Glossary of modeling terms

[ShotMagnet]

Hoping that we'll all chime in, I now begin a glossary of modeling terms:

 

Airbrush- A miniaturized paint gun which can be used for painting models.

 

Accelerator- Chemical agent used to reduce the curing periods of paint and/or super-glue.

 

Drybrush- Painting with very little paint on the brush in order to accentuate raised details on the surface of a model

 

Flash- Excess, unwanted plastic on a kit part.

 

Masking- Covering areas of a model in order to prevent those areas from being painted.

 

Motor tool- A hand-held electric device that can be used as a drill, grinder, polisher, cutter, etc, through the use of interchangeable bits.

 

Pin vise- A small, usually hand-powered, drill designed to accept very fine drill bits.

 

Pin wash- Precisely applying thinned paint in order to accentuate surface details. Done as a pin-point application.

 

Sprue- The plastic rack containing the parts comprising a plastic model kit

 

Sludge wash- A specialised wash consisting of thinned paint and liquid dish soap, used in the same manner as other washes

 

Wash- Painting with very thinned paint in order to accentuate seams, panel lines, etc on the surface of a model

 

 

Okay, that's good enough for a start. Anyone else?

 

Shot

[Jacques]

Jacques - NOT a hoser!

 

 

Seriously, good stuff here. Always good to make sure everyone is talking about the same thing before we get into heated arguments of minutia...

 

Acrylic - WATER based paint; water cleanup

 

Enamel - OIL based paint; Mineral spirits/turpentine cleanup

 

Superglue - Cyanoacrylate; a fast bonding adhesive with excellent tensile strength, but poor shear strength. Used heavily on resin and white metal kits.

 

Epoxy - a thicker, longer curing glue similar to superglue, but it comes in two parts which must be mixed together to become an adhesive. Excellent all around strength and it is a good filler.

 

Filler - Something used to "fill" a hole, gap, or seam.

[Gennady I. Beregovoy]

Mutant - a rivet counter, kit knocker... Jeff Herne has an article on this one, particularly Mutant Judges

Rivet Counter - person obsessed with accurate details. Would deem a beautifully made kit stupid if it lacked a particular detail, say a single rivet somewhere in the vehicle

 

Kit knocker - Someone who makes bad reviews of a kit without even trying to build it at first.

 

AMS - Advance Modeller Syndrome. Once it occurs, modeller deems it a must to detail each and every detail either scratchbuild it or something else. Can cause mutation AFAIK.

 

Epoxy putty - a two-stick (hardener and adhesive) clay-like material. Can be used for sculpting and filling up seams. Water based more often than not AFAIK.

[EW]

Gravite fed airbrush = The paint cup is positioned (mostly) on top of the airbrush so the paint is "dragged/falls" downwards by gravity into the nozzle of the AB. A major plus that one can paint a low pressures like 14 PSI/1 Bar or less, in contrast to AB's where the paint cup is placed below the AB.

 

Gentlemen, great thread, but I'm won't have time to post much more until after the 28th (The Nationals). IOW I'm feeling the stress and don't want any distraction if I can avoid it. But to quote Terminator, "I'll be back"

 

Cheers

EW

[ShotMagnet]

Aftermarket- Parts for kits that are not contained in the kit. Typically, aftermarket parts are items that correct dimensionally inaccurate or incorrect items found in a particular kit. Aftermarket products can also include detail items not found in, or supplementary to, a particular kit.

 

Kitbashing- Conversion done to a model, usually to represent a particular sub-type.

 

OOB- Out of the Box. Referring to a model built with only the parts that came in the kit.

 

Prototype- The subject of a model kit. Commonly used with the phrase 'according to prototype' as a means of judging how accurately a model resembles the subject.

 

Photoetch- Brass or other metal treated with photosensitive chemicals, subjected to light, then treated with acids in order to produce detail parts.

 

Superdetailing- Incorporating every feature found on a protoype into the model. This can include working hinges for panels, rivets, bolts, interior equipment, etc.

 

Scratchbulding- Constructing all or part of a model from stock material, such as sheet plastic, rod stock, etc.

[Gennady I. Beregovoy]

External mix - where the air and the paint 'mix' externally of the airbrush. As opposed to...

 

... Internal mix - where the air and paint is 'mixed' inside of the airbrush's body.

 

Bottom feed - opposite of Gravite Fed airbrush. Paint is sucked up from a color cup or bottle into the airbrush, thus the greater requirement of air pressure.

 

Adzing - read this from a book, it is a way of removing flash by just scraping it off with your sharp knife.

 

White metal - as opposed to brass, white metal are basically just that - white metal parts of a model. I heard they need to be "cleaned" so as to adhere to the model using superglue/CA glue.

 

Stretching-sprue - method wherein sprue is heated over a heat source (normally a candle flame) and once the sprue feels soft, both ends of the sprue are pulled away from each other to produce a thin line of sprue. Used for rigging, antennae, railings, ladders, etc.

 

White glue - Elmer's White Glue and the like used for attaching clear parts. It is 'white glue' because it comes out white and dries transparent.

 

Clear coat - used to seal a model, giving it either a flat or glossy finish.

 

Flat - dull, non-reflective.

 

Gloss - reflective.

 

Future - clear acrylic floor wax by Johnson IIRC. Used as a clear gloss coat as well as protection for canopies and other clear parts. Alternative is Johnson's 'Wipe n' Shine' and others.

[Garth]

Ohnosecond: the instant in time when you realize that you've just superglued the weapons rails on your coming-together-perfectly F-102 Delta Dagger on backwards ...

 

Or when you've just knocked a bottle of liquid cement over, dropping the contents all over the canopy of the S-3 Viking you have 10+ hours invested in already.

 

Or when you realize that airborne droplets of paint from airbrushing have given 10% of your extensive model collection a nice coating of irremovable "dust".

 

I culd go on and on ...

 

--Garth

[EW]

Metalizing (sp?) = Various methods for turning a plastic object into one that looks like the "real deal". A favourite is to use an artistic silver pencil, which can be found in most art stores.

 

Chipped/chipping paint = Related to the above. On a/c the two most common techniques are either to have a base colour of metallic paint. Once one have done that, the modeler then applies the diff. camo colours. Some people then prefer to rip the upper layer off with the aid of masking tape. An another approch is to sprinkle the kit with salt and water, while adding the camo colours, and then just brush away the salt. End result in both cases is that the metal shines trough.

 

EW

[AaronW]

CA - another term for superglue

 

kitbash - using parts from multiple kits to create something else.

 

Styrene - The plastic used in most commercial model kits

 

Resin - epoxy like plastic often used by smaller companies or even hobbiests to create less common subject materials.

 

 

and two I just learned recently

 

Curbside - a kit that does not include the motor.

 

Slammer - a kit that does not include the motor or the interior.

 

[Edited by AaronW (29 Mar 2004).]