Modeling techniques

With many years of painting miniatures on commission, I've picked up a few principles that I return to when painting details. Condensed into a few tips and hobby recommendations, these should give you a jumpstart into the finer points of miniature painting.

The basics of making an inexpensive, yet creative diorama.

Scale model tutorials and discussions, how to build better scale models and save money. I love dioramas, 1/35 plastic model armor & scratch building.

CA applicator made from sewing needless

A tutorial on using graphite powder to create a metallic finish on models.

I get asked a lot how I make my bushes on my model railways. Here's my short but fiddly technique.

Learn easy, inexpensive ways to create realistic seas in this special supplement to FineScale Modeler magazine.

Looking for way to add rocks, mountains and cliff faces to your model railway. On a budget? Here's a dirt cheap technique to create ultra realistic rocks.

Paul Budzik | Fine Scale Models | Tools and Construction Techniques

5 simple steps to dirty, well-used armor tracks for your next scale model.

Pastels with Geoff Coughlin Options, options, and more options! Here is just another option that you can choose to use to simply and quickly weather your model subjects and in this entry in you SMN Techniques Bank we’ll be looking at how to weather a 1:72 scale Hawker Hunter FGA.Mk.9. This piece contains 3 slightly […]

A free PDF download that examines nine different acrylic brands. Find out what the FineScale Modeler staff thinks about each brands ability to cover raised and recessed detail, their adherence and opacity over darker colors, and how easily they airbrushed.

At last! It came in at 33 minutes long! My masterclass tutorial on how to superdetail a scale model aircraft cockpit is now available on YouTube. In this video I show you how to elevate your model cockpit, from a boring kit-standard version to a chock-full-o'-detail version, using mostly wire offcuts and spare bits of styrene strip and rod. It is a cheap, effective, and personally satisfying way to make the pilot's office a much more professional looking piece of your model. Cockpits are…

There are parts of an aircraft model where you can get away with mistakes. The canopy is never one of them. Spots of glue or squiggly framework on clear parts can spoil a model more surely than anything. But if you’ve ever loused one up, you are in excellent company. That’s why you read so many articles and tips about it. Here are three of the most common — and reliable — ways of masking a canopy for painting.

In the last installment, we showed you some of the basic tools you need to build a model. This time, we’ll talk about how to use those tools — and show you a few more, too — as we walk through seven major steps of a build and show you some of the fundamentals of good construction.

Builder Basics: First, what is a scale model?

A realistic finish comes with the correct mix of smooth paint, accurate colors, and decals that look like they're part of the paint job. What truly makes a model look real is when it looks used. Squeaky-clean has its merits, but the model that's sure to generate attention and comment is the one that looks like it might smell of hot glycol or burnt kerosene. Learn how to weather your airplane like a pro.

Builder Basics: Finishing — because building is only the beginning

Gerry Leone shares some tips for weathering model railroad paint to look like your cars and reefers have years of hard service on them - using salt!