Beginner questions

[Guest]

got my first model delivered and opened today. When looking at all the small parts two questions jumped out at me.I don't have sprue cutters ,what is the next best thing or should I just wait untill I get a pair? Second do you normally paint the parts before attaching or just assemble first? Thanks

[Guest]

A very sharp scalpel using a cutting board, softwood or similar will do it, i dont use sprue cutters myself and havent had any problems just using a scalpel or sharp stanley knife.

If you feel the small part will ping across the room either pop your finger over the part or just pop a little bit of selotape over the part and sprue then cut the tab through the tape.

Edit *

Forgot to say .... its a matter of personal preference and common sense whether to paint before attaching, if the parts the same colour then attach it ... if it's different then either paint on the sprue and touch up the little cut bit before attaching or if you have a steady hand you could attach and paint afterwards.

Hope i've helped

[Guest]

Assume it is Joe ?

I always cut from the sprue. Mostly find that there is work to do on the piece to bring up to scratch . Also if you paint on the sprue most pieces are held with 2 or more tabs so these have to be removed & sanded down at some point. Preferably before you paint. But your call really Joe. Make your own rules !

Hope all goes well.

Keep calling when you need further advice.

Laurie

[Gern]

There is a trick to avoiding touching up the sprue attachment points on small parts.

Cut the parts from the sprue and clean them up ready for painting. Then glue them back onto a piece of sprue (fix all the small parts which need the same colour to the same sprue so they can be painted together) using the areas by which they are to be attached to the kit. The idea is to hold the parts so you can paint them without having to touch up your paintwork afterwards.

(Larger parts can just be held in clamps if they have suitable holding points - either attachment points or areas which do not need to be painted. They can also be held on sticks using tape or Blu-Tack).

Now you can paint them, using hairy stick or airbrush, and then cut them free from their new sprues. Because the new attachment point is where the part is to be fixed to the model, it doesn't need to be cleaned up as it won't be seen.

Some people use CA (Superglue) for this as it allows the parts to break away from the new sprues easily.

I've done a couple of pics to try and show what I'm on about.

Gern

[ATTACH]59368.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]59369.IPB[/ATTACH]

[flyjoe180]

That is good advice Dave, cheers.

[Alan 45]

I would also add that its best to remove paint from edges that need to be attached there is nothing worse than seeing blown paint around nice clean edges.

[Guest]

Some nice ideas there Dave not thought about.

Laurie

[Gern]

I would also add that its best to remove paint from edges that need to be attached there is nothing worse than seeing blown paint around nice clean edges.

Yeah. Thanks Alan.

I should have said that it's best not to paint areas which need to be glued. Either the paint will prevent the parts from sticking together, or the glue will spoil the paint finish. If you do paint over attachment points, it's usually fairly simple to clean off the paint with a sanding stick - certainly easier than trying to touch up paintwork anyway! Failing that, you can always blank off areas you don't want to paint with tape, Blu Tack or masking fluid.

Gern

[Guest]

I also use a pair of really sharp fingernail clippers. They help get into those really tight spaces with minimal to no damage to small or weak parts.

[AlanG]

I tend to use either a scalpel or a pair of small wire cutters (snips). Nail clippers would also be ok to use.

Painting wise i tend to remove from the sprue, remove the attaching tab then paint. Choice is totally yours though Joep. Remember as long as you have fun then that is the main thing.

Keep us updated with pics of your builds though as i love seeing them