hopefully these tips will be of help to fellow modellers who buy on ebay thanks to ebay i have been able to cut out the middle man and get great models from other ebayers at realistic prices and build two very nice layouts one in tt gauge and one in o gauge, enough about me here are some tips 

     never use meths on rubber traction tyres they will perish instantly

if one wants to dismantle a metal alloy model assembled with super glue try soaking in nail varnish remover (ACETONE) for 30mins  make sure working area is ventilated  also works on glued up fingers  

when painting  a plastic kit,  spray model with primer to get a better paint finish acrilic auto parts primer is fine and its cheaper than the smaller cans

try mixing down your paint say 1/3rd thinners to 2/3rds paint also by buying a half tidy  sable brush  if poss, one can get a finish as good as an air brush

practice on a scrap model 

hope this is of help to you all more tips to follow