Not just for kids: Zen and the art of building plastic model kits

NUREMBERG: By the glow of a desk lamp, the pungent smell of glue wafts upwards as fingers join together tiny pieces of plastic.

The builder keeps applying glue gingerly to the various components until construction is complete and a fine motor car, ocean-going vessel or aeroplane is created in miniature.

Plastic modelling is a relaxing pastime and provided you take your time, no special skills are needed in order to achieve a satisfying result.

Many adults will remember getting sticky fingers from gluing together warplanes and battleships when they were younger - and some of these early kits are still on sale today.

Technology has made most modern kits easier to assemble than those of yore, with a snug fit for the components, more extensive instructions and better quality paints. Advanced models are too complicated for small children and are marketed with adult buyers in mind.

Few hobbies illustrate so well the principle of "the journey is the reward" as expert Andreas Berse explains. The result is important but assembly is absorbing and soothes the nerves.

"It's a completely different way of gaining a model since you build it yourself," says Berse who edits German model magazine Modellfahrzeug.

Berse is of course a passionate modeller himself, although he agrees that practice and hints from more experienced modellers help make perfect.

To be honest, lifting the lid off one of the often impressively illustrated kit boxes cab be daunting at first glance.

You are greeted by a mass of tiny components all attached to plastic structures along with rubber tyres and transparent windows which all need to be removed from their grids before assembly can begin.

Tweezers or a small pair of pliers are essential to separate the items before they can be glued together with plastic adhesive.

In most cases the kit is supplied in unpainted form which means that building it properly requires some extras.

"You also need adhesives, paints, brushes and tools such as knives, pliers, files, sandpaper, tweezers or adhesive tape - depending on how far you want to take it," said Berse.

A craft mat is advisable and although a wealth of paints are available for hand-finishing models, professionals turn to airbrushes for a classy satin or gloss finish. Pre-coloured kits are designed for novices.

"It is a very creative pastime and naturally a degree of manual dexterity is needed," said Berse.

Yet anyone who can build something with a child's Lego set can feel confident tackling a plastic kit,

Information on the difficulty level to be encountered when building a kit can be found on the boxes or on the manufacturer's website and it is as well to bear this in mind.

For younger hobbyists there are glue-less kits with parts which plug together and are these often already finished in a variety of colours. For these no additional glue or paints are needed,

Decorations such as manufacturer's nameplate or warplane insignia are supplied as decals. These need to be cut out precisely and removed from the backing in lukewarm water. It can be a fiddly job but is easily learned.

Model kits first appeared in the 1930s and became increasingly popular in the 1950s. Today almost any prototype car, lorry, train. plane or shop can be found as a plastic kit.

The plastic is injection-moulded using polystyrene or ABS which allows larger moulds to be produced in great detail at a relatively low price. The result is an exact replica of the original, which would be much more expensive as a hand-built, finished model.

The most common scales for kits are 1:12 and 1:24/1:25 for cars, 1:32, 1:48 and 1:72 for aeroplanes and the entire range of H0 railway accessories such as houses in 1:87.

Well-known manufacturers include Airfix, Faller, Revell, Italeri and Tamiya.

There are models or everything from the USS Enterprise of Star Trek fame to Napoleonic soldiers but a perennial favourite are versions of ill-fated ocean liner Titanic

Stefan Krings of Revell reports that kits of cars sell best followed by helicopters and aeroplanes. Themed kits such as items from the Star Wars or James Bond films are also successful - for example the Aston Martin DB5 driven by fictional agent 007 with typical agent extras.

At Tamiya, for example, the Toyota Supra car in 1:24 for around 30 euros is currently a bestseller.

Many people have rediscovered the plastic kit hobby or became converted during long periods spent at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Having a good model store nearby is a great advantage for getting sound advice on which kits are best for particular ages and level of hobby skills.

Internet forums are also full of useful tips from kit-builders and video platforms like YouTube have plenty "how to do" videos. Enter search words like "kit building techniques."

There is also scope for further creativity since few kits are built straight out of the box without being modified, said. "People try to improve on the kits," says Berse.

The price of kits starts low, with small, roughly 14-centimetre aircraft in 1:72 scale available from around US$6.

A historic racing car built to a scale of 1:12 may measure 30 centimetres, will have moving parts and cost around US$100.

Naturally, the sky is the limit with complex kits which sometimes contain brass and rubber components or delicate photo-etched parts.