Flat black as a pre-shade

 Hi;

    I would have to agree with DON . The only time I pre-shade is if the model is a larger scale ( 1/32 , 1/72 or 1/24 ) . Anything else would be too much on a 1/350 vessel .

 Tha only time I would pre-shade black ( and that almost invisible )is if the vessel is being sent home to be de-commissioned , after many months in the combat zone.

 She would then be cleaned , painted where necessary and then Moth - Balled .

In my opinion, no pre-shading is needed in 1:350 or 1:700 scale.  The panel lines are just so small/fine they are not visible.  Scale viewing distance is important on things like panel lines.  You are looking at the ship models from a scale viewing distance of 500 to 1000 feet!

I sometimes build scratchbuilt ships at 1:96 and 1:192, and you see the panels in those scales, but since many of the joints are overlaps, I find actual overlap (usually by sheet cardboard or thin styrene works much better than anything done with pre-shading.

I plan on trying that method on my Musashi build except I am going to also use white paint in sections to modulate the colors.