hey all, i am building tamiyas 135 sherman , i was wondering when painting do you paint most of it when it is still attatched to the sprue, or do you paint it when its completly built??? to be honest i have made many kits, and i always paint when the model is together this way i can paint the cracks you get after gluing a pcie together , eg the type of crack you get between a figures arm and the body when glued together. my primary question is is my way the most best way or is painting in the sprue better?

matt

Ciao MATTTOMLIN,
I have found that they are much easier to paint assembled in three parts. 1) the assembled tank 2) the tracks 3) all the tools and things that are tied down to the hull. Just paint the assembled tank, then the tracks and then paint the tools and stuff, then glue them on. Painting them on the sprue with lead to too much touchup, wasted time and fingerprints everywhere when you have to clean them up.
Ciao for now
Rob

Matt

I second Rob's plan of attack I build as much as I can paint the tank, the tracks and then the pioneering tools and glue them on. Usually after the gloss coat and decals but before the matt coat and weathering.

Brian

Like those guys said, but I paint the running gear separate from the tank, that way I can get the back side of the wheels and the area behind the wheels on the hull. Additionally, I paint the turret separate from the hull; it's easier to cover any overhang that way. I'll apply any acmo scheme after attaching the hull and running gear.

I usually try to assemble everything (even the tools) except for the running gear and then paint. The running gear is painted either on sprue or on the tip of a pencil.

me completed..

I personally don't ever paint anything on the sprue. It leaves to much clean up and retouching when you remove it from the sprue then assemble....

I go with the subassembly process, hull, turret, tracks. Depending the gear and the ease of getting a paint brush on the gear I will do it either way (on or off).

I usually glue everything but the road wheels on. Then I paint it.

I'd glue all the stuff together, but leaves the tracks and the roadwheels seperate. than I paint everything and
then I glue it together.

I paint 95% of everything on the model. Painting anything on the sprue is just a huge waste of time and effort. You still have to sand your seams and joints. YOu cant glue anything that is paitned so you have to scrape off the paint. Plus if you spill anything on the paint it is even more work to fix it. Paint it on the model and save yourself the trouble. Just my two cents
Bryan

I paint 95% of everything on the model. Painting anything on the sprue is just a huge waste of time and effort. You still have to sand your seams and joints. YOu cant glue anything that is paitned so you have to scrape off the paint. Plus if you spill anything on the paint it is even more work to fix it. Paint it on the model and save yourself the trouble. Just my two cents
Bryan

Got to go with the crowd on this one & assemble as much as possible before painting. If it's an open vehicle (eg German Sdkfz251), the best you can do is leave it in large lumps (eg chassis, hull top), & get as much on them as possible even if you have to buck the assembly order in the instructions.

tanks are easy to paint.
this is what i do,
i will build the whole tank.
then add al the little parts.
and i would paint it when its built.
i paint he road wheels separate.
i paint the bootom hull first.
then when thats dry i paint the top half,
and i spary the turret off also

I paint in sub asseblies, espesially with interior vehicles. Tanks are easy because they only have 3. The FAMO I have on the go has about 7. It all depends on what you are comfortable with and how much detail you want painted. I almost never paint on the sprue. I'm trying a new technique for myself with road wheels. I'm spraying them black, then masking off the rubber portion then spraying the tank colour. Hopefully it will work. If it does it will be less time comsuming than the other method by hand!

i try to do sub assembly body, turret and tracks also the wheels

Find a circle template at anoffice or art supply store. Should only cost a couple dollars. There are enough sizes on there to accommodate just about any 1/35 road wheel. Great news is, it's reusable and very quick. Just back the wheel up to the right size circle and spray the body color.

I too am a sub-assembly kind of guy, hull, turret and tracks is my usual method. The only exceptions are those tiny, hard to reach details, which I do on the tip of my hobby knife or after the major parts are painted.

thankyou all so much. i am the same way as you all, i just wanted to make sure that there was no easier way and that i was doing it right ( i was ).

again thxn

matt