Painting advice needed for a 1/35 scale Tiger
Manoj E.G.
Having purchased a plastic scale modeling kit of an early war Pz VI
Tiger(rubber road wheels and all), I am now looking for some advice on
painting it.
1. Would it be better to paint the parts *before* assembly; or paint
*after* assembling it? (I have been following the latter option for my
simpler aero models, and I was wondering if the complexity really
demanded a different approach)
2. What are the steps involved in painting? (Finishing techniques etc.
- I prefer a dark yellow and white camo scheme)
3. Which are the recommended paints for plastic models?
My humble apologies if the questions are too naive; but I am a
beginner and just don't know ;)
Thanks in advance,
Manoj
Robin Nilsson
"Manoj E.G." wrote:
> Hello All,
> Having purchased a plastic scale modeling kit of an early war Pz VI
> Tiger(rubber road wheels and all), I am now looking for some advice on
> painting it.
>
> 1. Would it be better to paint the parts *before* assembly; or paint
> *after* assembling it? (I have been following the latter option for my
> simpler aero models, and I was wondering if the complexity really
> demanded a different approach)
After assembly, except for the wheels and the track.
Paint the wheels before putting them on the tank. The track can
be painted before or after putting it on the tank. It's more a matter
of choice and preference when to paint the tracks. You could paint
them before assembly and then touch up damaged paint afterwards.
It depends on what type of tracks it is, separate links or the soft
vinyl ("rubber") type.
>
>
> 2. What are the steps involved in painting? (Finishing techniques etc.
> - I prefer a dark yellow and white camo scheme)
If you use acrylics the model must be free of grease/oil. The marks
left by your figers when building contain enough grease to let the
acrylic paint loose its grip. Enamels are more forgiving in this sense.
Warm water and dishwashing liquid.
Some say that priming is necessary, I almost never bother with it.
Acrylics probably need it to get a good adhesion on the plastic.
If you have dark plastic and want to use a light colour (as in this case)
I'd recommend painting/priming the kit with something light grey,
this is especially important if the various pieces have very
different colour. You can try the effect by painting strips of
different colours and then try to get an even coat of red, yellow or white
on top of the strips. The strips will shine through and the top
coat will have different shades.
>
>
> 3. Which are the recommended paints for plastic models?
Model paints since the pigment (colour particles) in those are finer
and the paint doesn't build up into thick layers before covering.
I prefer enamels but that's a matter of personal opinion. Some
paint brands might be difficult to get hold of depending on where
you live.
>
>
> My humble apologies if the questions are too naive; but I am a
> beginner and just don't know ;)
You're welcome :-)
/ Robin
>
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Manoj
Rob Gronovius
Tiger and the infamous overleaf roadwheel system, it is advisable to paint the
roadwheels separately, then paint the turret and hull (also separately). Make
sure you mask the roadwheel mounting arms or else you'll have to scrape paint
from the axles. I usually paint the base camo coat then after attaching
roadwheels, I start on the camo pattern.
Rob Gronovius
Major, U.S. Army
I'm not young enough to know everything.
KWHCoaster
Paint the wheels the rubber colour first and then use the template to mask the
wheel to paint the centers. I tap off surrounding holes to avoid over spray.
If you buy a metric and imperial template you'll have every size you'll need.
Ken
Manoj E.G.
Thank you all for the tips and tricks. After listening to all, I have
decided to paint part-assemblies (for lack of a better phrase) such as
wheels, turret, hull etc. separately and then assemble.
<quote Robin>
>I prefer enamels but that's a matter of personal opinion. Some
>paint brands might be difficult to get hold of depending on where
>you live.
<end>
Boy, are you correct!! I live in India and scale modeling is limited
to a few people who fly RC aeroplanes. Consequently, the accessories
like air brush, paint(heck, even scale models!) are difficult to come
by :-(
But, we sure do improvise :D
Thanks again to all of you.
Hope the veterans don't mind one naive newbie pestering the group with
doubts as his work progresses ;)
Regards
Manoj
Rob Gronovius
sub-assemblies is the term generally used, but hey, yours gets the point
across.
>Thanks again to all of you.
>Hope the veterans don't mind one naive newbie pestering the group with
>doubts as his work progresses ;)
>
>Regards
>Manoj
This is what this board is for, ask away!
Manoj E.G.
Thanks to all of you for the *very* helpful tips and advice.
On a related note, I was curious about the following:
> The other Robin answered this very well. I would just echo the fact that with a
> Tiger and the infamous overleaf roadwheel system, it is advisable to paint the
Having heard this said elsewhere, I wonder why the Tiger's road wheels
were infamous? From what I have read, the suspension was a real pain
to maintain, especially in cold and muddy conditions. Did the wheels
add to the trouble too?
Thanks,
Manoj
Robin Nilsson
tendency to break so the were redesigned for greater strength.
I guess that the maintenance difficulties, you had to remove a
lot of wheels to work on one in the innermost row, was enough
to give that roadwheel system a bad name.
As for painting the roadwheels on a model, they would soon became
'infamous' and hated if one tries to paint them after assembly.
I spin the roadwheels very slowly with a miniature electric drill
to paint the rubber part after airbrushing the centres. In theory
the wheels can be rotated on the model if the kit is designed
that way, Tamiyas poly-caps for instance. To me it seems way
too wobbly to make for easy painting.
/ Robin
"Manoj E.G." wrote:
I don't think the wheels really needed to add anything, it was probably
difficult enough alredy ;-)
>
>
> Thanks,
> Manoj
Rob Gronovius
>were infamous? From what I have read, the suspension was a real pain
>to maintain, especially in cold and muddy conditions. Did the wheels
>add to the trouble too?
Yes, due to the fact that after a day of trudging through the mud and snow, the
mud now jam packed between roadwheels would actually freeze ovenight,
effectively immobilizing the tank. Plus to remove an inner roadwheel, you had
to pull the outer roadwheels of the right and left arms adjacent to the damaged
wheel. Having changed numerous roadwheels on just paired roadwheels, the inner
one is always a pain.
Also if you think that they rolled the tank forward or backward to paint a nice
camouflaged pattern on each and every outer roadwheel, think again. About the
only time the pattern would ever line up is the time they actually painted it.