Scale Model Aircraft - Building Your Skills

A guest post by Robert Navidad

If you are anything like me, chances are you get a massive kick out of completing your latest scale model aircraft. Personally, I love static models and RC models. No matter which hobby fits you the most, I trust you take a keen interest to producing the best quality results.

Fortunately, there are tons of resources out there which can help you build the required skills to build, detail and finish scale model aircraft. For me, this began with the 'Modelling Scale Aircraft' book.

One question I hear a lot is "How can I get better at building these models". The short answer is practice. It comes down to study, learning new skills and starting with better kits and plans. There are so many ways to acquire these things, but they are most definitely not going to come from staying in your comfort zone.


Pushing the boundaries by purchasing more difficult models, or trying out some new technique you may have heard somewhere along the line is a sure fire way to become an expert. It is this willingness to learn that separates the good from the bad, and the end results should fuel your passion.

The internet is a solid place to begin looking for new knowledge which you can apply, but given you are reading this, you've probably already worked that out. However, you are not going to get any better without putting the new stuff you've learned into practice. You might completely mess it up, but that's exactly the point. Messing things up proves you are pushing boundaries, and this is by far the most effective way to learn.

Another extremely good option is purchasing complete guides that take you through the entire process, giving tips along the way. Do ensure that you choose a well illustrated book so that you can see exactly what is being done. This is where I should recommend "Modelling Scale Aircraft", which you can find below, or on the scale model aircraft blog.

Tools

They say that only a poor tradesman blames his tools, but without quality tools, some jobs simply can't be done. What I am saying is that one of the most important things you can do is ensure you have the right tools. On top of that, they should be of high quality. Cheap ones are only going to break and oftentimes make the job harder.

Be it files, an airbrush, blades or brushes, not only does using the right tools make it that much easier to work on your projects, but not having them can make it near impossible to achieve excellent levels of detail.