5 Tips for Saving Money as a Modeller! | Quick Guide

A pro tip from modelling products manufacturer regarding white spirit guys! Always look for low aromatic (dearomatized) white spirit. Study the labels when in doubt. The thing is the higher the aromatics content the stronger the solvent but high potency white spirit will attack paint coats even acrylic ones. When in hardware store there are many types to choose from and you may stumble upon industrial strength types which are OK for contractors but not us modellers - twice the dead ache and paint gets attacked if you pick too strong a kind. Happy modelling! Chris

One tip I learned from MarklinofSweeden was to purchase one sheet of corrugated plastic for your scale. Then use it as a mold and apply Elmer's glue on top (a generous coat) and wait for it to dry. Then peel off the sheet of glue and use it as you would the plastic corrugated plastic. Cheers from eastern TN

this video reminds me of cog life videos

An easy way to save money.. don't buy more kits you can build. (Me 500+build less than 1 per year... )😔

Will IPA work well on cleaning airbrush after BallejovAcrylics?

Make your paints organically from Ochre extracts, quicklime and ash 🤣

eBay prices have gone nuts. May times the seller wants 2 or 3 times the price of a new re-release of the same model. Occasionally you can find a bargain but not often any more.

This comment section is a gold mine!

What are you going to do with 5L of cellulose thinner lol. Assemble miniatures for your entire school?

It is the cost of postage that cripples model makers.

You can also thin Tamiya paints with IPA.

So all things where the cheap industrial chemical has been slightly changed to make it much much better for the modeller. So.... I think I'll stick to the stuff that works better, and not have to worry about caustic chemical protocols.

I liked most of these, but one to carefully consider is buying kits off eBay or Amazon etc: Yes they may be cheaper, but check the postage and taxes. It might be cheaper to use your local model shop if you have one.

Even if it’s not, I’m happy to pay a premium of 10-20% on a kit to keep the shop open so it’s there when I need it. I understand not everyone will be in this position, and cost will be a major factor in their decisions, but I’ll give a few examples of why local is better: 1) you get a “short shot” kit where the plastic has not filled the mould properly.-Early Airfix Sea Fury kits had this problem a couple of years back.- Who’s going to look after you better? The local model shop, or the seller in China/India/America on eBay? - in many countries you’re expected to deal with the seller not the manufacturer in claims like this.

What happens if you buy this kit from a private seller on eBay? You can raise a dispute, but if they sell it as unopened NOS and sold as seen, you’re on a hiding to nothing.

2) In Australia, lay by is really common in the retail sector. Can’t afford what you want?, minimum of 10% down, and you have between 6 weeks and three months to pay it off with regular payments. - timeframe depends on the store. I know you can use Afterpay and the like, but they don’t let you skip a week or make a half payment because the dog was sick, or you needed to replace punctured tyre on the car. Don’t take the piss, and build a relationship with the shop. I now have three local shops that are happy to order stuff in for me and put it on lay by, are happy to be a little “elastic” with the time frame in paying the kit off depending on its value, and let me phone them up and make payments on items on lay by when I can’t get into the store.

3) As mentioned above, the shops I deal with are happy to order stuff in for me, and if it’s not from a supplier they deal with, they will look at alternatives. EG: Heller don’t seem to have an official importer In Australia, but I want several of their kits, and one shop is happy to look into this, and will buy within the trade from another country or do the sums and see if it’s worth them becoming an official importer.

4) Local shops can be a ready source of help and advice, or even discounts. One of the ones I use has several staff who are members of the state modellers association, others who are into the R/C car or aircraft clubs, and they offer a 10% discount to members of these clubs. I make my annual club membership fees back several times over.

5) When you really need that pot of paint/tube of glue/masking tape TODAY! they are there. None of this paying extra for a prime membership to get it tomorrow* (*terms and conditions apply, it might actually be a fortnight on Thursday until it arrives. If you don’t live in the city)

DON’T GET ME WRONG! I’m not saying don’t use eBay, I use it myself for stuff I can’t get In Australia. What I’m saying is if you CAN use a local model shop, please do so as much as possible. If you don’t have a local shop, or it’s too far away to get to easily (I’m going bush soon, so my nearest shop will be 200km away) then please consider using a bricks and mortar store in your area/country over a drop shipper or on line only place that might not even be in your country. Keep people in jobs, and they will keep you in models!

Finding a replacement for extra thin cement really is not a great concern for modelers. It's not like you are using so much you need to find a cheaper way of doing it. Just like any hobby you have to invest in it in the long run so you have years of enjoyment.

Thank you for your informative and helpful videos. I particularly wanted to thank you for your clear articulation and concise explanations in clear well pronounced English. Thank you Alan

I wouldn’t say eBay is a good place to buy model kits

Some great tips, many years ago I did use M.E.K, Methal Ethal Ketone ( I think that's correct, I did have four litres at one time, but gave it away when I moved overseas.

