hobby shop news august

8
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ pages/All-About-Fun-Hobbies- Games/166406400079562 We‟re updating our face book page regularly so be sure and go to our Facebook page and like us so you can get in on any deals or sales early. The face book page is also up- dated with how to videos and promotions. All About Fun Hobbies Forum http:// allaboutfunhobbies.com/ hp_smf/index.php All About Fun Hobbies forum is an R/C forum where we can all come together and ask questions and share knowl- edge. Not to mention great stories. The forum has a members section only. In that section we are listing upcom- ing deals, sales and promo- tions before they happen. So by signing up for the forum and being an active member you will get first dibs at sav- ing money. R/C Race Track Update We are now officially an- nouncing the opening of the Euless Raceway R/C Race Track. As of Sunday July 10th 2011 the track will be setup and open to the public free of charge to use all day long from 12am to 6pm. We have changed the jumps and brought them lower with more even transition in a more off road style jump. We added a table top with pass through and a small jump near the end. Right now we are in the process of building some trying out some triples or rough whoopties. The pass-through‟s will be used at a later date in a new track configuration. when the weather breaks and it‟s cooler, we will start having actual races the races will be held from possibly 4pm till 7 or 8pm. Until the racing catches on will be doing races with a referee spotter. Races will be $5 per entry per class. If and when the races catch on we will switch over to a transponder system and the race entry will be $15 for initial entry and $10 per additional entry. Your entry fees cover the rental of your transponder. You will be wel- come to purchase a trans- ponder also. Only 2.4Ghz ra- dios will be allowed to race. “What kind of track and where could we possibly even have a track with no field?” , you ask Well we built a track out of PVC pipe that we set up every Sunday morning in the parking lot in front of the store. None of the other businesses on our end of the building are open on Sundays so we have the whole one end of the parking lot to our selves all day. So we thought, why not give YOU GUYS a place to bring your kids, run your cars, have fun and maybe share some tips and tricks you have picked up in your hobby travels or just share some stories about back in the day of the Grass- hopper and Lunch Bucket. At the moment it‟s run what you brung, So bring whatever you have and lets race. The only thing we ask is that you be courteous of others on the track. Not only will you be able to use the track for free but we will have some R/c cars to demo. There’s no charge and you get 5 minutes to try out one of the cars we have ready to go If you have any questions please feel free to email , call 817-494-2647 or stop by All About Fun Hobbies & Games 415N. Main St., Euless, Tx 76039 and ask What’s New, HOT & Going Fast!!! Turnigy 5200mah 30-40C 2S Hardcase Lipo $39.98 Turnigy 4000mah 30-40C 2S Hardcase Lipo $34.99 Turnigy 3800mah 30-40C 2S Hardcase Lipo $29.99 FS-GT3B Digital 3ch 10 Model Memory 2.4ghz TX & RX W/LCD $58.33 Losi Ten SCTE 4x4 Short Course Rolling Chassis With Aluminum Chassis $299.99 All About Fun Hobbies & Games Events and What’s New!!!! Hobby Shop News 8/15/2011 Volume 1, Issue 3 Home Understanding Gear Selection 2 Understanding Gear Selection 3 R/C Car Setup Tips For Racing 3 R/C Car Setup Tips For Racing 4 Team Losi TLR TEN SCTE 4x4 Short Course Roller 5 Electrix Boost Buggy 6 How to Build Plas- tic Models - Tips, techniques, and tricks 7 How to Build Plas- tic Models - Tips, techniques, and tricks 8 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: All About Fun Hobbies & Games

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Page 1: Hobby Shop News August

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/All-About-Fun-Hobbies-

Games/166406400079562 We‟re updating our face book page regularly so be sure and go to our Facebook page and like us so you can get in on any deals or sales early. The face book page is also up-dated with how to videos and promotions.

All About Fun

Hobbies Forum http://

allaboutfunhobbies.com/hp_smf/index.php All About Fun Hobbies forum is an R/C forum where we can all come together and ask questions and share knowl-edge. Not to mention great stories. The forum has a members section only. In that section we are listing upcom-ing deals, sales and promo-tions before they happen. So by signing up for the forum and being an active member you will get first dibs at sav-ing money.

