...was also wondering what the red putty i see around is, Bondo? with Bondo i get lost, there are 4 or 5 stages to the stuff, all for auto work, which one of those stages is best for plastic models and does it need a hardener? thanks for any and all information...
You're thinking of Bondo's auto body filler, which really isn't suitable for styrene kits.
They make another product called Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty which is primarily used to fill pinholes and other minor imperfections when doing automobile body work, but it also works quite well as a seam filler for styrene and resin kits. It comes pre-mixed in a squeeze tube and has a rather creamy consistency, so it's not really a "putty", but I've been using it on my styrene and resin kits for several years now and prefer it to most putties that are specifically made and marketed for the model building community. It's not perfect for every modeling situation--you can't really sculpt it like you can with a two-part epoxy putty, there is a shrinkage factor, and I've heard it can warp/melt thin styrene if used in large quantities--but it's easy to apply, cures relatively quickly, sands very easily, and can be found at almost any auto parts store.
Again, I use it for minor seam filling. For larger jobs like filling large gaps and/or adding sculpted surface detail, I use Aves Apoxie Sculpt. Aves Apoxie Sculpt is a traditional two-part epoxy, so it can be sculpted into almost any shape you can think of. And there's virtually no shrinkage factor, which makes it a good product for filling large gaps. However, it's not as easy to obtain (I've only found it available online), it's more expensive than most traditional modeling putties, and once it's fully cured it's extremely difficult to sand because it's hard as a rock.
Both products have a bit of a learning curve (i.e., what you can and can't do with them) but, between the two, I haven't needed any other products for seam filling and/or adding sculpted surface detail to any of my model kits.
