If you've seen a copy of Hobby Japan magazine, you've marveled at the intricately detailed three-dimensional models of anime and manga characters. The love of that special art form brought AWA members to attend the demonstration staged by master model builder Bill Mayo.

You don't get the best results from anime model building without hundreds of hours of work. While model dealer John Long said assembling models isn't as hard as it seems, he warned that it takes long hours of effort to get things right. "It's not like a model car that you can do in a night. These take weeks and months," Long said.

An example of that effort: this model is ready for painting - after 2-3 hours of sanding to prepare the plastic surface for color. Expert model builders reccomend 250-grit sandpaper for this work. A Dremel motor tool can handle this job, they said, but it can leave a gritty surface.

The tools of the trade for model builder Ken Convey, items to prepare the exterior and interior of the models. Not seen here is the variety of paint to create the lifelike appearance. Convey said that prosaic items such as auto body paint primer or Krylon brand primer make good primer for models.

This Sailor Moon character appeared one-third done, with a final paint coat and assembly left to be finished. Its builder said he spent one-dozen hours preparing the kit to this point, extra time needed because of the lower-quality plastic used. Model experts warned that some molds can produce only 100 good copies; beyond that, the copies are flawed by what they called "model breakdown."

The finished product of one model builder stands amid forms not yet prepared for assembly. This author is very impressed by the effort and skill that lead to the creation of these miniature masterpieces.