Final painting problem

I dont know about q1 but as for q2 I don't usually have my prop spinning so it wouldn't matter how you did it. cut the backing plate off the shaft afix to airscrew then glue on or.......Come to think about it why not fix the shaft in place with plastacene then remove it when the prop is fitted.
Dai

Let me explain a little better. The prop shaft is put in thru the back of the cowling and the propeller is glued to the end. This allows the prop to spin.

After thinking about it though, I guess I'd find a piece to CA to the inside of the cowling to hold the shaft in without it falling out. That way, after painting I could carefully glue the prop to the shaft.
Dana

Problem #1:
Paint the gear leg & gear well prior to assy., asemble, mask, paint exterior color, remove mask and finish gear well & leg with brush. The first coat will get the nooks and crannies filled and the masking should keep most final coats out.

Problem #2:
I'm not sure I understand but, as described, I would mask the prop shaft.

If you paint the wings and then assemble them you still have the joint line on the leading edge to hide. I think Lee has the right idea, though I would cut off the 'T' piece, drill out the legs and insert wire to rejoin them after painting. You can use tape to mask off the piece of leg trapped in the wing.

I think I'm following you guys.

And I just thought of another one. This one is common I think. Let's say I'm building a WWII bird. The cowling is attached to the fuselage halves and it must be the same color as the rest. However theres a propeller pin that passes thru the cowling for the propeller. What do you do in this case? I'm thinking dry fit the cowling or even whitle glue it on and hope to God it doesn't show a seem when you put it back together. But thena again, if you dry fit it and it does show a seam, then what?

Let me know when I drive you guys crazy. As I've said before: I'm about to tear into some cheap kits to try some different techiqes than what I've used in the past.

Dana

Dana,
I'd modify the attachment points somehow to allow the gear legs to be inserted after painting.
I once did just that when building a Hasegawa P-38. The main gear legs have a "T" arrangement at the top, and they were "trapped" into hollow cylindrical collars in the booms by closing the two halves. I got around this by slicing a groove out of one of one side of one cylinder (creating a "U" shape) - this allowed me to insert one side of the "T" into one of the holes, then sliding the other end forward in the groove locked the gear into position.
Sometimes you kinda have to "think ouside the square" and attack problems from a different perspective.
Cheers,
LeeTree

If confronted by that scenario, I might glue the wing tops to the fuselage, keeping the lower one separate. If filler was required on the lower half, you may try sheet or strip styrene, glued to the wing or fuselage. This would allow you to reassemble without damaging the paint. If the bird is wearing camo, the demarcation woulf fall along the leading edge seam. Interesting question. There are probably many approaches out there, this is the only one I can think of.
Good luck, I hope it turns out well !