Hi all. I need some opinons here. Do you think it is easier/better to put a building together first, then paint and weather it or paint and weather it first then put it together. Most books i have read show you putting it together first, but i would think that it would be more difficult to paint that way.
Most of the weathering on the prototype occurs after it’s built, so thats the way I’ve always done it.
Aaron, I think it depends greatly on what final result you are after, and also what materials you are building the model from. For example, IMO it is very hard to paint wall structures well with windows and window glazing in place. For wooden models I have found is it far easier to paint the model first and then assemble it afterwards. An example of this can be seen in a construction thread I am running on my Picturetrail site. http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=16755888&uid=3608462 in this case I painted the walls and windows prior to construction and also did a fair amount of the weathering. Once the model is completed I will conclude with some detail weathering like rust streaks and water streaks by windows. I also tend to paint my plastic models before assembly as well.
I think it’s a lot easier to paint and weather before assembly. That’s particularly true if you’ve got window glazing, or you want to spray anything. I will save some weathering until the end, so I can get it to match up well around corners, etc.
I paint first, simetimes while the parts are still on the sprues, especially if they are small. That may require scraping the paint off surfaces where they will be glued together, but a couple of passes with a knife blade takes care of that. Maybe a little touchup after assembly, then weathering. I model in N scale so it’s almost impossible to paint window and door trim after assembly without getting the paint on the building.
If painting by brush:
Small plastic buildings I put together then paint & weather.
Larger plastic buildings I paint first then put together then weather.
Very large kits I paint & weather before I put together.
If you use an air brush…paint before you put together…weather some before .and after you put together
For wooden buildings, I paint first and weather after.
I do all the boring “as new” standard painting to set the original base colours before assembly… especially with masonry where you want to start with uniformity. Then assemble. Then have fun with detailing…
[8D]
This is very good advice, and everyone putting together plastic kits should pay attention to it. If you try to glue together pieces, particularly flat wall sections, when they have paint on the mating surfaces, the glue will generally not adhere well. You’ll end up with gaps instead of solid joints, and your structure may actually come apart later.
I do a lot of DPM buildings and for me its easier to paint walls and come back do the trim and glue in “glass” then glue walls together put the roof on and paint then weather and add signs and details…Cox 47
I’m prone to mess up the paint when assembling so I build first and then paint. If the kit has separate windows and doors, I’ll paint them first and then install.
I suck at painting so I paint FIRST then assemble. This way if I screw it up then I can redo it without destroying the building. Anyhow, I suppose it depends mostly on how good you are at painting. The better you are the more you can assemble before painting.
Weathering is [sometimes] a different story though. Because often weathering is applied long after the building is made and located. Knowing where it goes in relation to the landscape etc helps in determining the amount and type of weathering.
Also when weathering you may want a certain section or group of building to look the same, which ould be hard to do seperately, but once laid down in a location you can group weather them.
I hope that helps 
Thank you all for your help. There is alot of talent here and some great ideas!
One last note - it’s not a race. There’s no prize money for finishing a kit in one evening.
I’m like the turtles on the high-speed Internet ads. I don’t want things to go too quickly. For one thing, I enjoy painting, assembling and detailing a structure, sometimes even adding interiors.
I typically take a week or two to go from a bag of parts to a finished structure. I do a bit of painting each day, or maybe it’s a mortar or weathering day.
I have built both ways and each has it’s advantages. If the structure will be easy to paint assembled, I do it that way. But some have areas that might be inaccessible after assembly and require at least partial painting during or before construction.
I used to trade work with a guy that was a great scratchbuilder in wood but was colorblind and didn’t paint. Hense he didn’t consider that as part of the building process and I had to have him build in stages so I could paint areas that would become inaccessibe or difficult to paint later.
Cal