Need 1/72 Aircraft building tips

[Guest]

Hi guys , after Dereks fantastic aircraft 1/72 build , thought I`ve gotta try a 1/72 scale aircraft so I got two ( don`t do things by half ) thanks to eBay I`ve got the revell AV-8B Harrier for two quid & the italari Tornado strike , box art shows German decals but it also comes with RAF decals paid a fiver for that one

having only ever made 2 1/48 aircraft any tips on making a 1/72 scale is very welcome

must say the Harrier and Tornado are two birds I really do like

Richy

[Guest]

Much the same as 1:48 but smaller. That is not meant to be facetious but to point out that the model may be smaller, the detail smaller but your hands, painting technique glue runs and sanding scratches are just the same size so will stand out more if you get it wrong. Do it like it is a 1:48 that your life depends on getting the finish right and you should be fine lol.

[colin m]

Hello Richy,

I normally build 1:72 simply because space is finite in my house, therefore I can store / display more 1:72 than 1:48 ! The only real tip I might suggest is to go for a good starting point, as in manufacturer. I recently built an Airfix Grumman Gosling for daughter No. 1 and it was a truly awful kit, sorry, I meant challenging. Italeri should be good, I built a Harrier GR3 from one of their kits and was quite happy with the result. Second tip, well try not to be too disapointed with the lack of detail in a 1:72 kit. There are some great kits out there, but they aren't likely to match up to a 1:48 for detail. Don't be put off from a 1:72, there are some fantastic examples of this scale on this forum. Having just typed all that, I must admit to being a bit jealous of the 1:48 (and don't even mention the 1:32) models around, so much so, I have a 1:48 Mosquito waiting for the off !!

Regards

Colin M.......

[Guest]

Hi Richy, well done on your leap of faith and your choice of aircraft, look forward to seeing them. As for tips, here are a few that have worked for me.

Take your time, don't rush for the glue, get as good a fit as possible.

I use Plastic Weld for all my aircraft, and since doing so have never used a clamp to hold pieces together since. Its also very good for closing small gaps. After the initial bond, run the Plastic Weld over the gap area with a fine point brush, and the plastic melts locally and fills the gap.

When using super glue I always bring the piece to the glue i.e. I squeeze a small drop of glue to the nozzle tip and wet the piece on this drop, wipe off any excess before joining the pieces together.

Dip your canopy in Klear before masking.

Thats a start, sorry if I am teaching you to suck eggs, but will try to help if I can, and there are plenty in this Forum who have more experience than me, who I am sure will help.

Cheers and good luck Derek

[Guest]

I think it would be a good idea for everyone to build a 1:72 at some time. Let's face it, 1:72 is where most of us started and there are some superb kits out there. Be a good 'grounding' exercise.

[stona]

Kits vary as much in 1/72 as any other scale. I've just built two as the subjects of an ongoing diorama. The P-40 Kittyhawk from Airfix has virtually no internal detail at all and is definitely showing its age. Crucially it still looks like a P-40. The Storch from Academy is a superb little kit,obviously from a younger generation. As a builder primarily of large scale aircraft I was very impressed with it.

Here they are along with my reference photo.

Cheers

Steve

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