questions

[Lan.Evo.VIII]

hi,

i am noobie at building model kits. I have a few questions.

Are Fujimi's, and Aoshima' models kit good for a beginner's usage?
Are they more detailed than Tamiya? Also, do you build the car engines for those model kits ( the fujimi and aoshimas). What does bonnet mean? Also, is there a substitute brand of putty instead of testors' and tamiya's? Due to that fact that i live a suburban town of New Orleans. Im not familar with the New orleans area, taht is y im trying to find a sub brand for the putty.

Thank you
pls be nice to the noobie. lol

LAterz

[MidMazar]

Most of the questions can be found in the faq section, but i'll answer some of them.

Tamiya is superior in their kits, fitment and quality is better than fujimi and aoshima.
Aoshima and fujimi sometimes have fitment problems, and have very boring interiors.
I would go with a tamiya for a beginner, engines are mostly in revell kits, tamiya has a few, but i have yet to see a fujimi or aoshima with an engine.

Magic sculp is an excellent brand of putty from what i have heard. I tend to use tamiya epoxy.
Oh and welcome to AF.

[Jaymes]

I think Tamiya kits would be nice for a beginner. Revell kits (don't know about the newer ones), like someone mentioned, require a bit more effort and modifying to fit perfectly. Revell however has much more detail and extra parts, and build more character

[g00eY]

Originally Posted by Lan.Evo.VIII

hi,

i am noobie at building model kits. I have a few questions.

Are Fujimi's, and Aoshima' models kit good for a beginner's usage?
Are they more detailed than Tamiya? Also, do you build the car engines for those model kits ( the fujimi and aoshimas). What does bonnet mean? Also, is there a substitute brand of putty instead of testors' and tamiya's? Due to that fact that i live a suburban town of New Orleans. Im not familar with the New orleans area, taht is y im trying to find a sub brand for the putty.

Thank you
pls be nice to the noobie. lol

LAterz

no worries, we were all noobs once. welcome to the world of automotive modeling!

i would say that you should get either Tamiya or Revell kits. Fujimi and Aoshima are mostly(if not all) curbside(meaning they have no engine detail). Tamiya usually has great fit, pretty good detail for the price, and just fun to build. if you like engines, be sure to read details on the kit to see if it has an engine. Revell is easily found in the USA and is relatively cheap, mostly all having pretty good detail, but sometimes the fit of the kit is just horrible.

a bonnet is a hood.

i just bought some Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty(orange tube) for $3. it will last you awhile, but i dunno how it works yet. try to stay away from Testors products unless it is bottled brush paints. i also have Milliput 2 part epoxy putty.

don't forget to show us some of your models!

[Lan.Evo.VIII]

where can magic sculp be found?
and also milliput?

thank you

[g00eY]

i think you'll have to order milliput online. just a word of advice: if you are building bodykits, make sure you use styrene(plastic sheet) to build the frame, and then use 2 part epoxy to build up the shape. do not try using self/air drying putties on big putty spots. the putty will shrink.

[Lan.Evo.VIII]

what do you mean by plastic sheets?

Also another question. No Offense to anyone.

Do chick usually dig us guys who tends to like building model kits? I like building models due that gundams is wat got me into model kit building. ( also a newbie at that too lol)

[g00eY]

ahahahaha i dunno dude... i know of 2 girls(i think) that come here to the modeling forum.

plastic sheets are... well... plastic sheets.



they are what they sound like. sheets of plastic that come in varying thicknesses. i think some people have use like... plastic yogurt containers, etc..., but i have never tried that.

[Lan.Evo.VIII]

i kinda understand and kinda dont but ill figure it out. once i find some putty.
Do you think i can find some at home depot?lol

thank you

[g00eY]

depends what you wanna do with the putty. Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty is easy to find, and pretty cheap, but not good for making bodykits.

[freakmech]

I live in New Orleans but im not from the south. There are decent hobby shops here and Baton Rouge. I do recall there being a hobby shop in Bugalusa but i think it was a train shop but they might carry putty and Styrene (sheet plastic). You should really look through the FAQ to answer some of your questions. After all... your biography claims your "smart" so give it a try. Also, your not likely to find Fujimi or Aoshima kits in stores in your area so if your planning on ordering them on-line then get your putty and such there as well.


