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When
you have done the changes to the single parts it's
time to glue them together, using the right glue,
of course. In a polystyrene kit, liquid glues for
plastic are usually right for most needs. You
should use cyanoachrilate only for the most
difficult cases. On the contrary, the only glue
that can be easily used on resin or vinyl kits is
cyanoachrilate.
Now you have the whole picture of the assembled
section. It's time to apply modifications on a
larger scale, on the whole section; for example,
adding extra thickness using plasticard or
increasing/decreasing the length of an arm or a
leg. These are changes that can be done only when
the sections are assembled and they are often very
visible modifications.
Whether you made changes to the section or not,
there is another session of 'cleaning' that should
be done when the glue has dried up. Using the same
tools as before, you should eliminate or reduce the
greatest imperfections of the section, such as
steps between the parts, glue spills, asymmetric
modifications, etc.. Remember that 'cleaning' is
one of things that will make your model shine.
There is no model that fits together perfectly as
it is out of the box, despite the efforts of the
designers. Only the patience of the builder can
make it perfect.
At this stage enters another precious tool for the
model maker: putty. Putty is a very powerful tool,
because, if used properly, it permits easy
modifications and clean-ups. For example, you can
use putty to reduce the step between the parts, to
fill gaps and holes, to cover mistakes and
scratches, to smooth surfaces made of different
materials and so on. I use a lot of putty and I
apply it on all the junctures and gaps. When it's
dry, I remove the excess using coarse sandpaper.
Then I use on the zone fine sandpaper, obtaining
clean and smooth surfaces, ready to be painted.
...TO BE CONTINUED...
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