Newbie seeking advice on pre-painting vs masking

Redryder

Yes your right primer then paint no matter what, also do the cockpit before you close the fuselage otherwise there is no way you can get to everything in there.

If your spraying are you using cans or an airbrush? Generally I paint the biggest areas then mask and do the smaller bits like the tail and the bit in front of the cockpit. But it can depend on which paint your using, some don't like to be masked.

Hope that's at least some help but if you let us know the paint you plan to use sure we can give more advise

Phil

Hi P Mitch,

I'm airbrushing with acrylic paints but I do have a pot of Gunze Mr Metal aluminum that I was planning to use for the fuselage. Past experience with this paint is that it comes off with masking tape unless I seal it with topcoat first before masking.

Sounds like you have the right idea by top coating the Mr. Metal. Some have good luck masking with post-it notes, the low tack just has to be touching along the paint line. Low pressure and right angles should leave a crisp line.

Bright reds and yellows and tricky and best sprayed over a base of flat white.  

Of course everyone has techniques that work for themselves, use the ones you are comfortable with and experiment on a old model or styrene to learn new techniques!

My suggestion on any kit is- paint a little, assemble a little, repeat.  Figuring the order for painting and assembly of any kit is unique.  Never the exact sequence for any two kits.  Before you begin the build, you have to study the kit instructions and come up with a plan of attack.  Two important guidelines.  You cannot paint a part glued into a restricted area very well, so these parts must be painted first.  Two parts that  are glued together will have a visible seam.  Was there a seam at this point on the real subject?  If so, fine. If not, that seam will have to be sanded and filled, meaning you will need to paint the exterior surfaces of these pieces.  Plan accordingly.

Knowing which seams exist on the prototype is part of the research.