Oh and NO,"chicks" probably wont dig you more because you build models. Why would you even ask or think that?!?

Skateboard... chicks dig that... I know

[willimo]

Aoshima are good. Their newer kits are absolutely stellar, and fit as well and are molded as well as Tamiya kits in my opinion. There may be a few inaccuracies or omissions, but I would recommend them to new modelers because of their ease of construction (for the newer kits) and the range of kits available. However, you kind of need to know what you're looking for or you might get stuck with an older, not good kit, and Aoshima tends to be expensive. Fujimi is also expensive, and not worth the expense unless you know what you're doing and can't find a kit by another maker of a car that you absolutely have to have. They have all the omissions and inaccuracies of Aoshima without the shake-the-box construction, though there are a few older kits that are amazingly detailed but amazingly difficult. Tamiya is probably the best bet, though their newer kits usually lack engine, and if the don't they're going to be pretty complex. When looking at Tamiya kits - look for one that says "Full detail" or "Engine included" and look on the box to see if the box art has a cutaway with an engine pictured - these are indicators that the model has a motor. Otherwise it's a "curbside" or a kit without and engine under it's "bonnet." Revell is a good comapny that makes almost all full detail kits with pretty good molding, pretty good fit, pretty good accuracy, and pretty good everything else. Best of all, they're dirt cheap. Revell kits are probably your best bet.

I used to live in Baton Rouge, so I am not sure what you've got as far as hobby shops in N.O., however I do know there are some. I've heard about Hub Hobby which is supposed to be really good and I've driven by Hobbies West on the westbank one day when it was closed. Hit up map.google.com and search "Hobby Shops in New Orleans" and it will give you more information.

I go into this because I've yet to find a suitable alternative to modeling putty. Using Bondo putty can work, but it usually ends up with cracking and splitting on the surface. Don't get me wrong, some people can get it to work great, but being new at this means, to me at least, that you'll want the best and easiest to work with products. Model specific putties are designed to work with model materials - namely styrene plastic, to either bond with it or not depending on your intent. For heavy work you need an epoxy type putty because it won't damage the plastic when you use a lot and it won't shrink or crack much, but for filling small seams and dimples in plastic you'll need a more basic type putty. Tamiya makes superior versions of both of these, which will make your modeling day much more pleasant. Testors products are passable but not stellar.

In either case, the key with putty is to use as little of it as you can.

I've not met many girls that really go for guys that build models, unfortunately, though none of the ones I met or hung out with were averse to it. It's a helluva lot more productive (sort of) than video games, but not quite as cool as being in a band...

[Lan.Evo.VIII]

thank you for the info.
im might go to the hub hobby place maybe this weekend if i dont have anything to do.

Dang, what is the deal with the band and guitar thing. I now must learn to play a musical instrument lol.

thank you guys.

[cfcrules]

The best putty or filler is Squadron, it is great, dries, but sands away easily , in fine particles, meaning you can get a great finish easily. You can normally find it in most hobby shops, and its not too expensive. The downside is that the lid is not the best fit, and tends to get all gunked up, meaning that it dries out, but, its only usually the smallest amount wasted. I solved this by keeping it in a plastic bag, tied up, with all of the air squeezed out of it.

I started building with Revell, but found it difficult due to fitment problems, I then bought Tamiya Sauber C9, and it went together so easily, that I onlybuilt Tamiya until I was a bit more confident with my skills. I know alot of you will disagree, but the best model I think to start with is the Enzo, just dont add too much detail. The fitment is perfect, and the body comes in many pieces, meaning if you make any mistakes it is easy to correct by just sanding the seperate panels. However it is very expensive. So the best bet could be to go on ebay and look for a job lot of models, I picked up nine or ten models, for about £18, which I then used to pratice on, and if anythng went wrong I didn't worry about it. I don't really recommend AMT, as the paint schemes are very basic, and so you need to find a lot of reference pictures, which is not always possible to do. I'm still a noobie myself, so this maybe wrong, and it may be best to get advice from somebody else as well.

[Lan.Evo.VIII]

right now,

I purchased a civic hatchback from revell. The fitment of the bumper does not fit well. Also i dont like how the rear spoiler is, so im deciding to make a new one, simliar to the type r one. That is y i ask about the putty. I also have a tamiya s2k in progress, the body has been primed.


LAterz