# Model building 'Pet Peeves' add yours here...



## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

I know it's a hobby, and you are supposed to enjoy them, but every now and then I have a "d'oh!!!" moment when I wish I hadn't decided to model build at _that_ particular time.

Case in point, and I know you Queensland builders will probably identify with this; when you check the weather report and current humidity, clear space and dust off your outdoor spraying stand, set up your carefully masked off parts, shake your primer can till your arm's almost ready to fall off, start spraying...

and your parts end up covered in what looks like flock!!! 

I know what causes it, and I can't spray indoors due to allergies in the family, it just drives me batsh*t crazy, because it happened and I thought I'd judged the weather better, and now I have to clean it off somehow without destroying the part!

Not so bad when you're working on something small and flat but when it's an JJprise primary hull, with all those tiny little raised details in the corners of the panels! 

Feel free to chime in with your pet peeves... Or not, I just needed to vent and I figured you guys could use a laugh!:thumbsup:


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Slicing the living sh........ out of my fingers with an exacto knife... and maybe the last Dremel Salute I was at.... http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=283319&highlight=dremil+salute
Mcdee:thumbsup:


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## Whiteraven_2001 (Apr 12, 2008)

Instructions which were clearly, *clearly* not proofread (I'm looking at you, Trumpeter and DML). There's no excuse, especially with the big-ticket kits. I'm a proofreader by profession, and seeing poor instructions aggravates me no end.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Ahhhh Exacto knives... Did I ever tell you about the time I was trimming some vacform plastic and the sucker slipped out of my hand and landed point first in my other wrist like a flagpole!!! Missed everything important thank the fates, but here is a tool along with the dremel that raises more D'OH!!!! moments amongst us all.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Whiteraven, typos in general _irk_ me. I auto-correct in my head and so many times I think to myself, "I should be getting paid for this!"
These guys have got to remember that their last line of Beta testers is not the customers!


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## Tim Casey (Dec 4, 2004)

Seams on some styrene kits.

I don't have a lot of spare time for modeling, so when I do build something, I don't want to spend days trying to get rid of the seams. I'm sticking to resin (except of course for the upcoming Gorgo and Wicked Witch models)....


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

Crappy Decals! I build a lot of model cars and planes that often have extensive decal sheets. Off register printing drives me nuts. And thick decals or worse yet, decals that don't respond to setting solutions really piss me off!

Ahhh...feels good to get that off my chest, thanks for the opportunity!

Tory


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## vypurr59 (Sep 25, 2011)

Super Glued my fingers together a few times. Can't wait the 15 secs, I add accelerator. Funny thing, bonds fingers quick, but takes a few more minutes to cure on styrene, By then everything is not in the proper spot. DOH, break-it apart and start again.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Good thread, Oz, but O Lord where to start?

One peeve is a problem a lot of us seem to have, starting a project only to lose interest in it and then letting it collect dust in the pile of projects we've started and lost interest in. I've lost count of how many of these there are. But I've finally resolved to get them all done before I open another kit box.

Another peeve is the number of unbuilt kits in the stash. I'd like to think I'll finish them all before I kick the bucket, but to do that I figger I'll have to get about ten a year done. And the next year or two at least will have to be given over to previously started projects...*sigh*.

Here's my X-Acto accident story: a couple years ago I was chiseling on a part that I was holding in my hand, instead of putting the piece on a cutting mat and trimming it there. The fairly dull knife blade went through the plastic with difficulty, up my left thumb much less so. Mrs. McG. took me to the hospital, where a pediatrician administered *many* shots of pain-blocker to the already damaged thumb - largely ineffectual pain-blocker, I might add (think Denver's offensive line in the Super Bowl). Only one of the four stitches was pain free, but the worst part was that I'd been building the model for Round 2 and the hospital trip swallowed up the paycheck.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

I used to keep modeling supplies in a cardboard box until one day I picked up the box and the Xacto blade went cleanly through the side and into hand to the bone. 

