Cleary's lizard

[beav]

I'm going to be building this kit and its the first one I've ever done. As anyone who got the kit knows the nose on the rat is missing. Also as any kit probably goes there are gaps in the pieces that need to be filled. I've heard a number of times that Aves is probably the best to use to do this kit up right. If this is so where can I get some? I'm sure there have been a million posts about this but lets face it by the time I find the answers I'm looking for I could have built the thing! So a quick run down of the process would be nice i.e. epoxy or super glue, best gap filler, best method for pinning pieces together, and lastly priming the piece. (note that I've built models before, I understand that the pieces should be pinned together, and I have good over all sense of how to do stuff) Any help will be great and I will make sure and look through atleast the last 20 or so posts.


Beav

[JohnCleary]

Hiya Beav.

I look forward to seeing the paintup. The rat nose gave me some problems. Its a simple fix really. Just apply a small dab of aves and shape with a toothpick. Aves or Majic Sculpt will work fine. I really reccomend Aves though. That stuff is great! It smoothes to a fine finish with water and can be sanded.

Before you begin, sand all the pieces. I made pegs in the arms, legs head etc so just get some good super glue to piece the parts together. You may opt to add even greater strength by adding pins in the connecting joints. The coat flaps will be need to be pinned. Just take a real small drill bit and drill a couple holes into the seperated coat and the part on the Lizard. The pins dont have to be very long. Maybe a quarter inch to almost an inch. You super glue wire into the coat and then fill the hole on the main body with glue and run it along the edge quickly, connect and let setup. You'll need to guage your pin location carefully so they match up. After they set you fill the seams with aves, let dry and sand to a seamless finish.

You can sharpen the teeth, toenails and fingernails with a small file or dremel. Use it lightly though.

The Lizard will need to be anchored to the base after you paint him. The way I did mine was to mark the Lizard foot placement on the base, drill holes where the feet are. Then flip the base over and bore out the bottom of the hole to countersink a screw. When Lizard is painted simply drill right up thru the center of his foot. Use a thin screw. You could also just drill holes in his feet and the base, insert pins and super glue it down. I just like the other way because it feels a bit more secure. To heighten the base you can add some wood and paint it black. Just screw the wood to the bottom of the base.

You can get Aves at www.aves.com. You can order by paypal and they ship very fast. They are great people and they will help you with any question you might have. After you have filled all the gaps with aves, sand it real smooth and then apply your primer base coat. I just use a dark grey I got at Michaels.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing it!