Hi,
I have been building models (not very realistically) for some time now and am trying to raise my game a little bit by having a go at something a little more realistic.
I have found an excellent example of a weathered Warrior MCV in military magazine and I am planning to have a go at building one in the same style. I have always built models in sections, painting all the individual parts and accessories as I go along - but I have seen that many of these guys who build them so well seem to build the whole model (less the tracks and wheels) and paint the whole thing at once. (You see pictures of the whole model in one piece having not yet been painted - with all the accesories in place.)
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Yours Aye.
Phil
Hi Phil,
First, welcome to the boards. There’s nary a modeling question that someone here won’t be able to answer.
I don’t build armor (I’m an aviation guy, myself), but the techniques should all be similar. As long as there aren’t parts that can’t be reached or would be too awkward to mask, there’s no real reason as to why you can’t paint after the assembly is complete. There’s no right or wrong way to finish a model. A lot of it has to do with how you learned, either self taught or learned from someone more experienced. I’m sure all the master builders have different ways of doing the same thing.
I know that when I’m painting a plane, I have to paint the cockpit before installation, otherwise, I’d never be able to get into it to detail it. The wings and flaps and ailerons and elevators can all be painted after I’ve attached them to the fuselage. I know There will be gaps to fill, so it doesn’t make sense to paint before hand. Sometimes I’ll build and paint subassemblies before final installation, such as the engine or landing gear assemblies. That way, I don’t have to worry about masking something I’ve spent a considerable amount of time building and painting.
Now with armor and armored vehicles, I know they sometimes have things like tools, ammo boxes and fuel cans that are all seperate pieces. I’d paint paint those before attaching them to the final assembly, only so I don’t have to try and work around them.
Finally, a lot of the final effect is weathering. A good weathering job could make the difference between a model that looks like a miniature version of the real deal and a toy.
Ask around in the armor section as well, I’m sure they’ll love to answer any armor specific questions you might have concerning building and painting.
-Fred
I build my aromor from the ground up and inside out,well i try to anyway, my technique is to build structure first,if it has an interior i try to do all the guts first then work out.as far as painting i’ll put the basic color down then assemble lower hull and turret leaving gun tube off for as long as possible as it just gets in the way.track racks,pioneering tool racks gun cleaning rods and variuos other “hard points” on a tank should go on prior to base paint as these are often installed during actual construction of vehicle.this process aslo allows for solid glue adhesion making for hopefully a stronger finished product.Fuel cans, pioneering tools spare tracks and machine guns are often installed as final assy. on the real thing so thats what i do. It is possible to assemble first paint later but it requires a much more steady hand than i have.Some times scale (some 1/72) doesn’t let you have an option and yer stuck assy then paint. experiment,practice and patience will help you go to the next level.