Paiting ships

[fullmetaljacket]

Ok for you expert ship painters out there, I have a question for you all.

When you go to paint GHQ ships do you.

1. Best primer to use for 1/2400? I typically use armory.

Main question

1. Assembly them first then prime and paint?
2. Prime then assembly and paint ?
3. Prime paint then assembly ?

I have found especially WW 2 era its easier to prime paint than assemble, but when you go to assemble it can be fiddle at times, but assembling then painting can be the same trying to get into some areas to paint. OR maybe I'm just to much of a perfectionist aqt times.

Another question also.

How do you get the barrels to set straight or look straight?

fullmetaljacket

[Nepty]

I paint the big parts first like the hull and deck. Then I glue the small parts and paint them with small brush that way you will have coverage under the small parts.
I do not use primer on any ships, tanks , planes, etc but I do use matte varnish which will seal the paint job so you can handle them. I use tweezers for barrels

Hope that helps

Nepty

[fullmetaljacket]

thanks guys that does help. Cama after painting do you do any type of was or ink, and or drybrush? I like the way mine turn out now not the quality you produce, but I hate getting a nice paint on the model then mess it up when I go to place turrets, secondary, and other pieces on the ship/. Here is the Atlanta I finished its bad lighting but just looking for better suggestions or comments.

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[Guroburov]

Back in the heady days of the 1980s I painted an American fleet for a friend. In this case the ships were already assembled, so I just had to prime and paint. If I had it to do over, I'd do it the same. It's just easier for me to get my tiny brushes in than to worry about ruining my paint job when assembling.

[Nepty]

Very nice ship FMJ. Lots of detail.


Nepty

[pmskaar]

Hi Gang

When painting the larger ships, I will first make a determination what I really need to assemble first and what needs to be left off till final assembly after painting.

Generally, I will leave the gun turrets and aircraft catapults off until the final assembly. Occasionally, I may also leave certain superstructure items off until final assembly as well but it really depends.

I always do a test fit on the parts prior to assembly to make sure any holes are wide and deep enough. Nothing to me is as frustrating as trying to glue that turret on and find out it doesn't set right because the peg doesn't quite fit the hole.

Here are my steps.

1. Clean any flash or injection tabs. Carefully study the model to make sure you don't trim off anything that is really supposed to be there but get everything that is. If I had to scrape off a flash line or cut off a some extra metal left over from the molding process, I will use some fine steel wool to smooth it out.

2. Wash the model with some soap and water. I use an old toothbrush to make sure there is no residue. Sometimes there will be little bits of steel wool that cling to the model if you decide to use it to smooth out the rough areas that you scraped or filed.

3. Mount the model on nails. I usually mount the turrets and some other parts separately using crazy glue. The hull usually gets a larger nail and for the smaller parts I use finishing nails. Prior to mounting the turrets, I will make sure the gun barrels are straight.

4. Prime.

5. Undercoat. I use a thinned white paint shot from my airbrush for this.

6. Base coat.

7. Paint the deck. This is why I leave the turrets off if possible in order to allow me to more easily cover the area under the guns.

8. Camo if needed.

9. Any other details that stand out such as the "junk" on the deck that may have some of the deck color on it. The tops of smokestacks and any other details should be done at this time such as anchor chains.

9. Wash. I use a turpentine black wash to do the model. When it has set for a bit, I go back with clear turpentine and a brush to get the wash to go into the recesses such as port holes etc. You may have to go over some areas a bit more but it will definitely make the details pop out. Do the separate parts at this time as well.

10 Bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. This will help burn off any excess turpentine.

11. Highlight. Take some of the base color and lighten it just a bit with white. Hit the details that stand out such as tops of railings or other small items that stand out from the main parts of the ship.

12. Touch-up. Check the model to see if there are any areas that need to be tidied up.

13. Final assembly. Pop the turrets and other separate parts off the nails at this time. Be sure to carefully clean off any glue that might still be sticking to the part. Do a test fit of the all the parts into their respective places before you glue to ensure again that everything fits. I usually carefully scrape the paint away from the little round tabs to expose bare metal. I also use an x-acto blade to scrape an excess paint in the holes as well.

Once in a while, I have had to resort to using a small drill bit and pin vise on a hole in which the turret does not seem to want to seat properly.

14. Dull Coat or other sealer. I spray mine out of my airbrush for better control.

I know not all of you do this but thought I would share my method and rationale here.

I have a fair number of "credits" in the GHQ catalog including most recently, the Liaoning, Prince of Wales, and others in in WWI, WWII, and modern categories.

Have a great day!

[rct75001]

Pete

Thanks for that detail. I use a very similar approach for my armour with the wash and then going back with thinners to ‘spread’ it where it belongs and off the high points.

But I’m interested in when you bake. I’ve always done it just before the wash so that it hardens the base coat which then doesn’t get dislodged when playing with the wash. I am using enamels though.

Richard

[pmskaar]

Hi Richard

I am a bit OCD sometimes. I actually bake the ship or tank or whatever at several points in the painting process.

Sometimes I will prime and then bake and occasionally I will do the primer, undercoat, and base coat and then bake. Yes, I do actually bake before the wash and also after the wash once I am totally satisfied that the wash is where I want it.

I also bake after the Dullcoat as well to give it that final baking. I know this is more than a lot of folks may want to do but that is what I do.

Pete

[pmskaar]

Hi Grant

I'm sorry I missed your earlier post.

I use Humbrol enamels for virtually all my painting. I actually use an old toaster oven to do my baking as the wife was concerned about the fumes or such getting into food that was being baked later. There is a little bit of a smell right near the oven but not too much or else my sense of smell is really bad

For the Testors Dullcoat, it comes in a spray and a bottle. For my purposes, I just buy the bottle and mix it with Testors Lacquer Thinner to thin it down. I use an airbrush as it gives me better control and prefer to do several thinner coats on several passes rather than a thick coat all at once.

I hope this helps..