This may be a no-brainer for most people on here, but I’m having a problem with painting my structures.
So far I have built the Cornerstone New River Mine, Merchants Row III and two Modulars that I made into a small factory complex. On all of these, they had separate pieces; I had no problem airbrushing the individual parts the colors I wanted and then assembling.
But, I just got Merchants Row I, and on this kit, the 4 walls, (or the front, sides and back of the building) are each molded as one whole piece each. So, the window frames, door frames, etc. are all molded as one piece with the whole wall.
So how can I paint that? Obviously I want the trim to be a different color than the wall, and so on. I’ve tried brush painting acrylics on them, but I just can’t get an even color without brush marks. Plus, it’s impossible to keep one color on the windows and not get it on the walls or whatever.
Any Advice? These are the first real plastic models I’ve ever built, so thats why I’m such an idiot when it comes to them. I do think my airbrushed other buildings look pretty good though[;)]
You could try masking them off. Thinning the paint a bit will help reduce brush strokes. I just free hand it with a fine brush and a magnifing head set. Even real trim never looks perfect.
I’ve done all the Merchant’s Row series. I started out by masking off the individual sections where I wanted the bricks to vary, then I airbrushed them; windows, storefronts, doors, and all. Once each building section was painted, I masked the individual storefronts and painted them. When the the storefronts were complete, I painted the windows and doors by hand. Because I’d already airbrushed these surfaces, handpainting was easier than painting the bare surfaces.
A few hints.
(1) Don’t use the garden variety beige or blue masking tape. Get the 3-M easy lift tape. Take lots of time masking the “wooden” storefronts, it’s worth the extra effort.
(2) Wait at least 12 hours after airbrushing to apply the masking tape. If you don’t you’ll likely lift off the painted surface when you remove the tape. Some modelers give acrylic paint 24 hours to cure. I’ve found that 12 hours is adequate with the recommended masking tape.
(3) Take lots of time painting the windows and doors. The end result is WELL WORTH the effort.
You touched a nerve with me. Last month I started a thread advocating that trim pieces be manufactured as separate parts to make the painting process much easier and quicker. It started a lively discussion. Check it out if interested:
Unfortunately, that doesn’t help you now. For now, it is going to be a tedious process no matter how you do it. I did learn that when feasible, masking the brick surfaces is helpful while you paint the trim. I’ve also figured out that painting the fine detail is a little easier if you orient the piece to the light so the trim casts a shadow line, giving it better definition. No matter
Per an article in MR not too long ago, the way to handle these types of buildings is to spray paint the whole thing the color you want the windows, trim, etc. to be and then go back and hand paint the bricks. When you think about it, it is easy to paint the bricks and after you’ve added mortar and weathered the brick the walls will look great.
You know, that’s probably a pretty good idea (doh!). Actually, the only phase of it that’s time consuming is painting the inside trim (perpendicular to the bricks). I’ve been entertaining the notion of spraying as much of this area from the inside out. Whatever is missed can be completed with a lick or two with a paintbrush. Generally, the actual window rails, stiles, and mulions are relatively easy.
My routine is doing all my airbrushing during the day. At night, I start a good movie, turn on my light, and kick back in my easy chair to do the hand brushing work. As I’m not much of a TV watcher, this works pretty well for me - and my cats know better than to step on my work tray.
Trim pieces as separate [(-D] You guys don’t know how easy you have it.
I’ve painted several classic Magnuson structures were the windows, doors, and trim are all molded on one piece walls. But I actually prefer these older kits, and they can still be found at train shows and on eBay. Scale Structures Ltd. (SS) has re-released several of the classic Magnuson kits in paint friendly resin just like the originals. My favorite is the art deco movie theatre. I built a Magnuson version about 5 years ago. This is one impressive building when finished. Just perfect for our 1957 era Santa Fe layout.
Anyway, as I mentioned, the wall pieces on Magnuson kits are resin with the windows and doors all molded on the walls. So the only way to do the trim right is to use a very fine tip brush and go very slowly. It takes several nights of painting to finish just the window trim on these. And there is always the few touch ups youll need to do for the occasional slip of the wrist. Don’t even ask me about the department store we made using this kit…so many windows. But the results are worth it and you can be proud that you did such a good job.
