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Armor/AFV
For discussions on tanks, artillery, jeeps, etc.
painting accesories
godfather
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Canada
Joined: June 26, 2002
KitMaker: 817 posts
Armorama: 465 posts
Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 12:01 PM UTC
I haveseen pictures of armour models before they are painted with all teh accessories alrady placed on eth tank, i mean teh chains, tools , jacks etc. Does this not make it difficult to paint the small details afterwards. What is the rationale for doing this?
Kencelot
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Florida, United States
Joined: December 27, 2001
KitMaker: 4,268 posts
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Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 12:18 PM UTC
There are the two schools of thought on this:

One is to paint the model before the detail items are glued in place, Paint the individual items separately and than glue them in place. Some find it easier to pick out the details this way. Not too sure of why though.

I like the other method. The one where you paint the model after the detail items are glued in place. I prefer this method because it allows me to paint the details while using the model as a big clamp (no need to use tweezers or clamps to hold the little pieces for painting). Also, I do not have to scrape away paint in the areas where the items go. - painted pieces do not adhere well to painted surfaces.
jrnelson
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Iowa, United States
Joined: May 23, 2002
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Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 12:35 PM UTC
In addition to what Sir Kencelot said - I like to attatch everything before painting as well. That way I can hide all my glue smudges without having to repaint glued joints.

I guess people that paint before, find it easier to reach difficult spots if they paint the parts before attaching them. This is something you will have to plan out. I typically do paint interior items that I won't be able to reach after assembly - but that is about it. I always prime my completed model flat black (airbrush), and I make sure that I have everything covered. Then I spray my base coat, and little areas that are difficult to reach are naturally "shadowed" by the black showing through the base coat of the vehicle.

My motto - "If you can see it... you can paint it. If you can't see it.... why?"

Later-
Jeff
capnjock
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United States
Joined: May 19, 2003
KitMaker: 860 posts
Armorama: 411 posts
Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 02:59 PM UTC
Would one of you guys that paint AFTER everything is on the tank please explain your technique for doing so. What size of brush? how do you get the underside of the tools without getting the tool color on the chassis? I would really like to know as I think it would really make the build easier overall.
capnjock
Machu
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Virginia, United States
Joined: June 18, 2003
KitMaker: 208 posts
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Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 04:02 PM UTC
Ya, I sometimes put tools on first...depends on the model though.

PS- learn how to spell "the" right
jrnelson
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Iowa, United States
Joined: May 23, 2002
KitMaker: 719 posts
Armorama: 566 posts
Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 04:21 PM UTC
Here is how I do it....

First - I assemble the kit (plus etch) Exhibit A: StuG III A

Exhibit B: Bison II


Next - I spray the whole darn thing flat black. I don't have any pictures of this step, but it is pretty easy to picture. I airbrush the whole thing - making sure to cover EVERYTHING, behind the tools and all.

Third Step - Now I spray the tank the base color. I use thin coats, so as to let the primer black darken the base color in recessed areas. Naturally the area behind the tools does not get covered as "thickly" as the exposed areas. That is perfectly acceptable, as the darker area behind the fittings and stuff looks natural. Sorry I don't have any pics of this step either....

Fourth Step - Now that the base coat of paint is on, I paint the tools, etc. The trick here is to NOT use the paint straight out of the jar. You know how you thin paint to make a wash, right? Well, I kinda do the same thing for the tools, only instead of a paint to thinner ratio of 1:10 (like a wash), I use about 35% paint to 65% thinner. I use this thinned out paint to sort of apply a "mini-wash" to the tools. Capillary action takes the paint around the tools and covers the spots I can't reach with a brush. I use this mix sparingly... I don't want it running everywhere, just on the tools. This may take several coats.... try it on an old model, testing different paint consistencies... soon you will get the hang of just what ratio of paint to thinner works best. The neat part about this (especially for the wood parts on tools) is that you can mix in different shades for each application. This gives you a cool wood grain effect. In my opinion at least, this looks better that painting the stowage, etc. with one thick coat of paint straight out of the bottle. It is harder to get subtle color variations that way.

Exhibit C: StuG III A after the final paint job. I took this picture with a flash, to demonstrate the wood effect - the rest of the picture is washed out.....(sorry about that)

Exhibit D: Bison II after final paint job. In this shot, you can see how the primer black shades the base Afrika brown. This shows up better on lighter paint schemes, of course...


Oh, yea... I use a 15/0 Floquil brush to paint details. I think it is the smallest size brush made..... if they make 'em smaller, I haven't seen any. My brush cost about 5 bucks at the LHS.

I hope this helps some. I used to paint all my parts on the sprues, then assemble....and I always thought just like you... "how do you paint everything once it's assembled?" I find that it may take a little longer to get the details painted, but I more than make up for that in assembly time.

I hope this helps a little.

Jeff

ericadeane
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Michigan, United States
Joined: October 28, 2002
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Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 05:23 PM UTC
Also, it's not difficult to slip a small bit of typing paper beneath the tool handle (or whatever) to protect the base coat of the tank. Paint away and not worry about smudges. Just be careful when you near the clamp/tying strap.
blaster76
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Texas, United States
Joined: September 15, 2002
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Posted: Friday, October 24, 2003 - 07:40 PM UTC
An interesting concept, I have always done the model and then added the detail prts. After gluing if a glue spot dared to rear its ugly head, well a spot of dullcoat always takes care of that. I have the can, a laquer flat clear and a water based clear
capnjock
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United States
Joined: May 19, 2003
KitMaker: 860 posts
Armorama: 411 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2003 - 04:28 AM UTC
Thank you guys for your quick response! And Jeff I never would have thought about letting capillary action to take the paint around. I will have to buy a smaller brush though, my smallest is 5/0. Again thank you all for the insite. I will attempt the technique on my present build. Armorama rocks!
capnjock
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