Assembling – Part assembly
This is the point where you’ve got everything almost done, painted & awaiting the assembly phase. Besides saving you a bunch load of work space having to hold your parts laid out previously & its also one of the most critical aspects of the modeling procedure which should not be taken lightly as well, any mistakes or breakages here can cause considerable delays in all.

Assembly manual
This is were your assembly manual has to be consulted again. It is generally very straight forward for most Bandai kits, straight from step A-Z. With the minor exception of the kit & manual made, written & printed in Japanese. The pictorial instructions are usually more than enough to get through the assembly phase.

Some other manufactures simply provide diagrams minus the lengthy worded instructions – a preferred universal language I would say, this will usually be more than adequate to get your model up from scratch.

Just keep in mind these few pointers for assembly and your should be generally fine.

Next I will cover the part on putting the parts together. Most of the times, parts will come with well fitting plugs which will mesh together on contact. For rubber based models, it will be slightly more tricky as you will require the aid of and adhesive to bond the pieces together. For now I will cover plastic parts.

All about plugs (aka the meshing pins & holes)
A very common way to mesh 2 plastic parts together without glue/cement is the use of interlocking male & female plugs. Which can be rather effective at times. Though not as permanent as utilizing cement, do take caution however when trying to open a part already sealed using plugs.

Excessive force WILL break the pins. If need be, always separate both parts directly opposite to each other without any twisting/shearing motions. Otherwise, the safe bet is still not put the parts together until you are ready to do so, especially when there is a need for internally placed parts or joints to be inserted beforehand.

Do note that sometimes, ill-fitting parts can be caused by manufacturer’s side defects, such as longer than usual male-pins/plugs which sticks out of the plug hole when meshed. Though this is very very rare in master grade models, I can’t say the same for regular cheaper models. You can always alter the meshing parts so they can fit- shorten the male-pin by breaking it off with pliers or modeler’s knife, or you can file them thinner so they can be inserted to mesh.

Main & Sub Assemblies
Some models require you to pre-assemble certain parts, for example each of the Griffon mechca legs requires a sub-assembly before they are added to the main body itself. This includes the internal details such as the mechanical details, followed by the joint plugs and eventually the outer leg casing itself.

Nuts & Bolts
Moreover, certain “stress loaded features” like central skeletons/limbs requires screws to hold certain parts and frames together, this is usually evident in MG models. This is where a small mini-screwdriver set will come in handy to put things in place.

Bear in mind that screw threads are usually not made/pre-drilled into the screw-containment plastic holes. So your preliminary “threading process” has to be done as accurately as possible, as that determines the final positioning the screw will sit. With the parts assembled, ensure that the screw is sitting upright & parallel to the hole, apply constant moderate force downwards while threading the screw in till the desired depth/tightness. Avoid removing the screw as repeated removal may damage & bald the screwthread.

Moreover, over-tightening screws in plastic will cause deforming, cracking & irregular joint movement, always tighten till finger tight.

Glue, a sticky situation
Here are the few most common adhesive elements used in modeling.

Epoxy Glue
It has very high bonding strength and can be obtained from most hardware stores. Usually sold in two separate tubes, one being the glue itself the other the catalyst “aka hardener”. It a universal glue and can be used on plastic, metal & glass.

However, it drys very slowly, though the presence of some fast drying types available in the market, called super epoxy.

Cement
One of the most widely used glue for plastics. It works by mildly melting the plastic surface and fuse them together. Good for joins with minimal seem lines. Transparent when dry, very clear & clean finish, best used for transparent objects such as lights, windscreens, cockpit covers, etc. However, it does not work for resin, rubber, soft vinyl or metal parts & drys moderately fast (10-15 mins to hold few hours to be completely crystal dry).

Super glue
One of the most universal, fastest, strongest & wicked bonding agents. Always apply very thinly on one surface before meshing the other piece & holding for about 1-2 minutes. Excessive/messy application WILL lead to whitening/smearing of the part which requires additional sanding & paint touch ups. Not recommended to be used for clear plastics, use cement instead.

Decal/Sticker Application
One of the last few finishing steps in kit modeling. Depending ont he nature of your model, you can choose to apply it before or after assembly. Most of the time it can be done after the assembly process. Such surface detailing requiring the application of printed media can come in 2 common formats, stickers or decals.