R/C Race Track

Update We are now officially an-

nouncing the opening of the Euless Raceway R/C Race

Track. As of Sunday July 10th 2011 the track will be setup

and open to the public free of

charge to use all day long from 12am to 6pm.

We have changed the

jumps and brought them

lower with more even transition

in a more off road style jump.

We added a table top with pass through and a small jump near

the end. Right now we are in the process of building some

trying out some triples or rough whoopties. The pass-through‟s

will be used at a later date in a new track configuration.

when the weather breaks and

it‟s cooler, we will start having actual races the races will be

held from possibly 4pm till 7 or 8pm. Until the racing catches

on will be doing races with a referee spotter. Races will be

$5 per entry per class. If and when the races catch on we will

switch over to a transponder system and the race entry will

be $15 for initial entry and $10 per additional entry. Your entry

fees cover the rental of your transponder. You will be wel-

come to purchase a trans-

ponder also. Only 2.4Ghz ra-

dios will be allowed to race.

“What kind of track and where could we possibly even

have a track with no field?” , you ask

Well we built a track out of

PVC pipe that we set up every Sunday morning in the parking

lot in front of the store. None of the other businesses on our

end of the building are open on Sundays so we have the whole

one end of the parking lot to

our selves all day. So we

thought, why not give YOU

GUYS a place to bring your

kids, run your cars, have fun and maybe share some tips

and tricks you have picked up in your hobby travels or

just share some stories about back in the day of the Grass-

hopper and Lunch Bucket. At the moment it‟s run

what you brung, So bring whatever you have and lets

race. The only thing we ask

is that you be courteous of others on the track. Not only will you be able to

use the track for free but we will have some R/c cars to demo. There’s no charge and

you get 5 minutes to try out one of the cars we have ready to go

If you have any questions please feel free to email, call

817-494-2647 or stop by All About Fun Hobbies & Games

415N. Main St., Euless, Tx 76039 and ask

What’s New, HOT

& Going Fast!!! Turnigy 5200mah 30-40C 2S Hardcase Lipo $39.98

Turnigy 4000mah 30-40C 2S Hardcase Lipo $34.99

Turnigy 3800mah 30-40C 2S Hardcase Lipo $29.99

FS-GT3B Digital 3ch 10 Model Memory 2.4ghz TX & RX W/LCD $58.33

Losi Ten SCTE 4x4 Short Course Rolling Chassis With Aluminum Chassis $299.99

All About Fun Hobbies & Games

Events and What’s New!!!!

Hobby Shop

News 8/15/2011

Volume 1, Issue 3

Home

Understanding

Gear Selection

2

Understanding

Gear Selection

3

R/C Car Setup Tips

For Racing

3

R/C Car Setup Tips

For Racing

4

Team Losi TLR TEN

SCTE 4x4 Short

Course Roller

5

Electrix Boost

Buggy

6

How to Build Plas-

tic Models - Tips,

techniques, and

tricks

7

How to Build Plas-

tic Models - Tips,

techniques, and

tricks

8

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

All About

Fun Hobbies

& Games

Page 2: Hobby Shop News August

Understanding Gear Selection

HOBBY SHOP NEWS Page 2

What is the best set-up for my truck? How fast will it go?

These are questions that have haunted me for nearly 10 years. I

have been running 1/10 scale R/C trucks off and on, without a real

good understanding of how to properly set it up. To me, it was FM ( friggin magic). What pinion

should I use? What if I change the spur gear? It was all trial and error that resulted in several melted mo-

tors, blown ESC‟s and damaged batteries.

But I have found the answer! And it is good!

Question 1: What size spur gear should I run? What about the pin-

ion gear? Well……. When selecting the spur

gear and pinion gear size, you need to understand that there is a direct

ratio between the tire circumfer-ence (referred to as roll-out) and the final drive

ratio. That ratio, in most cases, should be

as should be as close to 1 to 1 as possible. 1 to 1? What? By a 1 to 1 ratio, I

am referring to one revolution of the tire to one revolution of the motor. In

doing so, we do our best to main-tain the overall efficiency of the

motor by keeping it in the „Sweet Spot‟. Here‟s how it works. We‟ll use my

RC10T3 as the example vehicle. The first thing to consider is the diameter of your

tire. It is used to calculate the roll-out of the

tire. Multiply the diameter of the tire by pi. ( Ex: 3.25”xpi=10.2101”) Now,

you need to consider the final drive ratio of

your drive train. Begin by dividing the number of teeth on the spur

gear by the number of teeth on the pinion gear. This will give you your exter-

nal drive ratio. ( Ex: 87/19=4.5789). Now

multiply your external drive ratio with your transmission gear ratio ( Ex:

2.4x4.5789=10.9893 ). This is your final drive ratio.

