I’m getting back into plastic modeling after many years, and I want to do a better job than I did as a kid. I’m not new to airbrushes, but I need help with the build sequence.
I bought myself the Revell 1/48 F-14D Tomcat before Christmas just for fun. Do I stick to the instructions as far as the build and paint process, or do I skip around and paint everything I can with the what I have in the brush?
You’ll have to find out what works for you. I gather all parts that have a common color and paint them at the same time, but thats because I’m too lazy to clean my airbrush more than I have to. Glue on as many parts as practical before painting, to make glueing easier.
I think that all depends on you. For the most part, in my opinion, it’s best to build right along with the instructions at least until you gain more experience in all areas of building models. Some people like to go through and paint all the parts before assembly. Others, like myself, paint some before assembly and others after assembly. That’s where gaining experience is important. The more builds you have under your belt the easier it is to tell when you need to paint first and when you need to paint afterwards. You just have to jump in and build to find out which process works best for you.
Often you can build to a certain point, the do all the early required painting- especially for interior components- then continue and complete the build. And finish up the exterior painting. Many items can be painted on the sprue, and then touched up after removal from the sprue. Find what works best for you.
beeryboats, I’m in the same boat. I was fascinated with model cars and trucks when I was a little kid, but I lacked the patience to build them effectively. I did complete a few though, like a yellow hot rod Ford coupe that turned out rather decent for how young I was. Anyway, I’ve just recently been bitten with the bug for whatever reason, and I’m working on my first build - as an adult - as we speak. Being of such little experience, especially compared to the highly experienced and skilled experts here - who are extremely knowledgeable and helpful - please take my advice with that in context. But, I do have a fair amount of professional experience working with close tolerance-based fabrications and assemblies based on blueprints and engineering work instructions, so that helps me with conceptualizing a flow of progression, if you will
Here’s the build plan I designed, and, so far, it’s working well. Mind you, I’ve just started step three:
Inspect kit contents, read instructions, and begin to visualize the build process - this involves deviating from the instructions by re-arranging the order of assembly into sub-assemblies (usually based on common paint color)
Place decals in a dry, sealed container (I use a zip loc bag), and wash all parts with a mild degreaser and dish detergent with warm water, then rinse with distilled water
Build sub-assemblies
Assemble, paint, detail, and finish all interior areas
Build major assembly (leave off any parts to be painted separate and attached later)
Paint exterior (this is just the basic primer, base, and color coats)
Detail exterior* (this involves shading, applying decals, washes, filters, weathering, and adding parts that were painted separately)
Finish completed model (this is simply applying a final clear finish , polishing - if desired - and any final touches)
I suggest you don’t waste your time building and painting interior details that will never be seen again, once you close up the body of the model. I never understood why people do this.
I basically follow the same process as Nathan. I start with the pit and assemble everything that the interior colour and then paint that with anything else that that colour. I try to avoid getting out the airbrush for small parts if possible.
But as others have said, find what suits you best. You soon work out your own method.
because we know its there lol.
I must admit, I spent a good couple of weeks scratch building the interior of my He 111Z. Now its finished, you can hardly see anything in there and part of me wonders why I bothered.
I start by cleaning up, and dipping the canopy in future. As the canopy dries I build, paint, and detail all of the sub assemblies (cockpit tub, engine, landing gear etc.).I then mask off the canopy. That way when it’s time for the final build all of the sub assemblies, and the canopy are ready to go. Some times this will follow the instructions other times not so much. You will come up with a system that works for you. Just have fun with it.
Each kit is different. Building should start with a planning stage where you examine the kit carefully, and decide when to do what. It is neither all “assemble first” or all “paint first.” It is usually some of each.
I find the instructions only a guide subject to modification. I really believe most kit mfgs do not believe most modelers paint their models. Most kit instructions, while they may list colors, do not have a sequence that makes painting easy. If parts go in a restricted area, they may be hard to paint later. If parts painted same color have a seam (parts are joined with glue), you may have to sand or file that seam, so parts must be painted and seam cleaned up after parts are glued together. To me those are the two most important factors in deciding when to do what.
Thanks guys! As a kid working pre-airbrush I had to brush paint everything. And I mean everything! So if the kit was molded in gray and you needed dark blue upper surfaces, it was brush time. Not the prettiest way to paint a whole exterior. How do you mask off all that detail work you put into the cockpit so you can airbrush the outside? I plan on leaving the canopy open, so that makes it even harder to mask.
Thanks,
Jay
Jay, masking an area like that can be tricky sometimes. I usually try to use a piece of paper towel or paper to cover it while using narrow pieces of tape to hold it in place. I don’t use tape directly on the finished cockpit since much of the detail, especially PE detail, can be very fragile and can be broken or completely pulled off when the tape is removed.
I keep a box of Kleenex on my bench for several uses. One of the most frequent is stuffing cockpit openings or front of engine cowlings to mask off what is inside these areas when I do the final painting. Kleenex stuffs into some pretty complex areas quite nicely.
How is your build coming along? If you can, post some pictures, we all like pictures.