Help me out How to build Hasegawa kits

[Mr Bomber]

hello,

im amateur on building kits, and so far ive being working on snap on models with good results. Ive being learning to use the airbrush to paint some models with acceptable results, I bought some hasegawa models, sdf 1, YF-19 and YF-22 and they need to be build literaly, which i havent done before.

is there a tutorial or list of things that i need to do or have to work on this?

[baxojayz]

You might want to practice on a couple less complicated kits first to get the feel of using cements and putties (should you take that route.).

I would recommend watching some vids on youtube, there are plenty! Where do you live? Is there a local model club you can visit for tips and ideas?

[Mr Bomber]

i live in ecuador, there is a small club going on in my city which i contacted and actually learned the basics on painting. i asked about those hasegawa models and they told me to practice with smaller cheaper models cause things get messy real quick with build models. im gonna do that as soon as i find some cheap models locally, but i was looking around for tutorials to read the basics like material and stuff. ive searched on youtube and i saw many in japanese that are helpful but still wanted to know about the materials to be used on it. i thought in asking here first since people do great stuff on model kits in here.

[Greg]

Read the instructions.

[Chas]

OK. I assume you have a pair of side cutters (snips) to remove parts from the trees, and a hobby knife to trim parts with. What type of glue do you have/plan to use/ have available? I would suggest Tamiya cement (white cap with built in brush) and Tamiya extra thin (green cap with built in brush).

This brings me to the main question. How much do want to do? You could just build this straight from the box as is (not touching the seam lines or anything) and just paint it up. That might be enough for you, and you might be very pleased with that. Or you may want to go all out and remove ejector pin marks seam lines (including the canopy), paint and weathering.

[NZEOD]

Read the instructions.

try to be helpful... the instructions are in Japanese.

To the OT, take your time, plan is out as some parts need painting BEFORE final assembly - Turbine blades, engine exhausts, Cockpit details, Undercarriage wells etc.

Clip the parts off the Sprue, dont twist them off as this deforms them.

Use your cement (not superglue!) sparingly and get the parts together quickly once you apply the cement. It welds/melts the parts together so dont use too much and dont touch the join with a finger until its dry.

Use Tamiya putty to fill join lines then fine sand paper to gently smooth it off when set.

Use what ever you find/buy/make to rescribe any panel lines that need redoing after using the putty.

Greenstuff 2 part putty is good for making/sculpting parts if needed but thats advanced stuff.

Google using FUTURE Floor Polish on your model.

Google assembly guides on how to put your models together as a guide.

Take your time.

[Greg]

I didn't mean literally read them like a book. They are clearly illustrated to the point a child could follow them. Beyond basic equipment, model building doesn't get much simpler than connect part 18 to part 19. As long as you look at them carefully you'll be fine and worse comes to worse, you could just order replacement parts and decals from Hasegawa. Also,use perfect plastic putty if seam lines are a problem for you. You can easily wipe of excess with a damp cloth rather than forcibly sand it and details off the part.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Greg

[Grayson72]

I'll echo what Chas said about seem lines. If you want your model to look like a pro built it you need to get rid of those darn seem lines. When we say seem lines we are talking about where two halves of a part go together or that darn canopy line.

[sketchley]

(...) They are clearly illustrated to the point a child could follow them. (...)

For the most part, that is true. But there are some sections that do require a bit more logic than the average child has to figure out -if one doesn't speak Japanese, of course. I'm referring to such things as the sections that explicitly state not gluing certain areas of certain parts together when joining them to the model, and so forth.

[Mr Bomber]

thanks alot for your resposes. I indeed have all the necesary tools, cutters, hobby knife, sand paper, etc etc. i was more heading towards the adhesive i should ure, and your tamiya adhesive recommendation is what i heard before on the club, i need to check out if i find it locally. Im not going for a pro look, but at least i want to try sanding the rough edges before painting it. i use future polish on my current projects as the guys from the modeling clubs instructed me.

thx a lot for all your suggestion, im taking them on account and please keep them coming.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Mr Bomber

[Model-Junkie]

You will want polystyrene cement. It is available in 2 types, one is a thick-ish gel type and comes in a squeeze tube. The other is a thinner liquid type and is usually in a plastic bottle. Testors and Revell have them with needle like tips for application. The liquid type is also available with a brush for application

[Chas]

thanks alot for your resposes. I indeed have all the necesary tools, cutters, hobby knife, sand paper, etc etc. i was more heading towards the adhesive i should ure, and your tamiya adhesive recommendation is what i heard before on the club, i need to check out if i find it locally. Im not going for a pro look, but at least i want to try sanding the rough edges before painting it. i use future polish on my current projects as the guys from the modeling clubs instructed me.

thx a lot for all your suggestion, im taking them on account and please keep them coming.