Now, what do we do with these

numbers? Subtract the final drive ratio from the roll-out of the tire . (Ex: 10.2101-

10.9893= -0.77926) Redo the calculation adding another tooth on the pinion : ( Ex:

87/20= 4.35 ( drive ratio )x2.4 ( transmission gear ratio )=

10.44 ( final drive ratio ) Then subtract the final drive ratio ( 10.44 ) from the roll-out (

10.2101 ) ( Ex: 10.2101-10.44= -0.230).

So, what is this formula telling us? In order to maintain the 1:1 ratio

between your roll-out and your final drive ratio, you need to select a gearing

combination that is as close to a 0 margin as possible. In this case, the -0.230

is the optimal choice, since it as close to 0 as we can get, without

going over. How do we know this works? We

can check our overall efficiency by dividing the roll-out by the final drive ratio. In

this case, the 10.2101 roll-out, and the

10.44:1 final drive ratio means that we have less than a 3% total loss in

efficiency. In other words, the tire turns 0.977 times, for every 1

revolution of the motor. Generally, it is

best for your motor to gear your vehicle within a + or - 10% margin. ( In the

case of this formula, +1 to -1 is an acceptable

margin.) Overgearing a vehicle will add

to the speed of the vehicle, but it does so at a tremendous cost. The addi-

tional strain placed on the mo-tor by the shorter

gearing, will cause tremendous heat build up as the motor struggles to reach its

peak RPM. Undergearing a ve-hicle can be just as damaging. Since the motor will

operate at it‟s peak RPM almost exclusively, it will accelerate

the wear of the components and dramatically shorten it‟s service life.

This formula works best with 1/10 scale vehicles running

stock to mid-modified motors. ( 27 turn to around 12

turn motors ). However, hotter motors 12 turn and lower may require you

to reduce the margin by as much as -1 to combat heat build-up. But never gear your

vehicle below an overall efficiency of 90%.

We hav simplified this equa-sion, by adding a Gear Wizard

Calculator. All you need to do is add the right entries, and the calculator does the math for

you!

GEAR WIZARD Question 2: How fast will it

go? Well, we have half the equation already. Using the

Page 3: Hobby Shop News August

circumference of the tire divide that by the final drive ratio. ( Ex:

10.2101/10.44=.977797) multiply that number by the maximum working rpm that your motor is

capable of. Most motors are rated at XXX RPM, XXX rpm/volt, or XXXk/v. With the peak RPM rating,

simply use that number, unless you are using a higher voltage cell.

For RPM/v (k/v) you simply multi-ply its number of RPM/volt by the number of volts supplied to the

motor. I have a Trinity Jade 15 turn motor. It is rated for 28,500 rpm. @ 7.2 volts. ( Ex:

.977797*28500= 27,867.2145 inches per minute )

Convert that sum to feet per min-ute by dividing by 12 ( 12 inches in a foot) ( Ex: 27,867.2145

/12=2322.2678 feet per minute ). Now multiply your feet per minute by 60 minutes ( Ex: 2322.2678

*60= 139,336.0725 feet per hour ). Now divide your feet per hour by

5280 ( the number of feet in a mile ). ( Ex: 2322.2678 /5280= 26.389 miles per hour ). Keep in mind that

this number is entirely theoretical and is affected by the age of your motor, condition and charge of

your battery, friction and or slip from your tires etc. Despite this, it

is a pretty good estimate of just how fast you can go with a given motor!

So, the key to speed and longevity is a high rpm motor coupled to a

properly geared drive train. It will make for many a happy afternoon

of backyard bashing with your truck!

