Global Scale Modeller

Forgive me my ignorance oh great and wise modeling masters, but when starting off, do you use primer on the small parts as well (cockpit parts for a 1/72 scale model aircraft). If so, do you prime it while on the spruce or cut it off then prime it? (doesn't the latter create the risk of the parts not fitting well together?)

I'm no real plane builder so it might not be the best awnser but i don't prime them
I cut them off and mask them
Then i glue them on when the instructions call for it
Next up i mask around the glazing (fuselage)
Then i spray the interior color over the clear parts
Followed by the exterion color and when all done i remove the masking

This way if you look trough a window you still see the color of the cockpit on the windows and on the outside you have the color of the fuselage
I hope this helps
Cheers Mark

I depends on what the part is. For cockpit and interior stuff I'll put it together then prime it all once glued. For aerials, sensors and other stuff I'll prime on the sprue as guaranteed I'll knock them off if I leave them in place when painting.

Can't promise this is the best way to do it. But it seems to work ok for me

Thanks guys!
Appreciate it, I think I have an idea on how to go about this.

Some more questions guys...

I started airbrushing on the primer, now it's pooling in some areas and the detail of the model is disappearing with the application of the primer...

How can I fix this?

MrBungle wrote:Some more questions guys...

I started airbrushing on the primer, now it's pooling in some areas and the detail of the model is disappearing with the application of the primer...

How can I fix this?

Your spraying it to thick, just mist one area move onto to another and come back a minute later working yr way round the model

I'm no expert (I've only finished one airbrushed kit) but I would turn down the PSI and spray lighter coats, lots of light passes to build up the coverage.

Damn ! Paul beat me..

It works! I'm spraying it on in passes, it seems to be better. I finished one layer, will let it dry and then apply the next layer, is that a good way to work?
Can I fix the thickly sprayed areas (sanding?)?
And how do I get the detail back? (can I accent the details with some black paint after priming or something?)

MrBungle wrote:It works! I'm spraying it on in passes, it seems to be better. I finished one layer, will let it dry and then apply the next layer, is that a good way to work?
Can I fix the thickly sprayed areas (sanding?)?
And how do I get the detail back? (can I accent the details with some black paint after priming or something?)

You can try some airbrush thinner (NOT laquer/cellulose based it'll melt the plastic) to try to remove some of the primer with a cotton bud, then after a while re-primer it.

(try on an unseen piece, or a scrap of sprue first though)

Much thanks for the tips guys!!

I let it dry for a while and now I see that the detail is back, so that's seems to be a-ok!
I'll spray on a 2nd layer of primer tomorrow as there are still some dark areas/badly sprayed areas then maybe Saturday I can finally spray the base layers on the plane.

I'm nervous about the camouflage, I've got a simple Badger airbrush kit(single action) and have no idea how t get those fine lines of camouflage on it... any helpful tips on that guys?

MrBungle wrote:Much thanks for the tips guys!!

I let it dry for a while and now I see that the detail is back, so that's seems to be a-ok!
I'll spray on a 2nd layer of primer tomorrow as there are still some dark areas/badly sprayed areas then maybe Saturday I can finally spray the base layers on the plane.

I'm nervous about the camouflage, I've got a simple Badger airbrush kit(single action) and have no idea how t get those fine lines of camouflage on it... any helpful tips on that guys?

Plenty of practise before you commit to your model is the only way you will get used to doing it, also make sure the brush is perfectly clean and your paint is thinned properly 50/50 is a good starting point

Have you seen Paul's video tutorials for building a 109? They really are brilliant at showing you how to do it.

Which reminds me, Paul, do you have any videos about working with raised details?

I'm going through his movies on youtube right now, I'm at nr 5 on re-scribing.
I've learned a lot from him so far and can't wait to get to the airbrushing part

I thinned the primer and it turned all watery, sucks big time. I had to add a lot of more primer to get it acceptable so I could spray... or maybe my technique just sucked... anyway, about to put on a 2nd layer of primer then I'll paint the cockpit parts and drybrush with silver like in Paul's instructional ))

Thanks a bunch Paul, looks like I'm going to have to practice a whole lot before I start on the camo...

MrBungle wrote:I'm going through his movies on youtube right now, I'm at nr 5 on re-scribing.
I've learned a lot from him so far and can't wait to get to the airbrushing part

I thinned the primer and it turned all watery, sucks big time. I had to add a lot of more primer to get it acceptable so I could spray... or maybe my technique just sucked... anyway, about to put on a 2nd layer of primer then I'll paint the cockpit parts and drybrush with silver like in Paul's instructional ))

Thanks a bunch Paul, looks like I'm going to have to practice a whole lot before I start on the camo...

Yeah dont thin the primer just spray it neat out the bottle.

Drybrush with a light grey, I've changed how i do that now, gives a more subtle effect

I think I'm not going to thin any of the base layers of the plane, will do it with the camo though but could you explain to me why thin the camo?

OK, I liked the silver effect, but you say light grey is better, I don't know if I've got light grey in my paint stash. If not, I'll stick with the silver as its a 8 mile drive to the store, don't wanna go for just a little bottle of light grey... call me lazy

Oh guys, my first model, it's turning to crap!

My re-scribing wasn't great, my sanding wasn't great, the belly of the plane shows this very clearly.
I pre-shaded, or tried to, as soon as I started blasting it on with the airbrush, water ran everywhere...
I sprayed the belly in its base colour, got rid of the 'pre-shading' but I screwed up part of a wing by overspraying it, now it has kind of a smudge on... it's not looking very good.
Does anyone know how I can fix this 'smudge'? Oh, and how to shade it after painting everything and clear-coating it?

Many thanks for any help.