Fit then paint, or Paint then fit?

[Neils]

Been watching a number of guides and build logs and it seems the way its done is to glue everything together then paint, masking off parts as needed or painting in the detail after the base coats are down.

Now to my novice thinking that seems a little trickier than painting it all up front(leaving major areas of joins(wing roots etc) unpainted, putting it together and then finishing it off.

For example a wing is in two halves. I'll paint both lower and upper parts (bar the wing root) before joining as that makes the whole thing easier and I don't then need to worry about the under-carriage masking. I'll then do the filler and sanding stuff and do the base coat on the filled in parts to complete the painting. So I only have a small area of masking to worry about at one time.

In the Me109 build I noticed the cockpit had all been put together first and then painted, whereas I would have painted it all first on the sprue and then put it together?

If you do the put it together route first, how do you avoid doing lots of tedious masking(and spending a fortune on Tamiya tape), having to touch up or repaint detail that was base coated over?

I realise each kit is different, but I'm talking about a general principle.

[UKscalemodeller]

there is a certain logic in painting some parts first.

I tend to paint the cockpit sub assembly before fitting it. I also, like a lot of others, wheels and undercarriage/bombs etc separate and add them all together at the end.

I wouldn't think painting things like wings would be a great idea as it tends to be better to do areas at one go, such as all the blue underneath, all the green on top so the paint is uniform.

If you want to try it and give it a go then by all means let us know how it goes.

[chief5437]

It's all personal preference. Whatever works for you. But taking your wing halves as an example. When you glue them together you will probably need to fill/sand to get rid of any gaps or imperfections. This would ruin any paintwork you'd already done. Also if glueing parts that are painted, if you slip up and get glue on the paint, it will need painting again.

That's just two reasons, but as I said, whatever works for you and the kit.

[Lee]

It's personal preference, but wing joins nearly always need filling and sanding. To do that after you've painted would be heart breaking as well as causing yourself a lot more bother. I always paint the landing gear, props and any other breaky bits separately and add them last. The main fuselage is always built then painted. You'd have far too many problems otherwise, especially with any camo scheme...

[Bissyboat]

With armour you could assemble most parts before painting. With boats such as Capital ships, it´s a different story. The hull and the keel is straight forward, as well as the first gun battery. But the subsections and the superstructures has to be painted individually in order to paint the decks.

[Neils]

Hmm. I've been leaving the major join areas unpainted, then after sanding etc 'colouring' them in. So for example, take a spitfire wing. I'll do the camo scheme up to the wing roots, but leave the actual joins and a little bit around unpainted. Once they've been filled and sanded i'll use the white-tack method just to finish them up(using the same mix of paint as the rest).

Although I'll admit I am cowardly when it comes to paint schemes and prefer the simple two tone top and bottom schemes .

Would a general rule of thumb be paint on the sprue anything that can fall on the floor and get lost first?

Interesting re model ships. How do you fill in the gaps between deck and superstructure? is it a matter of touching up with a paintbrush where the filler is after each section is painted?

I'll give the 1:48 Airfix 109 as demo'd in the videos a go using the 'build and paint' method and see which seems easier.

So much to (re) learn from poking the paint on with a stick when I was a kid

[Bissyboat]

Interesting re model ships. How do you fill in the gaps between deck and superstructure? is it a matter of touching up with a paintbrush where the filler is after each section is painted?

I usually dab on super glue to cover gaps with a thin tip on a cocktail stick. Once the gaps are sealed I run over the area with decktan coloured paint. I try to avoid fillers. Simply because, once I start sanding the excess, I loose details of the planking on the main deck.

[chief5437]

Hmm. I've been leaving the major join areas unpainted, then after sanding etc 'colouring' them in. So for example, take a spitfire wing. I'll do the camo scheme up to the wing roots, but leave the actual joins and a little bit around unpainted. Once they've been filled and sanded i'll use the white-tack method just to finish them up(using the same mix of paint as the rest).

Although I'll admit I am cowardly when it comes to paint schemes and prefer the simple two tone top and bottom schemes .

Would a general rule of thumb be paint on the sprue anything that can fall on the floor and get lost first?

Interesting re model ships. How do you fill in the gaps between deck and superstructure? is it a matter of touching up with a paintbrush where the filler is after each section is painted?

I'll give the 1:48 Airfix 109 as demo'd in the videos a go using the 'build and paint' method and see which seems easier.

So much to (re) learn from poking the paint on with a stick when I was a kid

Give it a go and see what works for you. But why paint twice when you can paint once?

[Paul]

When i build (as you will see in my vids) i build what i can in stages leaving "batches" of parts and completed sub assemblies ready for painting, so ill have selection that need painting one colour and another a different colour.

The likes of cockpits i glue together as much as possible then airbrush and pick all the other colours out with a brush by hand.

I dont paint any parts on the sprue as i don't see the point in doing it, as said why paint twice when it can all be done together?

[ludicrusmaximus]

When you glue them together you will probably need to fill/sand to get rid of any gaps or imperfections. This would ruin any paintwork you'd already done. Also if glueing parts that are painted, if you slip up and get glue on the paint, it will need painting again.

This is absolutely true chief. I encounter this all the time because I don't have an airbrush and use Tamiya rattle cans. These, to me, make it essential that I paint the wings and fuselage prior to assembly, but then with the problems of getting glue on the paint. These cans just blast out too fast and much to use on the assembled kit.

I'll give the 1:48 Airfix 109 as demo'd in the videos a go using the 'build and paint' method and see which seems easier.

So much to (re) learn from poking the paint on with a stick when I was a kid

I'm currently working on this Bf 109 kit and it seems that it is a difficult one for novices. The colouring is too rich for my hamfists and I dont own an airbrush. You really need an airbrush for this kit, do you own one? Still, it is coming along reasonably well considering my inexperience and lack of airbrush, but more skills and a airbrush would do the kit far more justice.

[chief5437]

There are a few guys on here that only use brushes, hopefully they'll see this thread and can give you some tips. You wouldn't guess it's all brush painted, they're that good!