Instruction Manual

Hi Guys

Here I’m again with another entry for the modelling essentials. This time I will be in depth through the instructions manual.
This is a vital part of your new model kit, as this will provide you, the sequence of building to your model. We do have various types of manuals, some in black and white, others in colour. They can have also different ways to present you the drawings, some might present them in 2D others in 3D. No matter what, the final target is to lead you through the construction on the most logical order that the manufacturer thinks you will achieve the best results.

The second function of your manual is to provide you with the paint scheme, this is often found on the last page of the manual, or if the new starter set’s from Airfix you will find it on the back of the box. Once again this can be in colour, you will find that the colour ones are easy to understand but with time and practice, you will understand the B&W ones as easy to follow as the others. Beware that some parts, like cockpit or landing gear bays, need to be painted on the assembly stage, the manual will indicate you the numbers of the reference that you need in order to paint the part. As we are in the paint subject, some manufacturers can provide you with their own brand references, while others will give you an array of other brands as option, if you only have the manufacturers own brand, you can try to find some equivalences for them, for that you have an APP named Hobby Colour Converter, that have a vast collection of brands and their equivalences, making your job easier. Last thing on this subject refers to the accuracy of the guide, sometimes the colours shown are not the most correct so as anything else a great dose of research is advised. The Internet is a great place to find them.
Last but not the least, you will find the reference as well for you decals, this usually is together with the paint scheme and easy to follow, you decal sheet is numbered, and you just have to follow the order and be careful to not mess them around. Further ahead on this blog we will approach the decal.

On the middle of all of this, you will find symbols like question marks, a knife, a drill etc. This is to tell you that you have an extra option on that step, you can find this symbols on the second page of the manual usually,

In conclusion,
The manual is one of the most important parts of the kit, remember to follow through it, but, always with a little bit of reserve. If you find a way that works better for you, stick to it, the main purpose of this hobby is to have fun and not stress.
Most important of all and a gold rule, study you assembly instructions and plan your construction.
Hope you guys find this useful.
See you all next time.