Adding to my stash

Adding to my stash

Thanks to Jeanette and Roger Findlay for a wonderful $70 gift voucher from Hearns Hobbies and added these models to my stash.

This one is a Revell Kenworth W900 1:25 scale, this will be coupled with a car carrier to fully display my cars. This will be the first truck I have built and will be looking forward to it.

The other model I purchased is an Airfix L.C.M Mk.III and Sherman 1:76 scale. This is the first military transporter that I will have built and will be added to my limited military collection.

These models are going into my stash and will be started when I get the Captain Cooks Endeavour finished and some of my others done. It may take a while to start these models but will be looking forward to it.

Scale Modellers union #2

Scale Modellers Union #2

What's your favorite type of model to build?

I like to build all sorts of models from car, boats, planes and military models, but my favorite type to build would have to be cars.

I love building cars as I can make them look like they just came out of the shop, all nice and shiny and new. I love the older classic muscle cars and movie cars (Smokey and the Bandit, Dukes of Hazard). Most of my cars were easy to build and not all that difficult, but lots of fun to build.

I would like to build more classic muscle cars from the 50's and 60's to add to my collection, building them like they just rolled of the assembly line.

What's your favorite type of model to build? Comment or email me with your story.

Scale Modelers Union

 Your first model shop and what was it like?

This is a new concept by Miniature Models where other blogs/people can write a post about the topic. Every month a new topic will be tossed out and anyone can write about it.

First up we are taking you back to your modelling roots, where it all began, at that local model shop where you first got into your passion.

Well that goes back a long time and many many models ago, about 29 to be precise.

My first model shop experience was like my birthday and Christmas rolled into one. I was like a kid in a candy store but only able to get one model. I spent hours just walking around looking at the different models and types, having a hard time deciding on what model I should start with.

It was with my dad and he was teaching me how to build a model like he did as a kid. It was great bonding with my dad and building my first model ever. I was about 8 and it was a very basic plane, but i considered it hard at the time.

The model shop that still operates today was one of the few around at the time and the closest in my area. I still go to this model shop if I can't find a model I want as they are able to get it in for me.

The model shop was Metropolitan Hobbies 424a Station St Box Hill and the staff there were very helpful in the selection of my first model. The staff there were very knowledgeable and knew what they were talking about, they were able to point me in the right direction with which model I should choose for my first attempt.

I still have my first model I built and it's displayed with my other planes.

What was your first model shop experience like and did it inspire you to continue modelling later in life.

Rivets, paint, decals and weathering

Some people can get so into models that they have to have every detail exactly to the specifications of the actual vehicle. They need every rivet and decal in the exact location and every single rivet that was on the original vehicle.

I personally don’t care for getting every single rivet on a model that was thee on the original vehicle, as I hate spending hours counting rivets and I build the model the way I want.

I do like to get the decals in the right position but I don’t get out my Vernier calipers to work out the exact location down to the millimeter, but I do like to get them looking perfect.

Don’t get me started on paint; there are some that want other people’s approval on the paint or some that need it to be exactly right to the model. Then there are others that say “I like it, and that’s all that matters” and that is how I like doing models. If I’m happy with the result then that is all that matters.

Now don’t get me started on weathering.

There are some that have to have every little detail weathered, and it has to be perfect. Weathering on a real vehicle can vary vastly, the roof of a car can be rusty and the rest can be polished. It really depends on how you want your vehicle to look.

Avalon Airshow 2015

On the weekend I went to the Airshow at Avalon airport. It was a great day to capture photos of military and some non military aircraft. I got plenty of picture of military aircraft and vehicles for reference photos.

This is the MK.20 A84-232

Some reference of the paint and locations of the decals.

As close to the inside as I could get a photo of.

Some of the landing gear and where it folds to.

3D Metal Works Model

Wright Flyer

This little build was finicky as the metal was very thin and flexible. Getting the pieces off the board was also hard as they were quite small and places close together.

I started with the engine and lower wings, there was no gluing required only tabs that had to be bent or twisted. Some of the slots were only just big enough for the tabs to pass through causing excess press to be used and causing the part to bend slightly.

Once the lower wing was attached to the engine I started with the right side supports. These were quite finicky and the parts bent out of shape easily.

With this side done it was onto the other side. With one done it was easy to do the other as it was just a mirror image.

With the lower wing and bracing in place I started to assemble the propellers. These were thin and very flexible but I managed to persuade them into position.

Once these were done and attached to the lower wing it was onto the upper wing installation. This was tricky as it had so many tabs that needed to be inserted and the wing was thin and bent easily.

This little build was easy but took about 3hrs to build due to the small parts and the tabs not inserting as easily as I had hoped.

I got this model from the Melbourne Airshow and got a business card from Stormfront electronics, but as I looked at their website I couldn’t see any of the models. All I could see was a very small and limited selection of stuff not relevant to models.

I did a search for this model and came across the manufacture HK Nanyuan Industry Co. They have plenty of these models available for purchase.

Model build times!

Hi and welcome to Miniature Models blog, I am currently part way through my build of Captain Cooks Endeavour in 1/60 scale and it is a very time consuming and hard model to build.

Most models don’t just come together overnight as you may know, but some take months or even years. A lot of modellers take hours deciding on the right paint colours to use let alone the right brand.

Everything on a model has to be just right even the little features, like car logos like this ford logo that I painted by hand. It took about 20minutes to paint just right.

The time spent on a particular model can also depend on what scale it is and the level of difficulty. It starts from the Snap tite models that are simple snap together models and can be put together in about 1 week and about 2 days paint (working a couple of hours a day).

Then there are models with a number between 1 and 5. These levels depend on how many pieces there are and how big the model is when finished. Smaller models are usually less detailed and easier to build, but the bigger the scale the more pieces you have and the harder it becomes.

I like doing models with more parts and more detail to challenge myself and allow more detail to be done.

This build of Captain Cooks Endeavour is a wooden model and very time consuming, so please be patient while I perfect the building of this model and write my blog posts.