Seam filler and base coat choices

[Eigen]

Hello!

I finally am building up the start of my Tau army out here but I ran into an interesting issue. Back home I had easy access to an art store for all kinds of mediums I used during modelling. I found a nice gritty paste used with oil paints that was very fine but hardened like a grout used between tiles...I was in love with using it to fill seams in larger plastic models where the seams (regardless of how careful you are) seem very visible right through painting.

I was wondering: What techniques do you all use to fill seams and smooth them out?

Now that I'm running Tau, those seems have got to go! We deal in smooth, sexy and streamlined.


Also, the other funny question: what brand do you use for your basecoat spray? I'm not wanting to get the default white/black/grey from Citadel/GW...I'm hoping to find a Nato grey or an off-grey with a little color to use as the base coat over which I'll be doing a digital camo pattern (pending I don't go crazy with how long it takes). Does Tamiya or other brands in Japan carry good quality sprays for base coating a model?

[Admiral-Badruck]

Good questions.

I may be the worst "person" on this forum to answer about moldlines and gaps simply because my models are full of them. I am trying to do better but They still seem to creep in on me.


First I would use a hobby knife on them or a bit of fin grain sand paper.

As for the primer

Japan has heaps of good primer and some really bad stuff as well. I find that the Tamaya stuff works just fine.. One thing to remember is that you should not go too heavy on the stuff... Another thing you might consider is letting me air brush a bace coat of any of the Tamaya acrylic paints on in place of a primer. Tamay acrilic with acohol is what I use to prime my models and it works just fine. I have not had anything plastic or resin chip.. And I pack my Orks up by chucking them in CD case with no padding or anything to separate them.
My tau get packe in battlefoam bags. And nothing has chipped there either.

Anyway I hope this helps.

[me_in_japan]

Tamiya sprays are good - I've used a lot of different ones with no issues. Just make sure you keep the paint application nice and thin. Tbh I'm not a great fan of applying colour by spray can - if at all possible it's better to just use them for undercoats then paint the actual base colour using an airbrush or the old fashioned way with a regular brush.

As for filler, I'm a big fan of milliput then sandpaper. For tau especially I'd recommend this, as it sands well, and to get that Tau smoothness sanding is pretty much the only option.

*edit* did you know you can fill really small gaps with superglue and baking powder? It'll leave a crusty blob, but it hardens instantly and you just sand it down.

[Admiral-Badruck]

Listen to M-I-J he knows things.

[Eigen]

Another thing you might consider is letting me air brush a bace coat of any of the Tamaya acrylic paints on in place of a primer.

That might be a good answer, too! I have a couple acrylics from a hobby shop in Nagoya the exact tones I wanted and would love the chance to use that in place of any standard faire. It won't be the color the finished models are covered in, but it'll be the one most-used and the one that would save a LOT of time when I hand paint it up.

As for the baking soda and superglue...I have NEVER heard of that! I'll give it a test run soon to try it out...I might do it on some spare bits or sprue-chunks to get the feel of using it to smooth seams, but thank you for that!

[me_in_japan]

make sure you put glue in to fill the gap first, then sprinkle the soda on, as basically as soon as the baking soda hits the glue it turns rock hard. Theres no tweaking it.

@admiral - even if youre spraying paint on by airbrush, you still need to prime with a spray can (or you could airbrush primer on, but then whatd be the point?). Tamiya paint (from a pot) is absolutely not primer, and will rub off in a few weeks. I promise. Tamiya spray cans are pretty good, but as with any spray they tend to drown a mini if you want total area coverage. My advice would be:

(If you want a leafy green mini)

spray lightly with Tamiya leafy green spray can (general pfft pfft pfft here.)
airbrush more thoroughly with Tamiya leafy green (taking care to cover everything without drowning it.)

However, it has been pointed out more than once that I'm a pedantic pain in the arse when it comes to painting, so feel free to ignore me

[Admiral-Badruck]

I am going to call hog wash on this one M-I-J I have over a 100 models done just like this and not a one has had any flakes... not even one... the proof is in the pudding mate. until one of the models paint flakes off... I am standing by what I have experienced.

[me_in_japan]

Didn't say it would flake off, but it will run off over time. Honest injun

[Ichibanpainting]

As a primer Tamiya grey light primer is one of the best on the market IMO its neutral and wont give you the challenges a white primer gives also it won't darken your color like a black primer does.

As for gap filling I use 3 things depending on the gap
For small imperfection ( like on forgeworld stuff) I use liquids green stuff and it does wonders
For a bit bigger gaps I go with Tamiya epoxy putty. It does require you to sand it down and it a bit of a pain to work with but still works great.
For really big gaps I use Green stuff

[Eigen]

As a primer Tamiya grey light primer is one of the best on the market IMO its neutral and wont give you the challenges a white primer gives also it won't darken your color like a black primer does.

As for gap filling I use 3 things depending on the gap
For small imperfection ( like on forgeworld stuff) I use liquids green stuff and it does wonders
For a bit bigger gaps I go with Tamiya epoxy putty. It does require you to sand it down and it a bit of a pain to work with but still works great.
For really big gaps I use Green stuff

I picked up the Tamiya light grey primer just the other day at Joshin! It really is nice. I worry about how much it'll wash out details, even with a light spray, but I think it's a pretty good choice. Thanks for the advice!

I tried working with some simple art supplies but the gap showed through...I think until I have an army and want to paint something competitively (like a larger model) I'll just fill as best I can and be done with it...it's very difficult to completely remove gaps on Tau models, they're too organic and smooth!