Wheel well painting

[N405GJ]

Hello all, how is everyone? I am in the process of another RoG 1/32 MiG-29, but this time will be in the 29+20 anniversary colors. Being the first kit that I have built gear down in quite sometime, I have run into a dilema on when to do the base coat of the wheel wells. And for that matter what color to use. Was kind of leaning towards Light Ghost Gray for the wheel wells.

Anyhow, back to the original question. The aircraft is now primed with Tamiya Fine Surface primer from the rattlecan. Should I go ahead and shoot the wheel wells now or wait till the rest of the paint is done and shoot them last? I am sure I am going to have to mask them either way as if I shoot them first any overspray will affect the white primer which is being used as the base for the yellow and the red. (Actually going to shoot all of the red and yellow areas yellow first so that I can use the yellow as a base for the red. Hopefully I am remembering those base colors correctly as, IIRC, red and yellow tend to be very translucent and these are the best colors to help with that/ :) ) And if I shoot them after everything else, it will have to be masked for obvious reasons. :o I guess you can tell by now that I really dont want to mask the wells as it seems pretty complex. Thinking about packing them with poster putty or playdough, which I have plenty of, if I paint them first.

Ok, its getting late and I am rambling on. Funny how a quick question turns into a story. :) Thanks for the help.

[Henrik B]

Well, the conventional wisdom seems to shoot the wells first and then stuff them with tissue. That never seems to work good for me, perhaps mainly because I'm brush-painting and the brush catches the tissue. I find it MUCH easier to paint the underside first, and then use tape to mask the edges of the wells. It's quite easy in most cases to first completely cover the well with tape and then simply follow the edge of the well with a scalpel blade.

[singeri]

I find I get a pretty good seal with stuffing tissue in the wells if I use an eye dropper or a small misting bottle to wet the tissue. I then use a toothpick or something long to work the tissue into the corners.

The beauty of doing this is that after the tissue dries, if you feel you don't have enough.....add more, and go again.

[N405GJ]

Never thought of the tissue idea. Might have to give that one a shot. ;) Thanks for the ideas. I wont be doing anything with it until I get home so still time for more opnions. Thanks again.

[jester292]

This is my solution, and includes minimal masking:

I paint the wheel wells first, as well as the inside of the gear doors. Then roll snakes of tac (non-residue poster putty) and line the wells. Press the gear doors down where they would rest in the "up" position and roll a bigger ball of tac over the tac that has oozed out between the gaps. The doors will stick in position from the tac and create an even surface at the same time, so it doesn't block any of the paint. Now paint the underside of the airframe. Remove the gear doors and Sha'zaam. I use the same method for my canopies.

If I didn't make it clear enough just PM me. Hope this helps!

Aaron

[Julius in the US]

IMHO-

I would paint the wells first- then mask them with something known in the states as BlueTak (when I was a kid it was known as FunTak) It's a putty like substance that doesn't harden and has NEVER lifted paint off a model. It wil allow you to mask off the edges of the well no matter what thier shape is. Then shoot the underside.

I would use white as a base for both the yellow and red sections, but I'm not sure how dark of a red you are oing for. (the white under coat will produce a much brighter color)

Hope that helps,

J

[Miccara]

For me it depends on the wheel well itself.

For the most part if there are any areas that are difficult to get the airbrush into when the bays are assembled, then I will spray that area then assemble.

I find it easier to mask off the painted model, leaving just the wheel bays open, than stuffing the bays first.

[N405GJ]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I decided to paint them first and went with the blue tac mask to cover them up for the rest of the painting. Actually used poster putty from walmart as I have heard that it is about the same thing. Thanks again.