A painted walker model in yellow and rust, its body covered in pipes, plates and rivets

Pick what you want to build

Open one to see where to start

SpaceshipsThe classic kitbash. A smooth hull from a bottle or a box, covered in small mechanical parts taken from military vehicle kits. No real vehicle to match, so nothing can be wrong.

Start here

Pick a hull from the recycling bin, such as a shampoo bottle or a deodorant shell. Build one small tank kit only as far as the loose parts, then glue its wheels, hatches and engine pieces onto the hull in clusters.

MechaSnap-fit robot kits share joint sizes within a product line, so limbs, weapons and backpacks swap between kits with little cutting. The easiest way to get a clean result early.

Start here

Buy one small snap-fit robot kit and assemble it without glue. Then change three things: new armor plates cut from styrene sheet, a backpack built from spare parts, and a weapon made from pen parts.

MiniaturesConverting 28mm gaming figures by swapping heads, arms and weapons between kits. Small, cheap per figure, and you finish something in an evening.

Start here

Buy one box of multipart plastic figures. Build the first five with heads, arms and weapons swapped between bodies, and fill the gaps at the joints with putty.

Found-object buildsScenery and machines made mostly from packaging and household junk, with only a few kit parts for detail. The cheapest direction, and it needs nothing beyond the base kit.

Start here

Fill a shoebox with caps, lids, straws, pen barrels and old cables this week. Glue a handful to a food can or a small box to make a generator or a storage tank, then prime it.

Open a direction to see its first step. Spaceships, mecha and miniatures each add their donor kit to the spares box, and you can switch it back out from the kit. Found-object builds add nothing.

Where the parts come from

Donor kits

Buy for the parts, not the subject. Tanks and trucks give the most small mechanical detail for the money: wheels, hatches, tools, engine decks. Old, badly fitting kits are fine here because you never assemble them as intended.

Found objects

Look for shapes, not things. Bottle caps, pen barrels, razor handles, medicine cups, cable ties, guitar strings and dead electronics all read as machinery under one coat of primer.

Styrene sheet and strip

Flat plastic that glues with the same cement as kit parts. It makes the plates, ribs and brackets that tie unrelated parts into one design.

The spares box

Every kit leaves parts over. Sort them into a divided box by shape (round, flat, pipes, wheels) so you can find the piece a gap needs.

Check the plastic

Kit parts are hard polystyrene and melt together with plastic cement. Bottles, caps and toys are usually a waxy or flexible plastic that cement will not touch, so those go on with super glue after a light sanding.

Secondhand lots

Started, damaged and incomplete kits sell cheaply at model shows, yard sales and online, and a missing part does not matter to you.

Your first kitbash, step by step

Tick these off as you go

A green cutting mat covered in black, white and yellow part frames, with a small white robot model, a craft knife and instruction sheets — Part frames, a knife and a cutting mat

What you can build in your first month

A detail panel

A postcard-sized piece of styrene sheet covered in spare parts and strip, then primed. One evening, and it teaches how to group detail.

A palm-sized spaceship

A bottle or pen-barrel hull with tank kit parts for engines and hull detail, painted in two colors.

A custom robot

One snap-fit kit with new armor plates, a rebuilt backpack and a weapon of your own design.

A converted squad

Five plastic figures with swapped heads, arms and weapons so no two match.

A scrap generator or fuel tank

A food can and a dozen caps and lids, primed and painted as scenery for a shelf or a game table.

Four skills that carry every build

Reading shapes

Train yourself to see a part for its form instead of its origin. Turn a piece upside down or cut it in half and a truck axle becomes a gun mount.

Silhouette before detail

Get the large shapes right first. A model with a strong outline looks good with little detail, and no amount of small parts rescues a shapeless one.

Matching glue to material

Cement welds polystyrene and nothing else. Super glue holds mixed materials but is brittle, so give heavy parts a larger contact area or a pin.

Grouping detail

Pack small parts into a few dense areas and leave the rest smooth. Evenly scattered detail looks like noise.