I have a nasty tendency to use Xacto knives while working on cars as well, nothing better than slicing a hose to be replaced down its' fitting to easily pull off the hard-as-rock hose. (Think underneath car while yanking heater hoses off core.) 

So I can end up losing track of where the Xacto is in other tools....................I simply ALWAYS now install the blade backwards so it cannot cut nearly so easily, then switch it in a second when needed. MAN, those things slice so easily you don't even feel it until all the red stuff appears!

I have a lifetime supply of replacement blades since I worked in a print shop for years, they use only the very point to slice film, then quickly discard blades by the droves, they still work well for general use if you collect them up. 

I never printed decals but having printed multiple ups on 5 million different forms I can attest to how hard it can be to get all 50 of whatever form they have on a full printed sheet in dead perfect all-the-same register. When printing things that small you just have to believe that paper is a living thing, when hit with water repeatedly from using several colors in the offset process it does some of the weirdest stuff you ever saw.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Great stuff guys! Keep 'em coming... 

@Mark, ouch! That would have been really unpleasant. I had a similar experience having skin cancers removed from my back. The local anaesthetic burned like acid when they injected it, and then it didn't numb the pain!


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## apls (Dec 5, 2005)

It has been a very long time since I had an x-acto accident, back in the 80's when I first started building vinyl and resin kits. I do remember a story about sculptor Randy Bowen, after a late night of working on sculpting a figure, placed visine in his tired eyes, only to find out it was CA super glue, he had to open his eye with an X-acto knife, yikes!!!! I was building The Mummy's Charoit with that awful plastic Praying Mantis used to use, only A+B epoxy glue would hold it together, it was a mess.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

OMG apls, CA in the eyes! Poor Randy, I don't think I would have trusted myself to try and prise it open. That's what emergency departments are for... 

The plastic that PL used on their early kits was ABS. Very tough, and unless you've got the correct cement, impossible to stick together. The glow is quite a different colour compared to current kits too. Very pale and washed out.

Mark, I share your peeve of unfinished projects too. I've promised myself that I will stick to a few major builds this year, buy any aftermarket bits that I need and finish them! It's hard to abide by that though. My B9 and VooDooChild board arrived yesterday and I'm constantly tempted to start writing code for the processor. The board is amazing!


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's one I know we've all experienced...
Dropping a small part of your kit off the workbench and onto the floor...only to have it disappear into another dimension :freak:
Denis


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## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

Lack of an appropriate sized head for the MPC Werewolf kit. Even the aftermarket one looks too bobblehead like for my taste. Outside of that, lack of suitable time to build. And when I do have time, interruptions are far too frequent. 

Rob


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## ChrisW (Jan 1, 1970)

mcdougall said:


> Here's one I know we've all experienced...
> Dropping a small part of your kit off the workbench and onto the floor...only to have it disappear into another dimension :freak:
> Denis


Denis, almost 2 years ago I was working on an illustration when I stopped to clean my Sotar 20/20 airbrush. took the head off...and lost the neoprene washer. Looked for over an hour, gave up, switched over to my old Thayer and Chandler AA+ airbrush and finished the job.
About a month ago I dropped a pencil at my drawing board. Got down to pick it up...and there was the washer! Now since I first lost it I vacuumed, cleaned, and straightened my studio... how it turned up now, I have no idea.


Oh, model building pet peeves? Poor instructions, small parts that spring off the sprue when you clip them off..


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## gman223 (Feb 16, 2010)

mcdougall said:


> Here's one I know we've all experienced...
> Dropping a small part of your kit off the workbench and onto the floor...only to have it disappear into another dimension :freak:
> Denis



Even worse is when you spend the time to scratch the part and then the missing one returns from the other dimension.


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## Jimmy B (Apr 19, 2000)

Going down to my workbench (which is in the basement on the opposite side of the houuse s the stairwell), Turning on all my worklights, getting comfortable in my chair, turning on the tv for background noise, laying out the parts of my current project....
Then realizing I have to take a wizz.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Lack of figures in kits that seem to scream for them. Like pilot figures in fighter airplane kits or the Moebius Chariot which has no figures except for the robot, as well as model cars.


