sanding

[Guest]

What is the best way to sand in "fiddly" places such as undercarriage legs, fighter stick (mine had a bit of flash on it, holding it with tweezers doesn't give it a great grip and the tweezers cover most of it!) and "awkward to get to" places? What tools do you use? I have a "tri-grit" buffer, but that is ok for the fuselage and some bigger stuff.

Last model I built at school was far from perfect and probably had some fingerprints on it I must admit. I did not have the patience for it, but I enjoyed it. Now I have the patience but I don't know how to do it!!!

I think I could do with "back to "basic" basics" thread. I got a couple of books to start, "Scale Aircraft Modelling" and "Luftwaffe fighter modelling" which are both very good and explain a lot of stuff that I will surely use one day. However, at this stage, I'm looking for some very basic stuff. Such as, when do you paint what and when do you glue it? Do I paint the parts of the cockpit and then glue it? Do I glue it first and then paint it? In the "good old days" the cockpits did not have consoles, or rudders... (times have changed).

Sure, I can have a go at all combinations and then work out what works best, but I might pick up some bad habits. I think there are a lot of pros here who can spare me the struggle.

[Guest]

Did you look at the "Back to Basics" thread? It might help you off to start with.

As for intricate thaings like gear legs, I used to do a lot by what they call "Adzing", which is basically dragging your sharp knife over the raised edge of the seam until it is flat. You then need to finish off with a fine wet and dry or, as you say, a buffer.

One thing I do a lot of and that is glue various bits of wet and dry paper to things like lolipop sticks and coffee stirrers. You can trim them to any shape and hence generate some nice fine sanding tools. They don't last long but what's a coffee stirrer?

I usually find with little fiddly bits that holding them by hand is usually the best because tools can be a bit damaging if you are not careful.

As for painting, most small bits are best removed from the sprue, then reglued to a bit of sprue on a spot that won't be seen on the completed part, before painting. Then when you remove it finally the unpainted bit is hidden. Take a pilot, cut him off the sprue, dress him up and then glue him by the bottom of his foot to a peice of sprue. I usually stretch a piece then cut it at just the right diameter along the taper to give me the best fit. Then paint him up and finally remove him from the sprue. The unpainted bit is under his foot then so well out of sight.

[Guest]

As for the sanding, I tend to use a new knife blade instead, and either put the item on a flat surface and trim away small parts at a time, that way you dont run as much risk of snapping the part.

Another way is to hold the knife at 90 degrees to the peice and gently scrape it away, especially useful with mould lines on undercarriage parts as it is hard to make a mistake!

[jspitza]

Sanding sticks! Lots of them around say 400-1200 grit range. The flat blade with a gentle scraping action helps a lot too. I also use Xuron sprue cutters and sheers cause they give me a great close cut to work with. And always follow Bunkerbarge's directions-they work!