulding gives the manufacturers a high level of precision and allows greater automation, which in turn reduces costs. These are now mostly manufactured in the Far East and Eastern Europe. Ready made models (sometimes referred to as desktop models) are sometimes produced in fibreglass, collectors models can made from metal, plastic or specialist wood.

The scales in which these are made vary and are often dictated by various manufactures. The most popular being 1:48 and 1:72, closely followed by 1:32. For civil airliners 1:144 is mostly used (one presumes due to generally being a larger size). The scale size appears to be dictated by the general original size of the real machine, as well as conformity to packaging. (An obvious example would be a scale model of an aircraft carrier, due to its size; it would be impractical to manufacture this in a 1:48 scale.)


Revell made plastic models to a scale which would fit into their packaging; this became known as box scale. In other words, the larger the original life size machine was, the higher the scale would become to fit in the standard size packaging box. The trends do seem to vary from manufacturer to manufacturer; the trend for say helicopters seems to be for 1:32 scale, which is incidentally also used for models of land vehicles.

Remember when choosing a kit to build, the larger the scale, the smaller the pieces will generally be, but of course the larger the scale, the more space your scale model aircraft will take up. The most important thing is to enjoy your model!

Plastic Model Airplanes - Brief Introduction

Plastic models are generally distributed as kits which will need to become assembled by the user. The plastic models are also known as scale models and they're mainly bought for static display. Almost all of the plastic model airplanes are injection and cast in polystyrene, parts are connected together with the help of adhesive or perhaps white glue. You can even get special paints for application on these plastic models. Aircraft insignia and body decorations materials are also available and you could use them on your model to really make it look more realistic.

There has been a pattern among producers to offer airplane kits which usually require a shorter period and expertise to assemble them. Therefore now fully detailed kits have been introduced for the benefit of enthusiasts. These kits require only normal gluing and assembly. Another kind of kit can be purchased wherein you just will need to snap the various parts together and this demands also smaller time and expertise.


Plastic models are created in scale. Usually these models have complete detailing and come in reasonable dimensions. Typically the most popular scales that are available for plastic model aircraft are 1/24, 1/32, 1/48, 1/72, 1/100 and 1/144. Of those 1/48 and 1/72 promote the most around the world.

The flip side of plastic models is that the very high cost production. Resin castings are widely-used on models however when the models become bigger in size the price too increases significantly. Vacuum forming was once popular nevertheless the assembly is really difficult. Extremely lately the manufacturers have started producing models that have really fine detailing that are ideal for resin kits. The grounds behind the sale of plastic model airplanes has changed over the years. Previously these have been distributed as toys to young kids the good news is they are mainly bought to always be kept as collectibles. Technological innovation too has advanced a whole lot and the models that come out there today are extremely innovative in comparison to the old models. It has also raised the price tag on the kits by several notches nevertheless that cannot be aided really in this period of competition.

The very first plastic model airplanes was created in the 1930s' and these had been manufactured by Frog in the United kingdom. Ten years later several American companies like Lindberg, Hawk and Renwal accompanied the band wagon and began to produce plastic model airplanes. Through 1950s the big players came into picture like the AMT, Monogram and Auror4a in US, Airfix in United kingdom and Heller SA in France. It was only in the 1970s that plastic model airplanes became more and more well-liked in Asian nations and makers began to rise coming from this region too. Timiya and Hasegawa through Japan, AFV Club, Trumpeter and DML coming from China have started taking over the industry with more recent engineering. Today you also find brands through Russia, Central The european union and Korea stacked way up in the local hobby retailers.

As you can imagine these models have created a distinct segment for itself and have adorned the house of many as collector's items. The purchase price will always end up being a factor for the common people however with passing time and much better technologies these models would end up being within the reasonably priced range of the customers.

Scale Model Airplanes - Buying and Assembling Scale Models

A scale model is actually a copy or a representation of an item or object that is smaller or larger as compared to its actual or original size. Mostly, it is a smaller representation and serves as a guide to the original object. Scale model airplanes are an archetypal example. There are many reasons why a scale model is made. It serves as a prototype and is used to test the performance of the object in its initial developmental stages. Architects use them as a display model for customers to evaluate and purchase the real object. Salesmen use them for the purpose of new product promotion.

