Hi Shipmates

It takea fair bit of time for me to get a model close to being ready for paint.

I sometimes hesitate before I get the airbrush out.

Some appear to hesitate for a long time.

I notice from many shots of modellers desks/workshops there often lots of completed but unpainted models.

Do you hesitate like I do?

Does your hesitation last longer than a day or two? I can certainly understand considering the length and complexity of some construction for certain models.

Regards

Sean

Hi Sean, you really hit the point with your questions do you?
This hesitation of yours can be as long as weeks for me! in my head it goes "i know i can do it, i know i can do it but then i am pretty afraid that i will of the work i have been doing for months, or then discover that this or that is going to be a nightmare to paint so hey, let's do this tomorrow!"
And then i am watching a movie instead or overwork a pointless detail -or go through these pages and try to answer to some thread instead of getting any work done :-)
And then after of course it only takes me a little more than a week to paint the stuff.

Hi Sean!
You always ask very good questions, mate, thanks for your input!!

Well, in my case, I always jump in with both feet and just keep going, the only hesitations coming from lack of time, or previous commitments, and the like. . .I spend much more time "virtual modeling" than actually at the bench.
I do alot of painting as I go (I'm old school, paint little parts on the sprue, sub assemblies, etc) depending on what I'm building, that is. . .but inevitably, any apprehensions that I may have are usually displaced by dire necessity of a stringent time frame, only because I usually have way too many projects on the go at once!
~Gunny

For me it's more like years. Painting is where I screw up.

It all depends. If it's a complex paint job, I'll hesitate. I know it sounds strange coming from a guy who can make any mask he needs, but it's true. I find myself not wanting to mess up all that "good" work I've done with a cruddy paint job.

Gator

Sean, I have loads of projects waiting to be finished. I really don't hesitate, I just lose interest, then return when the interest returns. Been this way all my life.
I really do envy those that seem to work on one or two all the way through. Just isn't in my mental makeup.

Hi~
I think painting is kind of fun!
It covers things like putty that don't look good!
Plus you see mistakes immediatly!
Which you have to know if you did right
and if you did you feel good!!!
Now this new pre-shading I really don't have
a clue but after a few I will get it. eventually!
really my BIG problem is keeping the garage not
to be the family garbage can!!!!!!
HTH~
Ron

well, i don't know if it was a cry for help but here is preshading, you see i first painted some black in the parts where I wanted shadows to be, and then after i sprayed some very drak blue-grey over it, and it works really. the black "shines" through the lighter paint.
You should go and see at Aeroscale, those airy guys are really good at this kind of acrobatics





can't help you for this Ron

Hey Sean
There has to be a few more modellers like me. Life is busy and while I can sneak away for 30 minutes here or an hour there and glue some parts together, I hardly get the 2 or more hours I need to get the airbrush going or the oils out of the tubes. Since I joined this forum about 6 months ago I've built 6 subs, none are painted. I've got about 60 figures ready to go with primer etc. have not finished one in months. Some where along the line I need to make more time or maybe just use it better, meantime the the grey army grows!
Cheers
Mark

I just do one model at a time and like Gunny, paint as I go ,sometimes on the sprue and sometimes completed components.

At present I am building a BR52 Loco and have painted ,decaled and weathered the boiler and cab, while I have yet to complete building the running gear ,as I am awaiting some paints I have ordered,

.I don't have an airbrush so its rattle can and brush for me. I find the switching back and forth from building to painting gives me a bit of variety in making up the kitset

Painting to me is a pain because before I start all the prep..getting the tips back on the brush (I always dis-assemble to clean) shaking and stirring the bottle of paint. Opening up the mix / clean fluids. make sure I have everything around me model set up newsprint laid. A good 15 -20 minutes worth of work before I even can start. Then sppraying some prep fluid through brush to make sure I have spray at the adjustment I want. Mix paint and thinner in cup and then go. Hopefully I have enough paint to complete what I want, otherwise reload cup again. Then comes cleanup and all the spraying and eyedropper and tissue s for 20 minutes or so to clean the brush up. So yea I hesitate...if everything goes perfectly just spraying 1 color of paint takes 45 minutes. Now I have been known to do 2 projects simultaneously because most of the prep time has been done, I don't do a complete cleaning of the brush...just make sure it is blowing clear out when I run cleaner through it. If everything goes perfect, I can run 2 different colos in just a tad over an hour.

I love to build but hate to paint as well.

Ditto !!!!

John

I find painting scary, too, but always looks better when done!

JBA - thanks for pix of pre-shading, really cool effect and nice model you've built!

Oh thanks Wink that's my baby, early XXth century Russian PT boat !
Still on the subject of "fear of painting" this one is sometimes justfied! I just spent a whole evening using dangerous products to remove loosy paint effects on my current PT boat diorama