Having painted 3
Tamiya 1/16 scale figures my process is:
1. Cut all the parts off the sprues then sand away/clean up the area you have just trimmed.
2. Remove any moulding lines with a scalpel blade from the plastic parts.
3. Dry fit all parts to check for exactness.
4. Assemble and glue the main body of the figure (excluding the head).
5. Fill any gaps (near arms etc) with model filler, then sand smooth.
6. Assemble and glue any guns and figure attachments/accessories.
7. Coat all parts with extra thin cement before priming.
8. Primer spray all parts (use white for best results).
9. Start colour blocking and painting the attachments. Then move onto the figure. Paint the head and face separately. Note that attachments will have be completely painted before assembly, including detailing.
10. Carefully assemble the figure. You may have to paint over any joining areas again to blend the mating gaps etc.
11. Assemble attachments to main body of figure.
12. Fit head to figure.
13. Detail the figure and remove any final imperfections etc.
14. Add
decals to helmet (optional).
15. Base figure.
Finished! How did the build go?