Guide to Assembling Models

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It's always been hard to teach people how to assemble their little plastic men via 4chan thread. Good guides eventually auto-sage into Archive obscurity. Copy-pastas better, but not enough. Freshly-minted fa/tg/uys have always had to go elsewhere to find teachers for how to make models. BUT NOW, those days are over! Introducing the...

1d4chan Guide to Assembling Models!

Now you too can learn how assemble any models you buy, for any game system! Impress your gaming friends, the people at your local FLGS, and maybe even your parents by assembling crisp and clean models! Make mind-boggling customs that will make people online swear blind that you bought a professional commission! Or maybe you just want to learn how to make your models look like they aren't melting and crystallizing at the same time. Luckily, our guide can teach you all of this, and more!

This Guide is the result of aggregating resources from all over the Net: personal blogs, manufacturers' websites, and many many WIP threads. The Guide is roughly ordered based on the order of operations that one goes through when assembling kit models. The Customization section is even more roughly ordered than the rest of the guide.

Preparing Parts

Sprue

Most plastic kit models made today (and many from yesteryear) come on flat Sprues. Sprue is a term for any large chunks of material which are attached to the model when you first get it, but which are not intended to be a part of the model.

Plastic sprues are roughly flat plastic scaffolds, which contain many model parts suspended within them. Sprues primarily exist due to how moulding plastic models works, but also help in shipping model kits safely to shops. They are an old invention, and have been serving modeling communities of all stripes well for over half a century. Metal and resin models also have sprues, though they look different. Metal sprues are generally small, flat tabs of metal which jut off of the model, but are not always connected to each other. Metal sprue will generally all share one or two geometric planes. Resin sprue generally looks like a large wedge-shaped block. It may have some words raised or embossed onto it, either the manufacturing name of the model or the name of the manufacturer.

Removing parts from the sprue they came in is a simple task, most of the time. For plastic sprue, use a pair of generic hobby clippers to snip the connections between the bulk of the sprue and the model. While this may seem simple, there are two complications: damaging your model's surface, and excessively detailed parts. The first issue is created by taking your clippers, bringing the flat edge right up to the model, and clipping off the sprue right where it connects to the model. This may create pits in the surface of your model, which you will not be able to file away (without further harming surrounding details on the model's surface). To avoid damaging the model's surface, clip the sprue off such that a small bit of sprue remains on the model (only 1mm or less). You should use a hobby file to carefully sand down the small bump of sprue until it is contiguous with the rest of the model's surface details. This can also be done by whittling away the sprue with a hobby knife.

Customization

Many experienced model-makers (not just tabletop wargamers) find building a generic model - exactly as it comes in the kit - rather unsatisfying. If you feel the urge to spice up your models, make them stand out from the competition on the tabletop, or participate in the time-honored tradition of crafting Your Dudes: read on!

3rd Party Parts

Nobody in this hobby can be expected to be an expert sculptor, or a genius with the hobby knife. If you want a model, or better yet every model, in your army to have stand-out wargear, than you should consider buying bits from 3rd party model makers! Many businesses specialize in making body parts, weapons, and armor which are compatible with existing lines of wargaming models. These products provide a different look for your models, one which may fit better with your army concept or a e s t h e t i c. And these parts can often be bought in bulk, which means that you don't have to spend hours and hours sculpting the same part onto 20 different models!

This aspect of customization only requires slightly more skill than assembling models. Why might swapping in 3rd party parts be a bit tougher than basic assembly? Well... let's just say that not every alternate parts shop will have that patent-pending "Games Workshop Quality". In fact, none of them will. Most of these companies can only produce parts with the QA standards of Forge World, Privateer Press, or worse. They often cast parts with resin or pewter, which make them tougher to work with than the modern line of GW all-plastic models. Expect to deal with flash, erratic sprue, and severe mould lines. If you have experience making Forge World models, play games from Privateer Press, or are a greybeard who made models for 4th Edition 40k or earlier, you can readily deal with the hiccups of 3rd party models just fine.

Other Resources

• Reaper Miniatures has a helpful Craft blog, with notable sections for conversion and sculpting.

Model Making
Modeling:	Guide to Assembling Models - Green Stuff - Model Alternatives - Casting - Photo-Etched Brass
Painting:	Guide to Painting Models - Paint - THIN YOUR PAINTS - Duncan Rhodes - 'Eavy Metal
Scenery and Technical:	Forthcoming...
Related:	WIP