I'm an armor modeler thinking about building my first 1/350 styrene warship. I have DML's very nice USS Gleaves but am feeling very intimidated by the painting process. Of the two schemes available I figured I'd go with the simplest -- vertical surfaces painted the lighter color, horizontal surfaces painted a darker color.

My question is how does one go about this? Does it have to be done by hand with a brush? Do you mask and paint with an airbrush (I'm not very adept at fine paint schemes btw)? Or do you paint it in sub-assemblies and then assemble it?

It's a beautiful kit and I even bought the extra photo-etch set from from CyberHobby for that extra punch. I'd hate to mess it all up.

Can someone advise me? Perhaps there is an online tutorial I could be directed to.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Brian

I personally do a little bit of both; I prefer airbrush coats over brush-painted ones other than touch up.

I usually paint the vertical surfaces first and then the decks for ease in masking. While the deck is mostly flat, some ships have circular structures for gun clearance that can be harder to mask than just laying tape on flat bulkheads. I usually start with Tamiya Tape cut into thin strips to make it easier to lay down correctly, then lay thicker strips down "inboard" of that edge to fill in the areas I want to protect. Then spray a thin layer of the vertical color on the edges to help seal the tape (if there are any "leaks," the paint that bleeds in will be the same color as the area it's bleeding in to).

I did a short article here that might be of some help.

Brian, after a 3 week hiatus in construction necessitated by a broken arm, I am about to start the superstructure construction/painting of a similar Gleaves class ship, U.S.S. Laffey DD-459. My plan is to airbrush as much as possible. I tried brush painting on one structure and did not like the result nearly as much as my usual airbrushed results. Like you, I have taken the hit for some after market PE, brass barrels and propellers and want to do a build fitting of this ship and the men who sailed her, fought her and died with her.
My plan is to airbrush as much as possible, brush painting where necessary to touch up. I plan to paint the vertical surfaces first then mask the vertical surfaces and air bush the horizontal surfaces, mostly the deck surfaces. The vertical surfaces will be painted WEM Navy Blue enamel and the horizontal WEM Deck Blue enamel. One experiment I plan to conduct is using liquid mask as a supplement to masking tape where possible.
I'll let you know how things go and maybe we can help one another with our experiences. I'll try to post some pictures of my progress (that may well be tougher for me than the paint job! LOL).

Bob

Hi Brian,

I brush paint almost exclusivley, larger models I will rattle can the hull, and maindecks if they are molded seperately. (I hate masking)

I paint the horizontal surfaces 1st, then the vertical,means I can pick put all the molded in deck details at the same time. Top coat on all vertical surfaces always brushed downwards & on horizontal surfaces forward to aft.

I tend to build & paint in sub assemblies, I find it easier to get the brush into awkward corners.

As I build waterline, on a sea base, I do tend not to build pristine ships, and I find the slight "texture" that results from brush painting makes a good base for subtle weathering.

Si

Si

Brian, got some paint and liquid mask I was waiting for and hope to do some sub-assembly work and painting tonight. I'll let you know how it goes using the air brush and masking, using both masking tape and liquid mask. Traditionally I have air brushed using tape masking. As I said in my first post, I'm just not a good enough hand with a brush to get the results I like brush painting. I air brush everything I can, painting the vertical surfaces first, then masking them and painting the decks and other horizontal surfaces. This will be my first time to try liquid mask. I admit that masking is time consuming and tedious, but it's the only way I have found with my abilities with a brush to get the results I like.

Bob

Thanks Bob. I'll be looking forward to your build.

Brian

Brian, gave the liquid mask technique a try tonight with good results. If you aren't familiar with it, it's made by the folks that make MicroSol and MicroSet. As I recall, I got it from Sprue Brothers.
I found that I got the best results using it on relatively small areas where you would have difficulty masking with tape, so it seems to serve the purpose we have in mind. Also works good on irregular shaped areas that would be a pain to mask with tape. Make sure to put on a good, heavy coat - better more than less. A thick coat I found is easier to get off after painting is done. A thin coat does not come off easily. I found that a thick coat could easily be removed with a sharp No. 11 Exacto blade. The stuff can also be cut after drying but before painting to needed shape.
If you decide to give it a try, let me know how it works for you.

Bob