I find that after I have attached the wings to the body of an aircraft (even if I haven’t put the wheels on yet) it can be hard to paint the entire assembly (I brush paint) and add decals, as you have all the curves and have to hold the item or place it on a jig and work around it. I was thinking of paining the wings and body while flat on the sprue and adding the decals while it’s flat and then removing them from the sprue and possibly touching up a bit. Do people have experience paining and adding decals to these large parts while on the sprue before assembly?
Well,the glue can spoil your paint job,and what if the joints need filling or sanding,so that would be something that I would find impractical and never do.Have you thought of spray cans if you cant get an airbrush.
1 Like
I will sometimes paint subassemblies before building, but not the main scheme. Too much chance for problems at the joints. Priming ahead of time is quite possible. One thing I am doing more often though is completing the main paint job before adding the landing gear and other fiddly bits. Less to break off during handling, less need to grip awkwardly which might compromise the hand painting action.