R/C Car Setup Tips for Racing

HOBBY SHOP NEWS Page 3

properly set up your car I would recommend: Camber gauge

Ride height gauge

X-Acto

Spring spacers

All of the tools to

lengthen/shorten your shocks OK, now that you have found a flat surface set the car down as you would on the track less the body, (weighted). Next, set your ride height, you do this by adding spring spacers to

your shocks. If you are running a B4 Buggy for example, run your ride height anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Keep in mind that different cars may require a different ride height to work prop-erly. Also, it's usually best on the B4 to set the ride height to the same level front and rear! When you settle the cars suspension on the flat surface, you

should be able to lift up on the front of the car and there should be some down travel. Same thing with the rear. If you don't have down travel then re check the length of your shocks and ride height and try again. Also, if you don't have any down travel, setting the car's tweak (which will be dis-cussed later) will require a different method.

Adjusting your camber. This should be fairly self-explanatory. Basically, don't run positive camber ever, and only run up to 3

RC Car Setup Tips For

Racing

First off, all cars are different. These are some basic rules that all cars need, but as far as the actual setup goes, different cars react differently to the same adjustments. Also, all tracks are different, Conditions

are different, and driving styles are different. Basics (1) One thing to do that all pro racers do today is not only build the car, but take time with it. They make sure that everything is moving freely. For example, pop off the shock and make sure that all of the sus-pension arms are moving freely. Also, take off the steer-ing linkage and make sure the

steering is free. Another good thing to do is make sure that your drive train is free. If not, it is fairly easy to clean it out. A) You could have dirt in the pulleys. B.) The belt could be too tight. C.) The bearings

could be gritty and cause lots of friction, D.) Drive cups could have dirt in them, the list goes on! Also, another important thing is to make sure that nei-ther belts or drive shafts are coming in contact with your

electronics or any wires. This can save you money and frus-tration. Preparing (2) Preparing for race day is a very important thing. If you are like

me, you don't want to be set-ting tweak at the track. The first thing to do is pull out a new or slightly used set of tires that you KNOW are going to be straight. Slap them on the car and find a VERY flat surface. To

Page 4: Hobby Shop News August

degrees negative camber. On the B4, it is always safe to run around 1 degree. Set the car down on the table and settle the suspen-sion. Do this by tapping on the front of the car a few times and do the same to the rear. Next, get down so

the car's chassis is at eye level. Say that you are go-ing to be looking at the back of the car. Place the x-acto in the center of the chassis and lift up. What happens? Does one wheel leave the ground before the other? Are they the same? Well, if they are the same go to the front of the car and do the same thing. If not , which wheel lifts first, right or left? Say the right

wheel lifts first, you can do 2 things: lengthen the right shock, or shorten the left shock. Get the idea? Do this until both wheels leave the ground at the same time. Then check the front if you haven't already done so. Do the same thing to the front now. Then check the rear again to make sure that any of your adjustments from the front didn't effect the rear. This can kind of be a

see-saw for a while. Ok, now that the tweak is set, along with the camber and ride height you are pretty much done. At the track (3) Personally I have never been to a race where there are NO racers that are will-ing to share information. So

R/C Car Setup Tips For Racing Continued

HOBBY SHOP NEWS Page 4

ask your buddies or some-one who is pitted near you what the tire is for the day. Go ahead and try it, do you like it? No? Yes? Has an awkward feel? I have learned that tires are probably the most impor-tant thing at a race. If you don't have the tire that eve-

ryone seems to like lately, don't expect your car to be off the hook! Another thing that only does good is PRACTICE! I can't say this enough. Track time is an-other thing probably more valuable then anything! Now that I have that straight, how does the car work? What setup works? Also, try all of the tires you have if you have the time. Ok, I know I said earlier

that I don't like doing work at the track but if your car needs it (which it might) you are going to have to break down and spend a little time. If the car is tweaked, re set the tweak, if the tires suck, try other tires, get the idea? Now, as far as the car steering is concerned, this is a whole other matter. First off, Dual Rate is probably the one thing that I use most on my

radio. If the car has too much steering, all you have to do is turn down the dual rate! If the car doesn't have enough steering, turn up the DR. Ideally, you want to find the right balance. This means that the car steers into the turn just as you want it too, and comes out

of the turn just as you want it to. Say the car has a push going into the turn, and has kind of an over-steer coming out of the turn. In this situation, put one of your smallest shock shims in both of the rear shocks. This will raise the rear ride height and give

you more bite in the rear coming out of the turn, and more bite in the front going into the turn. If the car does the opposite (over-steers going into the turn and under-steers coming out), then put 2 of your smallest shims in both of the front shocks. Do this until you find the right bal-ance.

