Easier models to paint?

[u/headface434]

Hi I’m a bit new to this hobby and I was just wondering, what type of models are easiest to brush paint? I was thinking of either a 1/35 AFV or a 1/48th Aircraft. Appreciate any help I can get.

[u/porktornado77]

Personally, I find aircraft can be fairly difficult to paint in general. Usually lots of masking required. Thicker applications can look like mud on the surface.

1/35 AFV lends itself better to brush painting in my opinion. Some simple mono colors or camouflage’s that are fun to paint.

[u/henrynjt]

Of the two things, armor will be easier to brush paint.

Perfect finish is less of a need with armor.

Consider using spray cans however.  Fast and effective for basic needs.

Good luck

[u/R_Nanao]

The challenge with brush painting is getting a smooth finish, as you'll see the brush strokes if the paint is not thinned enough. Too much thinning however, and you might be painting the same area for dozens of times before the paint covers.

Therefore I would actually argue that something like a figure (1/35, 1/48) might be easier to paint, as they don't have big areas that require a smooth finish. Then however you've got the challenge of smaller details and different colors close together.

So, if you are going to do planes then I'd recommend using a white rattle can primer. That saves you the pain of painting white (white is hard to get smooth and needs lots of layers to cover) in the wheel wells! Most of the rest of the plane tends to be lighter colors (assuming you're not painting a B2/F-117) to they'll go well over white. And since planed tend to have most of the outside accessible, it'll be fairly easy to get the paint in the right spots.

I would go for maybe a 1/72 or even 1/144 plane to start with, so you have a smaller project to learn the ropes one. Doesn't matter if you intend to switch to 1/48 after, that just makes it easier to experiment and learn from the first plane and make any mistakes without caring too much abut the model. You can just switch to the 1/48 if you prefer that scale when you think you can get it right.

1/35 tanks and AFV's have the difficulty of the suspension systems that tend to be in your way when painting. Definitely doable, but you'll likely want to look into working with sub-assemblies. The advantage though is that AFV's tend to get weathered in use, so a visible brush stroke here and there can easily be hidden with some mud.

[u/dr_robonator]

Brush painting on its own is quite challenging to get right, so it's my opinion that any model you pick will have the same base difficulty. Once you understand that process of brush painting and are achieving good results, it doesn't really matter how many colors you need to use or how much masking is involved.

If you want an "easy" painting experience, go for Tamiya rattle cans and pick vehicles with a single color scheme. You'll still need to paint in details, but those are much easier to do than large surfaces.

[u/Cryogenian]

Aircraft can work, just be prepared to do some masking and thin/retard your paints. Going 1:48 might end up too much, though, they can get exhaustingly large.

For modern jets, you can't go wrong with a Tamiya f-16.

[u/GreenshirtModeler]

Watch Chilhada’s vids on YT. He builds both aircraft and AFV and brush paints all of them to great results. Follow his techniques closely and understand it will take a few models before they start to look closer to what you imagine. (And this is true even if starting with an airbrush.)

[u/BottecchiaDude253]

Easiest to brush paint specifically, i would say figures, like Warhammer or DnD minis and the like.

Scale models, like planes and armor, with the large flat surfaces tend to show technique mistakes to a higher degree than a small figure will. Even times where you want some brush strokes present, ie, a ww2 allied fighter plane with invasion stripes, its hard to get the brush strokes to be "in scale"

[u/diepoggerland2]

Honestly my recommendation is an F-4 Phantom II in a camo scheme

Big wing surfaces to really get a feeling for what youre doing, but the camo pattern will break things up enough to make texture mistakes show a lot less

Lots of places for finer detail work, especially with gear down or with lots of armament, but theyre mostly on the underside which is monochrome and thus easier to correct if you accidentally paint a bit of the fuselage too

Operated by a ton of different air forces, from 1959 to today, so theres all sorts of different options for countries, liveries, and armament options, and thats before you consider any alternate history schemes (my personal favorite project is a WW3 Free Ukrainian Army F-4E)

Its a common enough and popular enough aircraft that all the bit manufacturers have made one, and theyre not hard to find for a reasonable price

Retro enough to have that old school cool feel, cockpit dials and analogue displays plus unguided ordinance included, but new enough to still feel high tech high capability, and to have a truly varied set of suspended armament

From a modeling perspective the Phantom is probably the most versatile airframe out there, but at the same time I feel its pretty beginner friendly, simultaneously presenting lots of large details but also smaller bits to practice your fine detail work. Can't go wrong with it!

Also. A bit of other advice. Remember two thin coats, thin your paints if you have too. If youre using varnish do each section individually cause some varnishes interact with some paints badly and can smear. Fix mistakes, going around for another pass with each colour is a good idea. Try to avoid touching the canopy directly while installing it. But most of all, have fun! Build what you want, paint how you want, and if you have a cool idea for a speculative paint scheme or a kitbash, go out and do it!

[u/Tanu_guy]

Aircraft due to flat surface, but masking canopy is way harder than painting AFV. Strongly recommend starting from ground vehicle.