Build Order

[Guest]

I was just sat here thinking (that is rare for me).

What order to people put thinks together?

when do people decide when to paint?

I have mild OCD and thing are very black and white when where and how.

If it is not right it almost causes me real physical pain.

I build and paint bits like on tanks the m/guns are painted then att after main painting done.

I see a few do the full build and then paint and manage to pick up the small detail stuff.

So I though it may be good to see how the other side do things.

This is to also help me see if there is a better or differant way to finnish a model.

At the moment I have a problem of jitters I can not finish somthing and I am finding it hard to start anoth with this one left to finish. I have lost confidence in what I can do.

I have a very mild form of epilepsi and tend to forget things after fits some stull comes back others dont and I have to relearn. But how the hell do you relearn somthing you dont knowyou forgot

Now thats a real catch 22 aint it lol have fun and please post for me and others that are new and old to this hobby

[stona]

As an aircraft modeller here is a simplified "order of painting". Sometimes you have to be flexible!

1 If it goes inside (cockpit interior,engine,wheel wells) it gets painted,including all the detail, before final painting during assembly.

2 If it goes on at the end (antennae,armament,usually canopy.undercarriage parts including gear doors etc) it gets painted as I go along but not fitted.

For the main painting effort,ie the application of the camouflage coats, first list of items will be masked and the second sprayed seperately as necessary.

That's just my way and it works for me.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

I agree with Steve on his plan for aircraft and it is much the same for everything else. There really is no set plan, which may not be what you want to hear. Most people work in their own ways. Take Bikes and cars fro example. Generally a motor cycle has to be build and painted as sub assemblies as painting after completion would simply be impossible. This is why, Tamiya especially, have engineered the kits so that they can be put together as finished sub assemblies with screws etc.

Cars are similar as they have both internal and external detail that needs to be treated separately from the outer shell or body of the car. It simply would not work on a well detailed kit to assemble it and then paint it.

Armour is similar to cars except that generally, he internal detail is not on show. In this case it is practical to assemble all the main body parts and paint it as one. I personally do not fit tracks and wheels prior to painting the tank but some do. I find it easier to build tanks in three parts, wheels set, track set, body. Once put together any small details or things affected by weathering that should not be, such as the machine gun which would be kept clean and other bits, touched up

The hardest for me is armour that does have internal or open detail. For example, a half track vehicle with an open rear compartment. This is going to have some similarity to the external surface, unlike a car, but it does need to be treeted differently. It very much depends on the kit as to how much of the internal detail can be left out until the general spraying or painting has been done. A drivers seat in a half track for example may be tricky to putin after the main body has been assembled but if you paint it and fit it first, it could get affected by the painting of the bodywork.

I ams soon to embark on a 1:48 T34 with full internal detail, none of which can be fitted then painted, all of which needs to be protected from the body painting so I will treat it as a motorcycle and work out the sub assemblies and which will get painted before fitting and which will not.

Another thing I do to help with this sub assembly painting, especially on bikes but I will do it for the T34 as well, is to get a few sandwich bags and label them as colours. I then scour the instructions to find out all the bits that need to be that colour and put them in the appropriate sandwich bag. These are then painted in batches so that I can assemble the sub assemblies without rushing backwards and forwards to the spraying shed. Any sort of organisation can help but it is very much down to individual working methods. The main thing I do not do it work slavishly to the instruction format.

[stona]

Another thing I do to help with this sub assembly painting, especially on bikes but I will do it for the T34 as well, is to get a few sandwich bags and label them as colours. I then scour the instructions to find out all the bits that need to be that colour and put them in the appropriate sandwich bag. These are then painted in batches so that I can assemble the sub assemblies without rushing backwards and forwards to the spraying shed. Any sort of organisation can help but it is very much down to individual working methods. The main thing I do not do it work slavishly to the instruction format.

That is all good advice. I've selected this quote as I do the same using little Tupperware type boxes. There is nothing more annoying than starting final assembly only to find,for example,that you haven't painted the undercarriage doors! I make sure that they get the same treatment as the rest of the underside,that way they will match when fitted. The same applies to all the other components ,commonly referred to as "dangly bits", which comprise the second lot in my original post.. Organisation and planning can save a lot of arseing about.

Cheers

Steve