to paint or not

You don't "need" to do anything except enjoy yourself. I'd paint because a painted surface looks different than an unpainted one. The color will be more uniform and correct than the unpainted plastic. If you're new to model making then painting it will also be a useful learning experience. 

oldboy

hi just bought a revell concorde the instructions say to paint it white,the model is allready white do i really need to paint it.sorry if this is a silly question but this is my first post 

No question is silly.  Build the way you want.  After a couple of builds, you might decide you want to try your hand at painting, too.  You're following the path pretty much every modeler follows, when he starts out. 

In the early days of plastic models, model companies used plastic in finish colors, because it was understood that the modeler was probably going to build and put on the decals (or even stickers), and call it done.  As the first generations of modelers gained experience, it became more common and even just assumed that a modeler would paint the model as part of the process.

There's a saying in modeling-"Build what you like, the way you like."

the Baron

No question is silly. Build the way you want.

That's right, welcome, and congrats on your first post!

To add my , in general, to me, the problem with an unpainted model is it looks bare plastic, or an unpainted model.

Having said that, I've seen some really talented folks on this forum do just that and with skillful polishing come up nice-looking stuff.

I can't remember all those years back how many kits I built before I started painting, but I'm sure it was a big number. And I really enjoyed building them.

There is something to be said about building a kit without fussing too much about painting everything just to get your feet wet. I agree, it's up to you and depends on how you like to approach new things; Do you like to test the waters or jump in with both feet?

I'm the latter, I'll go out and buy stuff i don't even know how to use (in this hobby, for example, airbrushes and compressors and paints and on and on) and that actually adds complexity and takes a lot of the fun out of it.

I hope share your first model with us, that'd be cool.

To touch on to what was said above, when models were molded in color and decals applied straight to the plastic, a significant percentage of model builders were kids. Models were made to both be displayed and handled or played with. Operating features were common on such kits. Fast forward to now and those kids have grown up into us. Models have become more detailed, sophisticated, and fragile. The operating/“play” features have mostly disappeared in the name of scale fidelity and realism. Modeling techniques have eveolved as well, with the explosion of finishing products now used.

Could you leave it white? Sure. But the white plastic will look like white plastic. Painting will give a much nicer looking appearacne, especially as time goes on. 

Now go build that Concorde and enjoy yourself while doing so.

Welcome to the Forums! Glad to have you with us.

The name of the game is enjoy yourself. It's a hobby that's meant to relax you. So, do it your way and enjoy. I've been building models for 74 of my 80 years and had loads of fun while doing it.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Hi;

 Some folks just prefer to paint. It's something they enjoy as part of Model Building. Many will Buff and Polish a model that is molded in color to save time and maybe they like the color. Your Concorde is not actually the right shade of white in it's bare plastic.

 Now I used to do this. Then someone said cover it with Pledge( Or whatever they call it now.)Well, I did.I had a nice molded Triumph from Monogram molded in Silver Metallic. No lines or color swirls. Just perfect. I used Pledge on it. I now have after fourty years, a slightly orangish Silver triumph. Never again.

Testing replying, to see if I get error 403

The thing about plastic is it looks like plastic and is not truly opaque, in white and some other colors in particular it transmits light like a lamp shade vs paint which reflects light. I know the temptation, I just about remember when I first started building models about 63 years ago that the plastic is smooth and if I paint will it come out smooth too. The temptation to build without paint won and that was sufficient for my first few builds at 8-10 years old when I didn't really have any money for paint anyway.. Everything since has been painted .

After a while we start getting to the point where we ask questions like is the real plane's surface area plastic or painted ? And I wonder exactly what white is that ? As a kid I was young when I got my 108 customer paper route and could afford Testors or Pactra rattle cans. From then on my models took on a new life. My allowance prior too that restricted me to little Testors bottles and cheap brushes. I only remember a few models brush painted though. So I'll end here before I type yet another paragraph boring everyone to death .

there are no rules, you decide. There is no silly question. That being said  if we are building for more accuracy and detail, painting is essential.  Models come molded in ONE color, nothing is ONE color.  When you view  the completed piece it just doesn't look completed. But its really your decison.   Its a process , your process.   

