How I Fell in Love With Model Kits: Part 1
Trader Sam | August 23, 2016
Read: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t even realize that it had happened. But, somewhere along the way, I fell in love with model kits. Not just the common plastic kits that can be found in many stores, but metal kits, and paper kits, too.
I always liked assembling plastic model kits. I like putting the pieces together; it’s fun to take an assortment of parts and create something recognizable out of them. And, the size is convenient; I can’t examine a life-size vehicle as easily as a small model.
I also like examining how the pieces fit together . . . not just physically, but mechanically. The assembly systems (tabs & slots, pins & holes, etc.) are intriguing. It isn’t enough for me to follow directions; I have to understand both how things work and why they work. By understanding those, the models become more than the sum of their parts. But, that’s where the fun would end for me.
As a kid, I had no patience. Well, maybe more than most, but not enough for plastic model kits. Back then, the only model glue known to me was the gloppy glue that emitted toxic fumes. I could literally feel myself getting dumber as the glue fumes killed off brain cells by the masses. Waiting was always torture, and this stinky glue took a full day to cure. Ugh!
Water slide decals were fun . . . unless I had to place them over a panel line or rivet. Decals don’t naturally form around such surface details, and they would look awful. So, I left those off, and models would look partially complete.
Paint, the bane of my young existence. It was expensive, smelly (there go more brain cells), messy, and it took time to dry (ugh!). And, I didn’t have the tools or skills to mask off areas, do blends/gradients, or lay down a smooth layer.
So, my models had no paint and hardly any decals.
Picking out a model kit at the store was hard. The model had to be something that looked good without paint and with little to no decals. That’s hard to do when I only have a few small images printed on the boxes to get a sense of the whole model. And, I wasn’t into automobiles, ships, aircraft, and trains. That slimmed my choices down even further. Eventually, I avoided the model kit aisles entirely.
Up until a year ago, walking through or past them brought back childhood memories of my model-building incompetence. Model kits had scarred me, and I went from liking them to hating them.
Oh! I forgot to mention that most of my childhood models were “naked” as well! Bad with paint. Hate water slide decals.
I absolutely fell in love with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. Try fit the parts, then touch the seam with the glue brush. It wicks right in, and with a squeeze it melts the plastic together. I’ve been using it on the Millennium Falcon.
I always liked the idea of waterslides, but it turns out that you need special liquids to get them to sit and mold correctly. I’ll be working with waterslides on a Disney model kit that should be coming in this weekend. I hope it goes well.
Not a big fan of plastic kits these days either. The glue you refer to seems to be the only one that doesn’t either glue ME to the model or evaporate before I can align the parts. But it also makes the biggest mess. Don’t get me wrong, I still use styrene but most of what I use these days is strip or sheet rather than injection molded. My most recent use of plastics was for the Autopia. The cars are el cheapo pull back racers that I modified and painted.