For plastic kits, like Merchants row, I would suggest airbrushing a light primer on the entire building first. The plastic kits by Walthers are harder to paint then the resin Magnuson and current SS buildings. Paint just doesn’t like to stick to the shiny plastic when brush painting. So that is why I use a primer. Incidentally, Magnuson used to make the same Merchants row, but I’m not sure if SS has re-released this kit or not.
After the primer dries, I brush paint the main building color with a very large brush or sometimes a sponge brush. After that paint dries, I brush paint the windows and trim with fine brushes. Of course the last s
You can paint the windows and trim first. Then mask them and spray the main part of the building. My 4 favorite things to mask with are the blue 3M masking tape, Scotch Magic tape (for really smooth surfaces), 3M Fine Line, great for tight curves (available at automotive paint stores) and modeling clay. Clay works great for masking shapes that are too weird for tape.
I like using an enamel or laquer base paint for the first color, then acrylic over that. Makes it alot easier to fix any thing that I screw up.
I feel your pain for I really suck at painting… especially things like Walther’s Merchant Row. After seeing Lynda’s I’m going to go throw mine in the nearest dumpster where it belongs.
I really don’t think so, Lynda. The reason I say that is because I just finished Walther’s American Hardware Supply kit and they did just that except on a limited basis. The structure is a typical concrete post and beam construction with brick fields in between. For the lower level end walls, the brick portions were separate pieces and the modeler had the choice of three different types of walls, solid brick, loading dock door, or window wall. Painting those sections was a breeze. Now if that was expensive to do, I don’t think they would have included three different options for the modeler. It should would have made painting much easier. If they could do that for those sections without driving up the cost, why not all the brick sections. In addition, the front corner sections were very ornate with brick fields as small as 1/8" by 1/4". I chose to spray the concrete portions and hand paint the brick, figuring it would be better to apply dark paint over light rather than light over dark. Either way it would have been a tedious process. The ornateness of these corner walls made masking impractical. I did mask the rather flat and simple end and side walls and it did seem to go faster but not nearly as quick as it would have been if the concrete and brick sections came separately. If windows can be included as separate piece without driving up the cost, why not the brick and trim separately.
Painting structure walls with cast on detailing is dead simple, so long as you have a little patience and PRACTICE under your belt. I paint these sorts of buildings all the time, with good results (I’ve done 10 DPM structures since Thanksgiving, plus a bunch of other modeling). It’s definitely NOT impossible to paint the detailing; you’re just expecing professional results without having worked for them.
First off, build the entire structure, without glazing. Next, add a thin but even primer layer (I prefer Floquil gray primer out of a rattle can). Let that dry for at least a day, and then start painting.
Don’t bother with an airbrush: the results will be too even and smooth. The real world is full of irregularities of color and lots of texture. Brush painting will both help to simulate some of those effects and will give you your base “instant weathering” layer. I prefer using Polly Scale acrylics right out of the bottle when hand painting, but I do use a lot of the cheap craft store acrylics too: they’re a bit thicker and don’t apply quite as smoothly, but they’re CHEAP, effective, and forgiving.
Next, find a few decent brick colors, and add them to the buildings. Keep in mind that most storefront buildings are built with different color bricks on the front and sides/back. On the street side, builders generally use more expensive glazed brick, which are usually a darker color, and someti
I see some nice work on this thead. I myself have built up DPM kits. Painting was always my downfall. Then after a few hours of painting and removing I learned to take my time and tink about it. Firt and for most clean project thoroughly. Next I would airbrush structure the base colour. At this point I would let the paint dry at least four days. then it’s thim time. I hate this, but if I slow down and remember Romeo wasn’t built in a day things go well. I mask all trim and airbrush all trim. Tape removal is tricky at best. Being careful is a must. I do use the green tape but with acrilyics sometimes it will tear the paint. I have done a few of the DMP kits now and have done a fare job on them. With some more practice I’m sure mine will be as good or nicer than those posted today