Wood, plastic and paper are generally used to create a scale model. Scale model airplanes are of two types: static and flying. The former is generally made of plastic. However, metal, paper and wood also make good models. Military aircraft and commercial airliners are the most common scale models in this type. The number of manufacturers of the static type has dwindled today as compared to the 1970s and the popular scales are 1:144, 1:72 (the highest), 1:48, 1:32 and finally 1:24.


Modeling of static airplanes includes kit assembly, scratch building and finally a collection or repertoire of ready-made models. When it comes to craftsmanship and skill, scratch building deserves the highest repute. Accuracy and keenness to details are important skills here and scratch builders take more time than kit assemblers. Kit assemblers could either assemble from the materials available in the box or make use of additional items purchased to render functionality and dimension to the airplane. Collectors on the other hand, focus on the issue of theme and not on personal construction.

Flying scale models or 'aeromodelling' could either be free flight or control line or radio controlled. They are actually a realistic representation of a full blown airplane. They can either be built from kits or from scratch. Some of these kits take a long time to assemble and some are ready to fly or almost ready. Scale modeling of airplanes has grown from a business perspective to a hobby. Although, some people are not inclined towards this area of interest, there are many who are passionate about assembling model airplanes.

The assembler must possess a lot of patience, artistic ability and creativity and also, more importantly, have an inherent interest in airplanes and modeling them. The golden rule before assembling is to do ample research on the original aircraft. Model kit references like photos, documentation, markings, details, color scheme, pilot and modifications must be considered along with the list of items required like glue, paint, thinner, decal setting solution etc. Instructions must be carefully read through and the sequence followed as prescribed.

Although some effects are quite complex to achieve in the first instance, some amount of time and practice help in mastering these techniques. Capturing the feel of a renowned aircraft in a smaller form is both exciting and rewarding. Some popular kits brands of scale model airplanes include Plantraco Microflight RC, Megatech, Ikarus etc.

Tips on Buying Plastic Model Airplanes

Most of the people I know get bored easily especially when caught with nothing to do at home. The attention span of an average person has declined tremendously that it is harder for many of us to learn new things. In order to battle that boredom and that short attention span, we have our hobbies to keep us busy. All of us have different hobbies and it is well known that there is no hobby which is better than another. That is why people who love to collect plastic model airplanes could not care less about what people think as they are very proud about each and everyone of their planes.

When many people think about model planes, they mostly think about the planes that can be flown by use of a remote or radio control. That is the most common model plane which is known as the Radio Controlled plane. This plane that we are talking about, are the planes that come out of the box which are made out of plastic and which are assembled into a really cool plane. These planes are only for collection and display as they are not the be flown. The plastic exterior of this model plane would make it impossible for it to fly in the air. The light weight of plastic would easily bring the plane off of its flight pattern. Collecting plastic model airplanes is very fun. The most fun part of the whole experience is that they come in boxes unassembled. Buying an airplane would not be as fun as assembling it because that would only make the plane into a another toy and not as a collectible.


The first thing to know about plastic airplanes is that you have to know what type of airplane design you want. Selecting the design does not only mean selecting which planes look cool but you also have to put into consideration the size of the model since they would be placed on display. Once you have selected the plane you want, you are now ready to buy and assemble them right out of the box. When you have opened the box, it is very important that you read the manual before starting to assemble it. Inspecting all the parts and checking if there are some missing ones. Once you have done that, then you should start building your plane. Since the manual is there to guide you, you should definitely follow each step. No modifications should be done to the parts in terms of fit and size.

Whenever you encounter parts which do not fit well, then you should not force any of them. You might be tempted to glue the loose parts but it is very important that you only glue the ones instructed. As you go along with the assembly, you can also paint some of the parts. The kit comes with its color instructions that need to be followed. You must color each one carefully and accurately based on the design of the plane. Once you are done painting and assembling them, then you now have another plane to go with your display. The whole process of assembly might take a lot of time and frustration but looking at the end product assembled so well is totally worth it.