3 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: New Beginning - advice on paints
First, sorry to hear about the surgery - hope it went / goes well and you have a good recovery!
1. are there kits for the painting people could recommend? Sprays, brushes etc.
Plenty of companies have paint sets you can buy, but I generally don't recommend them as a regular purchase as how many bottles of tire black does one need? Fir a first kit like this it should be fine. I looked up the kit on scalemates[1] and it looks like the three options they give you were all Dark Green and Earth (brown) on the topside with one being Sky (very light green) for the underside and the other two either being a painted aluminum (versus bare metal) or painted aluminum and Left wing black / right wing white (for identification purposes at night). I tend to do my own research on colours as manufacturers often will give close approximations in colour ranges they have partnerships with that aren't quite right. Tamiya has a couple of lines of their own paint and RAF subjects are popular enough that they have the correct colors for you, but before we really get into that we need to determine what method(s) you want to use. There are some excellent paints that are formulated for airbrushes and would be inappropriate for brush painting, for example.
1: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/tamiya-61119-supermarine-spitfire-mki--1162877
I like to advocate for a stepped approach with models. Try a few new things with each one and don't try and aim for perfection your first go at it. Tamiya is a good brand and that is a relatively new kit, so it should build well with very few vices, and paint is going to be one of the things to think through.
One handy thing about the Spitfire is that the camouflage pattern was applied using hard rubber masks with a sharp edge, so you don't need an airbrush to pull it off. You can brush paint it "easily" or use an airbrush or aerosol (rattle) can. For the later two you will need some form of masking material. Regular store bought tape is very strong and will often pull up paint that it has been applied over. I use a combination of tapes from Aizu, Tamiya, and HIQ Parts that have less tack and are less likely to pull up the paint. In some cases when I have had to mask over decals I have wet newspaper and laid it down - each have their own methods to evaluate and practice.
With brush painting, the biggest problem is going to be the brush strokes. I would recommend practicing a few times first - the inside of the wings and fuselage can be a good area for that. The goal is to paint, let it dry and see how it looks. If it's too thin and you can see plastic through, you will need a second coat, but that can be problematic as the new paint can re-activate the old paint and cause more noticeable paint lines at best and the paint the look even worse at worst. I don't brush paint the exteriors of models so I'm less familiar with the ins and outs with the newer paints, but would recommend looking into how long a paint takes to dry or cure and give it that full time at the very minimum before applying a second coat - I will generally give things an extra couple of days to a week just to be very safe when switching from one type of paint to another (I use different types and manufacturers of paints on the same kits and generally it's safe as long as you let the initial layer fully cure before applying a second layer from a different manufacturer).
You will need to brush paint fine details in the cockpit, for the most part, but otherwise if you don't want to go that route using an aerosol can is the second cheapest to get into and can produce good results.
The instructions sheet will give you the pattern and you can use aftermarket mask sets[2], but I would advocate for practicing with tape and saving the money. This goes for canopy masks as well, although if you do go that route I would certainly understand and suggest you buy *two* for your first go at it.
2: https://dnmodels.com/product/supermarine-spitfire-type-b-camouflage-paint-masks-set-1-48/
Many of the modern model masking tapes come from Japanese "Washi" tape, which is essentially a semi-transparent plant fiber. Tamiya was the first to really spread it wide and certainly has a wide variety of tapes; thin[3], thick[4], and plenty in between fairly easily buyable online. It is probably the easiest for you to find online. I don't know how the Gundam models scene in the UK, but they have driven a lot of innovation in products as well and products that could be helpful if you want to continue building after your recovery and some form of investment makes sense. I get some from some friends who sell locally on the US West coast and am not sure where best to find them in London or online in the UK, but Aizu Micron tape[5] and HIQ Parts circles and dots[6] are very similar to the Tamiya tape and very handy for extra thin lines or dots to use for corners of canopies. AK Interactive has also started selling similar tape[7], but I haven't tried it out yet and can't relate any experience.
3: https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87207/index.html
4: https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87063/index.html
5: https://modelpaintsol.com/model-paint/aizu-project-micron-masking-tape
6: https://modelpaintsol.com/model-paint/small-circle-masking-1-2-8mm-hiq-parts
7: https://ak-interactive.com/product/masking-tape-5mm/
If you want to look at what masking a canopy can look like outside of a pre-cut mask, my friend u/modelpaints has an excellent three-part series on his site - Part 1[8], Part 2[9], and Part 3[10]. I mostly use a similar method, although I have used the old 3M clear scotch tape for flat armored windscreens where I don't need to worry about the table bubbling and have a good recessed line to set the knife tip in.
8: https://modelpaintsol.com/guides/canopy-masking-tips-and-tricks-bubble-canopies
9: https://modelpaintsol.com/guides/canopy-masking-tips-round-oval-corners
10: https://modelpaintsol.com/guides/canopy-masking-tips-and-tricks-part-3-bird-cage-canopies
2. same as above for the building - is it worth getting vices and stuff or just a simple kit from Amazon or some such retailer?
I wouldn't make a huge investment for this kit. A decent XActo or scalpel and medium grit sanding stick / nail file takes care of 90% of parts. There are specialized tools such as GodHand nippers that are nice, but I wouldn't make the investment on a first kit. Maybe some decent tweezers for holding small parts, but beware that this can be a bit of a rabbit hole as there are different types, and strengths. I have some that are almost clamps because they grip so hard, and if a part manages to slide out enough that the tweezer closes the part itself will *ZINNGG* to parts unknown. My favorite recently has been a pair from Anyz[11] which is super-precise (super sharp too - ouch!) and has a good balance of tension without being too much.
11: https://anyz.io/shop/product/AN059
3. people recommended clubs
I would recommend the Britmodeller forums[12] as they have a lot of subject matter experts and locals who may be able to point you to less known clubs in the London area.
12: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php
Sorry for the wall of text - please feel free to ask or DM any questions I left. Welcome to the hobby!
Comment by Nish786 at 02/02/2025 at 11:55 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This is an incredible reply. Thank you so much for the detailed response. You’ve answered all that I came with!
Comment by Nish786 at 02/02/2025 at 12:09 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I’ve had to save this reply because there’s so much useful stuff in it! Thanks for forum recommendation in particular. There’s a local train model club who show off their trains. I went there literally to see if anyone could help with the paints issue I have! This forum will help me find others like me, hopefully.