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## finaprint (Jan 29, 2006)

The occasional error printed on kit box that says the kit has figure or base or it's in a certain color of plastic if a repop and then no base or figure or neutral colored plastic. R-M seemed to be doing it left and right there for a while.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Masking greenhouse canopies. I have no patience for it. Yet I love building WWII German aircraft. Except for their canopies.

I actually don't like airbrushing at all. But you have to.

Kits that have lots of teeny decals. I've been putting stenciling on Kinetic's 1/48 Kfir C7 for a week now, 4 or 5 at a time, because it's so tedious.

Geez, it seems like every aspect of modeling annoys me individually. I just love it so much when the model's all finished. :lol:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Ooh - I just thought of another one. As a competition modeler, nothing annoys me as much as the rule that requires judges of figure categories to ignore the bases of figure entries. This idea seems to apply to just about every venue, from the smallest local IPMS show to WonderFest.

If a model kit comes with a base, why can't the workmanship on that part of the model be considered along with the figure? Take the Aurora/Polar Lights Bride of Frankenstein, for example - most of the kit builds the base, with only nine parts comprising the figure. Yet conventional wisdom dictates that the majority of the model be ignored.

Therefore, the contestant who wants to enter a Bride and have the base get judged must abandon the Sci-Fi/Horror Figure category for another one, like Miscellaneous or Vignettes. The problem with the former is that the Bride is being judged against anything - model guns, bicycles, railroad equipment, _anything_. Since a component of Vignette judging is the story line of the entry, the Bride is at a disadvantage, since she's just laying there on the table; the strength of the entry would rest solely on how well at was presented, not what narrative aspect it had.

I appreciate that some really spectacular figures, like the classic Horizon 1/6 scale vinyl monsters, don't come with a base. If a modeler doesn't want to add a base to a figure, that's fine; my argument is that those who do want to go to the extra trouble of building a base, out of the box or from scratch, have been getting the shaft. I came up with a solution to this dilemma: I created a new category, "Figure With Base" - one figure on a base, with the entire presentation considered by the judges. This was done a local IPMS chapter's contest and seemed to be pretty well received. However, I haven't seen any other clubs in this region try something similar, darn it.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

irishtrek said:


> Lack of figures in kits that seem to scream for them. Like pilot figures in fighter airplane kits or the Moebius Chariot which has no figures except for the robot, as well as model cars.


Agreed
Also- if a craft is built with gear down have a canopy option for it to be open as well (a couple of service panels would also be great). If there is no landing gear and you have to build it in flight- just add a pilot, they do not cost that much. Nothing looks more stupid as a plane/spacecraft flying around with nobody at the controls...

Another peeve is poorly illustrated instructions. Having a bunch of parts in a cloud with arrows pointing to the middle does not count- please show the parts in final position somewhere. There is a trend of just leaving all the words out and using cryptic symbols instead, I know this helps foreign distribution but it is a real pain to decipher at times.

Lastly, it would help to have PMS (Pantone Matching System) Numbers in the color callouts. That is a universal way of communicating colors in my industry and I can use that number for selecting a good match in what paints which are available in my area. I have a Aoshima Thunderbird 3 kit and all the paint references I can find involve brands of paints only available over in Europe or Japan. It is a rather odd reddish-orange and if I had the PMS number I could even get a pint mixed at the local paint store or Lowes/Home Depot.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

OMG yes Denis! I lost the delta wing top of the radio antenna on that microscopically tiny Starcruiser Yamato kit. More recently Barnabas Collins lost a hand, temporarily at least. 

I had to fabricate a replacement part for the Yamato. The original will turn up in the vacuum cleaner eventually...

Rob, time is the bane of every builder. I do agree with you about the original Chris Jennings head. Having just watched some of those episodes, the Resin head is pretty good. He was a fluffy werewolf!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Painting a part, then, when setting it down, carelessly grabbing the part on the wet paint.

Sitting down for a relaxing hour at the workbench, and the very FIRST thing you do is cut your finger on the X-Acto.

