I am new to this forum and am in the process of getting together a few basics. I read a post about glues for plastic planes and have learnt that MIK glues are best (I am thinking of ordering Mr. Hobby thin cement) Also learnt that you should use PVA on clear plastic. Next problem is paints. I have no skills at this stage in air brushing so my first model will be hand painted. I have read that Polly Scale paints are good. I imagine you thin them down to avoid brush marks. Any help on brush painting, paints and good brushes would be appreciated.

Hi Laurie, Polly Scale is a very good paint but it has been phased out by Testors. So if they are still available at your local hobby shop, grab 'em before they're gone! One of my favorite paint brands for hand brushing is Vallejo Model Color from Spain. They brush on very nice and leave no brush marks and clean up with water. They have a lot of colors in that range. I do not know if they are easily available Down Under.

I concur. P.S. was, IMHO, the best acrylic paint available. (I'll never say never but I will never buy any Testor/Model master paints again in protest of their idiotic bias agains Polly Scale & Floquil.)

That ranted, I am new to Vallejo yet very impressed.

Tamiya has a huge following although I am not impressed with them. Millions of modelers are and it is easy to find.

Lifecolor is also very good but formulated for spraying.

Badger makes MODELflex and it works well. I think it is thick enough to brush, too.

When you wrote about glue, "MIK", did you mean MEK? Stay away unless you have a serious industrial respirator. Many liquid glues are also based on MEK and other harsh chemicals. You can use them successfully - I still do - yet take precautions seriously. I have actually assembled my last several models almost exclusively with superglue. Some have fumes that irritate but superglues are supposed to be non-toxic.

Thanks for that info. I think I will doing an Italero Sabre. All the sabres I have seen are shiny silver in colour. Can you reproduce that with acrylics. Is is good paining practice to apply a silver matt coat and then cover with a clear gloss acrylic or just apply a gloss silver. An acrylic paint that is readily avaiable here in Australia is JoSongas and I used on a few boats I built. It has a good reputation here. Comes from England I think. They have a silver and they recommend applying a final couple of coat of a clear gloss acrylic. What are anyone's thoughts on that process. Also I assume the thinner the paint the less brush marks?

Laurie,
You didn't say if you owed a air brush. If you do, by all means use it. Gaining confidence and skill takes practice and time, but there is no reason why your very 1st air brushed model shouldn't turn out with an excellent finish. The basics are easy enough to learn, and 15 min practicing on some scrap plastic will have you ready to paint. The trick is to select aircraft models with simple monochrome paint schemes to start with.

Applying a BMF is easier then you think with Alcad 11's, or you can use a rattle can from Tamiya or Testors. Just remember with rattle cans, less is more. Several light easy passes starting before the model and ending after the model. Never stop moving the can.

If you don't have a airbrush yet, I would recommend rather then hand painting, is to use a rattle can. Tamiya, and Testors each make a really nice line. The paints are lacquer based, so you need to be careful where and how you use them.

Hand painting done correctly is a very long and laborious process. Drying times are much longer, and you really need to rub out and polish each coat of paint.

As for glues, here's what I use:

Tamiya Xtra thin as my all around go to glue.
Tamiya Orange top which is for thicker applications.
cyanoacrylate glue thin: Zap a Gap
cyanoacrylate glue thicker liquid: Gorilla Glue
cyanoacrylate glue Gel: Loctite
Aleene's tacky glue rather then white glue. It's that much better

I also use a CA accelerator from Sprue Brothers, but I don't spray it on, I decant a little at a time, and brush it on. Much neater to work with.

I don't like using MEK as it's dangerous to be exposed to its fumes.

Joel