Hopefully this helps and if you

have any questions / com-ments feel free to post them on the forum at http://allaboutfunhobbies.com/hp_smf/i

ndex.php

Page 5: Hobby Shop News August

1. FUNCTIONAL MUD FLAPS WITH LOSI

LOGO

2. OVERSIZED 12MM ANODIZED,

THREADED SHOCKS

3. 12MM WHEEL HEXES

4. SECURE BATTERY STRAPS

5. BATTERY TRAY ACCEPTS MULTIPLE

TYPES AND SIZES OF PACKS

6. HEAVY-DUTY, 4MM TIE RODS WITH

CAPTURED ENDS

7. BEAD-

LOCK-

STYLE SCT

WHEELS WITH

RINGS

8. FRONT

AND REAR SWAY

BARS IN-CLUDED

9. ECLIPSE™

SHORT COURSE

TRUCK TIRES

10.SECURE

RADIO

BOX TO PROTECT

THE RE-CEIVER

11.SIMPLE

ADJUST, ALUMI-

NUM MO-TOR

MOUNT LIGHTWEIGHT BLACK ANODIZED ALUMI-

NUM CHASSIS

Features: Lightweight Black Anodized Alumi-

num Chassis Precision formed and machined from 3mm

thick premium aluminum alloy, the TEN-

SCTE's chassis

provides a

rock-solid

foundation for

unbeatable

strength and

stability. The

chassis plate features a

black anodized

coating for

increased durability and resistance to the

elements. 4MM Tie Rods With Captured Ends We've de-

signed the TEN

-SCTEs tie

rods with cap-

tured ends to

stand up to

extreme im-

pacts and vir-

tually any

terrain you'll

encounter. Captured rod ends prevent

accidental disconnection and

keep the suspension solid and

reliable. Simple Adjust Motor Mounts The TEN-SCTE's motor mount

design is

based

upon the

TLR race-

oriented

8IGHT-E

motor

mount

design. A

single

screw will

allow for quick adjustments and

motor removal for maintenance

and cleaning.

Anodized Threaded Shocks

The TEN-SCTE's

big-bore, 12mm

machined alumi-

num shock bod-

ies are blue

anodized for smooth opera-

tion and wear

resistance.

Threaded shock

collars offer easy yet

precise adjustment of pre-load and ride

height. Shock pistons and bladders are

specifically designed for the TEN-SCTE's

chassis design and weight provides opti-

mum ride and handling. Losi Exclusive Eclipse Short Course

Tire and Beadlock-Style Wheels The black wheels

with simulated

beadlock rings

ensure power is

transferred to

the ground in

style, while the

Eclipse SCTs

provide plenty

of traction on

multiple surface

types.

Required to Complete ARR Kit

550-sized Brushless System Such as

the Castle Mamba Max Pro esc and

4600KX Motor Combo, SV2 System or

Novak Havok Spec 13 Turn Sensored

1/10-scale Steering Servo

2S LiPo Battery Pack and Charger

2-channel Radio System

Polycarbonate Paint

Priced Right around $299.99 for the

TLR TEN SCTE 4x4 Short Course ARR

makes the SCTE a huge winner for any type of racing Competition.

Team Losi TLR TEN SCTE 4x4 Short Course Roller

HOBBY SHOP NEWS Page 5

Page 6: Hobby Shop News August

The Boost buggy rounds out the Elec-trix RC line up. It’s dependable and race friendly chassis is sure to be a hit with buggy fans worldwide. Taking cues from more expensive racing rigs, the Boost is still an Electrix RC vehicle through and through. Built to last with the durability you come to expect, it is des-tined to be a solid addition to the Electrix RC lineup. Each Electrix vehicle is fully ready to run, complete with all batteries

needed, including the AA’s. As with all Electrix RC vehicles, you always get oil filled shocks, full ball bear-ings, fully painted and

decaled bodies plus a nylon compos-ite chassis built with the beginning user in mind.

