# Novice to Car Modeling Seeking Help



## FrankieH (Jan 13, 2014)

Hello everyone I am a novice to this hobby and am seeking some help with modeling. I am just getting interested in model car making. I have purchased a couple Ertl AMT level 2 kits to put together. I am looking for someone to give me a step by step walk through on where to start. Please Help!


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Exactly what kits do you have???
Oh, and welcome ta de boreds!!!:tongue::tongue:


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## whiskeyrat (May 7, 2012)

FrankieH said:


> Hello everyone I am a novice to this hobby and am seeking some help with modeling. I am just getting interested in model car making. I have purchased a couple Ertl AMT level 2 kits to put together. I am looking for someone to give me a step by step walk through on where to start. Please Help!


A lot depends on if you plan on making any modifications to your kit, or just build them straight out of the box. If you're a novice, maybe just assembling and painting three or four kits as-is would be a good warm up. First things first! Have you got a decent selection of tools and supplies?


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Welcome to the hobby! 

I'll give it a shot (your mileage may vary):
1. wash the parts "trees" (also called "sprues") in soap and water after you take them out of the bag. This removes mould release residue (from the moulding process) and reduces the likelihood of paint flaking off the parts when you paint them later.
2. study the instructions while looking at the parts on the trees. This will give you an idea of what goes where. The next steps should follow for step one of the instructions.
3. determine the first two parts you are going to glue together. Note: sometimes this choice really matters, sometimes it doesn't. Usually you glue together the two halves of the engine block, or some other "main" thing that will have other stuff glued to it.
4. snip off those parts from the sprue. Use diagonal cutters, or cutters that you buy from Micro-Mark for just such a job. Snip close to the part without actually damaging the part. Why? Well, you don't want that little bit of sprue on your finished kit, and trying to sand that bit off later (with sandpaper, file or emery board) increases the risk that you'll sand too much. Yeah, we've never done that. 
5. clean up the little bit of sprue (as I described) if it's there. Be gentle and slow. Check your progress. The key is in knowing when to stop removing material. Use your finger (touch) to check smoothness.
6. test fit the 2 parts together. Some parts go together nicely, some need a bit of cleanup. If they don't fit quite right, look for the areas of the join that are too thick, or get in the way. Bit by bit, use file/sand/stick to remove just enough material (usually not much!) to make them fit tightly. Go slow, check your work, know when to stop. Sometimes the pins and holes aren't quite right, so you may need to cut them off. You may not.
7. Once you have the parts fitting properly, get out the glue. When you have a good fit, LIQUID cement, brushed lightly (but evenly) along each mating edge works. Brush it on (not too much!), then squeeze the two parts together and hold them for a few seconds. Liquid cement softens the plastic, so when the parts go together, they bond to each other an make one part. Just use enough to soften the mating surfaces. Make sure you don't brush on so much that it drips over the edge or gets on your fingers. If it does, make sure you don't touch the model with those wet fingers; they will soften the part you touch. But the stuff dries fast.

Phew. Now you have a part that is made up of two parts. Congratulations!

That's the basics of gluing. Now, if your join isn't as easy or tight as two halves of something (say, like gluing a stick onto a ball), you might have to use "CA", cyanoacrylate (Krazy glue or similar). The looser the join, the thicker the glue should be. If you get this on your fingers, wait until it dries before you touch anything. NEVER TOUCH YOUR EYES when working with this stuff. It was DESIGNED to bond skin. 
Don't use thick glue to cheat on a join that you can tighten up by cleaning up the parts. Get a great, tight, clean "dry" fit before you add glue … if you can.

Next, depending on the part:
- you may have to smooth the join between two parts joined as halves, such as an exhaust pipe. As long as you've made sure the two halves are joined properly (not misaligned), it's a simple job to smooth out the seam with sandpaper. Get used to the effect of different grits of sandpaper, and how much material they remove. Coarse (lower number) removes more material than fine (higher number). Start low, then move to high as you smooth it. Get a flex-i-grit package as a start, and get used to the feel, roughness and material removal.
- A lot of times, we choose to paint parts after they've been assembled. Find a way to hold them that won't smudge paint -- work this out in advance. Brush or spray? I use an airbrush, but used a brush when starting out. 

Remember, this is a handicraft, not Microsoft Word or Photoshop. There's no Undo. You'll have to learn how to judge a lot of things by *feel* and *experience*. You will make mistakes; practicing on scrap plastic (sprue!) will help reduce the consequences of some mistakes.

Sorry, that's all I have, and some of the expert folks here will no doubt add more or correct what I've said. But I made car kits in the seventies, and screwed up a fair bit by being hasty. Sand, blow off dust, check. Sand, blow off dust, check. Develop your own working pace as you go.

One more thing: look at these kits as practice. Sure, be proud when you're done, but don't be afraid to make mistakes. Your next ones will be even better. Have at it!


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

The best way to learn is through experience, trial and error. Its easier to ask questions too once you run into something specific. 

With cars, one thing I recommend is building up the kit into assemblies before painting. This way you can test fit stuff BEFORE you get to the last steps where you find the body doesnt fit over the interior or the engine sits too high for the hood to close.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

djnick66 said:


> With cars, one thing I recommend is building up the kit into assemblies before painting. This way you can test fit stuff BEFORE you get to the last steps where you find the body doesnt fit over the interior or the engine sits too high for the hood to close.


Absolutely. When that kind of thing happens, usually some material needs to be removed from somewhere. So, as djnick wrote, build the engine, build the chassis, but test-fit them together (with the body) without glue to see if there are any problems. If parts rub against each other or don't quite fit, see where you can remove material from a place you don't see. 

For example, if you need to lower the engine a bit, consider removing material from the place where the engine is glued to the chassis. This would be better than removing it from a part of the engine you can see. Alternately, consider removing material from a hidden part of the body. 

Not many kits fit together perfectly out of the box. This is where many modellers first develop their skills: by coaxing a kit to come together as it should. Studying the instructions and test-fitting is the way to find the spots where you have to intervene.

Also, as djnick wrote, trial and error is the best way to learn. Also, handle the parts as much as possible (ideally, with cotton gloves!) to see how things _feel_, how things fit together. It's very much a tactile craft.

(If you don't have cotton gloves, and you have oily skin, you may want to re-wash the assembled parts before painting. Some have problems with oil, some don't.)


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