h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Gazongola,

Your first entry! Well done!

I think it might be interesting to say a little more about the skill levels. And it did strike me that Beatties, while being a decent supplier, may not be the one that most readily springs to mind for many people. Lots of model shops are small and specialised.

These links shows more shops:

http://www.kellysearch.com/gb-product-61367.html
http://websearch.cs.com/cs/browse?id=82818&source=relcats
http://www.glue-it.com/shops/houses__shops.htm

This one has more: http://www.surftheisles.com/hobby.htm although you have to sort between other hobby and craft type suppliers.

This is another good link:

http://hem.bredband.net/thomaskolb/art/models/introduction_e.htm

Ooh ta

How do I put links in an entry and when will my entry be official?

Links im not to sure on, but one day a magical man called a scout will appear and whisk the entery to the place known as subeditor land (please note, i know non of this, with my entery still sitting in peer reveiw)

Groovy. That should be in a book.

How do you get a fancy badge thing like ACE or POST THINGIE?

Gazongola, you just put the link in the place you want it (copy and paste). If you were doing the entry in GuideML, then link would be tidier, however a sub-editor will do the work once it is recommended.

I don't know the first thing about Guide ML an I am not very confident about learning it either.<erm

I don't know the first thing about Guide ML an I am not very confident about learning it either.

Let's talk in The Visit to The Vendanta Centre.

Its fairly simple stuff really.

At the bottom of the page there should be a drop down list. it'll have normal, and guide ml. put it on guide ml, and click change style.

The put at the beginning of each paragraph, and at the end.

for sub headers, just put at the start and at the end

Give it a go, and if it becomes to hard just close the page without saving or updating, and give me a shout here.

(dont click update, just preveiw as that wont change the entery but will enable you to see how itll look finished. When you've done it click update if your sure)

I am still baffled

If you want help with Guide ML try the clinic here: A187229 It helped me on my way
PGHF

Thank you v. much

Ill get on it now then

I've put my advice on the other thread, Gazongola. Night night!

Hello to all you interested people. Here is a guide to give you step by step instructions on how to build a model kitThis is for general model kits, not wargames kits.

The first step is to go to a model shopBeatties or anywhere else and get your supplies.

You will need:

A model kit: Many companies make kits, but for a first time person something simple is recommended. For very young people, skill 1 models. These are snap together and require no paint. The skill is on the side of the box. For older people, (8 upwards) skill 2 is recommended, which requires glue and paint. They are fairly easy and they go all the way up to skill 5 or 6, which one person once said 'insane and contains submicroscopic peices that you can snort'.

Scales:
Models come in different scales. You can have 1/72nd models which means that the model is 72 times smaller than the original e.g a tank. 1/35 scale are larger and more detailed. There are many different sizes of model. It is best to start small. There are also lots of models to choose from.

Supplies:
Now you have the model, you need supplies. First you will need a craft knife or a pair of sprue cutters. Sprue cutters are better as small pieces tend to shatter when cut with a knife. If you prefer, use a stanley knife to cut the sprue around the model and then take all the bits of sprue off.

Then you will need model glue called Poly liquid or cement. Cement is a lot better than liquid as it has a thicker consistency and is better for gluing and is less messy. It normally comes in a tube or bottle. You can get bottles with a needle aplicator which are very handy as well. Highly recommended.

You will then need paint and brushes. Acrylic paint is best, as it is water based and can be cleaned off fingers and brushes with hot, soapy water. Enamel paint (for the more daring) requires white spirit cleaning fluid. Both paints DO NOT come out of clothes. With brushes, to start you will need a large surface brush. Then get a fine detail brush. The brushes come in numbers to show how big they are. 1 upwards are large surface. 0, 00, 000, 5/0 and 10/0 are fine detail. Start with about 00. A word about the paint. Get the same make as the model i.e. Revell model requires Revell paint. This is a must, because the paints are numbered to correspond with the model. The corresponding paint numbers are on the side of the box i.e. Revell 'anthracite grey' is number 9. The number of the colour is at the front of the rack and on the lid of the pot. It is always best though, to mix certain colours as paints are often not cheap e.g mix red with yellow to get orange. You could also get a cheap version as a subsitute if you can find them and can also substitute shades for a colour that is similar.

You well also need to find a cutting mat, a small off cut of wood or a ceramic tile. Anything similar will do.

Building:
Now on to the building! Younger people (10 and under) will need adult supervision. Open your box. Inside, there should be plastic sprues with the pieces on them, instructions for building and painting, a transfer sheet and maybe some information on the model. READ THE SAFETY INSTUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING! And all the other information. In there are all the symbols you will encounter during construction.

