PLEASE NOTE: For those of you who have already read my previous post under this topic title, plese feel free toskip/ignore this post. Thanks!!!

I just joined the site the other day. so I spent today trying to navigate around and familiarize myself with it a little more. I had posted the gist of what follows on the "general discussion" forum but since I discovered this "Introductions" forum today, I thought I'd post again here where I probably should have gone in the first place. Please bear with me as I navigate and learn the ropes. By way of introduction, I'm a retired US Federal employee living in the state of Maryland who's decided to "get back in the saddle" again after a 40-some year break from modeling. Growing up in the late 1950's and 1960's, I did a lot of modeling of plastic ships and aircraft ~ mostly Revell, Monogram and Aurora brands. Used Testors glue and brushed-on enamel paints back then. The last builds I did were several Tamiya armor kits back in the early 1970's. Wow ~ needless to say, things have changed a lot since then!!!

I've decided to now concentrate exclusively on armor ~ that's why I decided to join this site. I'm trying to take a kind of "measured approach" in getting back into the hobby and have been doing a ton of research on the Internet. Right now, I'm in the process of assessing what my tool needs might be, including construction tools and airbrush set configuration. Plan on holding off on paints for a bit until I get a little further along. I'm "bottom feeding" on eBay right now trying to get a couple of relatively inexpensive kits to start with.

I know that I'll probably have a ton of questions and issues as I go along, but any suggestions of a general nature as to how to proceed from here out would be greatly appreciated. Help on navigating and posting on ths site would be welcomed, especially as I come up with more specific questions/issues on construction and painting techniques.

One thing that I would like to throw out is this. I've noticed a lot of customization resources now available (back in the day, you just build what was provided in the kit!!!). I notice a lot of caveats warning that these upgrades should only be attempted by "experienced modelers". I'm not looking to get into the level of detail that I've seen some of you folks produce (wow ~ hats off to you!!!), but I think I might be interested in some of the resources I've seen (gun barrels, tires, tracks, etc.). So my general question is this ~ how difficult is some of this stuff? Should I just stick to "out-of-the-box" builds right now or could I reasonably make some upgrades this early on (again, in the areas of gun barrels, tires, tracks and the like)? Not sure I'm ready to tackle/attempt some of the upgrades I'm seeing that involve replacing or upgrading major body portions of certain kits.

Anyway, thanks for reading this post and for any help, suggestions, recommendations, etc. you may wish to offer. In advance, I ask your pardon and indulgence because (1) remember that I'm a newcomer to this site, (2) I haven't built a kit in about 40 years, and (3) last but not least I'm no kid anymore (just turned 64 last month!).

Thanks again!

John, first off welcome to the network, on the subject of armour I'm not going to be of much help as I mainly stick to the salty side (ships) and wingy things (aircraft) however tools are tools.

I would recommend a good knife, X-acto is a good example with interchangeable blades, of course there are others out there that do the same so make your choice.

Next a sprue cutter, find a cheap set of the really small electronics cutters they work great no need for the fancy 'sprue cutters' at three times the price.

A set of needle files, start cheap and later upgrade as you see fit.

Some sanding sticks, loads of different ones available on the market or if the other half isn't looking nick her nail polisher

A good pair of tweezers, angled and/or straight again your choice.

Lets not forget a self healing cutting mat sizes from A5 up to A2 available so get what you need and have room for.

Glues, a plastic cement (not tube stuff) Revell etc , CA thin, thick medium etc and an extra thin plastic weld Tamiya, Ambroid etc

The rest can wait until you have a kit or two under your belt, if you're going with resin then add a razor saw and if pe then you'll need a bender of which there are a load on the market and everyone will recommend their favorite, starting off you can't go wrong with a £3 one from Atlantic models.

Lastly John I haven't listed any shops as you may have noticed I'm the other side of the pond so I don't know what you have in your area but you may want to start at UMM-USA

Good luck and have fun.

Welcome John, glad you joined up.

Tool wise, a set of hobby knives such as X-Acto would be a good start. A set with the saw blade included would be a good choice. Some tweezers are a must and I use a regular set of fingernail clippers a lot. A set of sprue cutting pliers would also be helpful. Some sanding sticks would help, I use regular fingernail sanding boards. Tweezers, clippers, cutters and sanding sticks can be purchased at a dollar store to save money. I get a lot of modeling supplies at the dollar store myself. I like Model Master glue as well as Model Master and Tamiya paints. I also like Model Master gloss and dull cote sprays. One other item I might suggest would be a set of weathering pastels. I have a set of earth tone pastels that I use all of the time. As far as after-market items, I don't use them myself. I am a straight out of the box builder.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. That is how we learn. I am still learning all of the time myself. There are a lot of great people on this site that are always willing to help out. You will end up making some good modeling buddies here. I have made some really good friends as a member of this site.

Welcome back to the hobby.

Randy

I should have said.....to echo what Luciano has already said. Didn't mean to sound like I was copying you Luciano, sorry about that.

Randy

Hi John,

Welcome!

The gang above wrote better than I could suggest.

Luciano, Randy and Frederick,

Hey guys, I really, really do appreciate your welcoming replies to my post and the great suggestions/observations you've all made. I can't tell you how good it makes me feel that guys like you would care enough and take the time to write. Thanks so very much!

John

You're welcome John. I am happy that you are able to get back into the hobby. There are a couple of more things I should have passed on to you to help get you going here.

1. A good way to meet other members and make some friends is to enlist in one of the campaigns that is of a subject that interests you. Campaigns are fun and you get to meet other members and get, and give, assistance as needed. And it is a great way to motivate you to start building. Campaigns are what got me comfortable enough to start sharing my work on the site and like I have said before.....I have made some good friends here because of things like the campaigns.

2. Save all of your spare parts and decals and also all of your instruction sheets. There is always someone looking for that oddball part they lost to the dreaded "Carpet Monster" and people are always in need of instructions sheets due to buying a garage sale/thrift store kit and the like that are missing the sheets. And......it is a great way to make those modeling buddies.

3. Never be afraid to ask for assistance or ask any questions that you might have. There are a lot of friendly helpful folks here with a lot of knowledge.

4. The only person you need to worry about impressing with your work is yourself. You are in this hobby because of you and your interests. You build your kit your way and to your satisfaction....not to others. If you want to place a Sherman tank turret on a Stuka dive bomber and paint it pink and purple with Japanese markings....go right ahead....it is your hobby and it's for you. Don't worry about the "Rivet Counters" out there. My modeling sucks at best but I enjoy myself and I do this hobby for me. So don't ever feel like you have to please others with your work. So.........sling that glue and paint as you like and enjoy yourself!!

Later,
Randy

"A good way to meet other members and make some friends...."

"...I have made some good friends here...."

Thanks Randy! I believe I already have....

You're welcome. And I am glad that you feel that way. Don't ever hesitate to give a shout if you need anything.

Randy