Assemble first or decal first?

penguinpc · Post by **penguinpc** » Sat May 03, 2014 11:08 am

I am currently working several of the AMT Star Trek cadet kits. The instructions state: "...it can be extremely advantageous to apply paint and decals to sub-assemblies before completing final assembly."

With my first couple of models I fully assembled them, then painted and decaled them.

With the current set I am working on, I have painted the sub-assemblies first, and that does seem to make painting them easier. Now I'm trying to decide if I should put the decals on before I fully assemble them, or assemble them completely and then put on the decals.

What do you usually do?

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Sat May 03, 2014 11:30 pm

The answer is "it depends." I take the same approach as I do with regards to painting stuff before or after assembly. It all boils down to whether the gap between the subassemblies is there on the "real" item AND is in scale. Once decaled, you ain't going to be cleaning up seams.

I hope this helps.

Kenny

Ziz · Post by **Ziz** » Sun May 04, 2014 12:15 am

It also depends on how accessible a given spot is after the related parts are assembled. Everything is a judgment call.

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