2w ago

My streak is gone but who cares?

What are some tips and tricks that you’ve picked up during your time building Gunpla? Like the zippo fluid that @wirelesswire@lemmy.zip uses.

1: Almost every kit looks better with panel line. Lining is king. All hail GM01.

2: Nub Control. Single beveled nippers are a gift from Hephaestus.

3: Naptha removes Tamiya Panel Liner and is more gentle than thinner.

4: Don’t throw anything away.

5: Make friends (build group) or if you’re as rural as I am, go hang out at the model train store.

7 comments

Even though I don't follow your hobby/interest, I saw and appreciated your efforts I saw on the main feed. Your streak took commitment and you should be proud of setting your mind to something and following through with it for so long.
- Thanks. I was just trying to breathe some life into this community and it seems to have worked.
Zippo fluid is pretty much VM&P naphtha. Get it at most hardware stores by the gallon.
- Not pretty much. It is, straight up. I use the same gallon jug to clean things as I do to run my lighter.
The best thing I can think of as far as general advice is probably to try and find a local build group. This will help you connect with people in your area who are also into the hobby, share builds, tips, local sales, meet up for build days, etc.
Don't throw anything from the kit away until it's completely done and on the shelf. I've learned the hard way that sometimes pieces can get knocked off the runners and into the bags.
If you end up breaking a piece, try fixing it yourself before trying to get a replacement. Doing so will save time and you can learn a new skill, or at least gain experience. On that note, plastic cement (I use Tamiya extra thin) works better than any kind of glue for polystyrene (the plastic most Gunpla parts are made from).
Don't be afraid to look outside Gunpla communities for advice and tips. Scale modeling has been around for much longer than Gunpla, and those folks have decades of experience and shared knowledge to draw from, most of which can be applied to Gunpla.
I enjoyed the streak!
Building my first set and i dont have any paints. Will panel lining still help, or should i not bother? I plan to go over some of the hardware details with metallic sharpie once it's all assembled
- Panel lining by itself will make more of a change than any other one thing you can do.

7 comments