What trips beginners up

Expect the first model to look like glued junk until it is primed. Judge it after the primer, not before.
Glue, putty and primer each need hours to cure, so a small build runs over several short sessions.
Your spares box is thin at first and choices are limited. It fills quickly after two or three kits.
Gluing waxy bottle plastic with plastic cement, then having parts drop off a week later.
Covering every surface in parts. Leave plain areas so the detailed ones stand out.
Leaving a recognizable object untouched. A cap with its brand logo still reads as a cap, so sand it off, cut it down or bury it under other parts.
Mixing scales without thinking. A ladder or hatch from a large-scale kit next to one from a small-scale kit tells the eye two different sizes for the same model.

Two small gray model seats on a dark table beside plastic paint cups and a fine brush — Gray parts waiting for paint

Blades, fumes and dust

Cut away from your fingers and change the knife blade as soon as it drags. Found plastics are tougher than kit plastic, so saw them instead of forcing a knife through.
Plastic cement and super glue both give off fumes. Keep the caps on between joints and work with a window open.
Super glue bonds skin in seconds. Keep it away from your eyes, and separate stuck fingers by soaking them in warm soapy water, not by pulling.
Use spray primer outdoors or in an open garage. The can is flammable and the overspray travels.
Wet your sanding sticks before use so plastic and putty dust stays out of the air.
Do not cut into batteries, capacitors or anything pressurized when you strip old electronics and aerosol parts for shapes.
Keep blades, glue and small parts out of reach of young children and pets.

Close-up of a white and black robot model shouldering a long gray rifle

Where to learn

Watch a build before you start one

Start-to-finish build videos

Watching someone choose parts and change their mind teaches the thinking that a photo of a finished model hides.

Parts breakdowns

Builders often post a finished model with a list of what each piece used to be. They are the fastest way to learn which household objects are worth saving.

Science fiction modeling forums

Search for studio model reference threads to see how film model makers grouped detail on real filming models.

A local model club

Members often give away spare parts and half-built kits, which is exactly what you need.

Build channels, forums and clubs

Why the kit looks like this

Most of the list is tools and glue you buy once. Two glues are essential because kit plastic and found plastic need different ones, and primer is essential here in a way it is not for a normal kit: it is what makes ten sources look like one model. Styrene sheet is the only raw material on the base list, since the rest of your parts come from kits and the recycling bin. The donor kit depends on what you want to build, so pick a direction in the kit below and its parts are added. Found-object builds add nothing. Putty, paints and brushes are recommended for everyone because every kitbash has gaps to fill and bare plastic to cover. The pin drill is the one optional tool, for later, when a heavy part needs a wire pin to stay on. An airbrush is not on the list: a spray can of primer and a few brushes are enough to learn on.

A bin filled with hundreds of loose plastic bottle caps in every color — Bottle caps: parts from the recycling bin

Fill the spares box

The tools, both glues, styrene sheet and primer start in the box, along with putty, paints and brushes. A donor kit joins once you pick a direction, above or from the donor kits in the box, and the pin drill stays out until you want it. Compare the options, then set your tiers and check out from the box. Clicking a card selects it there.

Sprue cutters (plastic model nippers)

essential · Cutting tools

Donor parts have to come off their frames cleanly. Flat-backed cutters made for plastic leave a small nub where wire cutters or twisting would tear the part.

budget

The Army Painter Plastic Frame Cutter, Stainless Steel Cutter for Miniature

4.7(1.9K)

$15.47

Kitbashing

Pick what you want to build

Where the parts come from

Your first kitbash, step by step

Four skills that carry every build

What trips beginners up

Blades, fumes and dust

Where to learn

Why the kit looks like this

Fill the spares box

Sprue cutters (plastic model nippers)

Hobby knife with spare blades

Thin liquid plastic cement

Super glue (medium cyanoacrylate)

Styrene sheet assortment

Sanding sticks and sponges for models

Spray primer for plastic models

Self-healing cutting mat

Hobby razor saw

Model putty

Acrylic model paint set

Fine detail paint brush set

1/35 scale tank model kit

1/144 scale snap-fit mecha model kit

Multipart plastic miniatures box (28mm)

Two-part epoxy sculpting putty

Pin vise hand drill with bits