Global Scale Modeller

Hi there!

I've been wondering about which things to get to start modelling, like tools, paints, and ofcourse, kits

Here are a few of my questions:

What is the best place to buy models from? (US) I'm thinking of MegaHobby, but I don't know if that's any good or not.

Are dioramas hard to make? or do you just need to have the right tools to get it right?

What kinds of paint should I get? just the regular colors required in the kits, or those 'special' paints? (That metallic looking paint for example)

Weathering, is it required? is it hard to apply? (I think not since on some videos it looked quite easy)

The tools ofcourse, what is absolutely needed? I'm talking about brushes, sprue cutters, etc...

And then... The kits themselves.. Where do I start? I'm thinking of my first to be the Italeri 1:48 A-7E, (which I saw here on the forum, looked pretty nice!!) Or the smaller A-4s in 1:72, or maybe even a 1:72 Fokker 70.

(Also, keep in mind I live on a tiny island with complicated shipping, I might use MyUS for shipping the paint, but I'm not sure if that's any good)

Ok some quick hints to get this started
1. Best place to buy is close to you or via internet. Most places ship, I am thinking either Florida or South America for you. Sprue Brothers might be a good start. I buy stuff from all over the world and just wait for it to arrive and lump the shipping cost..but I get what I want

2. Dioramas are a blast to make. IMHO the best ones are when you make it from stuff you find you have lying around and can find easily. Bathroom silicone for water, real wood and rocks that kind of thing. Many of my builds have a diorama or a base I have done like that. If you can do a bit of wood cutting for a base and spray paint it black, you are well on your way to a runway pad. Samples of tiles or flooring are also good model bases.

3. Paint depends on how you will use it. Brush...you need acrylics. Early on spray paint like Tamiya is a good bet too. Airbrushing enters an entirely different realm of painting, modelling and expense. Availability also comes into play again. As a start, get what you need to complete the kit you have and then go from there

4. No you don't need to weather. But it is easy and I can show you a cheap black wash made from acrylic and ink if you like. Oil paints also good to weather with; easy to do but need patience and a light touch.

5. Good sprue cutters, a good hobby knife and some flexible sanding sticks. That is a good start

6. Kits: Buy what interests you. Tamiya is always a first kit choice brand for me as they will go together well almost every time. Others may not be as well designed and need a bit more skill and 'finesse'

Ask lots of questions, read lots of threads when you can
I am hoping others will chime in and give opinions
Coincidentally, this Friday's question of the week will be of interest to you

So many questions which have a whole bee's nest of answers. I keep it as short as possible expansion will come with others replying.
Facebook is a good place to get kits cheaper.
https://andyshhq.com/
Dios to be done well require a lot of work and time also take up a lot of shelf space.
Paint ..usually whats locally available and whether you prefer acrylic or enamels or lacquer based.
Weathering is not required ever.....modelers choice
Tools....Definitely a sharp knife I prefer scalpels and band-aids.
Good quality small flat file
Tamiya extra thin cement
Soft sanding sticks various grits 180, 240,320, 1000 will cover most situatins. The cosmetics aisle will have similar items that are usable.
Good set of tweezers
Gap filler
A single edged good quality sprue cutter expect to pay good money for these, but well worth it.
A battery operated milk whisk/frother or trumpeter paint mixer

Hello and welcome to this wonderful hobby

1- What is the best place to buy models from? (US)

Well do not stick necessary to US store on the internet. You'll find some elsewhere sometimes with better price even with shipping included. A good one I ordered from the US are sprue brothers or Hobbyworld USA. But you'll find good stuff on ebay or amazon too sometimes.

2- Are dioramas hard to make? or do you just need to have the right tools to get it right?

Never done one myself but you need a lot of stuff it seems. And it adds, in my opinion, more things to learn, master and buy if you're at your first models. But a lot can be replace by household stuff.

3- What kinds of paint should I get? just the regular colors required in the kits, or those 'special' paints? (That metallic looking paint for example)

I'll recommend, at first getting what you need with your first kit. Try Tamiya's. Lacquer's are awesome but need the proper equipment for them. Buy yourself a good primer. I'll stay away from Vallejo paints if I was you, except for brush painting.

4- Weathering, is it required? is it hard to apply? (I think not since on some videos it looked quite easy)

Well that's a good question ! It's not require at all ! But it adds a lot to a model especially in military modeling. It's not as easy as it looks ! A few basics are easy to do and will add a lot to the look of your model. But again, if you go that way you'll add to the things to buy. Depending on what you start with, you could get away by only buying Tamiya panel line accent may be. Or a cheap way to do a lot of things, it's going with oil paints and a good white spirit. That way, it's cheap, last long, and you can recreate almost anything all the enamel products do.

5 - The tools ofcourse, what is absolutely needed? I'm talking about brushes, sprue cutters, etc...

