DeAgo Falcon tools/tips recommendations

Mudron

New Member
Hey all –
I’ve been letting my shipments of Millennium Falcon parts stack up over the course of the last year, and since I’ll have the whole thing in hand within another year, I thought this would be a good time to investigate see what kinds of tools/paints/etc everybody else may be using and/or recommend.

I grew up building the old off-the-shelf styrene Star Wars models in the 80s using Testor’s glues and paints, and so this will be the first time I’ve built a model using ABS-friendly glues and paints and whatnot. I’ve been poring over DeAgo videos on Youtube (in particular, Steve Dymzo’s videos for ModelSpace and the Modelmaking Guru’s airbrush tutorials), but I thought I’d check in with the forum to see what paints, glues, airbrush/compressor combos, etc. everybody else is using.
 
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i use

- superglue,
- my Dremel,
- some warding files,
- green stuff and
- acrylic paints

till yet (more to come).

Yeah, I'll probably have to throw down for a Dremel eventually, along with an airbrush + compressor (can anyone recommend a good one?)

Right now, I've picked up a bunch of Tamiya AS20 Insignia White for the base layer of the Falcon, some Tamiya ultra thin cement and a bunch of masking tape.
 
One tool I'd suggest is another, much cheaper, much more common model for practice with all these techniques. There are mistakes to be made and That's a lot of money to waste in the learning process if it's on a $1500+ model. Doesn't have to be a MF or even sci-fi, really, though the MPC/Ertl/AMT MF has often been gotten on the cheap. One small example is clear parts. The studio model didn't have them and many won't use them, so they may not even mention that to you. But if you used something that permanently fogs/mars them like super glue can, well that would suck. And people might never think to mention it because in their minds--why use clear parts anyway? (I will be using clear parts, perhaps scratchbuilt, BTW.) I remember when I found out how wonderful lacquer thinner is at removing paint and how nasty it is at destroying plastic. By the way, I would say all of this even if you are/were someone who really just wants to assemble this AS-IS but just adding a tiny bit of pizzazz. And you don't have to finish the "practice" kit, just finish different techniques. See what it's like when you paint one color over another or one type of paint over another. See how some good putty behaves and whether it shrinks. I've destroyed awesome paint jobs with washes that got away from me, or with gloss coats that orange-peeled. You don't have to become some master modeler, but some practice would help. Just my two cents.
Mike Todd
 
That's some very good advice!
As to recommending an airbrush, it's really down to budget and what you want from it.
For sheer control you can't beat a good dual action but you should practice before you start spraying on your Falcon. You can use cheap artist water based paints on paper for this.
Personally I use a Badger 150 that I've had for over 20 years. It's proven reliable and still in production so spares are no problem.
 
In my build of the falcon i will be using MEK, which when dry wont leave much of a mess unlike super glue would and easier to sand unlike super glue would if you leave fingerprints lol
the cheapest glue (MEK) is the PVC pipe cleaner you can buy at Lowes or such that sells it and you can get as much as you will ever need for just a few bucks.
 
Apologies for a bumping a year-old thread, but I thought I'd check in and see if there' s much of a consensus yet about preferred supplies and equipment for building, painting and finishing the DeAgostini Falcon kit .

Specifically, I'm still looking for recommendations for a newbie-friendly airbrush (I'm not adverse to spending a bit on an airbrush, despite having never used one before), and I thought this might be a fun thread for folks to post about what they've found to be most useful for bashing together their Falcon kits.
 
My best investment was also my cheapest. a quality set of spruce clippers. The ones I got make a perfect flat cut. 90% of the time there is nothing left of the spruce after the initial snip. I also use a AAA powered head lamp and a set of 'cheeter' reader glasses. Im over 40 so my close up vision has gone.

Couple more things ill add. Go to the drug store and get one of those daily pill boxes....the ones with M-T-W-T-F-S-S printed on it. Use it to store unused screws and the little square frame brackets. I also keep the plastic bags and throw the printed cardboard number (IE issue#34) inside the bag for easy identification when you have to go back to get parts from an earlier issue. I stored issues 1-50 in a large Rubbermaid tub. When I got more room, I would put in issues 51-60..etc.

If you are missing parts, call the number and they will send you a whole new issue....not just the little frame part for example, a whole new issue.
 
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My best investment was also my cheapest. a quality set of spruce clippers.

Do you happen to remember what make of spruce clippers you have?

And thanks for the advice about about the pill boxes - I've been thinking about that, as well, or at least a fishing tackle box or something to keep smaller tools and whatnot in.
 
Apologies for a bumping a year-old thread, but I thought I'd check in and see if there' s much of a consensus yet about preferred supplies and equipment for building, painting and finishing the DeAgostini Falcon kit .

Specifically, I'm still looking for recommendations for a newbie-friendly airbrush (I'm not adverse to spending a bit on an airbrush, despite having never used one before), and I thought this might be a fun thread for folks to post about what they've found to be most useful for bashing together their Falcon kits.

I use an Iwata Eclipse HP-SBS and it has always given outstanding results. For an entry level Iwata I would suggest you look at the Neo series. The main thing that I would recommend when you look for an airbrush is that you choose a double action version. That is the type where you press down on the trigger for air and pull back for paint. I would also recommend that you look at getting a compressor for it that gives you control over the air pressure.