If you are new to modeling, the only rule you should start with is use a toothpick for applying glue.  Squeeze a  small amount of glue onto a POST IT NOTE , transfer the glue to the model glue point with a toothpick.   

Here is a process I started to use many years back, if a model is supposed to be MOSTLY white, and it comes molded in white, I still airbrush everything , all sprews, white. Which White,? you have  to decide, gloss , semi or flat .  Later on I will paint componets with the proper colors. 

If a kit comes in molded in a pastel color, such as yellow, I airbrush everything flat white . It is very difficult to cover YELLOW plastic or pastel colors with any paints. 

Military Models, I  first airbrush everything ( all sprews)  with the final color, Olive Drab, German Grey, Sand, Tan  whatever.  I don't follow rules,.   With Miltary colors , for me, once the entire kit is airbrushed  the final color, when I assemble, I touch up the glued areas with the same color with a small brush or toothpick. Nobody knows !   I made up my own rules !   

Have fun enjoy your time with the  kit.

The problem, as others have said, is that styrene plastic is translucent rather than completely opaque. The reflection then is from within the plastic as well as the surface.  This tends to smudge out any fine detail cast into the surface.  Most model paint is very opaque even in very thin coats (especially white and black) so the reflection is all at the surface.  One easy trick is to spray on a clearcoat.  This reduces the plastic look, but not completely.

I know a couple of guys that build model cars and do not paint the bodies if they like the color it comes in. One guy in particular has won lots of awards at the shows he enters. The body looks like a sheet of glass is over the body. He spends lots of time polishing them. He keeps telling me that he'll teach me how but from what I know he does too much work accomplishing that look. Yet, I spend lots of time doing camo. Soooooo, I guess it's whatever floats your boat.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Interesting, never heard of an unpaintd model ever winning any award at any contest.  Of all of the contests and shows I attented, paint jobs were the #1 criteria of a winning category , its the skill of a master modeler . They stood out in the crowd.  

oldboy

hi just bought a revell concorde the instructions say to paint it white,the model is allready white do i really need to paint it.sorry if this is a silly question but this is my first post

 

Back in the day, we didn't paint kits. But as the hobby has matured, modelers began to strive towards accuracy. Painting of model kits became an art form unto itself.

There are those that just paint the kit one color with a brush or spray can. Others do pre-shading, weathering, etc.

Modelers mixed their own colors, or bought high end paints in the proper Federal Standard colors. Discourse about using the wrong shade of color on a model kit is often part of the constructive criticism (or nitpicking).

But it is your model kit and you can finish it as you'd like. Having said that, the decals will not adhere to bare plastic for very long. It will peel or flake off after time.

Modelers will paint and detail the kit, apply decals, and then apply a clear coat to seal the decals to ensure they remain in place forever.

Unpainted plastic has a "soapy" toylike look to it, even if you spray a gloss coat over it to seal the decals.

Interestingly, I did not paint my first plastic model, but I did enhance the panel lines.  At the time I could not find paint compatible with plastic models, I used hardware store black enamel to do the wash for the panel lines.  By the time I built my second  plastic kit, Testors enamels were appearing (Testors model airplane dope was not a good finish on plastic).

Don Stauffer

Interestingly, I did not paint my first plastic model, but I did enhance the panel lines.  At the time I could not find paint compatible with plastic models, I used hardware store black enamel to do the wash for the panel lines.  By the time I built my second  plastic kit, Testors enamels were appearing (Testors model airplane dope was not a good finish on plastic).

Two of my earliest tank models that survived the Great BB Gun Wars, were an Aurora MBT70 and a Monogram M48A2 Patton tank. Both of those kits were not painted in the 70s since they came in OD green plastic. I did paint the rubber on the road wheels black, some details were also painted black and silver like machine guns, tools and headlights.

By the time I revisited those kits later in their lives, the Patton got a "real" paint job around 1984-95 and the MBT70 around 2000, the white star decals and other markings were all but gone.