Hey all, I am Alex from Brooklyn, NY. 22 years old, work full-time and
study part-time and recently I got interested in armor modeling again.
Maybe around 5 years ago I did a couple of models and then abandoned the
hobby, but now I want to start doing it again with more dedication and
effort to it. My previous modeling efforts were not that great: I ruined 1
Panzer II tank, the 2nd one was a little better, ruined the SdKfz 251,
ruined T-34 by Zvezda, ruined Sgt. York and ruined the M109 A6 Palladin by
Revell. The only 2 models that I built satisfactory were T-62 by Tamiya and
Flakpanzer Gepard by Tamiya, the later one was not that pleasing but I was
pleased with it in a way.

So now I want to get serious, get all the tools that I need and start
learning, because before I just glued and painted the models with a plain
brush. For T-62 and Gepard I used the Tamiya spraypaints, so they looked
better. So far I won the Armour Modeling book on eBay, I browsed on Amazon
and I found out that this book is a must-have. Right now I have the M1A1 by
Tamiya and Type-80 by Trumpeter that are sitting boxed in the closet. I
also got T-55A by ESCI and BMP-2 by DML yesterday on eBay and they are on
the way.

My skills aren't even good, I don't even know what glue/cement to use or
how to use it. For the SdKfz 251 I used the whole small bottle of Tamiya
cement, the model looked completely ugly. For later models I started to use
the Krazy glue, because I figured that it would hold all parts in place
without any problems. I even kinda superglued myself to the table. Right
now I don't even know what tools that I need.

My ultimate goal I guess would be to make quality models, I always loved
the stuff that Mr. Verlinden made. And I guess that I would even like to
make my own parts sometime in the future. I am kinda familiar with the
SolidWorks software and I know that a lot of toy companies use it.

Models that I like are mostly post-WWII soviet ones, but I also like pretty
much anything.

I like tanks a lot, I have a bunch of books and manuals that I get from
eBay, most of them are in Russian and I came here to the States 12 years
ago from Ukraine, so I can still read Russian. And sometimes I do line-art
of tanks and different vehicles when I am bored or have nothing better to
do.

-Alex

welcome! my dads shop is in brooklyn (new utecht ave to be exact) are you going to the REPLICON XXIV in long island freeport? its a really good show. welcome to the site everyone here is freindly and share a bucketload of knowledge.

Welcome to the site. If you like WWII Russian subjects get hold of some Trumpeter KV tanks, you cannot get more bang for the price anywhere. They build into accurate models and cost a little of £10 each here and I would not be surprised if they are near enough the same price in $.

Hi Alex,
Welcome to the site.
There are a number of books you can pick up that will be of help:

Sheperd Paine's books

Osprey Publishing modelling books

Osprey's and Sheperd Paine's books are very good IMHO and a good place to start.

There's also a variety of magazines that cover AFV modelling, methods and techniques:

Military In Scale

Military Modelling

Model Military International

These are a few that you may find of interest, there's a whole slew more titles and publications that the other folks on the site can suggest.
Cheers

jjumbo

Hi Alex and welcome to the site, it is a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips. Since you live in Brooklyn and you are looking to hone your skills then I would definitely suggest that you check out some shows that are coming up. You have Replicon this weekend, you have Mosquitocon in Wayne on April 4th and by going to the shows you can see a variety of work and pick the modelers brains about techniques and also get some model bargains.

cosigned X2

Welcome Alex. You've signed up into the best and most useful site on the net.
How did you find it?

Stick around and have fun building.

Thanks a lot everyone on your input. I just got the book Armour Modelling by John Prigent (Osprey) yesterday and it looks like a worthy book. I started reading the book and I am currently past the intro and in the tools section. I will also look into other books, there are a couple on eBay that I keep an eye on. I am not really a convention type of guy. I took a photo of the T-62 tank that I did years ago. It is all covered in dust. Here is the link to photo:

My T-62

Alex Welcome to our world hope we meet your needs.

Hello Alex and welcome to the site i had a quick look at your pics provided in the link and IMHO from what i can see on the pics the kits you've built look fantastic when you factor in your skill level be patient and above all have a good browse on here you'll find a lot of helpful info to learn from if you have any questions just fire away there's plenty of guys and gals on here who are more than willing to offer help and advice keep up the builds matey

I guess a welcome wouldn't be complete with out a Ladies touch !
Welcome to site Alex ! vast shortment of knowledge here and lots of brains to pick for info

Hi Alex
Welcome to the big A, all the answers to every question on armour modelling
Enjoy your stay
Andy

Welcome to the circus. You'll love it here. Everyone makes mistakes, but here you'll have access to a lot of folks who can help you make it right and/or better. Just takes a little effort, and the ability to ask questions. Good group of modelers who like to share techniques and tips. WSSe all share a common interest: the build. Have some fun, and enjoy the site.

Matt

hi and welcome