simple question - where to start

[railbuilderdhd]

I got 3 new kits and I started to build the first Dragon kit and didn't get to far along and I started to wonder if I should paint the parts first with primer and then colors before I build the model or should the model be built and then painted? I keep running the processes through my head and I think it would work both ways but I wanted to know how others build/paint models.

Thanks for any helpful comments.
Dave

[Evan August]

Everyone develops their own approach, but I personally prefer to do as much assembly as possible before primer and painting. Sometimes its a good idea to build in subassemblies and/or leave pieces loose to facilitate painting. Check out the v-benches to get an idea of how modelers go about it.

[railbuilderdhd]

Thanks for the posting. Now, what is a good primer to use? Can I use the primer in the can I get at any store as well as the primers at the hobby shop?
Dave

[James Tainton]

Primer really isn't needed for painting. Remember every layer of paint will start to hide the detail. Use a flat black as a primer and a pre shade. I use Model Master FB for that. Sometimes if you are using many different materials such as resin and metal a primer may help get a uniform base coat.

[Holeshot]

Dave,
I pretty much always will shoot on an overall dark gray or black before the color coat as a primer. That way, if you miss a spot with your color coat, it won't be as evident as a spot of bare plastic would. It depends on how many "nooks and crannies" the subject has as to how and when it gets primed though.

The one thing I always pre-paint are aluminum barrels before any parts are added to them. I try to hit those with a shot of "etchant primer" out of a spray can (look in the automotive finishes section at PepBoys or the like) because I've had problems with any other paint sticking to them.

Personally I like Floquil's "Grimy Black" shot through an airbrush for a primer. It's lacquer based so it smells pretty horrible, but it covers very well, goes on very thin and smooth so it doesn't cover up details, and has pretty good "bite" so it sticks well to plastic or metal parts.

I've also used Tamiya's "NATO Black" quite a bit as a primer too, but it goes on a little thicker and doesn't seem to have as much bite to it even if you thin it with Gunze's or Tamiya's lacquer thinner (which works great with Tamiya acrylics BTW).

Good luck,
Curtis

[greybeard]

Everybody does it differently. I like to use light grey primer, usually Floquil Reefer Gray.

A bit about paint. model paints are split into three types, basically. Acrylics are water-based, and I don't use them because I have not been happy with results. Others swear by them. Enamels are split, one type is the standard hobby paint and the other is lacquer or lacquer-based thinner (so-called "aromatic hydrocarbons" that are really stinky, flammable, and toxic). Floquil is the later type.

Hobby paints, good ones anyway, have very finely-ground pigments in a solvent solution. The fine grain ensures even coverage with minimum loss of detail. Department-store or automotive primer is usually much heavier, with coarser pigments (it's designed to fill scratches, after all) and may obscure fine detail on a model.

When to paint? I paint major sub-assemblies as I go along. It lets me spot flaws. I paint smal parts as needed, and leave adding (painted) tools until after the main colour scheme has been applied. I spray wherever possible.

Everybody has their own way of doing things. Part of the fun is finding yours.

Cheers
Scott Fraser

[railbuilderdhd]

Thanks guys this has been a lot of help and I feel better with what I was thinking on how to do this. I guess it's time to get into the whole painting thing now and I'll start posting photos of my work soon. I only hope I can do half of what others are doing on these sites.
Dave

[majorchuck]

for metal parts always use a self etching primer manisqual amt. acid in the prime blends the metal and prime no need to pre sand most metal parts too small to sand