Painting plastic bits

 

I've mentioned in the past my aversion to self-coloured plastic parts in kits. Mould them any colour you like, but I still prefer paint on the completed model. It's just looks better to me. 

The VW engine is supposed to be screwed together, the only tools required being some clippers to remove parts from the sprue, and a cross head screwdriver. No paint. 

Anyway, I want my model to look a bit more realistic, and so the manifold and exhaust parts have been given a spray of grey primer, which looks the part to me. The carb and end of the oil cooler are a random silver, possibly aluminium, from the paint drawer, and the body of the coller silver from the Liquid Metal range. This should be finned, but hopefully simply painting it will look OK through the clear fanhousing. 

It's difficult to decide how much to paint, but I'm working on the basis that if it's coloured plastic, then I'll look at a better colour. I do wonder if someone is going to produce a more detailed carb though. Possibly a job for 3D printing.