Let's see if this post gets me flamed

I enjoy looking at all of the projects folks are working on but one thing gets me. I realize this may have to do with how long some folks have been building (newbies vs. vets), but why do some of you guys insist on using so much putty when you are doing your body work? :screwy:

I think some of you are going through a tube of putty a week sometimes. Even with the epoxy putties, it looks like it's overboard.

Now that's not to say I don't like body kits, because I do. It's just the way some folks go about creating them. You would be so much better off to use as much styrene/resin as possible or start with parts from other kits and modify them.

Anyway, I'm sure there will be some upset replies in regards to me not knowing what I'm talking about, etc. Just my two cents. :2cents:

Your right but, I didn't think to do it that way, until FOTW pointed it out to me and I have been since.

Agreed!

most people do use styrene i'm building a widebody supra and thanks to the how to i know to use styrene instead of so much putty yes some people do use alot of putty but it all depends on what your comfortable with my grandad told me this and he is a veteran moddler if there ever was one also resin is hard to get and from what i've heard v.expensive but i see what you mean with some people (mentioning no names) they do use alot but the finnished result is always good

i use styrene for a base but i do use alot of putty but thats only so i can shape it, if i used little putty i whould not be able to shape it like i want to, everyone has there techniuqe not everyone is the same.

i use styrene as much as possible but when you are trying to get flowing shapes nothing beats the way you can shape putty, some kits lend themselves to putty and others to styrene card. its all a matter of what you are building.

i dont like to use putty much, adding WBKs and stuff gets over baord, looks like crap. simple clean is the style. i use putty to mold a hood scoop or fills home doro handles and stuff but not to use 5 tubes on a car. i have seen many cars were 70% of the body work was styrene and the putty was use for filling stuff.

i am trieing to find a new model to work on to do moderate puutty work but not overbaord

i use styrene as much as possible but when you are trying to get flowing shapes nothing beats the way you can shape putty, some kits lend themselves to putty and others to styrene card. its all a matter of what you are building.

I agree, I think the initial reference is to the number of models seen here that have putty slathered on the body like a huge gob of peanut butter on a cracker vs. using putty sparingly or shaping epoxy putty to make a flowing design. When I see a mess like that, I wonder if/how it will ever get finished. Many times the amount of sanding it takes to get the shapes any where near acceptable takes away other details on the models. It's like a "putty first, design second" mentality.

It's from overenthusiasm mixed with inexperience as much as anything...that's certainly how I myself destroyed models w/putty when I was much younger :grinno:

I only use putty for filling ejection pin holes

Why the hell do you care the process people take to modify their models?

I use putty because I have toruble with depth using styrene, if I were able to see how people create their body kits with a majority of styrene than yes I would use more styrene.

I have just started to make one bodykits... but i use styrene like a frame that i putt the putty on... and then shapes it as i want...

but i ame a noob....=P

I use styrene and Putty.

A tube last me for about 5 models or so (so 2 tube by year max a 3$ each)

Resin cost way too much

I dont know if its me, but i've tried to do the styrene thing, and i can't get the hang of it. I've used 3 different scrap bodies to try it out and I've even read the FAQ's and how to's Am I doing something wrong? SOrry to change the subject. I use putty right now, but im experimenting with styrene and putty

all i can tell you that both putty and styrene has their own usage...there are something putty can do and styrene cant do and vice versa...

I only use putty for filling ejection pin holes


Me too. I never attempt big body mods with heavy uses of putty..

Why the hell do you care the process people take to modify their models?

I use putty because I have toruble with depth using styrene, if I were able to see how people create their body kits with a majority of styrene than yes I would use more styrene.

That's why it's such a shame Ratdat disappeared. He haid a pair of just beautiful progress threads that would have showed you pretty much exactly how to do it. Search his 300Z thread, and you'll get a good idea how to start. That thread, and his Auster, are impressive as hell.

Putty by definition is just to fill gaps and smooth contours, but everyone here has their own style of building. I know I can't claim either way, I sort of lay in the middle, indeed I use a lot of styrene for the basic shape, but I also use gobs of putty to finish it up. I do, however, try to form it in the right shape so I won't be sanding all week.

The only reall troubles I can find, really, with using a lot of putty is how frustrating it can be to shape, and the pile of unfinished models that it leads to. And putty is more likely to crack, sag and shrink than styrene.

I'm not saying don't use any putty, but I see a lot of guys throwing huge globs on. Heck, most of that will probably get sanded anyway.

The big problem is that putty shrinks. Over time, that bodywork is going to collapse, crack and break.

I'm not trying to preach as some self proclaimed expert but offer an observation. Before you start slinging putty, look at what you are working with and what you are trying to accomplish and remember that the best method isn't always the easiest.

In all my time of using putty I have never had it shrink, or become brittle. Perhaps it is because I use Filler putties that are made for large jobs on real cars (body fillers).

I find fillers much easier to sand into shape than shaping styrene.

i think there is no right or wrong way to go about building a kit.
If you can produce the results then thats all that matters.

Why are we even arguing over this, are we gonna start stressing over how many layers of paint people are using, or if they are using the right primer.

judge the works when they are completed!

p.s. i always leave my putty to dry for one week or more before painting to make sure any further shrinkage is accounted for if any exists at all