True ready to run

vehicle with everything included

ROAR and IF-

MAR legal

Wheels are a

stylish dish type with ribbed front tires and square pin rear tires

Super low

slung body available in 2 color schemes (Blue – ECX3000, Orange ECX3100)

The chas-

sis is a narrow design with rolled edges to reduce drag

and hanging up on irregular sur-faces.

Universal

slider type drive shafts

Transmis-

sion has an ad-justable slipper clutch

4 Oil filled

adjustable shocks provides great handling

2WD Transmission with gear

differen-tial makes it reliable and effi-cient Custom battery strap with easy to use thumb clips

Review We are in love with this car. We’ve been testing this car out for the last three weeks. It’s excellent!!! The Car The car comes with everything you need to get going, literally right out of the box. Charger, Battery, Batteries for the remote, the car and the remote. We put the car to the paces up against B4 buggies, Losi buggies, T4s and a host of other cars. It per-formed way beyond our expecta-tions. While it wasn’t the fastest car on the track it certainly was among the most consistent as far as han-dling and jumping. Durability is be-yond what you would expect from a RTR in the price range of $129.99.

It took every bump, bang and smash we threw at it and came out

with no broken bones. Bang for buck this buggy far exceeds anything we could have hoped for. Priced Right around

$129.99 for the Boost Buggy makes it a huge

winner for any type of racing Competition.

Electrix Boost Buggy Page 6

Type: 2WD Buggy

Scale: 1/10

Length: 15.8 in (401mm)

Width: 9.75in (248mm)

Wheelbase: 11.2 in (284mm)

Weight: 3.44 lb (1560g)

Motor or Engine: Dynamite® 20-Turn

Motor

Speed Control: Dynamite® ESC

Shock Type: Coil over Oil-Filled

Shocks

Body: Orange

Minimum Age Recom-

mendation: 14 years

Page 7: Hobby Shop News August

How to Build Plastic

Models - Tips, tech-

niques, and tricks Here are tips and techniques that will help you make plastic models suc-

cessfully and that look great. Plastic model making can be a very reward-

ing hobby but it takes some patience and there are a few things you should

know in order for your models to come out looking as realistic as possi-

ble.

Some Useful Tools - The tools you use can make a very

big difference in how your model goes together and how it eventually

looks, not to mention it can reduce

the frustration level during the build-

ing. Here are some recommended tools that I use. Think creatively

when it comes to tools. I have impro-vised all

kinds of different

tools in-cluding

small pieces of

wire, cot-ton swabs

and more. As

you are working on your model you will come up with great ideas on tools

that you could use or even make.

Here are some of the tools that I use when making models from left to

right:

Sand paper & Emory Boards

Dental pick

Micro files

Side cutters

Magnifying Glass

Deburring tool (Red handle)

Hobby Knife (Yellow handle)

Needle nose pliers (Orange han-

dle)

Awl

Scissors

Shown also are a parts holder

with magnifying glass and model cement

Rubber Bands/Clothes pins (not

shown)

As with all plastic models. There are

several things that come inside the box.

You should inspect everything carefully to make sure nothing is missing. This

model comes with several sprues with parts, an assembly procedure booklet

and a small sheet of stickers (decals) that you will

apply to the model when it

is done.

You should inspect eve-rything and make sure nothing is missing from the kit. You should also read over the whole assembly process. This is impor-tant because the assembly of parts can be affected by future parts. Gluing a part in place might need to be changed a little bit because of a part you will place in a later step.

After inspecting and reading everything you should gently and carefully wash the plastic sprues in warm soapy water. Rinse them all off and let them air dry. This will make a difference in how the paint and decals adhere to the plastic.

It is a good idea to figure out your painting scheme before you build the model and to paint some of the smaller parts while they are still on the sprue. This will give you a much higher level of detail. And

painting some parts are they are glue into the model can be very difficult. They can be difficult to reach with a brush or painting them can cause paint to run over into

other parts. Once these parts are cut from the sprue you can touch them up a bit before gluing them into place.

Painting from the

cap. This is a nice way to get small

amounts of paint.

Once you are ready

to start building the model you

should cut the

parts from the

sprue with either side cutters or a

hobby knife. (I prefer the hobby

knife) This will help you keep the shapes exactly as they are intended

without distortion or breakage.

