I see alot of people who built a model first and after the building start painting. It doesnt seem logical to me !! Wont you forget any details or just entire areas this way?
Is it because you have an airbrush and can spray every corner after building the kit?
Or is it "THE" way to get a good result?

When building a model, i myself split the model up in a couple of pieces and paint the difficult areas first before assembly. That way im sure i wont forget any areas even if you wont be able to see them very well.

Please explain!

Dolf

Dolf:

I am one of the modelers that falls into the build first, paint last category. I guess the primary reason I approach a model this way is simply the annoying fact of trying to glue parts together once they are painted. I haven't yet found a glue that allows you to join two pieces covered in paint. Some people paint first and then scrape the paint off where they are going to contact two parts together. That just seems like a hassle to me involving a lot of touch up if you scrape too much paint off etc. As far as hard to reach places, having an airbrush does definitely help, but even then some of the deeper recesses might not get hit. For this I tend to just flood the recesses with varying washes to help darken that part. Seems to work for me. Maybe someday I'll try the other way, but right now I'm happy with the results I get from the build then paint method.

John

I'd venture to say that the majority of modelers build subassemblies for painting, and then mate them all throughout completion of the model. With the advent of the Internet and the ability to share what you're modeling with your friend on the next continent - most modelers have adopted a style of putting it all together - without gluing the subassemblies - for photographic purposes. Snap a picture, upload it, and then take the model back apart for painting and finishing.

There's a rare breed of modeler who puts it all together and then paints - they scare me #:-) but I know they're out there! Just goes to show you that more than one road leads to Rome...

Gunnie

Hi Dolf,
Really it's each to their own. I build aircraft, so usually the cockpit is constructed first (take a look at the Spitfire group build over on the Aircraft Board) usually in sub-assemblies then painted. The fuselage halves are closed around the cockpit, when dry the seems are filled and sanded. in the meantime wings are constructed filled and sanded, then added to the fuselage. This joint is filled and sanded. You can see if these parts were painted before joining, even brush painted, when they are joined the paint would get damaged cleaning up the joints. It is true that some joints don't need filling and sanding but the simple action of gluing the parts together can damage paintwork. Also by having parts together before painting camouflage schemes will match up better. When the main construction is complete I prep the model for painting and paint, using an airbrush. Then gloss coat (Future) decals, Future, weathering, Matt coat, further weathering fix final details post pics on the Rivet Review Board. Hope this helps :-)
Mal

I build sub-assemblies and paint them first... for example, the engine compartment of a tank. But i don't do my final painting of more accessible areas until the whole thing is together.... mainly because i first and foremost want to assure a great weld seam - and paint gets in the way of that. With my airbrush, I can reach the tiniest crevices, and my hand brushes can get the easy external details.

Hmmm, Gunnie, now there's a thought i didnt think about. Most people probably do that. I already found it a strange way of working, but this does explain the many pictures of built, unpainted kits.
And as you said, for those who do use this method => more than one road leads to Rome! Everyone his or her own style.

And i agree with you all about putting the whole thing together before painting the camo to get a smooth paintjob.

Dolf

On armor, I build virtually the whole thing before building it. On airplanes, I'll hand paint the cockpit one piece at a time, touch it up, weather it, drybrush it, and seal it up and then just build the rest of the plane sans gear, paint it, attach gear and other detail parts, and weather. Pretty simple really. I don't like to paint prior to building because I'm a bit messy with glue and glue doesnt adhere well to painted surfaces; a major issue when working with tiny PE parts.

I paint some before and some after. I usually do the road wheels by themselfs and paint the main body of the tank separate. Also, I usually don't follow the instructions step by step, I plan out the model according to how I want to paint it.

