Andrew,
I can't help with the painting due to time constraints, but here are a few tips.
The skills to paint small model structures can be gained mostly through practice, assuming one has a reasonably complete set of fingers in moderately good working order, and no major tremors (severe palsy or the like).
If you'd like to give it a low-risk try, here are my suggestions.
1) Buy a very low-cost model structure (from Atlas or some such), and build it as a practice structure.
2) With many structures, you can paint some of the elements prior to gluing together. If so, it's much easier to paint first.
3) Use water-soluble paints, as clean-up is much easier.
4) Use a very fine brush for details, and a slightly larger one for larger areas. Clean your brushes thoroughly as soon as you are finished with one color. A clean fine brush is critical to success.
5) (I'm an old guy, but this stuff helps young folks too) Make sure you have a lot of light on the structure to be painted and a magnifying glass (the type which clamps to the table and doesn't require any hands to hold) or magnifying glasses. It's best to paint on a work table set up with light and magnification. The magnification is theoretically optional for folks with very sharp eyes, but I think it helps ALL of us if we'll just try it.
6) An old 'trick' if your hand shakes: Your other hand will shake at the same time in the other direction, so touch your two hands together (holding the brush in one or both, as your prefer) or rest your hand on the table to steady it as you paint. Let paint dry before painting another color right next to it.
7) When you glue pieces together, use a very small amount of glue (apply with a toothpick if necessary) applied in the rear where it won't show, and let each piece dry before going on to the next. Be especially careful with the glue around window glazing.
8) Read a model railroading magazine like Model Railroader for inspiration and more information. If one tries, it's amazing how well painting can be done. When I go back to things I painted months ago, I'm generally impressed with how well they came out.
9) Don't worry--just practice technique on the cheap, disposable model. If you don't like what you do, scrub it off under running water before it dries, and try again. This stuff doesn't have to be perfect to look good. When I did this years ago, the 'practice' structure (a switch tower) turned out much better than I ever thought it could. Instead of being stuck at the back of the layout, it wound up as a 'front and center' piece that I was proud of.
Good luck, and have fun.
Bob
[This message has been edited by BobMcD (edited 01-22-2001).]
