I'm doing a build of the Round 2/Polar Lights 1:2500 scale Enterprise D, and I'm wondering if I should assemble the model then prime it, or prime all of the pieces separately before assembly. (There's not many.) What say you, experts?
Assemble first. Then paint. Don't go the other way, cause then you'll have to clean off the paint on the joints to glue it correctly. Also, I tend to fill seams before priming, then check them after priming... the solid color will help you see if you did a good job. --Alex
^What he said, but sometimes it's better to do subassemblies rather than the whole model, depending on the model. For example, it may be easier to paint the engine nacelles separately from the rest of the ship, and glue them on later.
It depends on the model. For the 1701-C, I'd put together the saucer and secondary hull and putty (always putty those gaps) them up. But I'd leave the nacelles off because they're pretty close to the hull and would make it difficult to to paint certain parts. So put together as much as you can minus stuff that looks like it would make things a hassle. For the 1701-D...I'd attach the nacelles, but keep the saucer and star drive separate until I'd finished painting the engineering hull. Then put them together, putty, sand and repaint the sanded area. Another tip: sand off the raised panel lines. They're out of scale and clash with the wallpaper decals included in the kit. I don't prime. Never felt a need to, though I handbrush enamels. I suppose I might do it differently if I airbrushed acrylics.
Assemble the 2 warp engines separately. You will need to use clear blue & red for instance for these. Then masking tape the clear bits up. Build the rest of the ship up, saucer + engineering hull and glue together. Then fill in the gaps. I'd then use Taymia spray paints (e.g. Light ghost grey) - one tin should be enough for a few light coats. Then go and pain the rest with the normal model paints (Tamiya or Revell matt acrylics) for the main ship. Spray paint the engines that are taped up. Make sue you don't spray paint over he bits that stick in from the nacelle struts to the warp engine. You should stick the engines on last, when all the decals/painting is done. I never bother with primer, or the Aztec detailing. Here's my take on the Ent-C (I haven't made the D as I have loads of her from the likes of Playmates, Art AAsylum, Franklin Mint etc) http://s41.photobucket.com/user/daedalus51/library/Enterprise%20C?sort=3&page=1