Advise on build process

[JLD142]

Hello all,

I have just started to build my Tamiya 1/700 Yamato completed with photo etched parts.

Can anyone offer any advise on a suitable build process and tips ?

Is it better to fully construct, then air brush or paint and build as i go ?

Any tips for attaching railings?

[biggles2]

Usually it's better to construct sub-assemblies and add any PE details as required, then paint. Although some PE like deck railing is best left until after painting and then touched up. If all the PE is to be the same as the ship color, I like to paint it all on the fret. The paint might chip a bit if the PE requires folding, but it can be easily retouched after.

[JLD142]

Usually it's better to construct sub-assemblies and add any PE details as required, then paint. Although some PE like deck railing is best left until after painting and then touched up. If all the PE is to be the same as the ship color, I like to paint it all on the fret. The paint might chip a bit if the PE requires folding, but it can be easily retouched after.

Thanks. Il give this a try.
How do you stick railing ? Some people have said cotton or PVA ?

[biggles2]

As well, if any masking is required, it would be well to consider that before any construction. As for railings, everyone has a preferred method (haven't heard of cotton!). I tried white glue and it just doesn't work for me. I still like CA and apply with a needle point or a thin section of stretched sprue. Measure and curve or pre-bend the railing sections to the right lengths and first anchor the front end of railing with a tiny spot of CA. When that has well set (a few seconds usually) work your way along the railing and spot glue every few stanchions, and especially at any corners and bends. It will be tricky and frustrating the first time! I use a pair of dividers for accurate measurement of railing lengths .

[robertmelvin]

In general terms, you want to start at the middle and build up and out. That way you aren't having to try to avoid hitting work you have done towards the sides while you work on something more toward the middle of the ship. I suggest you go to Mike Ashley's web site. He has a lot of great information, all of it free, about model ship building. Just Google "Mike Ashley" and you'll find his web site. You might also want to invest in a book called "Ship Models from Kits" by David Griffith. I believe Amazon carries it. Finally, don't hesitate to ask questions here. There is a wealth of knowledge and advice on this forum and a wealth of good people ready to gladly share it with you. And remember, there is no such thing as a "stupid question".

I'm assuming you are new to model ships, if not modeling as a whole. If that's the case, a hearty welcome to a great, sometimes maddeningly frustrating, hobby! I built kits as fast as I could get my folks to buy them for me when I was a kid, mostly ships and a few wingy things. Then cars, girls, and other silly distractions caused me to take about a 40 year hiatus. I started building again about 6 or 7 years ago after a bad injury put me down for a while. I was surfing the net one day and found this site. After lurking here for a few weeks I, when I was able to be mobile again, I bought a couple of kits and some building supplies and basic tools and never looked back.

One warning, especially if you are new to this. I think a lot of us (I call us the silent majority), and I know this is true for me, have found ourselves fighting frustration because we can't reproduce some of the really fantastic work we see here. I don't have an answer for it, and I still occasionally still fall prey to it. Some of these guys are true artists and can do unbelievable things with paint and especially PE. The best advice I can give you is to learn to walk before you try to run. Start slow, go mostly out of box with some basic PE like railings and ladders, learn the basic techniques, and then work on making each build a learning experience, trying new techniques, harder PE, etc., and trying to make each build just a little bit better than the one before it.

The main thing, as far as I'm concerned, is to remember that this is a hobby and therefore supposed to be fun! If you loose that, then its just work you aren't getting paid for. Keep your goals, and your expectations, reasonable based on your skills at the time. As you go on you will learn new things and become more confident in trying new challenges, like scratch building something you need or want for your build but didn't come with the kit. Just don't push yourself so hard that you loose the fun in what we do.

Please post and share some of your work with us. Don't worry if you feel like it doesn't measure up to the museum quality builds you'll see here. I will go so far as to speculate that there are a lot more of us here that are light years away from building anything "museum quality", than there are those who produce those masterpieces. All that really matters is that you enjoy the build process and that you are satisfied with the end result. If it makes you happy, that is all that matters.

Bob Melvin