FANTASTIC ADVICE! The wet cotton swab for finishing putty, the sparing application of super glue using a needle, and the recommendation of a half hour being the sweet spot to sand is just invaluable advice! THANK YOU!!!
Filling a gap with styrene is a good way to get red of it and it will not schrink in time. I'm always applying putty like I'm doing painting : I'm putting masking tape and only getting the area I want to fill. Some other way is to fill gapes with a mix of plastic dust and CA glue. Depending on the gap that needs to be fill. Sometimes, I'm even sanding areas with masking tape still on model to avoid sanding off important details. It's up to every modeler to find his way to do things. Yours are very instructive ! Thanks for sharing.
I like the idea of using styrene to fill larger gaps; I've used that a few times. I build 1/24 and 1/25 cars and trucks. I've also found good luck with sprue goo, using Testor's glue in the red tube and sprues from the manufacturer/kit I'm working on. I've found that the various manufacturers use slightly different plastics - Moebius, for example is quite different from AMT, which itself is slightly different from Revell. If I use a Revell goo on a Moebius kit, it doesn't set as well. Truck is to use as little glue as possible that will melt the sprue, and you get a high sprue-to-glue ratio - doing this, it sands and shapes as easily as regular styrene. And I love the Corsair in your logo! The explanation and the logo have earned a subscribe! 👍🏻
For filling joints, try putting masking tape on both sides of the joint about a millimetre or less on each side of the joint. Thin out the putty with some Tamiya liquid glue in a plastic milk carton cap and then brush it on. This way you loose no panel lines or rivets! I have always had problems with CA glue.
If you want to give the filled gap the same material properties as the rest of the part (e.g., to keep some translucency), you can also dissolve some of the sprue in Tamiya airbrush cleaner (only one percent difference in the mixture from their extra thin cement) to get a 100$ compatible putty to be spread with a toothpick or something similar.
Regarding the irregular gap in the motor cowling. You could take a fine saw and extend the groove up to the end of the gap. This would ensure a square end and consistent gap to the end. At this paint you could fill the gap with the thickness of styrene of your choice. You are guaranteed to not use much filler putty.
been a modeller for 50 ish years dont know what the American equivalent is but polyfilla fine surface for walls always works for me , wipes off with a wet cotton bud and is a fraction of the cost of model filler .
An alternative to Vallejo putty that doesn’t shrink as much. Use testors putty. Let it dry for an hour or more. Then smooth it out using rubbing alcohol. Learned this from another RU-vid modeler.
I find useful to mix some graphite powder (from ground down pencils) to my c.a. glue as small gaps filler: this has the advantage of making the c.a. glue a little bit softer and easier to sand down. Also, it actually strenghtens the gap and, as the mix is usually darker than the surrounding plastic, it's visually easier to check your sanding job as it progresses and the overall final result. My 2 cents, anyway.😅
K.I.S.S.!!! Especially in this hobby! Very Refreshing to SEE a LOGICAL solution to open GAPS! WOW, sheet styrene, or styrene rod or stretched sprue! Then (CA/Super glue). But the other ingredient is Taking your time. Don't rush it as you showed without broadcasting TAKE YOUR TIME. Folks, Real School here! Simple filling gaps....Don't make the mistake of shoving Putty, Spackle, Concrete, Asphalt, Mud, Dirt, Sprue GOO (Never really dries) Just Thank You!!! Build as you like, but hopefully don't become a Lemming just to be cool. Make model building FUN Not more complicated. Blessings Darrell Killingsworth
For small reasonable size joints, especially on new models, I find that super thin cement also helps a lot. I think it's melting the primer (enamel) or something, but it really helps to smooth things out. I've experienced this with Ammo's glue at least, haven't noticed using others yet.
An excellent video on filling gaps. Im new to this hobby and im currently building a Tamiya sea harrier, which is a very old tooling and some of the gaps - especially in small parts like the thrust nozzles - are hellish. I'll definitely be getting some of that putty and ca glue.
