Richard Baker
Sr Member
Yesterday I continued to pass the torch of model building to my son- each model he builds expands his skill base. This time I introduced him to the Dremel and hot knife techniques.
He got for Christmas the new Revell Star Destroyer kit. Compared to the original Ertl kit it is magnificent- basic but with a lot of detail and the unfortunate 'landing gear' stand.
We went over the kit when he got it and one thing he wanted to do was to give it some battle damage (a proud moment for me). Sunday we got out my Dremel tool and I showed him how to thin out the plastic behind the hull where he planned to add the damage. I did the first one and let him do the rest. After that we got out an old Xacto blade and candle, I then opened up one of the spots and shaped the hull scarring. He watched what I did and then finished the rest.
Below is a picture of the hull as it is now- the damage has open holes which do not appear here due to lighting.
http://i.imgur.com/l9ym4H9.jpg
The next step is to add mangles styrene and greebly behind the holes to give them depth and interest.
I a couple of weeks I should have my Zvezda ISD kit and together we will be adding tiny chips of styrene and rod to the superstructure/waistband areas as we work side by side.
This is the fun part of being a dad- I am passing on to my 12 year old son the techniques I have evolved over the years. He is developing a real passion for building and is not satisfied building out of the box. Below is a photo of his last build- the USS Arizona (the third glue kit).
http://i.imgur.com/ciHPmlP.jpg
He got for Christmas the new Revell Star Destroyer kit. Compared to the original Ertl kit it is magnificent- basic but with a lot of detail and the unfortunate 'landing gear' stand.
We went over the kit when he got it and one thing he wanted to do was to give it some battle damage (a proud moment for me). Sunday we got out my Dremel tool and I showed him how to thin out the plastic behind the hull where he planned to add the damage. I did the first one and let him do the rest. After that we got out an old Xacto blade and candle, I then opened up one of the spots and shaped the hull scarring. He watched what I did and then finished the rest.
Below is a picture of the hull as it is now- the damage has open holes which do not appear here due to lighting.
http://i.imgur.com/l9ym4H9.jpg
The next step is to add mangles styrene and greebly behind the holes to give them depth and interest.
I a couple of weeks I should have my Zvezda ISD kit and together we will be adding tiny chips of styrene and rod to the superstructure/waistband areas as we work side by side.
This is the fun part of being a dad- I am passing on to my 12 year old son the techniques I have evolved over the years. He is developing a real passion for building and is not satisfied building out of the box. Below is a photo of his last build- the USS Arizona (the third glue kit).
http://i.imgur.com/ciHPmlP.jpg
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