Tamiya Paint Instructions Understanding Issues

[hooterville75]

Im currently starting on the Tamiya M113 Tank and am having trouble understanding the painting instructions. Wondering if Im missing something or if its just being new to Tamiya that Im not understanding something right.

When it comes to following the paint instructions for the Tamiya M113 tank kit. It gives you the little paint emblem emphasizing the paint color and sticks the paint emblem by one part. It then doesnt give you any more paint colors for any of the other parts in that assembly. Does that mean all parts in that assembly are the same color as the little paint emblem ? It does state in the side bar directions for some assemblies that certain parts are this color or that color. But for instance in the one assembly, it states that the floor is Sky, but then theres like ten or eleven other parts for hand rails, parts of the floor etc that are no colors listed for that. How do you determine what each and every part color is or is this where you have to do your own research to determine what color they are in real life ?

Dont know if this is different or what but I guess Im kind of spoiled with the AMT and Revell/Monogram race car kits Ive done where they label every part and color it should be. Just trying to understand how the painting instructions work for the Tamiya models to if Im missing something or if there is a special way Im missing to read and understand the painting instructions for the Tamiya models.

 

[TiM]

From the couple of Tamiya kits I've got - at the beginning of the instructions it tells you to paint some parts during assembly at a particular step, otherwise all the painting is assumed to be once the model is built.

Some parts can't be got to at the end, others you don't see so best to read through the instructions and get a sequence in you head first.

 

[hooterville75]

Right I understand that but it only shows you or tells you the color to paint certain parts. There are plenty of other parts in the assembly that need to be painted too but it doesn't show the color to paint them. Like the rails and all the tools on the tank. It doesn't say what color to paint them. It does state to paint the floor a certain color and the carburater on the engine assembly a certain color but it doesn't tell you the color to paint the engine blocks, or valve colors etc. It gives you the color to paint the per say terret but not the color of the hand rails around the tank. Etc. It just lacks the colors of all the parts. Was wondering if I'm missing something or is this common for Tamiya kits and you have to decide for yourself what colors to paint most of the parts ? With the race car kits I've put together with AMT or Monogram, it gives you the color to paint every part under the parts name on the instructions.

 

[Bullet21]

I rooted around in The Stash and came up with no less than 4 kits of the M113 in different cofigurations, all Tamiya kits. As I was looking over the instructions to better understand your dillema I discovered that in 2 of them, the instructions are written in Japanese! Fortunately the other 2 are in English so I should be able to fumble my way through. If I ever actually get around to/live long enough to build them that is. (during the years when "life" tore me away from the hobby I still kept picking up kits during my travels. Must be between 4 and 5 hundred of them around here now.) But I found the sheet for the ACAV variant and it has pretty good painting notes, listing several colors for the engine, crew compartment, tools etc. If you wish I could copy this sheet and mail it to you.