How to Build a Plastic Model Airplane

May 20th, 2008 by Administrator

Plastic model airplane building appeals to a wide variety of people and age groups. The subjects range from early 20th century flying machines to modern day jet airplanes. The included instructions are a good place to start, but creating a highly-realistic model requires a bit of extra knowledge. Here

are some tips for creating a fantastic model:

The parts are made by injection molding, and are covered with a material to help release them from the mold. This release agent

will also prevent paint from sticking to the model. Wash the
parts in soap and water, then air dry. Use a hair dryer if

you’d like to speed up the process.

Assemble and paint the cockpit next. The cockpit will be permanently enclosed within the fuselage halves, and will be

nearly impossible to paint later.

Use only a thin line of glue on each side of the fuselage, or each side of the wing. A small spot of glue (applied with a pin) is enough to attach small parts. Excess glue gets onto the surface of the model and must be cleaned up

later with sandpaper.

Take care to line up the wings and tail relative to the fuselage, as a crooked airplane really stands out. Use tape to

hold the larger pieces together to check the alignment,

before adding glue.

Sometimes after gluing there will be gaps between
pieces. Fill these gaps with hobby putty, or with super glue. When the filler is dry, remove the excess and smooth with

sandpaper.

If painting by brush, get a range of sizes (wide, medium and fine). Try not to overlap your brush strokes, or repaint an area that is still wet. Wait until the paint is dry then apply another coat if necessary. After painting, clean your brushes thoroughly with the recommended thinner, and store them upright

in an old cup.

Paint from a spray can will give a smoother finish than the brush. Cans cool down during use, which reduces the paint flow. Place the can in warm (not hot) water for ten minutes or

so to fix this.

The airbrush is the ultimate tool for painting model airplanes. It is like a spray can with much more control. The air pressure and paint volume can be controlled, allowing the user to paint finer lines than with a spray can. If you plan to

keep building models, it is a worthwhile investment.

Canopy. The clear plastic canopy has frames that need to be painted. Doing this with a fine point brush can be tricky and error-prone. A better idea is to use masking tape to cover the canopy, then use a sharp hobby knife blade to cut and remove tape from the frame portions. Then paint, and after drying

remove the remaining tape.

Clear Coats. The water-slide decals (markings) that come
with the kit work better on a gloss surface. A clear gloss
overcoat should be applied, then after drying apply decals. If the airplane has a naturally flat (non-glossy) surface, then

after applying the decals, paint again with a flat clear
coat.

Apply these tips, and take your time building the model. Most
importantly, have fun doing it!

If you’d like to know more, visit our website for detailed instructions on making a museum-worthy World War 2

Airplane Model.

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