Dumbest question ever-

I’ve collected a few model kits over the years, and I’ve waited to build them until my son has grown up to the point he can understand what’s going on.

But I’ve been out of the building loop for so long, I’ve forgotten some very basic procedures, hence the dumb question. Ready? Here goes:

Do you build the tank 1st, then paint it, or paint it as the parts are assembled?

I know, stupid right? But I’ve got some hard to find kits I want to build, but not hose up in the process.

It depends If it has an interior then paint it prior to attaching the hull, but I paint my tanks after construction. It makes the paint look more even over the tank as a whole.

If you have any more questions let me know.

Good luck with you and your son’s builds.

I build the major portion of the tank first, I leave the wheels and tracks off, then paint the tank. The wheels I paint seperately then paint the tracks.I add the wheels and tracks last. I also leave little things off till the end like tools or other little things. You can paint them and add them to the tank last.Hope this helps.[:)]

[#ditto]

[#ditto][#ditto]

I think you’ll find what works best for you.

I build everything, stowage, tools ect.Tracks wheels the whole nine yards and paint and detail.

Just my way of doing it.

Thanks for the tips, the idea of doing the whole tank, sans wheels and tracks, seems to work best for me.

Cheers!

+1

This seems to be the predominant method.

No No No that is not a dumb question. Should I drive a car that my wife/girlfriend etc. says is “cute” that is a dumb question. Otherwise ditto’s

I asked the same question not too long ago. I used to build the whole tank and then tried to paint it. It was rather hard for me to paint with wheels and tracks on. Now I am leaving wheels, pioneer tools, stowages and tracks off until I finish painting the main body of the tank. This is a lot easier for me.

[#ditto]

Also, I generally paint the wheels and their rubber tires, etc, while they are on the sprues, and then touch-up as needed after removing them for assembly.

Tom T [C):-)]

I’m about to build my first armor and I spent 2 evenings to figure out how I would proceed and I’m glad to hear that most of you guys are painting the armor without the wheels and tracks first because that is the same solution I had. You make me more confident now!

Now here is another dumb one: Do you paint the small parts, like the parts for the wheels, when they are still attached to the sprue?

I take those wheels off from sprue, sand them and then paint them. However, I also heard that people do paint wheels while on sprue and then remove them and do a touch up paint job at the end.

By the way, those questions are not dumb questions. I also have asked same question recently and people in this forum are very helpful when it comes to guiding you to the right path.

I leave them on the sprues because I might have something “come up” (take a sick cat to the vetrenarian, etc.) and have to put the kit aside for a few, and I find I lose fewer parts when I leave them on until as late as possible.

Like m1 says, this is a personal preference thing.

Tom T [C):-)]

I leave the roadwheels on the sprues as well. I first paint them overall flat black. Then I use a circle template to paint the metal centers the appropriate color(s). Cut them off the sprues, clean up and touch up the attachment points, then assemble the two halves and attach them to the finished model.

[#ditto]

Guess great minds do think alike.

I typically spray the majority of small parts while on the sprues, spary of large assemblies, and do touch ups as I go along by brush.

I knew there was a good reason HeavyArty was moving to Alabama.[#offtopic][2c]