Quick Tips

 What type of glue will adhere parts like spears and shields to the 1/72 soft plastic figures?

Permanently? None. Vinyl glue works OK; it's the best we've found. The shields will hold until you drop the figure. Then you re-glue it. The up-side is that the vinyl glue will peel off and doesn't ruin the plastic.

How do you stretch sprue to make antennas?

A common way is to light a candle and center the sprue over the flame. As the plastic begins to soften, pull. The further you stretch it, the thinner the plastic gets. A different twist to this method is to cut the sprue in half; heat one end; stick the unheated end into the heated part, and pull.

How do you use a crock pot to make the paint on figures dry faster?

A devoted fan sent a reply to this one: Set the crock pot on low for several hours to speed up the drying time of METAL figures painted with ARTIST'S (TUBE) OIL paint. (Key words to remember: METAL and TUBE OIL paints). Additional note: Buy one to use just for modeling; don't use the same one that you cook with.

How do you simulate engine hose and wiring on model cars?

Black insulated fine gauge wire used for model trains or small heat shrink tubing works fine.

 How do I fill a seam in a recessed area without messing up the surrounding detail?

The best way that I've found is to put tape along each side of the seam to be filled. This prevents the body putty from getting on raised detail areas like rivets or filling in depressed areas like panel lines. (This way minimizes the amount of meticulous and careful sanding needed expose covered up details and virtually eliminates the need to rescribe panel lines.) After the putty is dry and sanded smooth, hold the piece up to the light to see if there are any sunken areas. Some putties tend to shrink a bit. If it has, apply another layer.

Do you know how to put a fancy edge on a diorama base?

Without access to a woodworking shop, your best bet would be to win a contest or belong to an organization that rewards exemplary performance with a plaque. Chisel off that brass thing and you've got an instant, fancy diorama base.

I have a model that is predominantly one color and it has a lot of little parts that you have to glue on that are different colors. Should I glue the little parts on before spraying the entire model and paint them while they're attached? If I painted them separately and try adding them later, the locator holes will be clogged with paint.

I'd paint the little parts before attaching them. Unless you have a very steady hand, the paint brush might "wander" and add color you didn't want to the main part of the model. To prevent the locator holes from clogging up with paint, insert toothpicks. Since they're tapered, they work for different sized holes. And if the holes do clog, a small drill bit or a pin could de-clog them.

How do you take the warp out of injection molded wing panels? I've got an old DC-3 in a box and want to put it together, but the outer wing panels have some peculiar twists and warping.

Since it's already warped, we're going to work on the assumption that anything you do to it isn't going to make it too much worse than it is now. We've got three thoughts, depending on the severity:

1. Bend the wing past the warp (in the opposite direction of the warp) and clamp it. Leave it for a few days and it might spring back to normal position.

2. Soak the wing in warm water and then place it on a flat surface. Put something heavy on top, like a book.

3. Rubber band the wing halves together and use a hair dryer on it.

Do you know of an easy way to paint a canopy?

There is no easy way to paint a canopy. If Fast Frames makes a set of "masks" for the plane you're building, you're in luck. If not, then it's back to the old-fashioned way: taping the panels one at a time and then spray painting. I prefer the Scotch frosted tape which turns clear when pressed down. This way you know that the tape is properly adhered to the canopy when it's clear. I've never had a problem with the paint bleeding through.

My track popped when I stretched it to put it on my tank. Any suggestions?

Staple it back together and then paint the staples black.

Can you prevent orange peel on models when using a water-based paint?

This is a condition where the finished paint job looks like the skin on an orange: hence the name "orange peel". One cause of this is that the paint is taking too long to dry, usually because of high humidity. The paint then buckles. One solution is the put the model in a dehydrater right after spraying, leaving it in for about half an hour. Don't handle it for about 24 hours later, until it's completely dry.