Stickers
Just like your normal conventional stickers. Just peel & apply to desired spot. Not the best in outlook as stickers usually have a considerable amount of thickness, & it will actually bulge out of the model’s surface, thus spoiling the surface smoothness. You can hide the sticker edges considerably by applying overlapping paint to the edges. Furthermore the edges can peel overtime. Mostly found in cheaper model kits.

Decalling
The most common format to apply details on your model without the edges or ugly peeling of conventional stickers. It’s usually printed flat on wax paper with very thin thickness offering a considerably high image detail. Most decal sheets come pre-cut while others require you to manually cut apart or separate the required decals before soaking to remove them for application.

With the given decal sheet & knowing what to be applied, soak the sheet for few minutes in water till they become soft. Not too long that they separate from the sheet, but soft enough so you can slide them off easily from the wax paper with a nudge.

Using a pair of tweezers, modeler’s knife or any alternative fine blunt object. Slide the decal from the sheet to the desired surface of the model, reposition & ensure that the decal piece is flat and flushed on the surface and has no kinks or wrinkled. The decals are soft and very prone to tearing once wet, so avoid using a sharp object for application of you might risk puncturing the decal itself. When dry, the decal will appear flat and embedded on the model’s surface with negligible effect to surface finish.

Now you are ready to finish of your model, head on to the next page for the conclusion of this tutorial.

Getting on fine details
Usually my favorite part of the whole process. It involves drawing, painting or spraying in the details which gives your model the extra personal touch & uniqueness. It is this cross-road step where the true skills of a modeler shines, tool handling & attention to details which sets the professional & beginner modelers alike. The detailing procedure follows nicely after the inital planning phase. Are you going to do a standard pose model? A fight scene? Or a weathered realistic look?

Of course you should ask yourself these questions even before you open the kit. Have in mind that what your have in your kit-box is not what you only have. Manufacturers only provide what is barely needed for a standard pose-able model. You can always add additional components/accessories/armament to your model, for example as your modeled mecha is seen featured in a TV series, or an attack helicopter with additional missile pods, but with parts not included in the kit.

Flexibility is the key. Think out of the box!
In other words, build your own parts! Let be creating realistic textures. For example, damage modelling in a mecha fight scene involves deliberately tearing/breaking open parts of one of your models, revealing inner components, you have to recreate these parts as realistic and accurate as possible. Besides craving or shaping these parts from expensive foam or putty, here are other parts you can make from household items.

And the list goes on, you can be amazed how normal household components can be used and incorporated into your model.

Working with paint markers
Paint markers are a grate beginner’s tool to quickly and effectively apply permanent all-surface paint on your models. It is useful for where you require a quick dash of colour without much hassle or anywhere where small thick coats of paint are required. You can see some examples of paint marker detailing on the leg of a Patabor hell diver Mech I have here, these are the details in the leg itself which can be seen externally.

If you need to apply paint over large flat areas or require a more even finish, you are better off buying bottles of acrylic paint or an airbrush. Paintmarkers are not exactly cheap at about $4-5 per piece. My next part will talk about the paint details application processes, which of course comes after priming and your base coat.

Weathering
Is the process of giving your model the rather seasoned dirty look. It generally involves applying a very dark but otherwise thin layer of colour on the edge panels- this is where dirt and rust will usually build up over time in the air. A good way to notice or find out more about this yourself is to do some research or find some photos on old mechanical parts of visit an abandoned or defunct industrial facility for reference. thus “weathering” and achieving a dirty but impressive look. It is done in 2 styles – preshading or postshading, each with it’s own 2 stages of paint application.

Preshading process
You coat a colour comparatively darker to that of the existing base. Then upon drying of the first coat, apply a lighter shade in the middle of a panel, so that the edges appear darkened.

Postshading process
Is the direct opposite of pre-shading, (whichever of personal preference). As straight forward as it is, it involves the painting of a lighter base shade over the whole panel, then followed by the darkening the panel edges with a heavier, darker tone.

Application
This can be done by manually brush painting varying shades set on pallete. However, the procedure is still best done easiest & fastest with an airbrush.

Moreover, the airbrush gives the model a more comparatively blended & uniformly paint application, contrary to brush application where colour banding might be evident, unless you paint very good intermediate bands on the surfaces without smudging, but it still can’t beat a good ol’ airbrush!

Therefore, if you see yourself coming to with quite alot of models to do down the line, it will be relatively more economical, but expensive at the start to purchase & maintain, a compressor powered airbrush is a good investment for the budding modeler to be, let be the amazing details one can pull with it for projects to come! Do note that airbrushes can be used for base coats as well (applicable to the painting page 2 as previously mentioned in this tutorial).