For me, when I decided to get serious, I went with the following
- good sprue cutters (tamiya)
- good tweezers (tamiya again)
- a few good brush (from my local art store)
- sanding sponges of the grits mentioned by Digger
- sanding paper of the same grits
- gap filler of some sort (on my side it was tamiya's again because available at my local hobby store)

And then... The kits themselves.. Where do I start?
Go with your interest and your budget.

I buy from megahobby often, and have never been disappointed.

If brand new, my recommendation for a kit, is anything from Tamiya 10 to 20 years ago. These will be slightly cheaper than a brand new kit, and likely a tiny bit simpler.

Paints will require you to try a few, and figure out where you get the best results. Brushes too.

You should get tamiya extra thin cement, a good hobby knife, fine sandpaper or sanding sticks (multi grit Emory boards may do).

Good luck.

tg18083 wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 2:28 am I buy from megahobby often, and have never been disappointed.

If brand new, my recommendation for a kit, is anything from Tamiya 10 to 20 years ago. These will be slightly cheaper than a brand new kit, and likely a tiny bit simpler.

Paints will require you to try a few, and figure out where you get the best results. Brushes too.

You should get tamiya extra thin cement, a good hobby knife, fine sandpaper or sanding sticks (multi grit Emory boards may do).

Good luck.

Good responses , thanks for posting

Here's my take - hope some of this helps

What is the best place to buy models from? (US) I'm thinking of MegaHobby, but I don't know if that's any good or not.
I can't help with the best place to buy from in the US but what I would suggest is to plan your orders in advance and get as much as possible from a single supplier to cut down on shipping costs (you probably do this already, right?)
Are dioramas hard to make? or do you just need to have the right tools to get it right?
I love making dioramas and they can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. The main thing to have is a rough idea of what you're trying to achieve and maybe make a rough sketch with dimensions. It can be anything as simple as a small base cut from wood or even foamboard & styrene sheets, up to a full blown diorama kit - but be aware some of these are made from vac-formed plastic and have their own associated challenges. So take your time and build to a level you're comfortable with and then start pushing a little to see where you can go next.

To try and give a couple of examples of my own this first one is a simple base with additional figures

And this one falls into the second category of throwing as much as possible at it and took several months to complete


But as someone said - make sure you've got room for them once they're finished

What kinds of paint should I get? just the regular colors required in the kits, or those 'special' paints? (That metallic looking paint for example)
Again plan ahead, you should be able to find the instructions for the kits you're interested in buying online these days and these will give you the paint call outs. So take a look at a few options and build up an idea of what you'll need - then add black, white & some form of metallic to the list

Oh and also think about getting gloss & matt varnishes too.

In terms of brands you'll get as many answers as there are model makers in terms of recommendations, and again it would help to know if you're planning to get an airbrush or use brushes for now.

Weathering, is it required? is it hard to apply? (I think not since on some videos it looked quite easy)
Nope - it's entirely up to you how much you weather a kit. When I started back in the hobby my first foray into weathering was to use clay washes which you can brush on and then wipe off again to leave as much or as little as you want. If you do this over a gloss coat you'll be able to highlight the panel lines on an aircraft, if you do it over a matt coat then you can leave streaking/grime effects - but it's all about practice.

Here's an example of how this works; this is a 1/72 Harrier which has been painted up & had the decals applied followed by a gloss varnish, then the black clay wash was dumped over the top (scary) and I've started wiping off the wing to leave the wash in the panel lines


The tools ofcourse, what is absolutely needed? I'm talking about brushes, sprue cutters, etc...
Most of these have already been covered, something to cut with, something to sand with, something to stick with, something to fill with & something to paint with. I'd also add in masking tape to the mix - it's obviously useful for masking (e.g. canopies & camo schemes) but also really useful for holding bits together while the glue sets (e.g. fuselage halves)

And then... The kits themselves.. Where do I start? I'm thinking of my first to be the Italeri 1:48 A-7E, (which I saw here on the forum, looked pretty nice!!) Or the smaller A-4s in 1:72, or maybe even a 1:72 Fokker 70.
People have already mentioned that you can't really go wrong with a Tamiya kit for ease of assembly. But yes maybe look at a couple of relatively cheap 1/72 kits to use for testing - you'll need to experiment with some of the techniques involved to find what's right for you (especially with weathering & painting) so maybe pick up a simple spitfire or similar to use as a test mule before investing in something bigger, more complex & expensive

Above all enjoy yourself - for many of us choosing & buying kits is as much a part of the hobby as actually building is

Keep browsing the forums here and elsewhere there's a lot of inspiration around, and always feel free to ask more questions here - you'll always find help & encouragement

AND check out.... https://www.scalemates.com/kits/

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=29805&sid=f16046ef ... efa45f4413

Some paint tips and info developing here

I will add - regardless of brush or airbrush, i get good basic beginer results from vallejo and mig dropper bottle glosses and flats.

Also - in my list of basic tools and materials, I left off super glue, putty (tamiya), and tape (tamiya).

And again - I like megahobby.