Hi guys,

Hopefully someone can help me out. I'm unsatisfied with how long it takes for me to build a model. And I accredit that slow speed to the time it takes me jumping back and forth doing certain things.

For example, currently I open the instructions to step 1 and find what parts are used. I then find those parts on the tree. I clip them from the tree. I then go and remove the mold lines and flashing. Then I wash them all seperatley. Then I have to go over to the spray booth and prime them. Then up stairs to clean the brush and down stairs to paint them (up and down stairs each time I need to clean the brush/swap colors)

This process repeats again for step 2 and so on. There must be a better way. How do you work? What do you suggest?

I've considered washing the trees all together, and then priming them all and then seperating them based on what base color they will be and painting them all together. But then I'll have to repaint them anyway where I remove them from the tree.

Also, do you prime EVERY piece of a model?

Any help would be appreciated greatly.

Thank you,

-Mike

Hi Mike,

IMHO, it depends on what kind of kit you are doing- it seems to me from your work flow you are doing airplanes, cars, ships and motorcycles- those kits where details need to be painted before assembly.

If you were making armor such as tanks, I may suggest this workflow (sorry if I am too detailed, I am sure you may already know much of the stuff I am going to write)

a) Wash entire prues carefully in a basin of soapy water and dry, don't even cut any parts first. Normally, I skip this washing step and I have not found any detrimental effects yet...to date

b) Assemble the entire kit (yes, including all details). some modellers exclude the road wheels and tracks...in fact, I just assemble the ENTIRE kit including the tracks, (occasionally I leave out the tracks) but always leave any clear parts unassembled (ah...Dragon kits!!!). Hand paint the periscopes and assemble as required....mask them before spraying your AFV.

c) Depending on how well you paint adhere to your kit. Vallejio needs form priming to adhere, I do not see the need to prime if its Gunze or Tamiya colors.

d) Invest in a reasonable good airbrush (e.g. Rich, gunze, sparmax etc) with a 25 psi compressor. My then girlfriend 6years ago (now my wife) felt I have paid "too much" for my setup, but its the best investment and piece of important tool I have, been using it since 2002 creating numerous works to date.

e) Do the pre-shades in dark brown or black (depending on base color). Then followed by the base color (e.g. dark yellow for panzers, OD for shermans etc). Add a little tamiya buff to lighten the base color and spray as highlights onto the centre panels.

f) Do you camo scheme, spray as required the browns or greens onto your base color. Color your tracks and assemble if you have not done so, and same for the rubber rims of wheels (use dark greys for tracks and rubber rims)

g) Do your gloss coat using spray cans or airbrush. Dry, do your decals. Another thin layer of gloss to clear away silvering of decals. Add several thin layers and dry in between , take care not to overspray with thick coat of gloss here....or it will screw your kit.

f) Wash the recessed lines with oil paints (brown blacks, burnt umber etc)....avoid pure dark black. Clean away excess and spills. Dry

g) Spray your top coat, thin coat and dry in between (I use Gunze flat spray can, easy to use and gives a dead flat tone).

h) weather your AFV using mig pigments, pastels and add mud using mixtures of pigments, sawdust and white glue and water.

You are almost done. Sometimes, to enhance the effect, we may want to do some chipping using grade 000 paint brush with shades of dark grey around worn out areas of your AFV, but that requires practice to execute well.

In this way, you can segregate your assemby works downstairs and all you spray works upstairs. Airbrush is an essential to give the subtle tones and interesting camos you need and most importantly, it relieves you of need to cut, paint, assemble and touch up with paint again...

Just my 2cents worth, hope it helps cos I had a tough time getting my work flow right when I started 8 years ago.

Musicwerks

I usually start each and everyone of my builds by washing all the sprues. Even though I've never thought about how much it saves time, it sure reduces the chance of parts being flushed down the sink or otherwise getting lost.

When building, I work in subassemblies, priming and painting parts for each at the same time. I don't prime or paint parts on the sprue. As you mentioned, you then have to touch-up the spots were the parts were connected to the sprues. That both adds to building time and could be quite a chore if you end up having to do more than just snipping the part off the sprue and doing a few swipes with a sanding stick.

For aircraft models, I usually put the cockpit and related components (something that must go between the fuselage halves before they're closed) together into subassemblies. If some parts are easier to paint and finish while loose, I leave them that way. Then I prime and paint the bunch, assemble and put the fuselage together.

Thinking it through beforehand and priming a bunch of parts at the same helps to save quite a lot of time.

Painting before assembly just creates work, put your kit together for the most part before applying paint. Paint can also prevent the glue from doing its job.

I can build pretty quickly, because I skip a lot of steps, and build for a few hours at a time. My trouble is actually starting to build, or making the time at all. I dont do washes, or prime before I paint. I handpaint as I build, using the small testors bottles. I then do a final touch up paint after the entire model is assembled. Sometimes I do put a subassembly together and then just paint the entire thing afterwards.

I only build armour and figures, so my techniques may not work for others, and may not give the detail level some are looking for. I am happy with the results though.

Here is my work flow:

1. I completely inventory the kit prior to starting
2. Wash the parts all at the same time with dishwashing detergent to remove release agents
3. I remove parts from the trees only when I am ready for them typically. If I'm doing a build log, I will sometimes remove all parts for a step and photograph them together.
4. I remove mold seams/fill ejection pin marks and sand as needed
5. Complete assembly for that step
6. After I've completed as many steps/sub-assemblies as possible and assembled as many of the sub-assemblies as possible, I will then prime the assembled items.

The priming at this point helps me identify any imperfections prior to airbrushing the finish color.

After priming is completed, I spray the base color and camouflage colors as applicable.

Pretty much what the others have said,
Wash all of it on the sprue.
Build it in subassemblies.
Prime and paint in single color batches, light to dark (if possible). Light to dark allows you to spary cleaner through your brush to clean instead of diss-assembling. I do take it apart at the end and give it a good once over cleaning.

My prefered method:

1. Check parts
2. Read instructions and work out sub assemblies
4. Start each sub assembly in turn. If I stall on one due to filler etc drying, start the next one.
4. Wash completed sub assembly
5. Prime / paint
6. Assemble model
7. Attach items not added during main build if any i.e. pioneer tools etc sometimes added during build.
7. Decals, weather etc
8. Remember r that I was going to do a build log.

Cheers

Hi Mike,

I should wash my parts but never have

Collate reference material for the model to build
Check kit parts and accesorie sets /figures for the model to build .
Build as per the kit instructions but where possible build in sub assembly for ease of painting.
I like to keep my pioneer tools seporate and paint before gluing to vehicle .
prime the model .
I use mainly airbrush humbrol or model master primer .
Paint the model
seal the model in testers dullcote.
I then move to painting figures and checking placement in the hatch's at this stage and get the mounts organised for the figures to sit in the hatch's
Let sit for 24hrs and go over it with a white spirit wash mixed of flat black and raw umber .
Use a fine brush around the recess parts of your model .
Airbrush testers glosscote in the areas where the decals go .
Apply the decals and then flat clear over the decal.
Give the whole model a final coat of flat clear at this stage
Then you move to your high light of your model with minor chipping around hatch's scuff marks...etc.
finally the pigments and pastels .

A model can take upto 2 months to build .
Example of current



Hope this helps.

Cheers