| I began building plastic model airplanes when I was | | | | first or any important warnings. |
| only six years old. My own son joined me in this | | | | 4) Always allow the glue to dry overnight before |
| great hobby when he was only five. I'm still building | | | | attempting to paint your model. |
| and painting at fifty six years old. | | | | This is key to a good paint job. It is natural to want |
| Whether you are a beginner or an old coot like me | | | | to finish your model as quickly as possible. |
| who has been building model planes for fifty years | | | | That does NOT give the best results though. |
| now, I hope you can enjoy the following tips. | | | | Instead, glue everything together and then let it dry |
| 1) Choose a good model airplane building station. | | | | overnight. |
| There is no reason you can't use an existing desk, a | | | | 5) Use putty to fill in the gaps. |
| fold out table or even the kitchen table. | | | | Patience is the key here too. After using putty |
| Just choose an area where you will be comfortable | | | | carefully to fill in any gaps or seams, allow it to fully |
| for the amount of time you intend to spend in this | | | | dry. |
| building session and be sure to prepare your area for | | | | 6) Wash your model again before painting. |
| the tasks at hand. | | | | Wash your assembled model again with soapy water |
| Plastic model airplane building requires using glue and | | | | and allow it to fully dry. |
| paint. No matter how careful you are, you will end up | | | | Why? Because this is your chance to remove oils |
| with both glue and pain on your working surface. Be | | | | from the plastic. Your paint job will look spectacular if |
| sure to prepare that surface with a removable lining | | | | you remove all of the oils from your hands before |
| for easy clean up and protection of your chosen | | | | you start painting. |
| work surface. | | | | 7) Always paint the interior first. |
| 2) Always wash everything before you start. | | | | This is a common mistake for beginners. If you start |
| Use soap and water to clean all of your parts. This is | | | | with the outside, you will end up needing to touch up |
| important for both gluing and painting your models. A | | | | after you accidentally get interior paint on the |
| nice clean dry surface means your model will be much | | | | exterior of your model. |
| stronger and have a much nicer paint job. | | | | If you start from the interior, you will always end up |
| 3) Read the directions! | | | | with the very best paint job. |
| Honestly. Everyone wants to jump in and just start | | | | 8) Enjoy your new model. |
| building. Nobody thinks they need the instructions. | | | | This is the pay off. Since you were very careful and |
| But I guarantee that you will have a lot more fun if | | | | patient, you now have a model that will last for |
| you just take the time to read through all of the | | | | years and you can be proud to display. |
| instructions before you start. | | | | Enjoy it. This is an important part of the hobby. Don't |
| Also keep a yellow highlighter pen handy during this | | | | spend all of your time building new models. Take time |
| first reading. Mark anything that seems confusing at | | | | to admire and show off your existing models. |