Buying Tips

     If you go into a hobby store, there is usually quite a bit to choose from as far as cars go, a little less in airplanes and there may be a few tanks to buy.  If your buying your first model, go for a plane or a car.   If you look, you'll notice that there are different skill levels.  1, 2, 3 and some are unmarked.  1 is snaptight.  Even though this type is designed for beginners, I'm not sure I would recommend it.  I've only dealt with a few and it's been a while, but it seemed to me that not all the pieces always snapped tight.  You should probably just jump directly to level 2, which isn't too hard. 

    Your first few models should be of a singe color.  Don't buy one that is supposed to have neat camo markings all over it.   Believe me.  If you build a camo model without the camo, it doesn't look to sharp.  Some of the kits I bought were the P-61 black widow by Monogram/Revell and the Douglas D 26-C Invader.  These are both solid black models, so they only require one color of paint, or none at all since level 2 models tend to come in pre-colored plastics.  1/48 scale or bigger are good for beginners because they're big, and easier to work with.

     In a hobby shop there are usually only several brands of models.  Revell/Monogram, AMT and possibly Hasegawa, Esci, or Italeri.  Revell/Monogram is a pretty good company.  They have good to excellent detail.  The only thing bad is that the peices don't always fit perfectly.   These aren't bad models to buy from though.  I don't know anything about AMT except that I've heard that the colors they give you to paint are all wrong.  The biggest thing for a beginner is just to pick a fairly simple one.  One with 20-80 parts, then move up. 

Also, if you can, pick a model with recessed panel lines (that is when the panel lines are etched into the plastic rather than sticking out)  this can be very important when it comes to making a model look good.