# kit tips as they come out



## roadflea (Jul 14, 2009)

hi all JUST A THOUGHT HERE . i was thinking it would be great to have moebious do a how to of the kits as they come out, nothing that has to be 10 pages long but sort of a loose guide mentioning brands of products used how to use these products the right way. brands and colors of paint and etc i understand the directions have this info and are great. take this as a loose example. the new spiderman kit the directions ARE GREAT but being new to the figure side of things and having limited $ for my hobby i would like to get a finished kit built the best that i can and not ruin or waste the $ i have ( I ALWAYS COME UP WITH THE $ FOR A NEW KIT LOL ) i am a bit intimidated by painting and then glueing kits together . as with the spiddy kit it would have been great to have had a tip as to what colors to paint first the best way to mask and then assemble the kit ( ANYONE READING HINT HINT HINT )with this said i have to tell you the way the kit is made to be put together is GREAT just what a new guy like myself needs this post is not about knocking the kits i do think they are GREAT just about having somthing on the website a little extra as far as the building goes. it seems enen fsm has gotten around to doing this why not just get it from the manu- themselves ???


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## Ron Gross (Jan 2, 2009)

roadflea said:


> hi all JUST A THOUGHT HERE . i was thinking it would be great to have moebious do a how to of the kits as they come out, nothing that has to be 10 pages long but sort of a loose guide mentioning brands of products used how to use these products the right way. brands and colors of paint and etc i understand the directions have this info and are great. take this as a loose example. the new spiderman kit the directions ARE GREAT but being new to the figure side of things and having limited $ for my hobby i would like to get a finished kit built the best that i can and not ruin or waste the $ i have ( I ALWAYS COME UP WITH THE $ FOR A NEW KIT LOL ) i am a bit intimidated by painting and then glueing kits together . as with the spiddy kit it would have been great to have had a tip as to what colors to paint first the best way to mask and then assemble the kit ( ANYONE READING HINT HINT HINT )with this said i have to tell you the way the kit is made to be put together is GREAT just what a new guy like myself needs this post is not about knocking the kits i do think they are GREAT just about having somthing on the website a little extra as far as the building goes. it seems enen fsm has gotten around to doing this why not just get it from the manu- themselves ???


I've seen the instruction book for the J2 (beautifully designed by Fred Barr), and in many ways, these suggestions have already been addressed. For example, there is a comprehensive Testors color list, and a logical order for assembly that integrates a corresponding number code as one proceeds. The paint guide was contributed by our own Bert Model Maker. I assume that Dave's great build utilized this very approach as an example of what can be achieved.


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## modelgeek (Jul 14, 2005)

Don't know if Moebius would have the time and money to do all that for each kit. Some of the best tips and how-to's are right here on this forum.And every modeler has their own way of building,as well as which products they prefer to use..Some prefer to build out of the box,others will customise,or make it more accurate if is not to their likeing. Not to mention all the sources of info on the internet. Building kits now is better then ever with all the information at hand (or key board).. Jeff


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

I might have a few tips on Spiderman. I'd paint the red 1st as its usualy somewhat transperant, and doesnt cover well over darker colors. Then I would carefully paint the blue, making sure to keep in the lines and not get any on the red areas. If a bit gets on the red, I'd try to clean it off right quick with a damp cloth so as not to have to go over it again with red. Then for the webbing, I'd either thin the black paint a bit with water, and carefully paint the webing with a super fine brush, eitherthan or try a fine tip paint pen like those used by my son on Gundam kits. They are hard to find in hobby shops but can be ordered online. Hope this helps a bit.


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## Ductapeforever (Mar 6, 2008)

Jupiter 2 Reference is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jupiter__series/


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## roadflea (Jul 14, 2009)

HI ALL it was just a thought and THANKS OTTO for catching the hint i will try that approch thanks all


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Maybe, providing it was contributed to regularly, a building tips and tricks forum would be a great addition. I don't think Moebius would have the time to dedicate to it but I think it'd be best handled by the modellers themselves. It could also include WIPS and kit reviews (maybe Frank could get a soon for release kit mailed to a reviewer to build and take in-build pics)......
Just a silly thought....

Chris.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I find these forum threads informative enough on the kits builds. I rarely get a chance to build a kit just as it is released so everyone here provided valuable insight as they enjoy theirs.

.


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## richlen2 (Apr 2, 2009)

Given the technology on the web and ability to link to other sites, it would be terrific to have a comprehensive yet concise online instruction manual created in conjunction with Moebius. Taking what the work Moebius has already done with their instruction manual and users enhancing it. For example, painting the walls behind the freeze tubes. CLick on the online manual and then to the paragraph or picture of the freeze tube wall and it links to a picture (such as the one on J2 series and builder's guide on Flickr) and then with comments from users who have constructed and painted that part, etc. I do know that at companies I work for we use online documents this way to collaborate (Google Docs and MS Word as examples) over the web and I've seen this done with websites. Of course it requires someone familiar with the technology to set it up and act as gate keeper. I am in the process now of building a Seaview and the instructions are OK but for example the control room drawing is so small it's hard to make out the parts and how they fit (it would be nice to click and zoom), what is the actual paint scheme for that control panel, what color are the uniforms on the figures, etc. I'd love to just have a single source to go to...instead I find myself hunting through sites, forums, going through dozens of picture galleries, etc. Just a thought. Moebius and users on this forum are doing a great job with instructions and communications already.


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## Roy Kirchoff (Jan 1, 1970)

richlen2 said:


> ... I'd love to just have a single source to go to...instead I find myself hunting through sites, forums, going through dozens of picture galleries, etc.


For me "the hunt" is one of the steps I look forward too when building a kit. The learning experience is unequaled. 

~RK~


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

This is all making the assumption that the tips will actually be known when the kit is released. IIRC the Chariot had a number of things which only showed up after people had started building them. Only so much will be known when the kit forst hits the shelves- the rest will be discovered as it circulates in the community.
I think a central location for rhese tips is a good idea, but it would not be useful until enough people have gone through the builds.

.


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Richard Baker said:


> This is all making the assumption that the tips will actually be known when the kit is released. IIRC the Chariot had a number of things which only showed up after people had started building them. Only so much will be known when the kit forst hits the shelves- the rest will be discovered as it circulates in the community.
> I think a central location for rhese tips is a good idea, but it would not be useful until enough people have gone through the builds.
> 
> .


This is the reason I think kit previews and reviews would be a good thing. 
If Moebius could get a kit to someone who can build it and give us an overview before it becomes generally available we could all have a 'heads up" on any potential problem areas and how to overcome them. 
Every kit regardless of quality has bugs that most modellers can deal with if they know what to look out for. One thing FineScale Modeler has is the kit review section at the back of the mag. I think it's a great idea!! If we had something like that for the Moebius and upcoming Monarch kits it could help with our builds...
Just a thought...
Chris.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

With this idea in mind what might be good is to start a specific thread for each kit. The first one to start their model can start it and then others can chime in with hints, tips, etc. A running bunch of items related to the kit. And try to keep the crosstalk down, only posts related to that model with the posts being primarily related to building it. Try to keep questions to a minimum only as needed. In the Modeling forum a guy did a complete thread on building the old Aurora Robin kit with pics from beginning to end. It was very informative. I'd like to see something like that. Big thing is to keep it pertinent, no miscellaneous comments that make the thread too long to read through.


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## roadflea (Jul 14, 2009)

yes guys that is what i was thinking 1 thread to 1 kit try to keep small talk out and keep it to building tech and ideas


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