Excellent tips, thanks for sharing!

Hello I'm new to modelling. I have a tamiya paint and the lid is stuck have would you solve this. I think the paint has dried in the cap. I'm stupid I know lol

My problem with Ebay is I've been burned by falsely advertised kits. Case in point I found a kit that was advertised as new and sealed with extra parts. When the kit got here, it was a bashed kit, no windows, chrome, and frame had been cut.
This happened 3 times to me never again will buy off of ebay. BTW the seller refused to let me get a refund.

MEK Substitue works awesome as a replacement for Tamiya Thinset Cement. I use it all the time, and no, the fumes aren't bad at all.

I saw a fella using windscreen cleaner instead of isopropyl. I can usually find a gallon for $2 American.

At least for U.S. buyers, be aware we have a couple of choices in purchasing IPA (IsoPropyl Alcohol), a 70% solution, and a 90%+ solution. The stronger stuff is better for thinning and airbrush cleaning, but the cheaper 70% stuff is fine for general de-greasing wipe-downs. Hope this is helpful to someone!

Very interesting video, thanks! I've also seen that the Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner (I think it was Cleaner?) is the same thing as the liquid cement, due to them having to put the chemical sheet and it's basically identical.

Tried cellulose thinner, didn't work. Took far too long to cure!

I get the liquid latex from hobby craft for making my casing moulds I've got bottles of it takes ages to go off though so wouldn't use it for masking! It's the same bottle same stuff

I did you all the tips in this video as I am a stingy modeller finding ways to say my money on the hobby I like.

I've been using lacquer thinner and/or acetone or solvent mixes for years. The problem I have, and have always had, is fine application. I always manage to get too much, and then there are fingerprints, and/or melted styrene to contend with. I had bought a "touch n flow" at one time at a model show, never got around to using it, then found out the needle was bent, and there was a vacuum bulb that was supposed to go with it that I didn't have, and just haven't gotten around to doing any research to find another, if they even exist anymore. Most of what I work on now is resin figures, so using solvents is almost a moot point. But I do have some styrene kits to get going on, so I need something.

Thank you! Very interesting video!

here is my recipe for thin cement, which works exactly like Tamiya....

50% lacquer thinner + 50% Acetone
this will have much less odor than cellulose thinner/ lacquer thinner on its own, and less odor than Tamiya thin cement...
the acetone facilitates fast clean evaporation, with some solvent power, the lacquer thinner is the stronger solvent that melts the plastic.
enjoy ;O)

I just bought the SR71 blackbird from revell for like 88 euro, whats 3 euro for glue gonna do? lame video

Lovely stuff. Thanks for sharing these money saving tips.

Thanks much!

Brilliant tips . As a returning modeller I has been shocked at the cost of modelling products. Many thanks

I find Tamiya extra thin to be too thin and not strong enough. Zap-a-gap simply always works.

Isopropyl alcohol has many uses on model kits.

I had a friend in the chemical business, he got me a 10 gallon pail of IPA back in 1984. Still using it. But Scalemates does NOT show every model ever produced. Close but not all. I've sent them updates on several old ones I have in my stash to update their database. If you have something they don't list, send them the details and they will add it to their DB.

IPA in an ultrasonic cleaner is absolutely amazing. I clean my glass pipettes there along with the airbrush and everything always works like new.

One of the greatest saving to me is using automotive pu paints.. can buy loose quantity as 50 ml.. costs 20 Rupees.. another greatest advantage is thousands of shades.. and original shades as Ferrari red, neon orange, Rivera blue etc.. once completed it lasts for lifetime..

You can also use Tamiya Air Brush Cleaner as Tamiya Extra Thin. It's the exact same product but a 5th of the price.

Very nice. I do have a question tho. Okay on the cement bottles, there is that super thin brush. What is the name of that brush and can we buy it in bulk? The reason being I like to make different color panel lining paints.

You can also use the IPA alcohol to wash and de-grease your models before painting OR to remove screwed up paint. Works best on acrylics. Enamels need to be fresh, otherwise they won't was off.

Do you know what to dilute acrylic paints like Vallejo? I'm not talking about water, but a thinner like Lifecolor Acrylic Thinner.

Great work, was not aware the cellulose thinner could be used as cement. But I do have a job lot of that and isopropyl for cleaning my airbrush, depending on what paint I'm using.
Also, eBay for anything and everything. Tools, paints, kits, even stuff outside of the hobby. It takes 2mins to check prices on there before jumping one way or the other

IPA is also good for cleaning model railway wheels and track, as well as helping break up surface tension when ballasting.

Also, extra-hold hairspray works as a good replacement for layering spray when doing scenics like Static Grass.

Thank you gonna take some of these tips onboard

Good concise advice - thanks.

Thanks for the great tips

Just found you and subd! Great channel and builds. Thanks for the tips!

Great video my friend. Best money saver video I have seen. Thank you