This may belong in the paint area, but I’m specifically asking about armor – so I apologize if it should be somewhere else.
That said, I’m about ready to begin painting my Hetzer (which will be my second model in over 22 years), and I just can’t remember at what stage I used to paint AFVs.
I’m thinking I will do final assembly except for the wheels, then I can hit the entire body (getting behind the wheel areas since they’ll be off, etc.). This will be the basic color, prior to camo.
I haven’t decided about the side walls of the Hetzer yet, as I still have to see if I can snake the Friul tracks into position after the walls are attached. I’m thinking I will be able to paint them separately and attach them when I begin camo.
What do you guys think? What are your processes?
Any info/thoughts/opinions would be MUCH appreciated!
I paint my armor as I see fit, that usually means I’m painting it during construction. Alot of people assemble first and then paint, but in my case my models look like a patchwork on a quilt. One color here and one color there, some areas still unpainted, but then again it’s my personal peference to paint like that.
You simply have to try things out and see what works for you.[:)]
It depends on the model, the modeler and the amount of fine details. I tend to do sub assemblies, leave the road wheels off so I can paint behind them, leave details like tools off to paint separate.
Than bring all the painted sub assemblies together, add road wheels, add tracks, add details, then weather…done
but as I said everyone is different…do what is comfortable for you…there is no right or wrong
For a close-topped vehicle I will typically try to do as much assembly as possible prior to painting. I will typically leave off the road wheels and tracks, the pioneer tools or other such details that need to be painted separately, etc. until after painting. For open top vehicles or vehicles with an interior, that’s a different story of course. [;)]
My method for tanks and closed-top assault guns, turreted howitzers, and ARVs is to paint after assembly is more or less complete, say about 80-90%… I leave the tracks off, paint the hull & turret separately. More often than not, I paint the pioneer gear after it’s installed, then pick out the detail colors afterwards…
For open-tops like the Marder-series and other open SP AT guns, it’s all dependent on the specific type. For the Wirbelwind-types of SP AA guns, I treat it like a tank and pant the hull, then the turret exterior after assembly, but the interior is painted during assembly, then masked.