NaMoPaiMo - Beginning to Prep

For years I have heard about prepping models for painting but I had never tried it myself. Until today. And after just one prepping session, my respect for model artists has grown significantly.

Since I'd never prepped before, I first watched some tutorials online. Then I took a deep breath and began. 

I started with a Paint and Play model that I had bought specifically to practice on. I wanted to get the feel of the sanding materials I'd bought as to how much they might take off. Did I need to use a heavy touch or a light touch? Circular rubbing or straight back and forth? After a little practice, I felt like I was getting the hang of it.

Next, I picked up the NaMoPaiMo entered model and took a good hard look at it.

In addition to the Breyer stamp on the belly that needed to come off, there were two very visible belly seams, one that showed on the near side of the model

 and a second that was less visible and further underneath the belly on the far side.

I also sanded off a seam that ran the length of the piece's back, although most horses do have some sort of dimple, at least over their backsides and near the tail. 

 It didn't take too long before I realized I had another problem - being able to actually see the details on the model.

It didn't matter if I had my glasses on or off; there were times when I could not tell if I was seeing an intentional face or leg mark or if I was seeing a seam. I was working with good light, but my eyes just could not focus well enough to tell. So, I decided to leave those marks as they were.

 Having said that, my eyes were good enough to see the large piece of extra plastic between the tail and the model's hock.

That had to come off!

 I tried folding my sandpaper, but it was still too big and cumbersome to fit through that tiny area.

I snipped a piece off and then cut another strip off of that and slid it into the opening and began carefully sanding - the space was tight and I did not want to sand off any tail or hock details.

Success! And minimal loss of detail, too!

I looked the model over carefully for anywhere else that might need sanding, rinsed her off with water, and set her aside to dry. I will check her in a few hours to see if I missed any spots and take care of those then.

If she is good to go, then I will spray some primer on her. After watching priming tutorials, of course!