Sub assemblies, scrape, glue, touch up... repeat as needed. #:-) #:-)

There's another way ? LOL #:-)

With me it all depends on the model. If it is something with many visible internal details (like a helicopter) there is no way to paint it whole after it has been built. A tank on the other hand, if it has very few visible internals can be painted after it has been built. Just my $0.02

Something close to subassembly for me. It sometimes depends on the kit. I tend to build the whole thing first then paint afterwards. The painting during construction would be for the interior and the wheels (sometimes I paint the wheels before assembling them and putting them to the kit). If ever, the subassembly is just that - wheels, tank, and MGs. 3 parts. :-)

Hi,

Being a longtime modeler of just about everything, I find myself making up subassemblies that go inside then once the major unit, Plane, Tank, Ship, Weapons System, Whatever, is finally together, in goes all the stuffing I can add without breaking anything and then it get sealed up so that none of my carefully assembled, washed, drybrushed and sealed with flat or gloss, depending on the subject, subassemblies gets overspray on it. Once i am satisified that I can paint away without affecting anything I've added inside I get happy with finishing the exterior and hammering the outside paint on. Once I am satisfied with that i get all the washes and dry brushing done and when it's all done I unmask and do final cleanup and assembly. I got in the habit of doing it this way after a while working as a paint and body tech in body shops and car dealerships. It's pretty well how they do it there and it usually comes out great.

Of course that's just the way I do it, in modeling, to each his own and if it works for you, great. It's awful hard to make painted things stick to each other with any kind of glue, the plastic cement just gives it up after a while, the cyroanalates will hang onto the paint really well, so well in fact that it often just peels the paint right off the subject leaving you with 2 pieces, one of them with a little less paint on it than the other. Life is just not fair.

I've thrown my 1.4 (2 cents adjusted for inflation)cents in and now I'm gonna crawl back out here in cyberspace and contemplate the vagaries of the SdKfz 251troop transport I'm working on for the DSB contest. Good luck.

Been building models since the mid 60s (15 yr gap though). For me it depends on the model and what I have planned for hte end. Sometimes, its paint everything first, scrape, glue, touch-up, other times its glue then paint.

However, lately I lean more to glue sub-assemblies, paint subassemblies, glue subs together, touch up as I go.

#:-)

Well, I am the kind that you scare the most. I build all everything, then paint. Having an airbrush is definitely helpful for those hard reach areas, and again, if some place my airbrush cannot reach, the chance is that I can't see.

I also find that paint whole, give me a more consistency on color, and help me to blend color in.

Well it's me, I am SCARY and WEIRD!!!! Now be afraid of me!!!! #:-) #:-) #:-) #:-) #:-) #:-) #:-)

I've built both ways actually. I started out as the scary SS-74 (plus others, Thor included), but have found myself building subassemblies and painting them. I've gotten tired of scraping paint away or lazy, don't know which of the two...

And amongst the armor geeks,there can be a sub culture.Those who put the tracks on,then paint,and those who do basic painting of the track,then add them to the vehicle.

If all other issues were solved, you'd still need to be a very clever boy to paint an M1 in MERDC camouflage while it's still on the sprue. In fact, that would make an EXCELLENT contest, wouldn't it ?

I do it because then I get the "big" stuff out of the way. I think it is much easier.

Thats just my opinion though.

-Chip

I kind of do each model differently, but i mostly paint in sub assemblys. or I'll do the inside as I put it together, paint detail peices seperatly such as tools and stowage. but any thing on the outside I try to paint at once, I will leave the wheels or tracks off, and anything that isn't the base color and mask any opening to my finished interier. This gives a nice smooth coat of paint to work with. then I start adding the detail peices and weathering. :-)

Since getting back into the hobbie I've only made three models, one plane, yccch, and two tanks. These first three I've painted then built. I plan to NEVER do that again. I've spent so much time scraping paint, or regluing the same piece over and over again! From now on I plan to build then paint. At the very least I plan to build sub assemblies before painting them.

Typically I paint the entire model while its on the sprue and then build it. Using Tenax liquid glue there is no problem going over the painted surface. For German vehicle I use Tamiya's armor yellow. This is a good starting color and covers well. After assembly I will repaint what needs it and add the camo colors.

I am amazed at modelers who asemble the entire model, including tools and then paint. "You're a better man than I".

I guess what you meant was they totally build the model never painting anything and then start painting. That would be weird. Otherwise I am one of those. I'll build and paint small detailed stuff like the interior cockpit of a plane . When I build the rest of the major components of the plane I'll assemble those and then paint the plane as a whole. The same with a tank. Seams and camoflage continuity are the reason for that