I am curious why it says "easy to build" on the boxes for these structure kits. I have only tried a couple, but it's far from easy. I think I will pass on the putty, sand, and paint steps until I get better at this. Methods, pointers, tips for structure building? Thanks, Loco1999
Looks good to me. I will have to agree, if it says easy to build get ready to pull some hair out. Dan
It's never easy to build these kits, and then if you get kind of OC over it things get even worse. I love making my buildings look the best I can, I pretty much hate building structures though. It's really stressful. I prefer to do scenery because it's more like gardening. Nice oil facility though. I am tempted by the refinery kit. Is it really that bad to assemble?
If you think the North Island Refinery from Walthers is tough, don't ever buy the Plastruct refinery kit. All it consists of are plans and raw, uncut to length Plastruct shapes. The swing bridge kit has a sheet of 4 inch by six inch by .80 ABS with instructions to "cut ties out of this sheet".
Hiya. Yeah, follow the instructions! Hey, a "kit" is a kit and it doesn't build itself, you have to put it together. That used to be what MRRing was all about, now it seems to be R-T-Ring to the dismay of people who still like to build things. Regards, Jim Maurer Tokushima, Japan
Yeah, follow the instructions! Hey, a "kit" is a kit and it doesn't build itself, you have to put it together. That used to be what MRRing was all about, now it seems to be R-T-Ring to the dismay of people who still like to build things. Regards, Jim Maurer Tokushima, Japan </font>[/QUOTE]Jim, I understand your viewpoint, but everyone enters the game at their own comfort level. Some kits can be real bears. I have read many online posts regarding the Walthers two track truss bridge. I sort of caught on to the fact that I would need to file alot of gaps to make the pieces fit together nicely, so mine was a cinch, but if you are not experienced with kit building I think a kit like that would be enough to turn you off to this hobby. My brother in law is fanatical about kit building. He'll spend months building one tank model. He is more the modeller type that you describe. I don't see that being a non-modeller type is any disrespect to people who like the model building aspect. I truly admire the work people put into their fine craftsmanship. I just can't do that myself, it makes me nutty. You have a point by reposting the original post. He was looking for advice, so here goes: 1.I usually wash my plastic kit parts while they are still on the sprue. I have heard this helps get rid of the mold release agents that can leave a greasy residue and cause paints not to stick as well. Some people wash in water with a little bit of vinegar. I just use a couple drops of dish fluid and make sure to rinse well. 2. I am completely A.D.D. and want to glue things together right away. I really have to make myself calm down and read instructions through once while identifying parts as I go. It really helps to know whats what in a kit. Sadly sometime you find out you are missing things if you do this first. I've had it happen quite a few times actually. 3. Test fit things before gluing and gently file down anything that is too chunky. Take your time here. I have ruined kits by oversanding things. Go easy, keep test fitting till it's just right. I use solvent based glues that weld the pieces together. Here is a thread about glues from Atlas forum: http://forum.atlasrr.com/default.asp 4. Painting is tricky. You can't glue painted sections to each other. At the same time you need to paint certain sub assemblies before attaching them to other items. Sometimes you have to scrape a bare area to glue and then touch up with paint afterwards. This is one of those things you learn over time. I really think it is the thinking that goes into the prepainting and finish work that makes a kit look really good. Take your time. Expect disasters. If you make a disaster, take a break from the model. When you come back to it, try to fix it up and see what happens. It can either become a prize winning model at this stage or you can have one of those "hide it at the back of the layout type of results." You'll learn more from your mistakes than anything else you do. You may even find that your hobby will influence how you deal with other life situations. Ok thats my basic help. good luck [ May 19, 2005, 12:21 PM: Message edited by: traingeekboy ]
Loco1999: I built that kit when I first started the JJJ&E. Walthers kits aren't easy to build as they aren't well made. The directions aren't the easiest to follow. That's why I now prefer to build all lasercut building kits. Stay cool and run steam....
Thanks for the info. I am new to model building and I found. Paint doesn't stick well. Hard to know what parts to paint. It's easy to over sand. It's easy to mess up with glue. TGB, Thanks for your info, Helps with a bunch of my problems. It is probably not a tough kit, If you are good at building kits. The point was after building a couple of models, I found it frustrating and was looking at the big print on the box "easy to build". I thought it was kind of funny. Thanks, Loco1999
And remember that lesson that I have to learn each month...Take your time! I learn that over and over.
I find it hard to imagine someone would advertise "Hard to Build" on a box. There are many manufacturers, in many hobbies, who at least grade their kits: Master Craftsman, Journeyman, Apprentice--or Admiral, Captain, Ensign--or some such. This avoids the negative, while providing some guidance. I am bugged by three things: a one page diagram that's unclear; a 27-page manual that's equally unclear, and foolish translations. "When driving hard and raining fast, push subordinate twig to the ground." Turn on your windshield wipers.
I have to agree on the Walthers kits. Most of the kit structures on my layout are from them. I've yet to build one that goes together well. That refinery kit has got to be one of the worst models I've ever built, including all the armor, ships, aircraft, figures etc in my collection. Poor fit, unclear instructions. If I had to build another refinery, I'd build it from scratch.
OMG that's funny. There was a Sony broadcast VCR that had a translation something like "to fix VCR you must have money" What they meant is that it took a 1 yen coin to fit into the slot in the housing bolts so you could easily open it without tools.
Not a problem sir. We've all been there. The worse thing is when you try to do something and realize only afterwards that you used the wrong type of glue/paint/brush/blade. You name it it's all part of that learning curve. I have a walthers structure I tried painting the window frame castings on, with this crappy cheap bottle of testors gloss paint that couldn't seem to cover evenly. I actually should know better than to use those paints too. It's been sitting there unfinished for a couple years because I just got so fed up with it. Trust me, you aren't the only one.
Geeky, Here are a couple of gems I found recently in instruction manuals; "When using this model, please be not wet or humid" and "Do not hammer on unit otherwise The Big Breakdown will occur" and "Do not use this machine on public roads under any circumstances, but if you do please obey traffic rules".
Hemi's post reminds me of the time I got an Intermountain assembled kit. It was a nice car. To my surprise it fell apart the next day. I bought it from a model train store called "Beadle's Tracks."
I found the Faller kits to be extremely well cut to fit. Unfortunately, the style just isn't there unless you are doing a Euro layout.
Then there are the kits where certain parts sprues are generic for several kits, however the one you are working on doesn't use all those parts, and nobody thought to tell you that there will be extra parts after you are done. Now how did I forget those? And where the heck do they go anyway?
