Do you paint models on sprue or off the sprue??

[Sardonic Wolf]

Visting GW today saw a group of people painting everything on the sprue, i've never considered it before due to the fact there would be bits to touch up so i don't see it having much benefit apart from been able to paint all of them model.
I tend to paint on a can't see/paint brush can't reach policy. Though i tend to leave things like shields and guns off to be able to paint behind them easier.
just wondering what your thoughts were and your personal choice, adn are there any really benefits eg is it quicker?( i'm a terribly slow painter)

[Alexei]

Off the sprue, always. Mould lines and these annoying bits you need to cut away from the sprue (the ones which always stick to the model when you get them off the sprue)

[LAZtheinfamous]

Off the sprue. I do too much conversion to do anything but.

[Silver]

Probably 90% paint off the sprue, including me. Painting on sprue is just weird.

[Littha]

Having done both over the years I have to say:

1. On the sprue is faster
2. Off the sprue looks better

nowadays I only ever paint once assembled but I do occasionally spray everything while its on the sprue, it saves a lot of time and effort.

[Nomad]

Any method that seems to be "quicker" often ends up being sloppy and actually taking longer due to having to tidy up the mess. I always (nearly) construct the model operating on your can't see/can't reach policy.

[Littha]

Pretty much the reason I don't do it any more.
base coating models while they are on the sprue is a different matter though, you generally dont have much to touch up after and you only have to spray them twice (Front and back) rather than 4 times (front back and both sides)

[NAFOD]

Off the sprue. My minis are 90-100% put togeather before I even basecoat.

[Nomad]

Pretty much the reason I don't do it any more.
base coating models while they are on the sprue is a different matter though, you generally dont have much to touch up after and you only have to spray them twice (Front and back) rather than 4 times (front back and both sides)


Off the sprue. My minis are 90-100% put togeather before I even basecoat.

Just quietly, guys:
Undercoat = layer of single colour that is applied to the metal/plastic to prepare it for the rest of the coats.
Basecoat = first coat of colour over undercoat that further shades are built upon.

I think what you are both saying is that you UNDERcoat whilst on the sprue. I know it may seem like a small thing but it makes a huge difference. Terminology is everything.

[Carrelio]

My favourite part of the hobby is assembling models... so I always end up building them long before I paint them. Always off the sprue.

[Littha]

Just quietly, guys:
Undercoat = layer of single colour that is applied to the metal/plastic to prepare it for the rest of the coats.
Basecoat = first coat of colour over undercoat that further shades are built upon.

I think what you are both saying is that you UNDERcoat whilst on the sprue. I know it may seem like a small thing but it makes a huge difference. Terminology is everything.

to be honest Nowadays i quite often use coloured undercoat spray which serves as a base coat anyway... beastmen look fine sprayed brown and painted from there.

[Honsou]

Off the sprue. I do too much conversion to do anything but.

This sums me up perfectly. Personally I always thought painting it on the sprue was a half-assed idea.

[Sardonic Wolf]

My favourite part of the hobby is assembling models... so I always end up building them long before I paint them.
I forget the crucial part though of actually painting them :/

[hwd]

always been an off the sprue man and always will be!

I am partial to painting in sub-assemblies to allow me to paint difficult to reach areas that may arise on the final model though

[Ossai]

Undercoat on, paint off.

[Gideon_Not_Ravenor]

I always assemble the model first before any painting. I usually glue all of it together because it might be a long time before it gets painted. Any surface area missed from the undercoating spray phase can be filled in with watered down black/white paint.

Of course I assemble and undercoat in such a way to minimise the possible distress and anger of the machine spirits.

[LutherMax]

Dude, you gotta snip em off, clean em and put em together before you prime...
Like hwd, I do sometimes do sub-assemblies or leave bits of that are gonna get in the way of my brush.
I have fallen foul of spending time painting a bit that's simply not visible when fully assembled though, which is annoying...

I guess the rule of thumb is:
- If you want to get them done quick, put the whole thing together then prime and paint
- If you're gonna spend longer like it's a special character or something, leave off parts that will get in the way so you can get to every last bit – but think about it carefully and don't waste time painting things that won't be visible

[Col.Feren]

Off, but I sometime basecoat on if I have spray paint.