Panel Lining
In most models, let be tank armor or mecha bodies. Panels are evident. Detailing by outlining these panels or making them profound can greatly improve the outlook & detail of your model. It is usually done using fine tip brushes or fine paint markers. This is particularly applied for clean posing models without much weathering. Below are example results of discreet panel lining and weathering.

Laquer finishing
Otherwise known as the sealant step.You may think that it might be too early for this step, yes currently this step is only for small internal parts which cannot be reached on the final external surface paint finish (like internal engine components, pilot cockpit, etc).

Though seemingly not as important as it as the outer clear lacquer application, (mainly as these parts won’t be directly be exposed to the external elements), But this step is essential to preserve, prevent possible paint fading/discoloration given high humidity/aging etc, & protecting your detailed work, especially if you are a person of detail.

Take note & plan carefully which internal parts & to finish before embarking on the assembly phase which on the next section.

The School of Thoughts
While most amateur modelers simply just smack together all pieces & paint later, this is not the recommended way as you eventually have to disassemble the model again to paint those hard to reach places. If you plan to model, you must model your plan. In the general school of thought here are 2 styles of painting:

1) Paint while to parts are still attached to the parts plate, i..e paint before doing the steps mentioned on the previous page (usually for spray painting, etc)

2) Paint after all the parts are removed & sanded.

Personally, I prefer the 2nd approach. Considering that I am not blessed with expensive spray guns & compressors, not to mention the costly paints which comes with it. The 1st style is definitely faster for mass painting & allows you to apply a more uniform base coat. Followed by the cutting process, a simple sanding & paint touch up & the part is ready.

Moreover, the chances of part loss is lower as you do not need to handle each part to paint one by one. This however, do not hold if your model requires unique colours for each part contrary to one colour throughout, this is where style 2 shines.

For the casual modeler using the 2nd school of thought, I recommend using bottled acrylic paints you can find in your local hobby stores or shopping center toy departments. They usually won’t cost more than $4 per bottle. For painting larger big surfaces I will recommend acrylic spray paints (usually $7/can). Use spray paints sparingly or when there is a need to paint many pieces of large flat surfaces at ago, you do not have much control over the delivery of the paint as compared to an airbrush.

With sprays aside, now I will touch on the most basic tool for painting- brushes.

Brushes
Expanding on the list of required brushes for painting, they usually come in measures on inches, usually I will recommend a mix of thick flat ones for painting large parts with ease to the more frequently used medium width, to a collection of fine brushes for detailing and panel lines.

As illustrated above:

The Colour Key
Included in the main assembly manual is usually a specifying all the required colours used for the model on the default scale. Do note that not all paint manufactures make all types of colours & most of the time you have to mix colours to achieve custom colours, usually defined in the colour scale at given percentages (e.g 30% white/silver, 20% blue on top of black for a shade of cool blue metal). The basic universal colours are usually black, white, gunmetal & silver for Mechas.

Do note too that each offered colour usually comes in glossy & flat (matte) variations. Glossy paints are usually for finishing, automobiles where the desired smooth shine is required. Flat paint are usually for machine parts, miltary machines where a more “worn out look” is required. Flat spray gun paints are very good for producing burnt/stains marks very well too. You can mimic that with the given spray paint as well, but not to a controllable degree.

Workplace
Painting can get really messy at times. If you do not have a dedicated workspace for modeling, its best to have a big flat surface or desk preferably with the usual newspaper not only to prevent work table staining, but a good absorber of spills, etc. Little items like a palette, brush water cup & dampener as essential as well. Have another open area for you to organize & place your painted parts so as not to misplace them & helping in part organization as well. This beats the worst thing – encountering missing parts during the assembly phase.

Priming
Priming ensures better adhesion of paint to the model surface, increases paint durability, and provides additional protection for the material being painted.

Also considering the painted surfaces being plastic, paint do not stick as well to such smooth, non-porous surface unlike paper or wood. Thus using more paint to even out the finish, which is not economical because it’s more expensive than primer.

Therefore, this required step as it adds a thin layer between the paint & actual plastic surface so if the need be to remove paint using thinner, etc this can minimise damage to the plastic surface though mildly but considerable extent.

In addition to sealing the surfaces, good primers will also cover different textures like the difference between your rough sanded plastic. This is critical if you’re using higher-gloss paints which tend to show those differences and imperfections more than flat paints.

