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paint before or after assembly?

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  • Member since
    June 2013
  • From: Bay Area, CA
paint before or after assembly?
Posted by Reaper420 on Saturday, June 15, 2013 8:38 PM
Just wanyed to get your guys opinion on the matter. Do you recommend assembly of the model then painting or paint all the pieces once off the sprue then assemble? I have seen mixed opinions on the matter and see what the majority of you suggest.

Kick the tires and light the fires!

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Saturday, June 15, 2013 9:10 PM

Both- Some items are best painted before assembly, and others are best done after final assembly.

 

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  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: Phoenix, AZ
Posted by Fly-n-hi on Sunday, June 16, 2013 10:55 AM

Yeah...both.  It depends on how easy the part is to mask and attach.  Just remember if you decide to paint first then attach be sure to mask off the attachment points.  You need to be able to glue plastic to plastic.  I typically cut very thin strips or rectangles out of Tamiya tape to do this.  But very small parts can be CA'd to the painted model.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Sunday, June 16, 2013 11:02 AM

I just scrape off the paint before gluing, rather than masking. I keep an X-acto handle loaded with an old dull blade (even an old blade scrapes paint off quite well) as such scraping does dull a sharp blade fast.  Sometimes instead of scraping I just drill a few holes, just through the paint and barely into the plastic.

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

G-J
  • Member since
    July 2012
Posted by G-J on Monday, June 17, 2013 7:50 PM

I agree with the the others...both.  

I've even been known to paint parts while they are still on the sprue.  Then I carefully remove the part, and finish painting.  Many times, that's the best way I can hold the part in order to paint it.

On the bench:  Tamyia Mosquito Mk. VI for the '44 group build.  Yes, still.

On deck: 

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