#roostergod

I was really confused about when to paint and what to glue, but what I found works well is first giving the whole cast a coat of paint (I use black spray paint), then assembling the tank and then giving it another thin layer of spray paint to get rid of the uncolored spots where you had to file/cut.

Don't worry about breaking some of the parts while you build it, just call it customization. xD

For glue, I don't know the brand but there's some plastic glues that have a really fine tip and they're perfect for small parts. The one I use dries really fast too (aka you don't have to hold the parts together for ages) but it stays kinda flexible-ish for a while so if you make a mistake, you can fix it. Be careful though, because most glues will melt the parts/paint and it's easy to get fingerprints or ugly blobs of glue on the model.

Sometimes the instructions are really crappy and I sometimes end up having no clue what the hell they want me to do, but in that case it often helps to look up pictures of the tank.

It should be no problem to finish assembling the whole model before starting to actually paint it. I was worried that I may not be able to reach everything with the brush, but it turned out that if you can't reach something, it looks better to leave it black. If the tracks are rubber tracks I would definitely paint them beforehand though.

It's a good idea to decide beforehand what color/camo you want the tank to be in the end. Personally I use several brands, but the revell aqua colors work best in my opinion. They usually are pretty opaque (dunno if that's the right word) so you don't have to paint a million layers just to get the color you are promised on the label. I also use some mig acrylic colors, which are really watery. It comes in handy sometimes.

For every color you plan on using I would also get a slightly lighter tone for highlights. (Either that or white to mix with the base tone.) Also make sure to get a really dark tone (not black) for the shadows. I like to get really dark browns, although dark green also works well in some cases. That dark tone should ideally be a wash, but it also works to just take normal paint and mix it with LOTS of water.

My usual paint process (although I'm still figuring stuff out regarding that, so take it with a grain of salt) is to first paint over the black base coat with the color that will be featured most dominantly by the camo. I try to keep the paint from going into gaps so the details still show up as black (if you mess up there it's not tragic however since the wash will fix it somewhat). Then I apply the other colors of the camo. It pays off here to use the smallest brush you can find (depending on the size of the model of course) so the borders of the pattern are really clearly defined. I like to use photographs as references, but with patterns that I've drawn a few times already and already have a feeling for, I also go freestyle.

If you think that the colors clash too much with each other, you can try applying a really thin coat of (maybe diluted) paint to blend them together. Just paint the whole model with it. Again, I would be careful with that because the effect may be too strong and the camo could become invisible.

It's also a good idea to take care of the tracks now. I like to make them look muddy/rusty. To achieve that, I actually base them brown and then add highlights with reddish and metallic paint. Spare tracks also profit from that, although I base them with dark grey and then just add a rusty look.

I don't have an airbrush (I may get one for christmas, those things are expensive as hell) so the result will at this point look really shabby.

Then it's time for the wash. This process takes quite some time cause while I usually just paint over the paint even if it's not 100% dry yet, the wash really needs to dry well and that takes long, depending on how much you use. I like to use plenty! First I just kinda cover the whole model with a big brush (be careful that it doesn't get too dark at this point though, or else you won't see much of the camo anymore). Then when that is dry, I look for the spots where I want the details to stand out more and put some extra wash there with a small brush.

It can also be important to be mindful of the direction of your brushstrokes when applying the wash. Avoid horizontal ones, and you may get a nice weathered effect depending on the wash.

Once that has dried completely, I add details like painting the shovels and ropes and what have you. Also the decals! Most models include decals but you can also buy them separately. They are a pain in the ass. People say they use some kind of special stuff to get the decal off the paper, but I just use water. Warm water works better than cold water. Getting the decal in the right place is nothing short of a science. I've seen people use brushes, but I just poke it with the tweezers until it's where I want it. I would also check on it after a couple of minutes to make sure it didn't just float away.

Then, if you think the details could use some more highlighting, you can take your lighter tones and drybrush/paint carefully around the edges. I say carefully because if you just brush all across the surfaces, your camo will disappear. (Happened to me.) Depending on your style I think it also pays off to carefully paint the edges of the model with a brighter tone with the smallest brush you can find.

If you want to weather the model (there's some nice particle stuff that you can buy), now's the time. I did some accidental weathering on one of my Panthers when I realized that I had accidentally splattered some dark grey paint on it. I tried to scrape that off and it ended up looking like spots where the paint peels off, lol. I wouldn't even have managed to get that sweet effect if I tried intentionally.

The final step (make sure you don't want to do anything else to it) would be spraying it with (matte) clear varnish. It doesn't sound spectacular but it really gives the models a great finish. Not only do the decals blend in perfectly afterwards (no annoying shine), but it also gets rid of different paint textures (if you mix paint types like me, some patches end up being more shiny and it looks awful).

In any case I'm sure there's also plenty of tutorials you can look up for more tips!