Open the instructions and start with section one. The pieces are numbered, e.g. a3, b7 etc. The letter tells you what sprue it is on and the number tells you the piece that you need. Cut off the pieces with the cutters or knife and shave off the little nobbles on the pieces using a file or emery board. If using a knife, place the sprue on the cutting surface and press the blade downwards on the join. If you can, twist the piece off the sprue.

Put a bit of glue onto your cutting surface and using a cocktail stick, apply the glue sparingly, onto the edge of the piece that will be glued. If the piece is to be glued, it is normally in a white circle or there is a symbol that looks like a tube of glue.

Repeat these 2 steps until the model is finished. Now to paint the model.

In the back of the book can be found the painting instructions. Each shade on the picture represents a colour, which is on the key. The colours are sometimes a letter, which corresponds to the table at the front of the instructions. Using the large brush, paint the large areas as shown on the diagram. Wait for the large area to dry then move onto the next large area if any and so on. Clean out your brush in a pot (hot water for acrylics and white spirit for enamels) after each colour used and replace the lid. Then move on to the small areas and use the fine detail brush for those. When the painting is complete and dry, you can start applying transfers.

Transfers:
First make sure that the area is clean of dirt and grease. Get your transfer sheet. Each transfer is numbered. If you look back through the instructions, there will be numbers corresponding to the transfers. The transfer numbers will be in another type of symbol or shape. It will tell you at the front of the instructions. To apply a transfer, cut it out carefully with scissors, making sure you don't cut through any other transfer. Place the transfer in warm hot water for about 30 seconds, using tweezers. Slide the transfer onto a knife, then onto a model, using a cocktail stick (not the one used for glue). It is easiest to use a craft knife for applying transfers. Then, get a clean brush, dip it in water, wipe off any excess and brush it over the transfer, taking care not to pick up the transfer with the brush. Do this for all the transfers and leave to dry.

Well done. You have completed the model. As you get more confident, go up a skill and maybe try specialised equipment like an airbrush. This is a great way to spend time and have fun.

When you have many models, you can build dioramasThese are scenes that are made using models e.g. a war scene.

As an old model maker this article brings the meories flooding back. This is a great start to an Entry and I've a few ideas that could help...

I found when making models I had my own space to do it in. An old desk with a cutting board out in a conservatory or area where there is plenty of fresh air is excellent. (due to paint fumes of course).
A desklamp is vital. It helps you pick out details you may have missed.

Other equipment;
Paint thinner, methylated spirits. (for the cleaning of brushes)
Fine gauge sandpaper. (helps neaten off rough edges where you have cut parts away from sprues.)
A dirty rag. (to wipe brushes on to dry them off)
A clean rag (to wipe model surfaces before painting to get rid of dust and muck so as not to ruin paint contact)
Tweezers (VERY useful for LOADS of things)
Mixing pots (to mix paints to the colour you want - those little medicine pots from the chemist are ideal, although the tops of squash/cordial bottles are good too)
Toothpicks (for applying small points of glue or paint to model areas)
Matt varnish (apply to transfers after application - helps prevent them from falling off and breaking)
Empty boxes. (to put already completed parts of a model in.)
Three small identically heighted little boxes. (useful for aircraft modellers. place the tail and two wingtips of your model once glued in place on the 'tripod' and you can paint and apply transfers to the model without getting your mucky fingerprints all over it. Great when making 'metallic' finish models).
Bluetac (useful in many ways - stick a toothpick into some bluetac and then stick that to your desk. To paint the tyres of your model tank/aircraft/car, pop the tyre onto the toothpick - you won't get painty fingers and it makes for even brushstrokes around the tyre. Bluetac is also good for you to test the fit of parts before glueing them in place with superglue. Prevents ruining a kit if you stick a wing upside down etc.)

If progressing to dioramas a lot of railway enthusiast materials are great like fake trees/grass.

Your Entry will look great with sub-headers and links too. You can link to other Edited Entries in the Guide and to external websites, it explains how to in the Guide ML clinic.

An Editor may tell you to take out the chatty intro too. I like it, but it may not be EG style

Nice to see an Entry on this much forgotten pasttime of my youth though, keep at it
PGHF

The GuideML won't quite work, Asmodai - all the tags should be in capitals and at least one isn't.


The first step is to go to a model shopBeatties or anywhere else and get your supplies.

The closing tag should be .