Just wanyed to get your guys opinion on the matter. Do you recommend assembly of the model then painting or paint all the pieces once off the sprue then assemble? I have seen mixed opinions on the matter and see what the majority of you suggest.
Both- Some items are best painted before assembly, and others are best done after final assembly.
Yeah…both. It depends on how easy the part is to mask and attach. Just remember if you decide to paint first then attach be sure to mask off the attachment points. You need to be able to glue plastic to plastic. I typically cut very thin strips or rectangles out of Tamiya tape to do this. But very small parts can be CA’d to the painted model.
I just scrape off the paint before gluing, rather than masking. I keep an X-acto handle loaded with an old dull blade (even an old blade scrapes paint off quite well) as such scraping does dull a sharp blade fast. Sometimes instead of scraping I just drill a few holes, just through the paint and barely into the plastic.
I agree with the the others…both.
I’ve even been known to paint parts while they are still on the sprue. Then I carefully remove the part, and finish painting. Many times, that’s the best way I can hold the part in order to paint it.