Welcome to Scale model cars, bikes, you name it!

What is it with model cars, bikes, tanks, helicopters, sci-fi figures and the like? Well, I guess they're just kind of cool! You need a fair degree of patience to make any reasonably detailed model, and there are a few tricks which come in handy at certain stages of the whole process. Most of these are learnt the hard way... that way you remember them.

It's a great feeling to make a scale model which has a special significance for someone, whether it's a model of their own vehicle or just something they are passionate about or whatever. There are some excellent model kits around, and some not-so-great ones. If you've built a few models you will already know what to expect from certain brands. However sometimes there are few choices if you are looking for a particular model. Most well-known kit brands will yield a reasonable model if you follow a few common-sense procedures.

The first series of images in this section depicts Tamiya's 1998 Honda "Repsol" NSR500 at certain stages throughout its construction. I thought it was worth capturing these progressive stages since a lot of the detail is hidden once the model is completed, especially around the engine area. (By the way, these images were obtained by putting the parts directly onto the scanner glass! You can try this too, unless the scanner is a very old type which has separate red, green and blue sensors - in that case you will probably get a kind of weird multiple image. See what depth-of-field you can obtain. Oh, all right, put parts of your body in there as well if you really want to...)

I thought that generally this was a pretty nice kit. It was one of the most detailed ones I've made, and overall well-engineered. The paintwork was very intricate: many colours had to be specially mixed and a number of parts needed several different colours. Decals proved a slight problem due to the curvature of some surfaces on the model (a close inspection of the instructions reveals a slight rippling effect on the model in the factory's official box photograph). The only other flaw was the incorrect positioning of the lower expansion chambers - they ended up offset to one side which caused the lower fairing to be slightly pushed out of place. This was one thing which couldn't be fixed but had to be worked around. So I was happy with the result - after all this was my first model motorbike! Oh, and one technique I discovered: you need to use superglue to attach the flexible cables (brake lines, fuel hoses, etc) because model cement doesn't bond to this material. Also you need to be careful with superglue because it sticks to skin best of all...

My opinion on model paints: choose a particular brand and stick to it. I generally use Tamiya paints as they are the most widely available in Australia and have the most useful varieties. Occasionally I use a special colour from some other brand, but sticking to one paint manufacturer means less likelihood of different paints reacting with each other (and easier paint repairs if you make a mistake at some point). In most cases you should use spray paints for large areas such as body panels and brush paints for small detailed areas, depending on what kind of models you normally build. For example I build mostly model cars, so I use spray paint for the body, chassis, etc and brush paint for engine components, interior detail, chrome trims and so on. If you have a minor flaw in an area that has been sprayed and you can't repaint the whole section, just spray a bit of the paint into the cap and apply it with a brush.

The next model shown is AMT/ERTL's Airwolf helicopter. This kit is kind of obscure - I originally went looking for it without knowing whether it even existed. Construction was generally straightforward although a minor misalignment was evident when the two body halves were joined. The most challenging part of the construction was painting the white belly and side sections, since no template was provided and the masking had to be entirely hand-made. Some of the interior needed to be reduced in width to ensure clearance from the sides. All things considered, this turned out to be a good quality kit and fun to build.

Now for two more models, with very brief descriptions. The Subaru Liberty (Legacy) is a prototype of another one built to replicate a particular vehicle, and has a few minor modifications to the bodywork. The U.S. Army tank is an old design and is actually motorised!



My opinion on model cement: Revell's Contacta Professional is the best for general styrene model-making. Since it is a liquid, it doesn't make a stringy mess all over your models and a little bit goes a long way. So it lasts a long, long time. Don't bother with tube cements as they are messy and seem to mysteriously evaporate between uses. Superglue-type cements can be used for certain special applications as described previously.

My model-making kit includes, amongst other things...

No doubt you will have your own favourite tools and supplies. I also use some of the same equipment when working on the model rockets.

More models will be added to this section when they are completed. I always seem to have several under construction at once, and sometimes put them away for a while before continuing work on them. Photographing these models is possible with a single-use camera although the resulting image is small and needs a lot of cropping and sharpening. An SLR camera with suitable lens produces a much more spectacular closeup shot. Probably the most flattering comments come when someone sees the photograph of a model and doesn't realise that the object is in fact a scale model!


Click here to return to Robbie's World of Hobbies...