Advice for my very first kits

[LeapingLaelaps]

I hope this is the right place to ask these questions, but I figured since this is a specific forum for kits it would be?

I just got my very first kit in the mail a few days ago (the Ambulocetus by Shane Foulkes) and I've got two more hopefully coming soon (The Dimetrodon VS Ophiacodon and Eryops by Vitali Klatt)

Anyways, these are literally my very first resin kits, I've never had a resin kit or seen one before so this is totally new to me and I had a few questions for anyone here who builds them:

1. What do I use to clean them? I've heard people say you can just use warm water and dish soap, and other people INSIST that you need to use some sort of powerful automotive degreaser and soak the kit for a day or more. I've already done a bit of sanding on my kit (just sanded some little bits and seam lines) and washed it off with warm water to get the dust off for now. I'm planning on giving it another scrub in warm water but with dawn dish soap this time before letting it dry. Will that be enough or do I need something else? The last thing I want to do is destroy my beautiful kit.

2. What primer should I use? I'd prefer a SPECIFIC product, like a link to it on Amazon or something. I'd like a gray or white primer but as long as it works I'm good.

3. What paints? My mom got an airbrush for Christmas and when she learns it she's going to teach me, but I can also use brushes. I'd like something acrylic with good opacity (is that the right word?) so I don't have to put 500 layers on just to make it the color I want. Also any advice for what brand of varnish I should use to protect the paint and add gloss to the eyes, etc?

4. Any other advice? Things I absolutely should NOT do with it? I'm probably going to paint the Eryops first since it's the easiest.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just terrified to ruin one of my kits

Also for anyone curious about the kit, it's AMAZING. I don't think I've ever seen pictures of one besides the stock photos so I'm not sure if it's the most popular kit, but it should be! I love it so much, there's so many little details and I can't stop staring at it. Shane Foulkes also signed the base which is neat!

[Justin_]

I think advice about needing powerful de-greaser is way out-of-date. It might have been necessary for the so-called garage kits of a few decades ago but not for professionally-produced kits today.

As for paints, it partly depends on how good you are at color mixing. Have a look at the ranges of acrylic model paints from Vallejo and AK if you want colors straight from the bottle. Otherwise you can use good artists acrylic paints such as Liquitex, but they will need thinning. Craft acrylics such as DecorArt are between those two. They are thinner, like model paints, but won't be in such readily usable colors.

What paints is you mom using with her airbrush?

[paintingdinos]

didn't mean to double post! sorry!

[paintingdinos]

#1 - Regular soap and water is fine. Its a good idea to wash them to remove and dirt, oil (from handling mostly), and possibly any mold release agent that's been used. However, this can all be done with Dawn dish soap or whatever brand you use. Most things that have been professionally cast don't even -strictly- need it but I always do just to be thorough. I do one thorough wash with gloves and and let dry, then prime when I have time and conditions are good. **** edit to add: make sure humidity is low when you prime, good rule of thumb is under 50% or the primer can get tacky and clumpy which will mess up your final paint

#2 - Krylon ColorMaster primer (NOT Paint+Primer... applies too fast and too thick). I get it from Walmart:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Krylon-ColorMaster-Gray-Primer-15-Oz/55451998

Comes in multiple colors.

I also sometimes use this cheap-o brand from Michales. Works fine, only comes in grey, only problem is the sprayer sucks and clogs often.
https://www.michaels.com/design-master-primer/10295976.html

Occasionally I'll borrow my SO's Games Workshop primers (he's a Warhammer diehard). They work fine too, I actually really like the spray nozzle on the bottles, just super overpriced.

#3 - Lots of layers is a good thing! Its way, way better to have lots of thin layers than only a few thick ones. Always thin your paints! It really will produce better results for you in the long run, even if you're only painting a solid color. Most of the really beautiful paint applications you see on professional models are lots and lots of thin layers.

I use anything and everything. My most often used brand for regular acrylic paint is Liquitex (soft body when I can get it, hard body if I can't and thin thin thin with water)
https://www.liquitex.com/us/

Their inks are AWESOME with the airbrush. You can also thin the softbody paints with their aribrush thinner (or other things, including just regular water just be careful to clear the brush super often) for the airbrush but I find that bothersome. Vallejo is the brand to beat for airbrush specific paints: https://acrylicosvallejo.com/en/categoria/hobby/model-air-en/

I also use the Liquitex varnishes (not a shill, promise). Matte for natural flat colors, satin for a little bit of gloss but not shiny, high gloss for things  that need to look wet (eyes/inside the mouth/etc)

#4 - DON'T paint a model you love as the first model you paint. True for regular acrylic paints AND aribrush. Paint some dimestore trash you don't care about first, even if its just a simple design/pattern to get you into the groove of things. You WILL feel bad if you end up hating an expensive model kit due to painting errors— I've done this many times and I've felt bad every single time. I've had to strip and restart $300+ models and it feels pretty much like death.

Put in as many hours of practice with the airbrush as you can stand before using it for anything other than applying surface primer or single layers of paint. Get a GOOD brush... this is one of those things where the tools are every bit as important as skill— a crummy airbrish will jam, will cause plaint splatter, and will tee you off to the point of wanting to throw the whole thing in the trash. Again, that's personal experience for you (I use an Iwata Neo brush now, its middle of the road price wise but great quality).

Primer color maters for the final product. You said you don't want hundreds of layers, so follow some basic tips: black primer for building up dark base colors, grey if you're like me and just not sure what you want (lol), and white for light colors. Trying to build up yellow on a black base often just give you a green model (building yellow on a black base is actually a really great way to make nice vibrant greens... I digress) or will take 30 years. Likewise no need to waste time painting a model you expect to be 90% black when you can just prime in black. So on and so forth.

My favorite videos on youtube to watch for inspiration are the people who paint gaming minis. That's how I first got into model paining (again, SO is deep into Warhammer and those were the fist models I painted) and there are some EXTREMELY talented people in the hobby who are always innovating cool ways to paint.

[Justin_]

You didn't ask about brushes, but have a range of sizes. Just as you don't want to try any detailed work with a wide brush you don't want to be doing large areas with a fine brush. I prefer flat bristles to pointed ones.
Learn to look after them. There is no point in getting really expensive brushes if you're not going to be cleaning them thoroughly and storing them carefully. Brushes are something where I tend to go for "good" quality rather than "best". Cheap brushes have their uses as dusters, glue-spreaders and can give nice textures to bases.