[LutherMax]

Off, but I sometime basecoat on if I have spray paint.

Nomad will not be pleased! :grin:

[juddski]

spray everything while its on the sprue,
havn't done any in ages but i used to undercoat spray on spruce ,then asemble'sh and lightly undercoat before painting properly

[Orkgasm]

I always (nearly) construct the model operating on your can't see/can't reach policy.

This...
I do enjoy the building of models, and to add the worry of ruining paint to that endeavor strikes me as masochistic. Clean/convert/build a model, and have fun with that...prime, then paint, and have fun with that. As Nomad stated, what one can't get to with a brush, one likely can't see....
Though there are some rare occasions that I do leave parts off to address areas that would be impossible to reach with a brush fully assembled, that one could see on casual inspection....the PoM Avatar's shoulder tapestries spring to mind.

[Skrall]

i'm with the off the spure crowd, its just nicer. it also means you can get to those parts the spure covers, or makes fidly.

-skrall

[Nomad]

I guess the rule of thumb is:
- If you want to get them done quick, put the whole thing together then prime and paint
- If you're gonna spend longer like it's a special character or something, leave off parts that will get in the way so you can get to every last bit – but think about it carefully and don't waste time painting things that won't be visible

I guess not.

It takes me hours to paint a single figure and I fully construct them first. I have found that 99.999% of the time, if you can't reach it you can't see it. If you can't see it it doesn't matter if you can reach it or not. I find piecemeal painting/construction is a huge waste of effort and often gets lesser results as the shades don't match between say the shoulder and the top of the arm. This is why I never finish a unit much less an army, every single figure is treated as if it were a special character.

If you do paint on the sprue or leave bitsies off whilst painting it is imperative to ensure the joins are left clean and paintless as the glue won't work when sticking 2 layers of paint together rather than 2 metal/resin/plastic surfaces.

[Farskit]

I paint on sprues and have found it to be a wonderful thing.

Of course I don't paint everything on sprues, that would be silly. Models are mostly assembled first. But I leave as much on the sprue as I can! Good examples of what I leave on sprues are the guns or pistols that aren't attached to an arm, blades when they're in the same case, and in the jolly days when I painted fantasy, shields.

Ah, shields! Seriously, paint them on sprues. Always. No exception! They almost always come off the arm, so you don't have to worry that part of the body will not match exactly the rest. They come up nicely lined, perfect for easy priming! spray on one face, turn the sprue, repeat, you're done.

If you are, like me, the kind of guy who likes to paint the interior of vehicles, you best do it while they're still on the sprue, too - again, it's so easy to prime!

Right now, I'm painting Incubi, and I've left their swords on their sprues. Again, easy priming, plus only their hands are attached to the swords, so I don't have to worry about two different colours of the armour. Incubi hold their giant blades across their intricate chest armour, making them utterly impossible to brush and paint properly if completely glued into place. I see the argument that "if you can't reach it, you can't see it, it's not worth it", and I disagree with it whole-heartedly. You can reach places that are partly obscured, but you won't be able to paint them well at all, and yes, it's worth it. The difference is more than obvious when models are picked up and examined (something people do all the time to look at models), and it's also a less distinguishable but subtle thing on the board - one of those touches that make things go from "okay" to "good", or to "good" from "great".

So my advice is: don't paint everything on sprues - you need to have most of your model assembled first. However: shields, vehicle interiors, blades to some extent, guns that take a lot of room (for example, the Dark Lance completely blocks access to the chest of the gunner, so I will paint it separately), all those are best painted on sprue. Boltguns can often be painted separately: prime the entire sprue and paint only the boltgun, prime also the chest sprues and paint the eagles. Leave the rest, you'll do it once the model is completely assembled.

Banners are best painted on sprues, too.

Painting on sprues also means it's much, much easier to hold the pieces you're painting, as you can hold the sprue itself and never touch the part, removing the risk of touching paint that isn't dry! This is appreciable in the case of parts you can't pin on a piece of cork because they're either too thin or too large... such as guns, shields, blades and vehicle interiors (see a pattern there?).

