hi

i just wanted to ask what the best way to paint model tanks is. should i paint my tanks before i put them together, or after i put them togeter.

There are alot of people that pain them after but alot of people paint them as they are going. All it is is personal preference.

like Kar98K said every body has there preference.
but i paint as i go along,
like i will paint the road wheels frist.
and put them to the side till i need them.
but i do glue the upper hull to the bottom half,
then i will add all the small parts like the tools and if the tank has a lite,
be cause if u add this stuff be fore u glue the hull u could break stuff off
so after i glue all that stuff i will paint the tank then say add the other stuff like jerry cans spare tracks, and stuff like that.
if u are new to building tanks get shepard paines
book building armor models, its a great book i have this book
it helps u a lot

I build the tank up in sub-assemblies, paint, then assemble. Things that are delicate, I try to put on after all painting is complete if possible.
capnjock

It depends on the model. Sometimes I build it in its entirety and then paint. Other times I build in sub-assemblies. I guess you have to try and visualize what you want when all is said and done and then figure out how to go about getting there with as little headache as possible. Nothing sucks worse than getting to a point and realizing that you should have done it differently to get a better result. HTH "Q"

I prefer sub-assemblies, though I might prime the parts ahead of time, if the color of the plastic is too close to the color of the paint-job. I need the contrast so that I can see if I missed any seams or sinkholes.

I'm pretty amazed by people who assemble and paint the bottom half of a tank, tracks and all, then add on the upper half and still manage to paint and weather it without messing up the tracks or anything on the bottom half.

Randy

I'm for sub-assemblies too... then I try to paint them at the same time (or at least the ones which have to be painted in the same colour) to avoid colour "inconsitencies"...
Ciao