Newb question: What is your build order?

[LizardJedi]

So recently I've been getting into model building, and just finished (well, 90% finished) my first kit. A $5 1/144 F-18 that I got a million years ago, with everything on the box written in Japanese.

It's bad. One of the reason I wanted to work on models was to get better at painting things... which implies that I'm not really good at painting to begin with :wacko

So now I've picked up a second kit... a 1/72 X-15 (geez that 1/144 was small!!!). Going to have to work on it at school, but that gives me more time to work on it (which means I won't be so impatient... I hate watching paint dry)

I've read a bit on here, and saw the recommendations for FineScaleModeler, so I've been looking around there too... but I still have one big question:

What is your order for building?

Initially I thought to paint the parts on the sheet, then put them together, but I've also heard to build parts, then paint, then assemble, then paint, and also to just build the whole thing then paint.

I'm sure this is all a matter of opinion of personal style. But what works for you people that are actually good at this?

 

[Zodou]

From my experience it really depends on the kit. If you're building a jet, I presume it has a cockpit. Well, you'll want to paint and build the cockpit first - then put it in the fuselage. Then glue the fuselage, wings, etc. then paint the exterior.

Like I said though, this assembly method is based on my experience and dictated primarily by the needs of the kit being assembled.

Good luck with your future builds, all it takes is common sense and some practice.

 

[swgeek]

Like Zodou said it depends on the model but I tend to build and paint in sub-assemblies. I normally won't paint any thing on the tree, I like to take the parts off to sand, file or scrape what I need to. then I'll assemble parts that are going to be the same color, like an engine or the exterior parts of a tank/car. I'll then assemble those painted sub-assemblies together.

 

[division 6]

As mentioned you would want to do sub assemblies of anything inside first.
Especially if it will be difficult or impossible to get to later.

All of that needs to be done an test fitted then painted before the outside can be assembled.

Once the outside is assembled than painting, decaling and weathering would be done.

I just got back into building last year after being away for a very long time.
I'm currently building 2 PBY-5A Catalina's and an Gato Sub all in 1/72.
I did near full interiors on the planes and will be doing some interiors on the sub.
The planes have been sealed up and painting started on them, no pix yet.

There is a lot of really good information over on the Finescale Forum.
The magazine is more ads than anything else.
Any builds in it just skim over the basics if it features any info at all.

D6

 

[Gigatron]

Hey Liz,

A lot really depends on what you'll be able to access at a later point. Just as an example, look at my 2 last builds, a visible Me-262 and a sherman tank.

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=78372 Me-262

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=73197 Sherman M4A3


Both required completely different plans of attack for painting. The 262 required that I paint all the internal structures in sub assemblies. With the tank, I was able to paint everything as a whole, except for the parts that attach on the outside (i.e. frontier tools, tracks/wheels and stowage).

Now, sometimes, if I have a lot of small parts that are going to be the same color (like the road wheels or the inside of the aerlerons or flaps), I'll spray them while they're still on the sprue because they're easier to hold and set up for drying.

And for as long as I've been building, there are still times when I suffer from analysis paralysis - getting stuck trying to figure out what to do next. There are times (ok, most of the time) that I go into more detail than the instructions account for and that can really cause a building headache. The instructions say "attach A9 to prior sub-assembly and paint flat black". But from my references, the sub assembly is more gray and A9 is actually silver, so it changes how I have to build and paint. Instead of building the entire assembly and painting it black, I have to paint a part of the assembly, attach the last piece and paint it a different color. A lot more work, but the results usually speak for themselves .

Most of this come from practice and experience. After a few kits, you start to develop a sixth sense of building - a way of seeing further ahead of the instructions.

And yes, FSM magazine has a lot of ads, but I learned a lot of techniques and ideas from the magazine. I also modified and adapted a lot of the ideas discussed in the magazine. And the forum is the RPF of the modeling world.

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

-Fred

 

[PHArchivist]

Liz, let me recommend the 1:18 scale Glamorous Glennis.

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=77865

It is EASY to build (less that 20 parts) but HUGE and easy to create a nice looking model, even for beginners. And it seems it would fit right into your tastes (X-15 ectera).

$30 - $40 so not too expensive.

 

[PHArchivist]

Liz, let me recommend the 1:18 scale Glamorous Glennis.

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=77865

It is EASY to build (less that 20 parts) but HUGE and easy to create a nice looking model, even for beginners. And it seems it would fit right into your tastes (X-15 ectera).

$30 - $40 so not too expensive.

Ah - just remembered this!

That is freakin' gorgeous.

I have a 1/72 scale kit sitting in my closet... waiting for me to develop the skills to build it right. But now my sights have been set higher, lol.

 

[DarthDuck]

Thinking back to when I was just beginning too (I built my first model before I was old enough to read the instructions!):

I would look over the instructions (and paint codes if given) then paint all like color parts upon the sprues taking care to leave mating surfaces bare. Or, I'd scrape them clean during assembly.
I liked this process because-

1) It got all the same color painting done at once.
2) It helped to avoid finding ways to "hold" the parts (or assemblies if you did it differently).
3) Being on the sprues it was easy to put them aside to dry and work on another one when ready.
4) It minimized the paint I'd get on myself, or the fingerprints I'd leave behind while trying to hold or handle parts.