I wholeheartedly agree with Lear60man that one of the best investments you can make is a good pair of sprue cutters. The main thing to check on sprue cutters when you are out shopping is the back side of the cutting blades - make sure they sit flush with one another. This is the side that you butt up against the piece you are cutting. The more flush the cutters, the better the finished cut you will get.
 
Thanks for the advice, guys - I've added that sprue cutter to my Amazon/Falcon wishlist!

And in regards to an airbrush, I was looking at a DeVilbliss DAGR & compressor last year (I think a few of the Falcon builds I had started to watch had talked up that specific setup), but I'll definitely take a look at Iwata Eclipse series!

I don't know much about such high-grade end of modeling (I grew up building the old Star Wars model kits back in the 80s, painting them with Testor's paints and weathering them with matches, Exacto-knives and my mother's eyeshadow kit), and so this whole new style of building/painting is as exciting as it is scary (and so any and all advice is always appreciated!)
 
So I've been lurking for 2 years and now I think I can add something of value :)

I own a Dagr and it's a solid airbrush, can't say anything bad about it. Not familiar with the compressor but it has a tank which is good.

I would add that when shopping for any brand, look around and check out the prices for replacement parts too! You will eventually need to get a new needle and/or nozzle. I get Dagr parts from toolsource.com. If you are located in the US they are great (I get killed by shipping to Canada).
 
So I've been lurking for 2 years and now I think I can add something of value :)

I own a Dagr and it's a solid airbrush, can't say anything bad about it. Not familiar with the compressor but it has a tank which is good.

I would add that when shopping for any brand, look around and check out the prices for replacement parts too! You will eventually need to get a new needle and/or nozzle. I get Dagr parts from toolsource.com. If you are located in the US they are great (I get killed by shipping to Canada).

Thanks for the Dagr tips! Dumb question (since I've never owned an airbrush before), but a tank and a compressor aren't the same thing? (I understand that a compressor is what would compress the air into a tank, where the compressed air would be held, but I didn't think you could get one without the other).

Regardless, I've seen enough Dagr brushes in Deago MF build videos that that's the brand I'm leaning towards now.
 
You can get compressors with no tank. But that means the compressor has to run all the time to get any pressure through the brush. It also means the air flow will "pulse" and that can mess up your painting. Lastly, a compressor that runs all the time will wear out sooner. The tank evens out the flow (no pulse) and makes the compressor last longer as it runs less often.
 
You can get compressors with no tank. But that means the compressor has to run all the time to get any pressure through the brush. It also means the air flow will "pulse" and that can mess up your painting. Lastly, a compressor that runs all the time will wear out sooner. The tank evens out the flow (no pulse) and makes the compressor last longer as it runs less often.

Okay, cool, that makes sense - I was wondering if you'd be stuck with a compressor noisily chugging along the whole time while you're painting, but I'm glad to hear that the tank not only cuts down on that nonsense, but also makes painting itself smoother and less burpy.

Also, maybe I can use a tank/compressor setup as a beer tap when I'm not painting. Just keep it on the bedstand and shoot a pint straight down my gullet with the Dagr.
 
Okay, cool, that makes sense - I was wondering if you'd be stuck with a compressor noisily chugging along the whole time while you're painting, but I'm glad to hear that the tank not only cuts down on that nonsense, but also makes painting itself smoother and less burpy.

Also, maybe I can use a tank/compressor setup as a beer tap when I'm not painting. Just keep it on the bedstand and shoot a pint straight down my gullet with the Dagr.

Mudron,

You don't need a compressor with a tank if you buy a constant pressure compressor. I use the Iwata Smart Jet Pro. You set the pressure to the level you want when operating the airbrush, the standing pressure will be slightly higher, press down on the airbrush trigger first and watch the pressure drop to your set working pressure before pulling back on the trigger to add paint. The compressor runs as needed to maintain the working pressure. I wouldn't worry about noise if you are looking at a specific model painting compressor, mine is really quiet.

If if you do decide to use a compressor with an air tank I would suggest that you use a moisture trap/filter between the tank and your airbrush. My Iwata has a moisture trap built in to it.

The two secrets to airbrushing are to make sure that your paint is thinned properly (I was taught to and continue to thin until the paint has the consistency of milk), and keep your airbrush clean. Flush it out thoroughly with thinner before you start, in between colours and whenever you think it might or whenever it actually shows signs of clogging (Paint spatter). Finally, clean it thoroughly at the end, taking care not to damage the nozzle as ffoeg said. On a quality airbrush this part is very fine and easy to damage.

I highly recommend watching Tim Shackleton's videos. He is a railway modeller, but his skills with the airbrush are masterful and the techniques are transferable to any airbrush modelling project. https://youtu.be/8kcx8OPUscM
 
Mudron,

You don't need a compressor with a tank if you buy a constant pressure compressor.

Thanks for all the tips and advice, Trimotor! Is there a particular advantage to buying a tank versus a constant pressure compressor? Seems like a tank would be a bit more of an investment, especially if you have to buy traps & filters for it (and I'm sure there must be some extra maintenance involved regarding dispelling the air in the tank if you don't mean to use it for a while).
 
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