Sprue gates on canopies!!! I NEVER get rid of them without a visible mark left on the canopy.

Sprue gates in the middle of skinny antennas! What the hell?!?! Put it at the BOTTOM of the antenna!


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## CPATTER328 (Jul 2, 2001)

Test fit a piece and it fits perfectly. Now add glue and I can't get the pieces to fit no matter what.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

^Not only doesn't fit, but in your efforts to MAKE it fit you smear glue all over the model.


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## Rob P. (Jan 26, 2004)

OzyMandias said:


> Rob, time is the bane of every builder. I do agree with you about the original Chris Jennings head. Having just watched some of those episodes, the Resin head is pretty good. He was a fluffy werewolf!


Yes he is fluffy! I know that I will break down and get the model and the replacement head, if for no other reason then I like dealing with Tom at C.O.P.P. he sent me a dark shadows name plate to go with my MPC Barnabas reissue free of charge, and the Devil Bat and alternate Mobius Frankenstein heads I have bought are simply awesome castings. So the Werewolf will end up on my bench. 

So here is another pet peeve, there just never is enough money to get all the kits one wants to build!?!?!?

Rob


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Don't know if any one from Moebius, Round 2 or Revell is reading this thread but if they are please use some common sense!!!!!!


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## vypurr59 (Sep 25, 2011)

irishtrek said:


> Don't know if any one from Moebius, Round 2 or Revell is reading this thread but if they are please use some common sense!!!!!!



Good Luck with that!!!


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

vypurr59 said:


> Good Luck with that!!!


Yeah, I know.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Rob P. said:


> ...So here is another pet peeve, there just never is enough money to get all the kits one wants to build!?!?!?


Or the time to build them all.


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## starmanmm (Mar 19, 2000)

Ok, I know that the kit is from Japan... the instructions are in japanese (which makes it hard to figure out if I am suppose to glue a particular piece or not)... but the box cover is in english... really? WTF... if you are going to have it in english, why not put the english translation on the instructions as well. Damn... when you buy anything in the State, these days, the instructions are in at least 2 to 3 different languages. If we have to do it, why can't other countries too!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Well, the "Engrish" translations on a lot of Japanese kits aren't always that useful anyway.

"A pilot dummy is glued."

:/


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

All your base are belong to us.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

When you go a little heavier with the pastels, in anticipation of the clear coat washing them out a bit. But instead it makes them 'pop'.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

^With the darks, right?
Then the clearcoat makes any lighter pastes vanish completely.:freak:


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

John P said:


> ^With the darks, right?
> Then the clearcoat makes any lighter pastes vanish completely.:freak:


Yup, that has been my experiance as well. I guess the lighter pastels should be added last after all the clear coats have been applied. Of course then you can't handle the model.


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Nope.
The darks.
I was just working on one. Did some very subtle work with some purples around the eyes to give him more of a 'dead' look.
Hit it with the clear, and he looked like Mimi from the Drew Carey Show.


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## BobbysMonsterModels (Mar 8, 2014)

Having an old model break, and having to repair it….cleaning up the old glue, old paint, having to hold it forever while the new glue dries, and hoping it will hold when the pins that originally held it together are snapped as well. Then trying to figure out which paint color you originally used so you can match it exactly so it's not glaringly noticeable. Hoping everything will hold, and that it looks as sharp as it did when you first built it. I'm going through this now with my Aurora Dracula. His front cape pieces snapped off. This is the second time this has happened. I'm hating this model right now. Grrrrrrrrrr!


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## vypurr59 (Sep 25, 2011)

I would at this time like to admit myself in anger management classes, or get a beer. (and I haven't drank for 30 years). I just put on 3 coats of clear, and there is an eye lash in the middle of the hood. Time to try the hard rub out. hoping not to rub through to the body color. DOH


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## BobbysMonsterModels (Mar 8, 2014)

vypurr59 said:


> …there is an eye lash in the middle of the hood.


One of the reasons I don't/can't build "vehicular" models. If this was a monster model, I could just say it was a hair that the Wolfman shed.
:tongue:


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## Schumacher330 (Nov 8, 2010)

Shallow panel lines like doors and trunk lids on cars.........


