A short glossary of scale model terms

What is in the box

Sprue

The plastic frame the parts arrive attached to, and by extension the whole frame of parts.

Flash

A thin fin of plastic where the two halves of the mould did not close perfectly. Trimmed with a blade.

Sink mark

A shallow depression on a thick part, caused by plastic shrinking as it cooled. Filled and sanded.

Ejector pin mark

A small circular dimple or stud left by the pins that push the moulding out of the tool.

Mould release

The invisible agent that lets a moulding leave the tool. Wash it off or the paint will lift.

Short-run kit

A kit made in low-pressure tooling. Softer detail, more flash, more fitting work, often rare subjects.

Multimedia kit

A kit mixing plastic with resin, photo-etched brass, turned metal or vinyl.

Vacform

Parts drawn over a mould from a heated plastic sheet. Cut from the sheet by hand.

Photo-etch

Flat brass parts chemically etched from sheet. Used for belts, grilles and anything too thin to mould.

Box scale

An odd scale chosen so the finished model filled a standard box. Why some older kits are 1/76 or 1/50.

Aftermarket

Parts and decals sold separately to improve or re-mark a kit.

Kit-bashing

Combining parts from more than one kit to make a subject nobody produced.

Dry fit

Assembling parts without glue to check they meet before committing.

Building and finishing

Seam line

The joint where two halves meet. Sanded flush, then rescribed if it crosses a panel line.

Filler

Putty used to close a gap or a sink mark. Applied thin, twice, rather than thick once.

Rescribing

Cutting a panel line back in after filling and sanding. Its absence is how a repaired seam is spotted.

Primer

A thin unifying coat that gives paint something to key to and reveals surface flaws while they are still fixable.

Gloss coat

A clear glossy layer applied before decals so the film has nothing to trap air against.

Flat coat

A clear matt layer applied last, which unifies the finish and hides decal edges.

Panel line wash

A thin dark fluid drawn into recessed lines by capillary action, then wiped off the surface.

Silvering

The dull halo around a decal caused by air trapped under the carrier film.

Waterslide decal

A printed marking on a film that releases from its backing paper in water.

Carrier film

The clear layer that holds a decal together. The part that yellows with age.

Setting solution

A mild solvent that softens a decal so it conforms over raised detail.

Masking

Covering an area so it does not receive paint. The skill that decides how a multi-colour scheme looks.

Weathering

Representing wear, exhaust, fading and dirt. Best judged at arm’s length, not through a magnifier.

Aircraft models

Dihedral

The upward angle of the wings from the root, visible only from directly in front.

Planform

The outline of the wing seen from above, where most of an aircraft’s identity lives.

Natural metal finish

Unpainted aluminium skin. A set of related tones and sheens rather than one silver.

In-flight mount

A rod or clear support that holds a model in a flying attitude, usually with the gear up.

Ground rake

The nose-up or nose-down angle a parked aircraft sits at. Wrong rake makes a model look like it is squatting.

Standing rigging

On a biplane, the fixed bracing wires that hold the wing structure square.

Cabane struts

The struts joining the upper wing to the fuselage, as distinct from the interplane struts further out.

Turnbuckle

The fitting that tensions a bracing wire. Represented on models by a tiny sleeve at the wire end.

Rotor head

The hub carrying a helicopter’s blades and changing their pitch. The part that decides whether a rotor looks like machinery.

Coning

The slight upward curve of rotor blades under load, seen when the rotor is turning.

Lozenge

Printed polygonal camouflage fabric used on German aircraft from 1917, supplied to modellers as decal sheet.

Dope

Cellulose varnish that shrinks and seals fabric covering. Clear dope leaves a warm translucent straw colour.

Ship models

Plank on bulkhead

A hull built as a central spine with slotted transverse formers, planked over. The mainstream method.

Plank on frame

A hull with every frame of the real ship reproduced, often left partly unplanked to show them.

Solid hull

A hull carved from a block, sometimes supplied roughly pre-shaped.

Double planking

Two layers of planking, a soft practice layer under a thin decorative one.

Fair

A hull with no flats or hollows, so a plank touches along its whole length. Faired before planking.

Garboard strake

The first plank next to the keel, which sets the run of every plank above it.

Treenail

A wooden peg fastening planks to frames. Simulated on models, and best understated.

Deadeye

A round block with three holes, used in pairs with a lanyard to tension standing rigging.

Belaying pin

A removable pin in a rail, to which running rigging is made fast.

Waterline model

A ship model built only down to the waterline, so it can only be shown afloat.

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