The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

This thread is open to all members to offer their contribution to our Glossary, which is relatively unique amongst modelling forums.
As modellers, we have become familiar with a lot of words and phrases that are just so much perplexing jargon to new modellers.
As members of this Forum, it is also true that we have our own culture, albeit similar to other modelling forums, and as a consequence, we may have our own unique set of words and phrases.

Visitors to the Glossary should be more able to understand what it is we're babbling on about. That said, if ever in doubt, ask away and this is the please to do that.

Best Regards,
Bruce

FYI I just made a minor edit in letter 'S' for Scalpel, as it had run together with 'Seam Line' (see below):

Scalpel
See Modelling knifeSeam LineAn artifact of the moulding process. When the two halves of a mould are pressed together, they should form a perfect seal. Liquid plastic will flow out of and into any gaps and, when the piece is removed from the mould, it will have an obvious line of plastic running around it. This will usually require removal.

And I moved Scratchbuild & Seam Line into alpha order.

"The Full Mike Grant" - taking an innocuous CBK and turning into something special.

Mould Boogers - odd drips or lumps of plastic or resin that mar a kit part.

JamesPerrin wrote:"The Full Mike Grant" - taking an innocuous CBK and turning into something special.

Mould Boogers - odd drips or lumps of plastic or resin that mar a kit part.

Added, though I expect to see these terms in your posts in future!

I've also enlarged the sub-title letters. "Large" font in the old place was 18. It's 150 in here.

Regards,
Bruce

MerlinJones wrote:Added, though I expect to see these terms in your posts in future!

See my Firefly thread and jagewa came up with boogers.

I've also enlarged the sub-title letters. "Large" font in the old place was 18. It's 150 in here.

Yes the odd site used point sizes I've now idea what this uses.

PooPoo Glue: The substance that Monogram used on the backs of decals in the late 80's early 90's. Looks like melted mozarella cheese and was supposed to dry clear.

Further to the entry on Ping!, someone of my acquaintance refers to small things that are prone to doing that as "pingf__kits" (not sure of the swearing policy around here...) which made me shoot cola out of my nose the first time I heard it.

Well spotted and thank you for your consideration of our delicate, family-orientated audience

I think another apt word would be Pingchit, this being the word often used, following the aforementioned Ping!
I've also heard the word used as a noun, to describe the parts themselves, or to describe a forthcoming session with PE.

Regards,
Bruce

I've yet to tangle with PE - though I've got a first set on its way from Hannant's - but it occurs to me that sticking the whole sheet onto masking tape or sticky-backed plastic before cutting ought to stop that from happening...

But then you have to pick the piece up with tweezers, manouvre it to where you hope to stick it and the place it, glued, to your model...all the while, hoping to avoid pingchit.

Don't you have to do that anyway?

Brickie wrote:I've yet to tangle with PE - though I've got a first set on its way from Hannant's - but it occurs to me that sticking the whole sheet onto masking tape or sticky-backed plastic before cutting ought to stop that from happening...

It's a technique but use the least sticky tape you can. If the parts stick too well you may bend or break (at fold lines) them trying to get them off the tape. If they stick to tape trying slipping a razor blade under rather than try to pry them off.

I'm in favor of holding something on top of the part while cutting to keep it from springing away.
And always use a sharp blade to cut - that solves a lot of problems.

Brickie wrote:Don't you have to do that anyway?

You do and some pieces are more prone to it than others. I lessen the risk by having a 'special' pair of tweezers, which have a thin layer of tape on their ends.

Regards,
Bruce

I just coined one due to a real-life incident a few seconds ago

Humprobability : The measure of an the likelihood that paint tin lid you just knocked/dropped off your workbench onto carpet/pet/model/significant other/something else not improved by the addition of enamel paint will land "paint side" down rather than "safe side"..
I believe it currently comes in at 99.999999% of the time

now, where are my white spirits..

Well as it so happens Mike, the physics of this phenomina have been explained in the Spifire build thread in the Shared Builds section.