The the club is local to you and the members suggested Tamiya cement to you, why not ask them where they get it? Here is a great video for using Tamiya's Extra thin cement to help eliminate seam lines with minimal sanding.

I think practicing this technique would be a very good idea for you since you are just starting out.

[007-vf1]

The the club is local to you and the members suggested Tamiya cement to you, why not ask them where they get it? Here is a great video for using Tamiya's Extra thin cement to help eliminate seam lines with minimal sanding.

I think practicing this technique would be a very good idea for you since you are just starting out.

That's a good video... Keep in mind there are exception where the plastic piece warps or even they don't quite "fit" and they do need putty nonetheless. Specially on Resin pieces you might encounter later on.

[Mr Bomber]

The the club is local to you and the members suggested Tamiya cement to you, why not ask them where they get it? Here is a great video for using Tamiya's Extra thin cement to help eliminate seam lines with minimal sanding.

I think practicing this technique would be a very good idea for you since you are just starting out.

yeah that slipped my mind when they told me, since i was more focused towards types of paints and painting technics.

i have to give them a call and ask where i can get it.

Thx a lot for the video, im watching as i type, its giving valuable tips.

today im gonna get a cheap model to try it out as soon as i get the tamiya cement.

[Chas]

Some more tutorials from PLAMO: Plastic Modeling, Share & Learn.

Seam line removal: http://www.ghostofzeon.com/diy/seams/seamremoval.html

Applying water slide Decals: http://www.ghostofzeon.com/diy/waterslides/decalapp.htmll

Edit: corrected 2nd link

Edited August 12, 2015 by Chas

[TMBounty_Hunter]

I've always wanted to ask, is there any specific tips and tricks to building the Hasegawa kits? Stuff that makes your life easier.

Just off the top of my head:
What's the best way to secure those super thin vertical stabilizers on the VF-1 valk?

How best to approach the clear parts? Both the simple ones on the valk and the ones you sandwich into the arms and legs on the battroid(and now gerwalk) kit.

Best assembly order?

Stuff like that.

[baxojayz]

Hey TMB! Blast from the past!

Hasegawa makes great aircraft kits, so they know what they're doing. Building these would be like building any other plane. The fit should be pretty good, and just take your time with the clear parts.

As with any kit, the instructions are a good guide, but I usually go through and start with all basic assemblies first (eg: wings, cockpit, etc) so you can try to have everything lined up for getting them all together without major delays.

[Grayson72]

Oh and always dry fit parts together prior to gluing them. There's nothing worse than going to put two parts together and discovering that they don't fit AFTER you've applied the glue.

[ivorysniper]

Oh and always dry fit parts together prior to gluing them. There's nothing worse than going to put two parts together and discovering that they don't fit AFTER you've applied the glue.

+1 to this advise. Always force yourself to dry fit everything. I'd recommend to get a couple of airliners (they are cheap and useful as a sandbox for practicing techniques) and play with them before getting hands on the Hasegawa VFs.

[baxojayz]

Oh and always dry fit parts together prior to gluing them. There's nothing worse than going to put two parts together and discovering that they don't fit AFTER you've applied the glue.

That's right!

I like to dry fit the parts together, then sand all the surfaces to be glued, to rough it up. Sometimes, you can work out a better fit and less putty will be needed later on.

[TMBounty_Hunter]

Hey baxojayz! Yeah it's been a while.

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm looking for more info specific to the VF-1 kits. Something like the accumulated knowledge of the community over the decade+ of building the kits.

[Mr Bomber]

thx for the tips guys!

i tracked some revell glue and models, got a few models to practice with before going pro on valks.

I made one, and so far was kinda easy but was a mess with the glue, it got everywhere, ill upload a pic tomorrow.

Today i finished painting and futuring my very first model, here is a pic, let me know what you think

still need to panel lined it, and set the decals, that would be done in the upcoming week if i got time.

i know the paint scheme is a little childish/comic like, but i kinda went creative when painting it.

Edited August 16, 2015 by Mr Bomber

[Model-Junkie]

Paint application looks great. What scale is that Tallgeese III?

[Mr Bomber]

Paint application looks great. What scale is that Tallgeese III?

Thx that means a lot from someone called Model-Jukie!!,

its 1/100 scale and really fun to work with, i got the gun and the shield too, but they were drying on the other side.

[SebastianP]

You will want polystyrene cement. It is available in 2 types, one is a thick-ish gel type and comes in a squeeze tube. The other is a thinner liquid type and is usually in a plastic bottle. Testors and Revell have them with needle like tips for application. The liquid type is also available with a brush for application

To be fully accurate, there are three types of polystyrene cement to watch for, and they each have things they're better at than the others.