Moreover, another benefit of using a primer is that it provides the finish paint a better bonding surface so it sticks to the base material much better.

Apply primer only to surfaces to be painted & avoid applying any (together with paint) on the insertion pins where the parts mesh together (to ensure part fit). However, with this in mind, do bleed primer edges by overlapping primer edges over the desired actual painting borders. Apply primer thinly & evenly & give about 5-6 hours to dry completely.

Base paint coat
Acrylic paint can usually be applied direct on top the primed plastic without mixing with water. But for base coats, a 70% paint 30% water ratio is safe to quickly & effectively apply the base coast without much loss in quality.

Leave the base coat to dry for about half a day in an indoor environment avoiding direct sunlight or your paint will end up appearing cracked or chipped when dried faster than their intend drying time (aka ‘superdried’).

Secondary paint coat (optional)
When done, inspect the pieces for surface finish. This step is mainly to make the surface flat & even, ready for the finishing coat.

You can skip this step if the surface is already of desired finish. Otherwise, using a brush, overcoat the affected area with strokes overlapping the entire area, this is so to prevent obvious “patching” visible when only fixing a specific spot. When dried the paint will eventually blend together with the existing base coat.

Finishing (fixing) paint coat
I usually use 100% paint for this step for the nice locking thick coat without water, thus achieving a consistent uniform coat for a spectacular finish. Take special attention to this especially when painting the the largest external & visible surfaces of your model.

Points of Note
When leaving out to dry on newspaper, avoid placing large flat surfaces on the paper directly as upon drying the newspaper will actual stick to the part surface, leaving you with an additional tough job to clear out the grime & retouch-up/paint the surface. If need be , prop up the part on the newspaper using support stands savaged from the part plate arms.

General brush strokes involves a single uninterrupted stroke on one surface from one end to another, just like how a bubble jet print head moves, one end to another. This is also to prevents paint gaps in between surfaces. As usual leave for half a day for the finish coat to dry.

Painting Summary
As it goes, in summary for this particular step:

Next I will cover on detailing over your newly painted surface.

I kit model as a personal hobby, I particularly like assembling mechas and vehicles. Besides getting down & dirty, the past time involves the combination of ones patience, skill, tool handling, let be painting or adding details to produce one-off models unique to a modeler’s wants and imagination.

Kit modeling, the basics
There is always a kick to building models, that is why most modelers simply can do upon completing one is to admire their creations for a while, just to pad off to the store and start off another kit once they are done.

One of the most rewarding experiences this hobby gives is not only the satisfaction you get upon final completion, but the value appreciation of the model kit over time, particular rare & collectible models. There a large collector’s market & auctions for such model kits & they can really fetch good rates for their creators. Otherwise, for most casual modelers like me, modeling as a general hobby is to past the time.

This tutorial is written primarily to serve as a guide for anyone who wishes to get on the kit-modelling bandwagon. Do note that there is no “fixed steps” to modelling & this tutorial reflects my own style & practise. Different modellers have different procedures themselves, but are very much similar in one or anyway eventually.

The test subject
The model I will be using is a Mecha from one of my favorite 80s anime & manga series of mine- Patlabor. It’s a Japan made Bandai MG (Master Grade) plastic injected model type J-9 Griffon combat prototype labor. Like most master grade models it spots additional fixtures like a detailed cockpit & an eye for details usually not seen off the standard off-the-shelves 1/60 sized models.

This is a general claim though & the end result usually depends on the modeler’s skills & experience in the field as well. There is also the added flexibility to assemble the model in various configurations as well (in this case with cockpit open, pilot or jet accessories).

Some Terminology

I may use these terms in and out throughout the tutorial, to prevent confusion & maintain consistency:

Other items include the acrylic paint with colours based off the model sheet’s recommendations, you can also of course, mix paint to achieve a varying array of colours to offset from recommended colours if may. A compressor driven airbrush is a nice-to-have luxury item, which is very good for the ease of detailing & painting surfaces.

Organising & preparing the pieces
It can be quite difficult to track cut pieces after you’ve separated them. Furthermore with MG models spotting over 5-8 different parts plate, it’s a good habit to organise your parts using what else but the packaging box itself! Using separators, place them inside their own individual compartments. This too

Cutting the pieces
One of the first steps in kit modeling & separating pieces from the the plastic injected molded frame part holder.