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Basic painting questions on ship models

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  • Member since
    November 2005
Basic painting questions on ship models
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 3:00 PM
Hi all,

I have been modeling scale 1/700 and 1/350 ships for the last 15 years. I have an airbrush and do a good bit of PE detailing. The questions I have are about when and where to use the airbrush, masking, and assebly sequence.

First, do you use the airbrush on unassembled parts such as the deck, hull etc or do you assemble them first then paint?

If you've assembled the hull and deck and they are different colors, do you mask the deck, paint the hull, then remove the mask, mask the hull and paint the deck?

If you do the second, masking over the new paint, how do you prevent the masking from damaging the new paint?

Do you paint the PE parts first, then mold them to fit and attach them, or mold them to fit then paint them or mold them to fit, attach them then paint them when you've assembled them?

I have used all of the above with varying degrees and success and failure. Also do you attach smaller parts like parts of the superstructure then paint them with an airbrush all at once?

What do you paint with a brush on the 1/700 and 1/350 kits?

I am speaking about WWI and WWII kits.

thanks for the help

john nicoletto
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 4:51 PM
Hey jwnic, and welcome to the forum! I kinda asked the same question in this thread from a while pack..

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19876

I have found that scotch tape works without pulling off the under paint, if it is not left on to long. Also, Painter's Tape from M3 works great because it is designed not to harm already painted surfaces.

I don't own an airbrush, so I can't help you there, but I recently entered into the world of PE. From what I have gathered on this forum (from the great help I got) and from my own experience, there isn't a clear cut rule as to when you should paint. Just play it by ear. Some parts you need to pre paint, others no.
Some PE parts you attach and then paint as a whole, others you pre-paint and attach later. I prefer putting as much of the model together as I can before I start painting, that way the paint will cover up any unintended glue splatters, and putty/sanding areas.

I am sure Daveask and Jeff_Herne will get to this thread eventually and they have some great pics of their in-progress models that were of a great help to me in figuring out the same question you posed. I hope this helps, but I am sure others will have much more helpful information to share.
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