Right ive been looking a quite a lot of videos on line and ive a couple of questions.

Washing kits?

Ive seen people washing there kits in soapy water, in some kind of alcohol, and some who don't do it at all.

Now I understand that you may want to wash them to get rid of the mould release or whatever but some kind of consensus on if its worth it or no if you are planning on priming your models would be good.

Another thing ive seen is wiping kits down when you've been sanding or whatever and using some kind of alchohol. Where do you get it from in the UK?

Painting before assembly?

IVe seen a lot of people painting items on the sprue and in small sections. Or the roadwheels of the tank etc. if you paint them how do you then glue them to your model? Will plastic cement still work or what?

Thanks in advance, hope these questions make sense im hopped up on lemsip and paracetamol atm.

Take care

Washing models before painting is something that I feel is worthwhile; however it is a matter of choice and some will swear by it and others will tell you its a waste of time.

Painting on the sprue is something I did when I first started, but I do not do anymore as the model parts will need to be touch up and paint removed from mating surfaces or the adhesive will not be able to work as it should.

Hi Brian,

Welcome to the site!

Washing depends. Kits from the "big guys" (Tamiya, Dragon, etc) tend to be pretty clean, but some smaller manufacturers can leave a lot of mould-release gunk on the plastic that will impede paint adhesion & sometimes even affect the glue! I tend to decide once I open a kit.

Washing after sanding is common (to get rid of the dust), but I just use water & dish-liquid, followed by a rinse in clean water. Some folks will wash a built-up kit prior to painting too. There are folks who swear by alcohol because it evaporates off quick, but I'm happy to use dish soap, water, and drying time...

I always use a good spray primer (Halford's grey is my current favourite) regardless of whether the top coat is to be airbrushed or done with the old "hairy stick", because it makes the top coat stick better.

As for paint and glue, you will notice that a painted part won't stick too well because the paint prevents the glue from welding the parts together. Either assemble before painting, or scrape away any paint where the parts touch before gluing. (When spraying, use a little masking tape to cover over any holes or pegs - it's much easier to keep them clean in the first place than it is to scrape them clean afterwards!) I tend to build as much of the kit as I can before painting, but some detail parts really just have to be painted first and then added at the end of the build...

Hope this helps!

(and sorry to see you have a cold!)