I
confess, I still use spray paint out of a can. I feel comfortable
doing it that way, rather than using an airbrush, and many
of todays model spray paints are available in quite a few
color variations.
When I build a kit, I typically start off by painting as
many parts as I can. If a particular tree can use the same
color, I will paint it all at one time. I paint every part
on a model kit. Even if you can't see it after the kit is
assembled.
To prep the body and nose piece, I removed some extremely
fine mold lines. I then washed it in soap and water to clean
off fingerprints, mold release, and dust. The real RX3 Wagon
my family had was a bright shade of blue, and Testor's
French Blue makes a good match.
I first spray the inside of the body, using a folded coat
hander to hold it in my hand (use small pieces of masking
tape to make sure the body doesn't come loose!). I do this,
because I want to make sure the model is painted inside
and out. This also let's me see how the paint will appear
inside, and in a rare case, if it doesn't look good, I can
change my paint choice for the outside. After the paint
dries a bit, I take it off the hanger, and if touchup is
needed, I spray my body color in a small dish to use a brush.
Once the body has the coat of paint on the inside, I do
the outside. Again I use a coat hanger to hold the body.
In order for the nose piece to have the same consistent
color as the rest of the body, I have used masking tape
to temporarily hold it on. I spray the color in nice even
pans across the body, with a few minutes in between. This
builds up to a smooth even solid color, across the entire
piece.
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