Modeling is a hobby for those who like to tinker with tools at their leisure, are fond of technology and are not indifferent to its history. What is a model? This is a reduced copy of a certain prototype, made in compliance with the scale and other similarity criteria. Real modellers study the circumstances under which the prototype was created, the design features and appearance options before proceeding with its manufacture.
As a rule, bench modeling is carried away in childhood, when the first combined model is purchased by parents. The result is not always pleasing, but often there is a desire to try again, and this time to work more carefully. At the same time, the child develops such valuable personal qualities as accuracy and the ability to handle tools. The main thing to pay attention to at this stage is good ventilation of the room (adhesive vapors contain harmful substances).
Getting older, a person thinks about what a model is, how it turned out to be similar to a real piece of equipment, and it can be an airplane, a ship, a car, a steam locomotive, and a tank. degree of similarityis checked against photographs published on the Internet and in printed publications, while knowledge is acquired about the technical characteristics, history of creation and operation of the prototype.
Airplanes remain the most popular among modellers. They are beautiful, their silhouettes are swift, and just looking at a quality copy can cheer you up.
Kits sold these days vary in scale. It can be large (1:12 or 1:24), enlarged (1:48 or 1:32), medium (1:72) or rather small (1:144). Most often, aircraft models have a scale of 1:72. The size of such models is sufficient to see everything, and at the same time they do not take up much space.
Prefabricated models are produced by many companies both in Russia and neighboring countries, as well as in Japan, Germany, Italy, South Korea, China and other countries. Quality differs both in detailing, that is, the degree of reproduction of structural elements, and in casting technology. But this is all for a real master who knows what a model is, it does not matter much. All the flaws of the manufacturer can be corrected, you just need to have the desire and patience.
The most "advanced" masters use additional elements that are not in the box. Scale models are complemented by "etched", that is, parts made of thick foil, creating convex reliefs in places where they are needed. In addition, proper tinting is important, for which special paints are used.
Painting is usually done by airbrush with preliminaryapplying special "masks" of adhesive tape, paper or paraffin. Modern modeling paints have the property of self-levelling, so with small sizes it is quite possible to get by with a brush. The exception is the white color - it falls very poorly on the surface without spraying.
The final touch in achieving similarity is the application of decals and "traces of use", that is, traces of smoke near the exhaust pipes, oil streaks, peeling paint in some places and other signs that distinguish a scale model from a simple toy. Such a product should be very realistic. And when the result pleases, it will become clear what the model is and why it took so much fiddling with it.
