kratos

Hi all,
I'm not totally new to the modeling industry, but I was wondering wether it is better to first finish building a model and then paint it and then do the decor or must i paint it as I go.
The reason for this question is that I builded a model of the TITANIC and it took me over 3 monthes to complete becase I was painting the partsas I go.
Not that I'm complaining, becase it look very close to the original, and that iswhat I want

ldf333

I myself do a bit of both. I paint plastic models with enamel paint. Theres positive and negative for painting as you go and painting after construction.

When i paint bit by bit and than do the glueing i find the pieces dont stick together as good as what they do if they are unpainted. But than again i use plastic glue which is meant for plastic and not enamel...

But than if you try to paint after everything is glued than your inevitaly going to run into cases where things are just rediculously hard to paint. An example is a spade on the tank im making. If i tried to paint afterwards it would be rediculously hard and time consuming, so i paint it beforehand.

I believe that the best thing you can do is try to achieve a happy balance. Just try painting things at different stages and see how it works out for you. Eventually you will find your footing

Bunkerbarge

Hi Kratos and a warm welcome.

As for painting that was asked not so long since on here. You might find the thread if you do a search.

Basically it depends on what you are making. A ships hull should be assembled and painted as one as you would do with say a motorcycle engine but the deck fittings would be painted seperately and added on when painted.

A lot of things I do I remove the items from the sprue, clean them up and then glue a sharpened piece of sprue to a location that isn't going to be seen. Then paint the part before finally snapping the sprue off and glueing it to the model.

Things like a motorcycle engine I would assemble it and glue a sprue to something like the inside of a crank case. Paint the engine before finally glueing the casing on, which was also painted with a piece of sprue on the inside.

For your Titanic model you are going to have to devise a combination of both and the more pre-planning you do the easier it will be.

__________________

“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

jspitza

Hi Kratos and a warm welcome to you as well. Well, I have a few ships that need starting but when following certin build threads listed here, I found that the analogy of a layer cake might work best. I plane to complete the hull first then assemble and paint each deck as I go. Then, when I glue the pieces together after not planning well, I will see if my cat can sink it in the bath

peter22

Hi Kratos
I finished the hull on my clipper Sea Witch and then sprayed it with automobile paint, white upperworks,black center,bronze below the water [copper bottomed] if your careful lining up your masking tape you can get a good result, similar to repairing cars, don't be impatient, let each coat dry or you get runs [like I did] make sure you well cover to protect against overspray. The add ons - ships boats, fire pump, galley flue pipe etc. I painted by hand and added later. [you can see results my gallery Sea Witch] best of luck
peter22