Building a Model Car: A Guide to Get You Started

Nothing beats the satisfaction of a completed project. Knowing that you made something with your own two hands has a very comforting aspect to it and being able to display that something doesn't hurt either. Whether you are thinking about building your first model or your 31st it is always possible to keep updating your skills and learning new techniques to add detail and make building a model car both fun and satisfying. This is a guide for a beginner with tips on building a better model, adding small touches that improve the finished model and help you to avoid common mistakes.

Most important first step! Cover your work area. Use several layers of newspaper that can soak up spilled paint or glue. If need to cut something find an old board to cut on or do like I do and use a piece of plywood or hardwood particle board to protect your work table. Wives and mothers take offense to scratches in their furniture, so protect it!

1.) Read the instructions! As funny as this sounds many mistakes are made by assuming that part your holding can fit somewhere it will refuse to go, or by assuming that part can be installed now only for it to get in your way a few steps down the line.

2.) Snip the parts off of the spruce trees (the plastic parts trees) with a small pair of wire cutters. Twisting them off will leave deformities in the part and can even ruin smaller ones. Never remove parts from the spruce until you need them. They are all numbered and indexed in the instructions and some parts look a lot like another part with a different purpose. This is important especially if you are working on something you are not familiar with or a model with a huge number of parts. It can also help you avoid lost parts, which is never fun.

3.) Clean up each part of the model as you build and before you glue it. A small file works wonders for removing the flashing, the thin plastic that squeezes out between the molds, and mold lines where the molds close even if there is no flashing protruding. Mold lines show up as fine raised lines that should not be there, like on an oil pan or engine block and normally show up in the center of the piece.

File them off and sand them smooth, you can scrape them off with a hobby knife, but a file works much better and has little chance of cutting fingers.

4.) Test fit your parts! Make sure they fit together correctly and snugly. Once the glue is on them is no time to find out there is a problem that a little filing or sanding could cure.

5.) Scrape chrome plating away from any area that has to be glued. Use a hobby knife or file and only remove the plating. Plastic cement will not stick to chrome plating and super glue will fog the plating.

6.) Wash any parts you intend to paint! Use warm water and dish washing soap and scrub it with an old toothbrush. Rinse it thoroughly, and be sure it is completely dry before attempting to paint it.

7.) Sand the body lightly with 400 to 600 grit wet or dry sand paper and rewash it before priming or painting. Lightly wet sand the model (sand the model under running warm tap water), between each coat of paint (once it is dry) to remove small blemishes and get a much smoother final finish.

8.) Sand the tread on your tires. Lightly sanding the tire tread will give vinyl tires a more realistic look like a car that is driven...

9.) Use the least amount of glue possible to get the results you need. Nothing ruins a model quite as fast as seeing glue blobs all over it. Use a ceramic tile or a piece of scrap paper to put a drop of cement on, and then use a toothpick to transfer glue to the model part you are working on.

10.) Always let the paint dry completely before you touch it. Several days of waiting is much better than the finger prints you will get for getting in a hurry.

Always tape the body or parts onto a small box that you can handle without touching the part. That way you can spray another coat or move the part without damaging the new paint. Roll the tape up inside out and stick it on the box so the tape is out of the way of your painting.

11.) Put freshly painted pieces somewhere safe and as dust free as possible like inside a cabinet or closet. Cats love to get into things. I once left a freshly painted model on a high shelf, only to find a day or two later that my cat had a patch of blue hair and the model needed a shave....

For more tips see my blog at www.plasticdependant.blogspot.com/

If you follow these tips while building a model car, you will notice your models getting better and your mistakes will be fewer.