Airbrushing

After some looking and asking around, I decided which airbrush to start with.

There are many models and many ways to provide the air for them. If you want a decent airbrush and compressor (I decided early on not to go for cans or airtanks), you're easily looking at 250 euro or more.

My local hobbyshop suggested Revell's airbrush starter kit (with compressor), for around 120 euro. (He has sold over 70 of them and not one complaint so far)
It may not be something for the real professional, but as a beginning airbrusher, this may very well suit my needs.

Unfortunately, they appear hard to get for the moment, but I can wait a little more. I'm still assembling old kits (up to the point where they need to be painted), watching Youtube-tutorials on modelling tips and techniques, and reading about 50+ old FSM issues (FineScale Modeler), which is one of the available magazines I really like.

Starting fresh

My old kits, while certainly pretty to my own eyes, will probably not win any awards. (I'll post pictures in a separate section later) I may not have been the most cautious or patient builder around, all painting was done with a brush and not always very neatly. I didn't do any finishing and certainly no weathering, to make it more realistic.

If I was to renew my hobby after 10 years, I was going to do things differently. So I started looking into airbrushes, techniques, different kinds of paint and started reading magazines. Thank god the times have changed so much and there is so much information to be found on Youtube. More than enough professional modellers are willing to make tutorials and show their techniques to the world.

Through my almost random browsing the internet, I discovered several new models that I simply HAD to have, so even before I had an airbrush to paint them with (or any paint for that matter) I have already ordered the following models from Moebius.

I will be reading the instructions closely and start googling reviews to find the best paint-schemes. I have to buy all new paint, so best to try and match the colours for the 4 models I'm going to build and not end up with 10 different shades of grey.

Renewing an old hobby

It's been 20 years since I started that first model, and somewhere around 10 years since I put the hobby on hold. Going to college, moving out to live on my own, getting a first job, ... these things tend to change your life and how you spend your free time.
My models were retired to several big boxes (with a lot of foam to protect them) and have been on several attics ever since.

I recently visited Normandy and several D-Day museums, and seeing all these diorama's with scale tanks and airplanes rekindled an old interest. I decided I wanted to build a scale model tank (I had previously only done airplanes and sci-fi models).

So, I dug up my old boxes to see what was left of gear (brushes, knives, paint, sanding paper, ...) and found out I had several unfinished or even untouched kits. (All my paint bottles had gone dry of course)

Status : Half painted. 

Probably paused because the paint job was not satisfactory (brush strokes, paint buildup in certain spots)

Status : almost finished, except for a lot of miniscule pieces and some broken ones.

Status : New

Underside of the saucer is badly damaged out-of-the-box. Seems like not enough plastic made it into the mold. (see more detailed pictures later)

Status : New

Reading the manual, it states where to use putty, so I probably postponed assembling this until I though I had the skill for it.

Who am I?

Hi, my name is Jeroen and I'm from Belgium.

As the title suggests, my hobby is building plastic models. It's not something I do fanatically, but it's a major hobby nonetheless.
It started when I was about 12 or so and began with a simple kit I bought in a toy store. Add some paint, a few brushes, a fresh enthusiasm for what would become a longer-than-usual-lasting hobby and we're off with a good start.

I remember my first model very well. It was Revell's 1/72 F-117A Shadowhawk. Lockheed's new stealth fighter had just been publically announced and I just had to have one for myself.

The plane is safely tucked away in a big box in the attic, together with all other models that I made the subsequent 10 years. From memory, there's probably about 30 models up there, hopefully all in acceptable condition. They have been moved 3 times already, so I'm a little afraid to start unboxing.
I will add pictures of the F117 and all other models, so keep watching this blog, or check out what I have already added in the archive.