Once the part is removed from the

sprue you will see it has a small burr

on it where it was attached. You

should carefully file this down with

a micro file or small piece of very

fine sandpaper.

I really like the parts holder with mag-nifying glass. It

holds the piece while you work

on it. In this pic-ture I am gluing

the track to the tank. Having two

free hands makes a big difference.

Plastic model ce-

ment really works well and it usually

only takes 5-10 sec-onds of holding it

before you can re-lease it but some-

times using a rubber band (or clothes pins) to hold large

parts together can really help.

MORE TIPS - This sounds funny but you should

keep your hands clean and wash them frequently while working on your plas-

tic model. The oils from your fingers can affect the parts and particularly

the paint on any parts.

-Dry fit pieces as often as possible before gluing them and take a look.

Will this part be affected by future parts? Does it fit exactly as you think it

will fit? Do you have the orientation correct? I have glued in way too many

pieces only to realize I had it wrong and had to take it back out.

- Applying decals: This can be very

tricky but follow the instructions that

How to Build Plastic Models - Tips, techniques, and

tricks

Page 7

Page 8: Hobby Shop News August

Welcome to All About Fun hobbies and games, where it’s all about the fun. We are a

family owned and operated full line hobby shop. We are excited to meet new people and hopefully we can grow with you in your hobby interests.

The Hobby Shop News is geared towards keeping you and us in-formed of the changes in our hobby interests. This will be the first is-sue and we will send one issue a month out. As it grows we will add more content and more pages covering more than just R/c. So Stay tuned.

All About Fun Hobbies & Games Specializes in Nitro and electric re-

mote control Cars, Trucks, Airplanes, Helicopters and even boats. We

also carry plastic models, Die cast, Airsoft pellet guns and accesso-

ries, model rockets, slot cars, Woodland Scenic landscaping supplies,

Scene-O-Rama School project supplies, and accessories, science &

education sets, even fish & aquarium supplies and much more. If

you’re not finding what you think you should be on the website, call

817-494-2647, email [email protected] or better yet

come on by and say hi.

You can mix paints to get custom

colors, just be sure to mix enough to

complete the project because it can be almost impossible to remix an-

other batch and match the color ex-actly.

Paint the smaller or more difficult to

reach parts while they are still on the

sprue

Consider priming the parts and model

with a gray colored primer. This will

make a significant difference in how the final paint takes to plastic and

how the model ends up looking ( primer is particularly good when you

will be painting light colors over dark plastic).

Two Techniques for getting professional looking painting 1. use a technique called

washing. This is where you let the paint dry then you wash on a very wet layer of

black and swish it around with the brush. because it is so wet it settles down into

the cracks and looks really good. 2. Dry brushing: This is where you put paint on

your brush then wipe it off. This gives you a very dry brush, now brush this gently

over the surface and over high spots on the model. It will leave small traces of the

come with the model. Typically you cut out the decal and then soak it in water

for 20 seconds then slide it right onto the

model. I always use a pair of tweezers to

hold the paper and a dental tool to gently

slide the decal onto

the model. Then I

use a very small piece of paper towel to pat it dry. Decals

can be difficult to move once they are in

place so try to slide it right into its proper position.

PAINTING TIPS Painting is something that can make or

break your model. A good paint job makes all the difference in the world and

a bad paint job can ruin a well built model. Here are some tips:

Keep a wide variety of paintbrush

sizes and use them all.

Paint your strokes in one direction.

It will dry with a better brushless

look

new color paint on the high surfaces. These two techniques take some practice but are

worth it.

Custom Mixing your own colors: This is one of the best ways you can get your model or

miniature to look very

realistic. It

takes a bit of

practice to mix colors

well but it is

worth the time and effort. I used the tops of old milk

jugs to mix my colors .

We’re here for you. Save More / Play More

by shopping with All About Fun Hobbies and Games!

How to Build Plastic Models - Tips, techniques, and tricks

Continued

415 N. Main St Suite 105

Euless, Tx 76039

Phone: 817-494-2647

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.allaboutfunhobbies.com

Ebay: allaboutfunhobbies

Where it’s all about the FUN!!!!

ALL ABOUT FUN

HOBBIES & GAMES

Visit us on the web @

www.allaboutfunhobbies.com