Then I'd do my gluing and carefully touchup where the parts were cut from the sprues if that showed.

I did start using spray cans and even an airbrush very early on. Those parts of course were handled differently but it still left most of my painting to be done by brush while on the sprues.

Of course eventually experience was gained and my techniques changed but those basics served me very well. I even won several trophies in local contests in the junior classes while still doing it that way. I have also tried to tutor more than a couple of young folks through their first models and it seems whenever they cut the parts from the sprues first and try to paint them loose they always wind up with a rainbow of hues on their fingers which find their way onto parts where they hadn't intended. Or, freshly painted parts will get turned over and wind up sticking to their work surface and sometimes they'd even wind up losing the parts before they got to assembly. Sprues are good to keep things where you can find them later.

But you said it yourself and others have proven- there's plenty of different ways to approach this question.:cool

Good luck and of course- HAVE FUN, it's a hobby!:cool

 

[Propsjonnyb]

A very simple rule of thumb, is to paint from the inside out , for example take a plane kit foe example , start by building and painting cockpit , then the engines and any sub-assemblies that go inside the model, or the engines first if they are deep inside finishing with the outside and then the decals, then the weathering

 

[LizardJedi]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

When I built my little crappy F/A-18, I painted the inside/cockpit first, glued it together, then painted the non-grey stuff (wheels, bombs, etc), glued everything together, then painted the grey parts.
I found that this made painting the grey parts harder, because I had to watch out for the other parts, and I would have to go do touch ups, and it just made it really mucky.

I have a couple projects that I want to do, that I want to do well, so I'm thinking of doing some no-big deal kits to practice. Since I don't have the capability to use an airbrush here at school I'm stuck with brush painting (though one thing I want to do - an OIF-styled A-10 in 1/48 - would almost require an airbrush, so once I get back home I can look into that)

So I'm thinking, with this X-15, it has a large surface area that is black... so maybe paint that on the spruce, then put together instead of painting after gluing. And yeah, painting the cockpit before putting it in would be better (though this kit doesn't have much in the way of cockpit construction)

Again, thanks for all the tips... if ya think of anything else a newb needs to know, I'm all ears! :angel

 

[Lear60man]

Lizard,

They covered the basics pretty well but one vital thing has been forgotten. Firecrackers, gasoline and bottle rockets.

As children we have built countless models only to have them fall of the night stand. This can be a traumatic event or a 'Phoenix from the flames' moment. Enter the gas soaked firecracker launched from the back deck. My Star Wars R2D2 was assisted to its final resting place with an Estes C motor. Im sure they weren't as dramatic as my memory serves but part of model making none the less.

Do not try this at home bla bla bla.:angel

 

[PHArchivist]

Lizard,

They covered the basics pretty well but one vital thing has been forgotten. Firecrackers, gasoline and bottle rockets.

As children we have built countless models only to have them fall of the night stand. This can be a traumatic event or a 'Phoenix from the flames' moment. Enter the gas soaked firecracker launched from the back deck. My Star Wars R2D2 was assisted to its final resting place with an Estes C motor. Im sure they weren't as dramatic as my memory serves but part of model making none the less.

Do not try this at home bla bla bla.:angel

I did that with a huge Phantom model back in '78 or '79. It was probably the same kit that the X-Wing engines came out of!

 

[Gigatron]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

When I built my little crappy F/A-18, I painted the inside/cockpit first, glued it together, then painted the non-grey stuff (wheels, bombs, etc), glued everything together, then painted the grey parts.
I found that this made painting the grey parts harder, because I had to watch out for the other parts, and I would have to go do touch ups, and it just made it really mucky.

I have a couple projects that I want to do, that I want to do well, so I'm thinking of doing some no-big deal kits to practice. Since I don't have the capability to use an airbrush here at school I'm stuck with brush painting (though one thing I want to do - an OIF-styled A-10 in 1/48 - would almost require an airbrush, so once I get back home I can look into that)

So I'm thinking, with this X-15, it has a large surface area that is black... so maybe paint that on the spruce, then put together instead of painting after gluing. And yeah, painting the cockpit before putting it in would be better (though this kit doesn't have much in the way of cockpit construction)

Again, thanks for all the tips... if ya think of anything else a newb needs to know, I'm all ears! :angel

Painting is never easy, regardless of how you break it down. What you need to do, is to start getting in the habbit of masking pre-painted assemblies. For instance, with a plane, you need to install the wheel wells and cockpits before you assemble the fuselage. But you almost always paint them before installation. This is where masking tape and tissue paper can be your friend. Masking allows you to paint larger assemblies without having to go back and touch-up, or repaint, smaller assemblies.


The fusleage is probably the one piece you don't want to paint on the sprue. The reason - two long seams where they join. After gluing the halves together, you should clean up the seam, get it to where you're happy with it (no visible seam would be ideal) and then paint the piece as a whole. Painting first leads to some problems. You'll have to sand back some paint, possibly use some putty, more sanding, then try to match the surrounding paint - it hardly ever works out. The repair is almost always visible, doing it that way.

See, all the cool stuff you'd learn by joining the group build :lol

-Fred