Tools of the Trade pg 2

For filling seams and joints Testors white putty works well, dries quickly and is easy to work with. For large jobs Squadron green or white putties are our choice, quick drying and plyable they are very durable. Elmers white glue works well for those fine line seams. Mighty putty is great for those extra larte jobs "caution very difficult to work with when cured". There are spatulas for working the fillers "recommended"

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There are various tape's availible to mask your projects, Micro-Mark's Mask it, Parafilm. and 3M tapes are all exceptable. If you choose a blue painters tape make sure to get the low adheasion tape or you will end up pulling paint which was already layed down. Scotch tape makes the best lines but must be used with caution and lifted as soon as the paint is tacky.

A color wheel is an absolute must for those of you wanting to creat your own paint scheme's. Because of the varity of projects out there you may want to use store bought colors, however if you want something you cant quite find mixing your own is the best way to go.

Below to the far left there is a hot plate used for coffee, we use it to heat canned paints, if you heat your paints to slightly more than warm to touch the paint will flow more smoothly from the can, and next in center is a Vermont American paint shaker which attaches to a drill. This tool is one of our most favorites when using can paints, it mixes very well and saves the hands for more useful projects,

To the far right is the roper bottle paint shaker, excellent for mixing the little jars of paint our only drawback with it is you need to purchase extra bands to hold the paint "they wear out fairly easily", other than that it has held up very well in the rigors of our studio.Made by Robart it runs around $35.00.

For the painting of your models the number one rated object is the air compressor, ours is a central pneumatic purchaced at Harbor Freight for around $70. it is almost silent, has an air gague, relief valve and is portable. With our purchase we also acquired two air brushes for about $30. one for acrylics and the other for enamels, they are interchangeable as far as parts go.

The propellants will sufice for the beginner however one thing to remember is when the propellant gets low so goes the pressure and possibly the quality of the paint job, but in all fairness they can do a adaquate job if kept an eye on.

There are a lot of different brushes out there and quality should not be skipped, camel hair brushes are about the best, and with proper care will last years, most of the higher end bushes will have plastic tubes to protect them when not in use.