This is probably a rookie question but I see a lot of photos of models that have been, for the most part, completely assembled prior to being painted. How is this successfully accomplished? Is the model really painted at that stage or are these sub-assemblies that have just been placed together for the photo? I;ve even seen ones with tools on the outside that are not the same color as the body. Are these just repainted later? When I've done models in the past, such as tanks, I've painted a number of parts like the road wheels, tools, etc, seperately & individually.

Here is my method IDHUNTER...

I build everything... assemblle the whole lot..


Then I airbrush the base paint on....and add the decals



Then I detail paint with a 15/0 paintbrush......


My motto: If you can see it... you can paint it.... if you CAN'T see it... why ???? :-)

HTH
Jeff

PS - feel free to PM me if you have specific questions about anything....

My motto exactly! and also with a little addition, if I can see it, I can reach it with an AB or a brush, if I cannot reach it with an AB, none can see it, well at least if I took a pic of it.

Awesome. Those are nice photos!

What benefits do you guys feel that you realize from this approach?

For me, it's ease of the whole building process, I don't have to worry about ruining painted parts. and also able to achieve uniform color whilst painting.

Benefits... :-)

1. I don't have to worry about the glue that splurts out between joints......
2. I get to concentrate entirely on the assembly of the kit - ie.. are all seams gone, sink holes filled, sprue attachment points eliminated, etc,
3. I get to make every bond a plastic on plastic ( or plastic on brass) bond - no need to worry about scraping paint off to make a good glue joint,,,,,
4. Painting all the vehicle at once ensures that the paint mix I choose will be consistent from the start...... no need to later mix up custom colors that I might have used....
5. When I weather as well as paint - all attached bits get the same treatment...... I don't have any need to weather individual parts......

HTH -
Jeff :-)

When I build a tank, I assemble everything as well. All tools are fixed in their place because I find they are easier held by the tank than trying to hold such small items and painting individually.
I have subassemblies ... the hull, the turret, the wheels and the track. Bigger items of stowage I may paint seperatley like boxes and bedrolls. Jerry cans depend on their position and if they are modelled in their holders. Holders I like the same colour as the tank so I attatch. If I have indy tracks then all wheels and tracks are assembled with the hull.
Another big advantage of this is you can cement all parts before painting. This reduces the chances of having annoying glue shines or excesses after painting.
It may sound difficult but if you assemble a few tanks and try it both ways, you might feel the same!

hehehe- Plasticbattle and SS said it better than I did... like they say :-)

Jeff

I will have to agree with what's presaid about painting method. I also construct almost everything and then paint. cause in this method even a lilttle fault you leave to dry and then correct. Otherwise if you paint and then glue and something happens you have to correct on board so you come to the same point . Something more hard to paint if its on is the rubber part of the roadwheels on tanks but everything can be done with patience and the right brushes

Maybe I am missing something, but how can you paint things like the black on the inner road wheels when they are attached to the hull? I am still new at this but I have always done sub-assemblies. Like hull, turret, track, suspension and drive wheels, and little fiddly parts. Is there anyone that does the track while it is on, besides weathering that is? That would boogle my mind.

-Matt

menglish....

I paint the roadwheels and everything once assembled. I generally leave off the tracks if I am using Friuls - but other than that, assemble first - paint after.

You would be amazed at what you can do after assembly... try it on a cheap kit. I think you will find that you can paint the bits that can be seen quite well :-)

HTH
Jeff

I will give it a shot with a test subject. I have had my eye on an M3 Light so maybe the cheap old Tamaya kit will be good practice for this.

Menglish-

One thing that I do in order to paint all the tools, tires, etc, that seems to help quite a bit is to thin the paint down. Let the capillary action of the paint take it to parts you can't reach - like the underside of tools. The roadwheels in the pics that I posted in this thread were done in that manner.

Poly scale grimey black - about 50/50 with windex........ Touch the brush along the edge you want, and let the thinned paint do the rest.

HTH-
Jeff

PS - I used to paint in sub-assemblies as well...... I find this way more efficient. send me and email if you have any questions - I would be happy to help :-)

Well, you've all convinced me that I need to try this method. Thanks for your input.

Exactly the same here! After afew times you get used to how the paint runs when thinned ... and how thin to make it, to do what you want. If there are some gaps that are just a little bit too hard to get at, Weathering takes care of this. The running gear and tracks may be the hardest to get at, but they also reieve the most weathering. Thats why its good to start with a dark colour ... black or at least dark brown. After my usual weathering with mud and dust, its hard to see 90% of detail painting in this area.
This is an Italeri sherman I have been working on. Everything is there except for the tracks! Ihave already detailed painted all the necessary parts. Now I am assembling and painting the stowge to be placed. then I will weather the whole tank together.