I had to fill a gap on a tank chassis, where the corners just didn't line up...used sprue material since it was same color and composition as the rest of model...a bit of Vallejo putty and it is nearly indistinguishable
That's nice tips indeed. I use this putty from Vallejo, and also sometimes... some wall surfacer that you can find at DIY stores! Modeler friends were skeptical, but it did not shrink since. (and you get a new subscriber :-)
Whenever I have to use putty I leave it for at least 24 hours to cure, no matter what kind of it. But filling gaps with styrene works better almost always. I also started using styrene bits to shape some joints before glueing them into place. It is very handy when you have a model with mid wing configuration or upper wing with engine necceles hanging below. This way you can paint them much easier and you have better control on certain areas.
An alternative to using plain CA glue is to add mig gun metal pigment in the glue. Then add kicker to dry it. Sand and repeat as needed. The pigment makes the glue more sand able. Plus it’s black so you can see what your sanding. This tip works with gun metal pigment from Mig or artist pure graphite powder. Found this from another RU-vid aircraft modeler.
Sprinkling ordinary household flour over CA will basically do the same thing. The flour chemically bounds with the CA and gives you a nice surface to sand.
Thanks old boy. I've been at this modelmaking caper forever and gap filling remains a horror for me. I can fill the gaps, but the edges of my filler material *always* seem to be slightly visible.
Switching out your regular glue with sprue goo sorts alot of these sorts of gaps, Especially if you use a thicker glue with more plastic in the mix. This is a good shout though, I use this technique fairly often.
@@ModelAirplaneMaker Old school thick tooth paste style glue intentionally applied too generously is also sometimes quite good. The kind you get in airfix starter sets.
I've had good luck with Testor's tube glue (red tubes) and sprues from the kit or manufacturer I'm working on. For instance, Moebius uses a slightly different plastic than AMT, which is slightly different from Revell. By using the sprue from the manufacturer, the goo seems to set in better with the kit. (This has been my experience; I'm still relatively new to the hobby.)
Y E S !!!! Vallejo putty!! I purchased this recently and this stuff is wonderful..... no more bad, smelly, gooey putty that flakes off!! BUT, don't 'wet-sand' this Vallejo putty.....did that once to a kit and all that putty simply faded a w a y ........... Was a bit disappointed, but Now I know better.....what I know NOW is that using a moisten Q-tip helps placing the putty....very Cool!!!👍👍👍 And of course adding that styrene before the putty makes perfect sense as well Good Show! But EVEN Better, adding the CA glue on top of your sanded/polished V-putty makes a Lot of sense as well, because V-putty will shrink as well as other putties.
Yep I like that putty too. I used to use Elmers filler putty the same way. I also use a 2 part epoxy putty like Tamiya or A&B putty ( I get from a pool supply store ) in the same way . I feel I can get a smoother finish with the A&B with a little wetness and re-touching as it sets . I find Tamiya 's epoxy a little trickier to use but it can work too. Thanks. How do you save/fix rivets?
Thanks, simple and effective with care and patience. I've seen modelers put Tamiya tape either side of the line as further protection for the surrounding surface detail. Have you tried this?
@ModelAirplaneMaker Awesome! That makes it all the more easier. My Son (16yrs old) and I, have just gotten into scale modeling. I built several kits when I was a kid. But wanted to do something together with him that would be time well spent. We're still getting up to speed with tools and adhesives, etc. I appreciate you responding to my question. And Thanks again for the videos! Keep them coming. I'll DEFINITELY stay tuned in. Have a great weekend! Regards, Jeff Jones
Its easier than that! Just go to the dollar store, grab some sewing needles and pick one. Then just cut the eye of the needle in half. You can adjust the 'gap' and when it all gets gummed up with dried CA, just burn it off with a match.
They are not triangular (that would be cool though!) These are run-of-the-mill sanding sticks and I think I got them at my local hobby store or at a model show.
I need to do more experiments with goo. When I did I found some good advantages such as the ease of sanding down and re-scribing. But then I found that the stuff was inconsistent and sometimes led to 'sinking'. Now if I have a gap big enough for goo, it is the right size for using evergreen and I get more consistent results.
