The T54 project is requiring a lot of tools to do the job. These little cheapo clamps are good at holding the upper and lower hull parts together.
These larger clamps are good for holding the upper and lower hull together if they need a little more force to hold the pieces together.
This is a cotton swab. I use it to wipe off excess paint from the windshields of some of the Soviet trucks that I am also painting as part of this T54 project. I also wipe off excess glue. I put glue on the upper and lower hull halves and press them together and sometimes the glue will seep out. A quick swipe from a swap can remove that excess glue before it has an opportunity to mar the surface.
Sometimes I need to do a tiny touch up of paint, and a swab can work for that. I also have these little hobby brushes that can reach into little nooks and crannies and touch up paint.
The tank turrets sometimes need a little bit of plastic to fill a gap between the gun and the turret. Filling that gap allows the gun to stay in the up position without having to hold the gun. I made a bunch of these little pieces so they are ready when I need them. Since I took this photo I used up all these pieces!
This little plastic cup, lined with paper towels is good for holding a jar of paint. So it makes it harder for me to knock it over by accident. Note the T54 tank turret with the white plastic replacement hatch on it.
Soda bottle caps. I decant spray paint into small jars. When it comes time to use the paint I use these lids for holding small amounts of paint that I am using for touch up paint.
These are some of the paints I am using on this project. I take notes of the paints I use so that I can do touch up at the conclusion of the project.
My speaker stand is a wire cup and I store Dixie cups in it. The Dixie cups get used for holding water for cleaning brushes.
Black paint for painting windows. Note the silver circle on the cap. That indicates to me the paint jar has been open. My paints are stored in a drawer and so I view them from the top. Lighter colors get a black circle.
Note the hole in the turret horn, it's a mold flaw. I use Testors Clear Parts Cement and Window Maker to fill the hole. It is gap filling and works very well to fill a small hole.
This is the same turret as the photo directly above. Did you notice the hatch was installed upside down with the detail on the inside?
A nice collection of very useful tips when painting models. Thanks for sharing them Mike
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Roger.
DeleteYes, thank you for the tips!
ReplyDeleteA while back, I made an 8.5 x 11 inch swatch chart of my paints for my own personal use. Each paint is listed and has a small blurb of actual paint next to its description. Creating the chart was time-consuming and tedious, but I think it was worth the effort. Admittedly, I've had to revise it a couple times in the last couple years.
By the way, my swatch chart was created in InDesign, so it's easy to update. I print it on a slightly heavier stock on our home laser printer.
I have also started keeping a notebook with the paints I used for different projects. This has helped me use consistent colors on my modest collection of 1/2400 WWII Pacific War ships.
I have done a few small versions of that, with bits of white plastic with sample Olive Drab and similar colors on them, and a bit of wood with several spray paint greens on them. I also have kept a small notebook with specific colors I have used for particular on going projects. Your idea sound like a massive but likely very valuable resource.
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