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## starduster (Feb 12, 2006)

Model cars and trucks, make the doors and hoods easier to make them open if desired, make these areas thinner it's a pain to cut through thick plastic. Karl


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Recently it's been Helping Hands turning into not only Hindering Hands, but Hands that seem to have achieved a sick level of consciousness and actively thwart the simplest tasks by slowly sliding away, rotating their arms and so on. Not even having magnets glued to my table can keep the Hands in place.

Pressing two kit pieces together with wet glue only to realize they don't fit for any given reason despite numerous dry fits, pulling them apart, glue smattering and smearing, fingers sticking together, fumbling and the eventual glue all over the finished body where just moments ago you were looking at a perfect outcome.

That one piece of a part you need that constantly flings itself to the ground no matter where on the bench you put it, no matter how you secure it -and refuses to be picked up easily as it keeps fumbling itself out of your fingers repeatedly as you nearly get it back up to table level only to have to go back down to the floor to get it again.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Model Man, they are good ones! My 'hindering hands' did the same thing while I was soldering resistors to LEDs for my B9 kit. Here I am trying to kep the wiring neat and tidy, and it ends up looking like a kindly art project!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Polar Lights "wallpaper" aztec decals for the 1/1000 Enterprise refit.
They SUCK!! SUCK!! SUCK!! SUCK!!! SUCK!! *SUCK!*! _*SUCK!!!*_
I may never get this next kitbash done thanks to breaking, shattering decals that don't conform to curves.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

I feel your pain.

I had to add an extra layer of clear coat to the decals before applying them, just to keep them intact. What a chore. I still don't like the look as compared to the layered paint aztec.


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## CPATTER328 (Jul 2, 2001)

Not having that third hand I always seem to need.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

waiting for a newly released model to make its way here to the west coast while new kit has already been released on the east coast.


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## vypurr59 (Sep 25, 2011)

Well the West Coast HAS a 3 hour time difference. LOL I know I am sorry for that one.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Ok, here's another pet peeve of mine that might end up with a few helpful tips for modellers.
Tamiya acrylic paints! I know there are a few threads involving the lamentations of builders trying to brush paint with this stuff. The range of colours is awesome. I have never had trouble with their rattle cans, but when painting a smaller area by hand... What a nightmare!!!
I think most of the issues I have stem from the fact that I live in Queensland, where the weather is warm and humid most of the year round.
I always give my pots a really good shake, then a stir with a toothpick before I begin. Within minutes I find that the paint is dry on the brush and if I inadvertently hit a spot on the kit I have just painted, the brush peels the paint off in clumps! I've tried thinning the paints with the proprietary thinner, and using flow improver from my local art supply shop, but nothing seems to extend the drying time to allow for smooth brush application.
I recently discovered that Tamiya have released a retarder for their acrylic paints. I've just received a bottle this morning and will be giving it a test run soon.

If anybody has discovered a successful way to apply this product with a brush, please feel free to share!


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## vypurr59 (Sep 25, 2011)

Using the retarder will help. I have been using the Createx brand retarder, before Tamiya released theirs. I do not use Tamiya thinner though, I use windshield washer solvent. The blue stuff, and it does not affect the color of the paint in any way. Use only a few drops in a small mix, for detailing. Not to mention, the gallon of washer solvent is far a greater deal in price as compared to Tamiyas thinner cost!!


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Thanks for tips vypur, I believe Windex makes an excellent thinner as well, although your gallon deal sounds like the winner economically! :thumbsup:


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## vypurr59 (Sep 25, 2011)

Windex contains ammonia. It will harm seals in air brushes. But can be used for brush painting. But the cost is higher.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

"Ok, important safety tip, thanks Egon..." 
I didn't know that about the ammonia and airbrushes. I've never been into the concept of airbrushing. I've always found hand painting more relaxing, and I didn't like the idea of the cleanup. I caved late last year and bought myself a pretty decent double action brush to start practicing with. Just have to make the time (and space) to get stuck into it.


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