Model Kit Buyers Guide
Buying a model kit as a first timer or as a gift for a special
someone can be quite a daunting task with the amount of extra glues, paints and
tools you’ll need to get started. So, we’ve made this buyers guide to get you
going!
Choose your kit
First thing you are going to need is the kit itself! we have a wide variety of different types from cars, planes, bikes and more! We’ve filtered them into focused categories below for you so that you can easily find exactly what you are after…
Cars
Our massive range of cars includes almost everything from the Nissan Micra to the Lamborghini Aventador!
Aircraft
Take-off with our massive range of aircraft kits, from WW2 icons to ones flying in our skies today!
Ships
We have battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines and more in both waterline and full hull kits!
Looking for something a bit different? Space ships, Gundam and famous iconography from movies can be found here!
Bikes
Be it sportsbikes, choppers, off-roaders or scooters, we have you covered with our bikes range.
Tanks, LAVs, howitzers and any other type of military ground vehicle can be found in our armour range.
Build up your cab, choose your trailer and haul it along in our massive trucks & trailers section.
Diorama & Accessories
Build the perfect diorama to display your model, or spice them up with modular accesories in our section here.
Still unsure which kit you should choose?
We’d recommend getting the 1:24 Scale Tamiya Porche 911 Turbo! Building the kit is definitely on the easier side when you follow the step-by-step instructions, but there are still awesome little details which make it a great looking model when finished!
Required Tools
When you first open your kit you’ll notice all the parts are moulded unpainted onto different plastic sprues, so we’re going to need a handful of different tools to put the kit together and paint it!
We’ve put together a money saving starter bundle that includes all of the basic necessary tools, including a pot of Tamiya Cement Glue, a A5 Self-Healing Cutting Mat, Sprue Cutter, Stainless Steel Tweezers, Craft Knife and a pack of Hyper Brushes which includes 3 different sized modelling paint brushes.
The starter bundle will get you on your way to building your first kit, however due to the intricacies of the hobby you will find that there is a different tool for almost every situation. These tools range from masking areas of your model to protect from paint, sanding and polishing the plastic down to a mirror finish or just making those pesky paint jars open easier!
We’ve filtered these tools into three different areas:
Snips, paint brushes, glues, decal applicators and everything else you need to make your kit!
All the colours of the spectrum painted directly onto your model kit!
Take your painting to the next level with our airbrushes and compressors.
Your Hobby Area
Everything you need to keep your hobby area clean, tidy and in order.
Before You Paint, Prime!
Priming (also known as base-coating) is when you paint your entire model with a flat colour before putting on the first layer of your desired colour. This is done to help the paint stick to the surface of the plastic, strengthen the durability of your paint job and create an even colour to mix and blend your paints easier.
Surfacers are slightly different to primers as they also act as a fine filler to fix any scratches, surface abrasions and seams in the plastic.
The colour of your primer will determine what shade your final paintjob is. So if you’re looking for a more prisitne, vibrant finish to your model you should be using a white primer, or if you want a more muted realistic look then black is the way to go, with grey being a happy medium between the two.
The number on the bottle (*ie Mr.Finishing Surfacer 1000) refers to the gradient of the paint, the lower the number, the more coarse and thick your coat is going to be. So if you are using a Surfacer as your basecoat, be sure to use the finer grade 1200 & 1500 surfacers.
Thin Your Paints!
Thinning your paint is almost a necessity before starting as you can create smooth-looking
finishes without the appearance of streaks and brushstrokes on
your model’s surface. Just make sure you choose the right one by following our guide:
Although aqueous paints can be thinner with water, this contains alcohol for faster drying and improved adhesion for the paint.
Thin Ratio
Paint Brush: 1:1
Airbrush: 1:1
For use with all Mr.Hobby paints, it has a drying retarder so gloss and semi-gloss paints dry to a super smooth finish.
Thin Ratio
Paint Brush: 1:1
Airbrush: 1:2
250ml bottle for use with Tamiya’s X and XF range, not for use with their LP lacquer range
Thin Ratio
Paint Brush: 1:1
Airbrush: 1:1
Necessary use with Mr.Color and GX range paints, can also be used to clean Mr.Color off your paint and air brush.
Thin Ratio
Paint Brush: 1:1
Airbrush: 2:1
A fast drying thinner, ideally suited for matt and metallic paints. Not recommended for gloss or semi-gloss ones.
Thin Ratio
Paint Brush: 1:1
Airbrush: 1:2
250ml bottle for use with Tamiya’s LP range of paints and their putty and surface primers.
Thin Ratio
Paint Brush: 1:1
Airbrush: 2:1
And Finally... Choosing The Right Paint
When it comes to choosing the type of paint you’ll need to colour your model, there are two different options you can choose from, that being either a water-based / acrylic paint OR a lacquer-based / solvent paint…
Beginner friendly water-based acrylic paint which can be easily applied straight out of the jar with a paint brush.
A buffable lacquer metallic paint which can be paint or airbrushed on. A final coat of varnish is recommended to seal the pigment.
Acrylic paint only to be used with Tamiya thinners. Can be easily applied straight out of the jar with a paint brush.
Lacquer-based paint primarily used for airbrushing. Higher quality paint but recommended for more seasoned modellers.
Non buffable but highly durable and realistic metallic lacquer. Dries quickly and can be masked and decalled over once dry.
Lacquer-based paint only to be used with Tamiya lacquer thinner. Can be used with either paint or air brush.
And Thats The Basics!
As always if you’d like more personalised advice on buying a model kit you can always contact us via the phone lines and emails listed below
Phone Number: 01795 581366
Email: [email protected]