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Painting RC tanks - 10/12/2012 7:58 PM

lifen

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I have this Tamiya Tiger 1 at home, still boxed and unassembled.
While I'm waiting for my compressor to show up, I'm doing some other models first. But once I start with the Tiger, I want to know how to paint it.
I'm not asking for colour schemes or anything. I just want to know what the best way to paint a tank is.

Should I paint everything at once (at the end)? Or should I paint every piece one-bye-one during construction? Any other possibilities?

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RE: Painting RC tanks - 10/12/2012 8:06 PM

AFV432

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Hi take a look here its a really great video reference http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D_yBA4r4NUw

most people have varying techniques i tend to Handpaint so its "as i assemble" but im just getting into airbrushing and from what i can tell its all at the end or there abouts

hope that helps in some way

Rob

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RE: Painting RC tanks - 10/12/2012 8:24 PM

thecommander

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Just like anything else there are pro and cons of painting before and after "major" assembly. Use a quality primer... a must for all metal parts. Tamiya's metal primer is very good. Paint the hull without wheels attached, Turret, Upper hull w/o tools, Fire ext. etc so that the color is under all those parts. These tanks are meant to be opened for service work. paingint as one big unit leave many parts unpainted and wil require much masking. Paint over-spray always looks BAD. The mounting screws for grill guards, side skirts or mud flaps on some tanks will be bare metal if you paint those parts before assembly. You may have to touch up all the screw and bolt haeds afterwards with the proper color paint. Many tankers paint the base color Dunklegelb, etc... and then add the final camo colors after the tank stowage is added. The tank stowage should always be painted BEFORE beng added to the tank or it is very difficult afterwards and look bad. Most German tanks were camo'ed in the field by the Panzer Werkstatt Kompanie. This way they matched their Abteilung and local terrain. Many tools and spare tracks were painted over by these units. Sometimes the tank was stripped down or things were painted in situ. Building the entire tank and then painting will require a lot of masking and result in bare spots under hatches, turret, etc. It is also hard to get even paint coverage around hatches, gun mounts, barrel stabilizers, lights (especially the working ones on the Allied tanks) and tight spots like the rear hull of the Tiger. Masking/painters tape is a vital and one of my favorite tricks is to use fun tack and/or silly putty on fine detail items (see pic of a KV light below). DO NOT paint your wires and speaker box. It makes the tank look sloppy and hastely built. I also Do not paint the inside of the hull. I will paint sponsons and under the edges of the hull uppers and under the hud flaps and fenders It is all in the details. The toolbox, jack, exhaust stacks and heat shield. Proper planning will save you work later on. There and many videos and DVD (the AK seires by MIG) and how to books out there. Google some of them and take notesa nd bookmark them to your favoirtes. Now I have a few questions for you.... What kind of camo pattern are you leaning towards? How will you paint it... brush, roller, spray can or airbrush? Will you be weathering it? That is whole big topic of discussion.

Some modelers paint everything on the tree (it is easy), But then you have to touch-up where the spurs were attached again later. I build sub assemblies and paint them individually (road wheel sets etc..). I have owed about 100 Tamiya tanks thusfar. I refurbished and sold about 40 of those and built about 25 F O kits for others. Many were brand new shelf queens that were never run after being tested. Some were made very well but on many I had to remove all the stowage and trim parts then reattach them. They popped off like very easily. Bear in mind that glue DOES NOT stick to paint. I trim off paint down to the bare plastic with and X-acto knife before gluing on BOTH surfaces. One of the biggest mistakes to avoid is failure to use a genersous application of glue to road wheels and moving parts. This is NOT a static model. It runs, drives, moves, turns, bounces and hits things. Most imortantly..... it undergoes stress and torsional hull twisting that a static tank never encounters. Build it to last. Follow the Tamiya instuctions verbatim, to the letter. Tiger wheels are very vulneralbe to falling off and separating due to insufficient gluing. Test fit the parts and match them to the manual charts in each step. Use a gel glue (Testors etc) and avoid liquid glues on high stress items. The liquids just dry too fast and don't penetrate enough. For other parts liquid glue (Plastistruct etc.. ) is fine. Just remember build it to be driven...not sit on a shelf. Use Locktite, ceramic lube, grease, rubber cement and C A where they tell you. I strongly recommend ball bearings for longer life. But I have seen the Tamiya bushings last 7 years in some wheels with proper maintenance in IR tank battle.