The thick type in the squeeze tubes is almost obsolete by now, but it has its uses for things like welding very strong point connections. Use a toothpick to apply it, *never* the tube itself.

The thin type in the glass bottles with the brush applicator is really runny, and evaporates very fast, as it's almost pure solvent. You mainly use this by brushing along the seam between two pieces you've either "spot welded" with thicker cement, or that you're squeezing together with your fingers or clamps. The cement is so thin, no matter how hard you squeeze some will get into the seam and weld it tight. There are different strengths to this stuff, there's a brand called "Tenax" IIRC which is noted for being some of the strongest of the lot.

The last type is the medium type that comes in a needle applicator bottle. It is *not* the same as the thin cement, it is nowhere near as runny nor does it evaporate as fast; but it is runny enough to have constant flow out of the bottle so you only have to run the tip of the needle along the edge and the cement will come out of the bottle. I've seen this kind of cement from Revell/Matchbox, Testors, and some others, and unless I run into something really stubborn, it is basically the only thing I ever use, as it is hard to apply too much cement. Make sure that if you get this kind, get a bottle with a *metal* needle, as the cement sometimes dries in the needle itself, and to clear the stoppage, you need to heat the needle with a lighter until the cement in there burns up. Testors used to have bottles with *plastic* applicators, and for obvious reasons clearing a stoppage using the regular method didn't work. I ended up having to cut the whole tube off and use it as a refill for my previous bottle, which had a metal applicator.

(That series of events is also why I know that the cement in the brush bottles is much runnier - I tried refilling the needle bottle with brush cement, and it came pouring out like water through drain pipe when I tilted the bottle.)

Edited August 25, 2015 by SebastianP

[Model-Junkie]

Sebastian,

Thanks for the extra clarification, I did not know the ones with a brush are a different type. Just wanted to post the following info from this website as it provides a bit more info about the 3 different types of polystyrene cement:

1. Polystyrene Cement

This is a mixture made of the plastic dissolved in acetone, chlorobenzene, or trichloroethane, and is the most commonly used of adhesives in plastic modelling and the basis for most plastic modellers. There are three main types:

Tube: most people's first introduction to polystyrene cement, this is a very thick solution and tends to be stringy. One danger with it is that it will continue to melt the plastic it is on for some time after application and if used too heavily it can distort small parts or the entire model.

Semi liquid: still a mixture of solvent and plastic, but a lot thinner. The only supplier I know of is Revell and it comes in a bottle with hollow metal 'needle' for application. It is much easier to use than tube cement and had more 'body' than the true liquid cement.

Liquid: this is really the solvent without any plastic dissolved in it. It has the great advantage that it will flow along a joint by capillary action. I discard the brush fitted to the jars from some manufacturers and use an old paintbrush to apply the liquid.

[MechTech]

From our very own builders: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=38794&page=1

They may have encountered some questions you're going to ask too - MT

[HannouHeiki]

I'm an amateur modeler as well. The Hasegawa SDF-1 is the first model kit I've ever worked on. I've completed construction and painting of major pieces. All that's left is decal, panel lines, and detail paint.

I ended up buying two more kits to replace lost/broken parts (I don't have a dedicated workspace, which is part of that problem) or to save myself the trouble of stripping and repainting parts. Since you've practiced with an airbrush (I'm using rattle cans), you'll probably have less trouble here also.

My two main challenges were masking the tan areas on the booms and the feet. The engine parts were very confusing for me...I didn't realize they needed masking until I was building the parts.

Another warning is that the forward spikes for the SDF-1 and the ARMDs are very fragile.

Anyway, if you need tips from a newbie perspective, feel free to ask.

Edited September 1, 2015 by HannouHeiki

[Mr Bomber]

I'm an amateur modeler as well. The Hasegawa SDF-1 is the first model kit I've ever worked on. I've completed construction and painting of major pieces. All that's left is decal, panel lines, and detail paint.

I ended up buying two more kits to replace lost/broken parts (I don't have a dedicated workspace, which is part of that problem) or to save myself the trouble of stripping and repainting parts. Since you've practiced with an airbrush (I'm using rattle cans), you'll probably have less trouble here also.

My two main challenges were masking the tan areas on the booms and the feet. The engine parts were very confusing for me...I didn't realize they needed masking until I was building the parts.

Another warning is that the forward spikes for the SDF-1 and the ARMDs are very fragile.

Anyway, if you need tips from a newbie perspective, feel free to ask.

thanks a lot!

of course i will, i havent started yet building the SDF-1, didnt have the time, but i will when im on it.

[Mr Bomber]

BTW i finished my tallgese III.

Its panel lined and i applied some decals on it, then futured again.

please let me hear your thought on it.

[KH355hamdi]

When it comes to painting, less is more. Keep it original and simple.