Hi everyone!
Do you add them on the tank before priming?
- JV
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This comes up somewhat often.
Personally, I leave them off and paint them separately. Others do differently.
This topic may help.
Painting after the build is complete - General Discussions / General Painting - KitMaker Network
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Welcome aboard.
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It’s a matter of personal preference. Personally, I don’t. I tape all the small fiddly bits onto a piece of cardboard and prime and paint the whole lot then mount them once the main body is done.
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Welcome JV … I have done both. Painted on and off the wagon … Both ways work.
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First off, welcome to the forum.
Painting them on the vehicle can lead to errant paint if you’re not careful. I like to slide a Post It note underneath to prevent that. Using an Opti-Visor helps. 
Painting them and then adding them to the vehicle is fine, if you don’t leave CA showing. I’ve seen many a fine build suffer from that. If judges see it (not that I compete any more) it automatically knocks you out of contention no matter how nice the build is otherwise.
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Quick tip about that: once the glue is dry, paint matt varnish over it.
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That basic technique seems to elude some people. 
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I mostly add them all before painting the the vehicle,then I hand paint them on the vehicle using the post it note method to mask them,I got a pretty steady hand for now
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Hey JV and welcome to Armorama! I usually leave the tools and tracks separate and complete the rest of the model for painting. I paint tools individually and add them to the model later with CA glue. As noted above, I give the model a final flat coat to dull any glue marks.
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Welcome to the forum!
Everyone has to find what works best for them. I much prefer to paint tools in place on the vehicle thanks to a couple of techniques that make it very easy and nearly fail safe.
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Vehicle will be painted with lacquer or enamel paint (AK Real, Tamiya Lacquer, Gunzy, Mr Paint or Floquil) and allowed to fully cure. Tools are painted with base vehicle color since they are attached.
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Tools are painted with a very thin acrylic paint (Vallejo) mix. The Vallejo mix is one drop of paint, one drop acrylic resin, one drop of thinner and one drop of water. This is applied with a high quality 0/3 paint brush. This applies like a wash normally.
Post-It Note trick helps etc too.
- Acrylic paint that gets out of bounds can be quickly fixed:
a) with a small water dampened flat paint brush.
b) If it’s stubborn, Tamiya X20A usually works.
c) If all that fails, dry brush a bit of base color over the mistake.
Result…
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Most times, I paint the pioneer tools before attaching them to the vehicle; some other times, i just glue everything in, then use extra care painting the tools after I throw base coat.
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A mix; depends on how and where the tool is located. If I can easily get to it or construction dictates it has to go on in order to continue another assembly I paint them in situ.
Rather than superglue parts on, what I do is use a latex rubber frisket (I use Woodland Scenics Mold Maker – a latex rubber). I add a dot of it with a toothpick, needle file tip, etc. Whatever works. then paint the whole model. When I’m ready to glue on the bits, I peel off the latex with a knife tip, glue on with conventional plastic glue, & you’re done. Usually, I do this after initial glosscoating for decals, but before the 2nd glosscoat & definitely before the dullcoat. This is useful for more than just tools, but for any bits & pieces that may be difficult to paint, that is better left off until the end.
Damon.
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What is acrylic resin?
Why not two drops of thinner instead of thinner + water?
KL
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It’s the binder of the acrylic paint; you can find it as “acrylic medium”. If you overthin acrylics with just water, the pigment can ‘break’ rather than covering smoothly. Adding medium when thinning prevents this. (in one of the standing ‘scams’ in the miniature-painting industry, GW’s “Lahmian Medium”, which they sell for thinning paints for glazing and washes, is just a pre-made mixture of acrylic medium and water, and is much cheaper made yourself)
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