PS The three builds below were comissioned builds. The M4 pic is one of the finished tanks at Danville. The customer wanted a Free French Sherman.
PSS I love German armor because olive drab is very boring and the German camo has so many neat variants.

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< Message edited by thecommander -- 10/12/2012 10:08 PM >

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RE: Painting RC tanks - 10/12/2012 9:31 PM

Patski

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wow..thanks! I'm actually working on that as well! I bought myself an air brush and I will make some trials on old models and stuff before really trying on my tank...dont wanna mess it up! What type of paint are you using for the base coat and do you apply it straight on the plastic or do you prime it first?

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RE: Painting RC tanks - 10/12/2012 9:34 PM

rivetcounter

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Lifen, it’s always better to build the tank and paint last without any electrics inside the model, this way the glue sticks properly to the plastic and any further cutting, sanding or gluing won’t be affected.
Last weekend you missed the BPMS modelling event in Affligem, I went across for this, this weekend there is the Actionfigarado event and a further event though I can’t remember where these are contacting the members of Battle tanks Belgium who will be able to help with model shops and how to build, paint is better bought in England it’s less than half the price, there are further events with BTB one is 20th January in Genk this is close to me in Düsseldorf, members have models in 1/16 and 1/6

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RE: Painting RC tanks - 10/13/2012 12:46 AM

thecommander

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Patski

wow..thanks! I'm actually working on that as well! I bought myself an air brush and I will make some trials on old models and stuff before really trying on my tank...dont wanna mess it up! What type of paint are you using for the base coat and do you apply it straight on the plastic or do you prime it first?

I prime first. It is vital on greasy HL tanks and all metal surfaces. I use Tamiya fine surface primer. You only need a light coat. Play with your airbursh and the paint viscosity (thin/thickness of the liquid) with thinner. Be sure your thinner and paint is compatable. Most Tamiya plasitcs can be painted directly, but be sure they are clean and dry. Blow off all parts with fresh air before painting. I use many paints. Most of my German (70% of my work) tanks get Tamiya spray paint as the base color (dark Yellow/DunkelGelb TS-3). I got thru cases of it. Be careful of drips and runs. Paint surfaces when they are horizontally flat ( ____ ) NOT vertical ( l ) or you are invitiing runs. Most of my repairs or tank rebuilds are painted with Tamiya flats by the original builder. I have to match what they used. So I have MIG, Testor, Humbrol, Model Master, Vallejo enamals, acrylics, pigments and oils on my shelves. Two good tricks are to place all the parts on a cardboard base with the corners turned up so you can rotate the parts for paint and inspection without touching them. For small parts mount some wide painters tape on the board stick side up. Afix the small parts to the tape so the do not blow over during spraying. Paint the bottoms/underside first. Store those boards on a shelf away from the overspray until dry. Cover them with a box top or paper to keep them dust free. Try and paint all the same color parts at the same time. Sparate parts for different tanks (Tiger, Pzr III, KT) of separte cardboard bases. Give it a try.

Good luck, Bob

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RE: Painting RC tanks - 10/13/2012 2:00 AM

yellowshaker

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If it helps at all, it is usually a good rule of thumb to thin the paint to the consistancy of milk. This allows the paint to flow well and give nice light, even coats. I also like to add some X-22 clear into the tamiya paints i am working with for a satin finish. Only a few drops is enough of the clear, but it makes adifference in the final results. Here is a link to a great place to find information on how to paint and weather armor.

Search around the site and you will be surprised at what you will learn.
http://www.ak-interactive.blogspot.com/search/label/AK013

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RE: Painting RC tanks - 10/14/2012 11:03 AM

lifen

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Thanks for all the great info guys! I'm looking to paint the tank in panzergrau. Just like it's on the box.

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