[Nomad]

I see the argument that "if you can't reach it, you can't see it, it's not worth it", and I disagree with it whole-heartedly. You can reach places that are partly obscured, but you won't be able to paint them well at all, and yes, it's worth it. The difference is more than obvious when models are picked up and examined (something people do all the time to look at models), and it's also a less distinguishable but subtle thing on the board - one of those touches that make things go from "okay" to "good", or to "good" from "great".

I am yet to find a model where this is really an issue. I manage to even highlight things that are obscured and there is not a single model I will call finished that has any obvious or discreet areas that haven't been hit with a brush. I think the only model I can think of that I have painted without being fully assembled for over a year is Magnus the Traitor as he holds his sword right across his chest. As it turns out, I could've done it complete much easier.


Painting on sprues also means it's much, much easier to hold the pieces you're painting, as you can hold the sprue itself and never touch the part, removing the risk of touching paint that isn't dry! This is appreciable in the case of parts you can't pin on a piece of cork because they're either too thin or too large... such as guns, shields, blades and vehicle interiors (see a pattern there?).

What do you do about the joining points, mould lines and other bits of clean up. All well and good to paint, undercoat and whatever else on the sprue, eventually you have to cut the pieces off, leaving a nice little tag, an unpainted patch or 3 and a headache of clean up to do. GW always manages to place sprue attachments in horribly obvious places, such as on the side of an arm. What do you do about that?

[Farskit]

Mould lines are easily removed on sprues, it's in fact where it's easiest. I systematically scan for mould lines before assembling models. As for the patches, it was also my main concern when I began doing it, but you wouldn't believe how easy it is to cover them up. As they aren't usually on edges, a small patch of paint blends in almost seamlessly.

More care than usual is however required when detaching the painted parts from the sprue.

In the case of vehicle parts, you have zero worries to have, since the patches are on the outside of the vehicle, which aren't painted at that point: after painting the interi

GW is making huge improvements to how they make sprues. the parts that hold models are getting fewer and thinner with every new sprue. The Incubi Klaives, for examples, are only held by two minuscule bits at the tip of the blade and the base of the pommel!

As for models that are really an issue, I call the Dark Eldar range to the stand :grin: Incubi, in my case, are holding their swords across their chests, but said swords are thin enough t allow you to see the entire chest... but they block access to the brush! It's just impossible to drybrush or highlight the edges of the armour when the swords are there. Generally speaking, painting some parts separately also reduces to nothing the risk of accidently getting boltgun metal on your Salamander's armour, or Ultramarine Blue on the teeths of your chainswords...

With that being said, it should be worth nothing that for a great number of models, it's really not necessary at all to do it (Imperial Guardsmen, Tyranid creatures...). But for some I really find it is: heavy weapon soldiers, vehicles, and the examples I talked about above

[Faileas]

I actually do most of mine on the spure, I find it so much more easier, than trying to get into bits blocked by limbs n such like. If its a more important model (front rank) etc i may clip em of the spure but still piant pre glueing

[Psykic_Scribe]

I admit that undercoating on the sprue makes the spraypaint job so much easier for handling, and small parts do not get blown across the "spray cabinet" ( in my case a large cardboard box on its side). But this is always after I have gone hunting for mould lines with some very small files.

I also like to plan out sub-assemblies, then put them back on some bits of sprues with blu-tack. This is ideal for me to get my eyeballs lined up and see what I am (or should be) doing. But the final coats and highlighting are upon the fully assembled model (with the possible exception of bolters and shields).

I am trying out a new technique with Finecast, after watching some YouTube work with a guy who used a wooden handle to hold his minature by the base. I am using two pieces of wood clamped across the base so that I can hold the minature up to the light at the best angle. Seems to work so far. :)

[LutherMax]

Just quietly, guys:
Undercoat = layer of single colour that is applied to the metal/plastic to prepare it for the rest of the coats.
Basecoat = first coat of colour over undercoat that further shades are built upon.

I think what you are both saying is that you UNDERcoat whilst on the sprue. I know it may seem like a small thing but it makes a huge difference. Terminology is everything.

Ah but they can be one and the same thing! For example I undercoated my Landspeeder red, which also served as the basecoat.

[Col.Feren]

Base coating on the damn thing is best, because, you will have to check for bits to touch up, and you may as well touch up as your there, and that's still faster.