Newbie questions....

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

I have a couple of questions on tank builds.

  1. Is it better to paint the tank once it’s together or paint the pieces one at a time then build?

  2. I’m having problems getting the black part on the outer wheels (rims) so clean and straight looking. Is there some sort of trick? Maybe using masking tape or something?

Thanks

2

Welcome to FSM Cincojoe and welcome to the Armour Forum.

  1. I find it a lot easier to build as much as possible an then paint the entire works with the base coat. I then will go back and hand paint any small details before weathering.
    The tracks I do seperately but will add them just before weathering.

  2. I’ve used a circle template in the past for this purpose, but lately I’ve been converted to using a Sharpie. Seems to work very well.

3

I believe it is best to get as much as the base color together, so you will have less noticable sanding and and glue marks showing. It will blend better.

For the wheels. I believe you are talking about the rubber. A few ways to do it: 1. Use a sharpie pen. 2. Use a cirlular template as a mask. 3. Paint it the base color and go over it later with washes or mud. 4. Paint it very carefully with a brush. So far I have only done method #4. Many modelers use different techiques, it’s just personal preference. Welcome to the forums Cincojoe

4

Hi - I paint sub assemblies - such as bogies, wheel assemblies, etc. and then add them to the model. I then paint the tank after it is all put together. usually leave off pioneer tools (shovels, picks, tanker bars, spare tracks, etc.). I then finish the parts parts and place them on the tank after it is completed. In real life, everyting was painted one color at the factory before turning it over to the particular branch of the service.

As for painting the rubber on road wheels, I usually place the wheels on toothpicks and turn the wheel while applying paint with a brush rather than try to move the paint brush along the rubber strip on the wheel. Don’t be too hard on yourself if your rubber on the wheels is not perfect. It will not show up once your model is completed.

5

Thanks for the quick responses…

6

Welcome to the Armor forum Cincojoe. Good luck on your models.
mark956

7

Welcome top the forum, Cincojoe. The guys above have pretty well handled your questions, so I just wanted to say we’re gald to have you with us. What models are you working on?

8

Welcome to the forum. If you use a dark wash in the join between road wheel and rubber, to reflect dirt in the groove, etc, it will hide a lot of the uneven brush stroke you may be getting.

9

Welcome Cincojoe!

10

pretty much all the parts i paint on the sprues and scrape where they attach if necessary. road wheels are done on the axels by rotating

11

I recently finished a mid-pro Tamiya Tiger and am now building a 3/4-ton weapons Carrier (a vehicle I used to drive when I was an 18-year-old platoon sergeant in the 25th Infantry Division in the Pacific in WW II …just to let you know I’m really an old Newbie!..77!) I have weathered the weapons carrier pretty well but am at a loss as to how to weather the tires and tire treads…The hubs were no problem using my pastels, but how to I get the pastel chalk to stay on the tires and to stay into the tread ? Would appreciate your help here, guys! Thanks in advance…bill barber

12

Hey Bill - If it’s just a dusting you want to do, I’ve had no trouble scrubbing the tires a bit with pastels and then dusting over top of that. But if you want an even dirtier look to them, with “clumps” of dirt or mud, check out the way Erock weathered his Tiger road wheels. It’s down near the bottom of the page of the following link.
http://www.erock68.com/erock68t8.html

13

…okay. So whats a sharpie then?

14

Michael - it’s a marker, black permanent ink, I have them in 3 different sized tips.
Goes by the trade name of Sharpieand are made by Sanford .

15

Welcome Cincojoe!

Also Welcome to Bill Barber, good luck with that weapons carrier!

Ron

16

I’ve been fairly new to the armor scene as well, and so far, I’ve found it easiest to build as many subassemblies as possible, then paint. It’s easier to keep from making mistakes, and plus, when you glue the parts together, the paint will hide any imperfections you may have overlooked. The problem with pre-painting the piece is when it comes time to glue them on, you have to VERY CAREFULLY scrape the paint from the area to receive glue.

As for wheels, I personally just paint them. Take care that your hands are steady and relaxed, otherwise you’ll have errors. I basecoat the wheels, and then carefully paint the rubber road contacts (the black part). If I make any errors, I simply paint over them carefully using the basecoat.

17

I build Braille Scale, and generally I’ll attach the wheels to the axles and then paint them with a steady hand and a fine-tipped brush. Sometimes I’ll do this after attaching the tracks as well. It depends on how fast I want to finish the model.

Try the Sharpie system. It seems to be the best yet that I’ve seen described.

18

Thanks for the “welcome,” Poni!

19

And thanks Shermanfreak for your help with my WC-51/52 Dodge Weapons Carrier tires…I’ll give it a try. Do I just rub the pastel chalk directly from the stick, or srape off the powder and rub it on the tires that way and then coat it with dullcote to insure the color stays on?

20

What I do Bill is scrape the pastels on a piece of sandpaper, then I use a stencil brush which is a course, short bristled brush to scrub them on a bit. Then I use a fan brush to dust the tires. I don’t seal mine with a dullcote, I find that unless you have a very light touch, it reduces the effect too much. Pastels are the last step I do in weathering, after that it’s a hands off situation.