I’m new to this forum. I’ve started plastic modeling again since 35 years ago. My question is, would it be better to put together a Panzer IV tank and then airbrush and drybrush or is it better to paint the model beforehand and then put it together. I’ve already done a little of both and I’ve had to use contour putty to fill some seams. It left a few areas on the model that don’t look all that great but is ok. Do I need some hobby knives to clean this up and what brand of knives would be good for detailed scraping.
I’m surprised nobody has responded to this sooner.
Everybody has a different approach, but generally, i build it all, then paint it after that - primarily for the main reason you’ve encountered - there may be some filling and sanding that needs to occur.
Additionally, the glue can often eat into the paint, which would also look at little unsightly.
Depending upon the subject though, you may have to build in sub-assemblies. A standard tank involves just the chassis as one assembly, turret as another and then the tracks as another. These pieces are then normally easy enough to put together without any glue marks or filler being present.
I have built some tanks though (especially modern armour) where you may need to paint the bottom of the hull and running gear as a separate sub-assembly to the top part of the chassis. Again, this isn’t too much of a hurdle, but may need a bit of close attention to touch up points and make sure you don’t overspray already painted areas.
With regard to your question on dry brushing, as you look around, you’ll see there are a number of different options to finish your models, so you may also start to see things like washes, dot filters, pastels, pigments & oil paints.
Don’t be too overwhelmed, but i thought i’d just point out there are a lot of different techniques to try as you progress.
Just to add to what CML already said since the whole thing is panzer mustard yellow I’d just assemble most of it just spray it all. I would leave the threads off and paint them separately and maybe the road wheels. Or you can just attach them and then paint the rubber rims by hand.
As CML said there are some things that might work better painted before attaching. If your tank has armour skirts I’d leave them off but still paint them at the same time as the hull. Then add the tracks and finally the skirts.