I recently purchased a station kit from my lhs and i have a few questions. 1. Should i paint the parts first or after it is asembled? 2. What brand paint should i use?
It is usually best to paint the parts first (and touch up as needed after assembly) principally because it is easier to paint different parts different colors before assembly. Also, it is usually best to complete the wall assemblies separately (add windows, glazing, signs, etc.) before connecting the walls. However, if your’re going to spray on something like dull coat at the end of assembly, install the window glazing afterward.
While there is possible danger of certain distillate paints crazing some plastics, I haven’t experienced any problem with any of the hobby paints. Some spray-can paints available at hardware stores, etc. such as Krylon brand work well too.
Sometimes it can be a good idea to lighten paints with a bit of white to give a faded look.
Mark
Is your kit plastic or wood? Will you be airbrushing or brush painting?
Most posters seem to indicate they paint the parts while still on the sprue or in the sheet. Remember if it is a wood kit, that the wood should be sealed before painting. Be ready to do a little touch up where the parts were attached. Also, for plastic kits, you might want to clean off long surfaces that will be glued, to get a good plastic to plastic seam for the glue to penetrate.
As for brand, some folks seem to have a preference, so far I have used water base model paints for my brush painting and am happy with the results. Sometimes color may be the deciding factor. I also use some store bought rattle cans, just be careful, if painting plastic, that the paint is compatable with the plastic (spray some on a sprue arm or insignificant piece).
Good luck,
I agree with everything that Mark says. I am going to offer some more suggestions.
If you want to add an interior, you may want to make the roof section removable. Also, if you want interior lighting, you will need to add sheet styrene to the inside of the outside wall sections so light doesn’t make the outer walls glow.
For window glazing, you may want to use clear sheet styrene unless the kit’s window pieces are unique. The clear sheet styrene is clearer than the kit’s. Some modelers use microscope slide glass, again your choice.
By the way, which station kit are you using.
Painting before assembly makes it easy to paint the walls one color and the window/door frames some other color without masking anything. Assembly will ding the paint a bit requiring some touchup. Also, plastic welder cement has trouble penetrating paint, you may need to mask off the glueing surfaces or scrape the paint off them. Or, you can assemble the station, spray paint it with a base color and brush paint the details in contrasting colors. Both ways work.
Floquil is the standard solvent based paint for model railroading. Polly Scale is the standard waterbase paint. Both types brush on nicely and dry flat. Then there are rattlecans. They work too and are filled with solvent based paint. Despite a lot of conversations to the contrary, I don’t have trouble with solvent based paint eating plastic. Take a look at auto primer rattlecans. The primers cover anything and dry very flat. They come in light gray, dark gray and brick red. If it’s a brick structure, the red auto primer is the way to go.
Cheaper are the acrylic craft paints sold in places like Michaels. Ceramcoat is one tradename. The legendary Big John Dalton swore by Ceramcoat.
You want a flat finish on structures. If the paint is glossy, a top coat of Testor’s DullCote will make it flat again. Surface prep is key to a good paint job. The parts as they come from the box will have mold parting compound and finger prints, both of which keep the paint from sticking. Wash in hot soapy water, rinse well and dry overnight.
FOr plastic kits I find it easier to paint while on the sprue. gently wash the plastic parts with warm soapy water to get any mold release residue off.
If you paint with brushes: I paint with ordinary artist’s acrylic paints and brushes and have had no problems and it washes up with water. SOme colors may need a second coat, especially if the plastic parts are colored from the factory in any other color but gray/brown/white. Get a bottle of "acrylic flow medium"to add to the paint if you find it is drying to fast as you paint. It “waters down” the paint -so to speak- to make it flow better WITHOUT using water which will thin the paint and results!
Try to avoid painting the actual spots that are to be glued together as the paint will not allow the glue to do its job on the plastic so well.
Paint first then assemble.
Paint before and use whatever paint you find at your LHS
I like prefitting the walls first, I use tape to hold the sides together. Then sand parts as needed. I then paint the inside walls flat black (so light will not make the walls glow), paint the out side and assemble.
If there is a gap in the walls where light will show, use electrical tape to cover the cracks from the inside.
Cuda Ken
I guess my modeling technique goes against the general flow of opinions here, but for decades I have assembled virtually all my structures prior to painting them and get results that I feel are pretty much second to none.
In my experience, pre-painting wall sections often leads to paint being deposited on the edges to be bonded and unless all these edges are at least lightly sanded after painting, poor bonding of the parts often results. Neither do I find any difficulty in painting windows and three-dimensional details on any completed buildings if the walls and windows are one (I always brush paint them) and often wonder why others infer that they do. Likewise, since the model is painted as a solid unit, I think I get a better uniformity of color/texture overall, plus I can weather them at the same time.
In the image below, all the structures seen were built first, then painted for detail and the process probably even went somewhat faster than if I had approached the job in reverse. If nothing else, it shows that either approach can work satisfactorily.
CNJ831
Hi!
I built my first model kits in the mid-'50s, and have been doing it ever since. Be it cars, planes, boats, or trains, I sincerely believe its a worthwhile endeavor and teaching tool for all - especially young folks.
To answer your question, I have painted parts, and painted finished models. A long time ago, I found that a mix of this is best. In example, I would tend to paint detail parts befor applying. But I would paint common (part of the same sub structure) parts after assembling that section. An example would be the foundation for a water tank or windmill, tankage, and the like. Building walls are a toss up (to me), as sometimes its easier to paint the walls after they are put together, but pre-paint the windows and doors before they are attached. Of course in all examples, there is that final touch-up, often done more than once to get it right.
Good luck, and remember this - you will get better with practice, practice, practice!
Mobilman44
You saved me the trouble of a long post. It really depends on what is being painted (brush or spray).
Alan
IIt depends on the kit. I prefer to paint after assembly. I do paint any loose trim before attaching. You get better looking corner joints this way because some sanding may be necessary, & touchup looks like touchup. Been building all types of structures for over 50 yrs, & have tried many methods. Try to make some type of change to your structure so it doesn’t look like everyone else’ s.
The last post is right on and the picking of the right kit is paramount to the success and or hardness of a kit to complete. I generally look (plastic kits) for ones with separate windows. I build the basic kit and add additional bracing as needed (yes even a plastic kit in case I drop it). Then I paint the walls with a spray and do any hand painting I need to do (at this point you have usual four walls and maybe a base). Next It use painters tape upside down and stick all the windows on it and spray that (I have an expensive airbrush but it has been years since I used it as the right rattle can usually dose thee job). So basically I build the building and then add the painted details, less chance of a stray fingerprint or something not fitting.
Rolling stock/engines I always assemble first, structures again depends on the kit. The Steel Mill series I painted parts because I painted all 5 or 6 kits at the same time. Smaller DPM or Woodland kits I assemble first, then paint usually airbrush walls roof and architectural details, then hand paint windows, doors and masonry details like windowsills. I’ve found through several moves that the stuff I glued together pre-painted is more likely to come apart than the stuff I painted assembled. I’ve also painted parts the wrong color because I didn’t know what they were until I put the kit together!