Painting "on sprue"

[DominicJ]

Just wondering, does anyone paint on the sprue and then assemble afterwards?

 

I'm not a great painter, and I just cant do things like the trim of shoulder pads without hitting the arm, or the head, or the torso.

 

I was thinking I could paint on the sprue, when at least everything on its own, and then assemble afterwards

Has anyone tried this?

Any pitfalls?

[Grotsmasha]

I typically trim as much of the sprue away, leaving only 1 point of connection in the least visible (when assembled) place then spray primer, and sometimes base colour. The only pitfall really, is if the sprue connects o the model in an obvious place, like an elbow, it wont be coloured and will need to be touched up. Also mould lines are harder to trim while on the sprue

 

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Chaeron]

I thought this might be a good idea - but you waste paint when priming, and I don't think it helps given Grotsmasha's points.

 

If there's something that will obviously obscure detail, I will try to paint separately and glue later.

[Mazer Rackham]

I build Marines base, legs, body then head. I clip the arms/shoulders etc off the sprue and use a dot of superglue to fix them to a sprue offcut. This can then be sprayed and painted separately and as the bit you're using as the "fix point" is going to be hidden, no touch ups are required.

 

Just how I do it - your results may vary.

 

MR.

[Fibonacci]

I build Marines base, legs, body then head. I clip the arms/shoulders etc off the sprue and use a dot of superglue to fix them to a sprue offcut. This can then be sprayed and painted separately and as the bit you're using as the "fix point" is going to be hidden, no touch ups are required.

 

Just how I do it - your results may vary.

 

MR.

This is how I paint as well. It goes very quickly since you can easily reach all around the model. The shoulder seam is covered by the pad and the pack drops in place covering it's own join. The only thing left is varnish and basing.

[Urauloth]

With a lot of kits you'll never get rid of the mould lines properly if you don't take the components off the sprue. Don't do it.

[lhg033]

With a lot of kits you'll never get rid of the mould lines properly if you don't take the components off the sprue. Don't do it.

 

this!

 

mounting your models/pieces works well for helping with painting as has already been suggested. i tend to paint a model/demi squad at a time and mount the base with the core model (legs, body, head plus any arms/weapons that dont obscure other details) on top of an old hex paint pot with blue tac. i use my pin vice to drill other components on a hiden part then mount on paper clips with a tiny dot of glue at most to hold in place if they dont stay as i want them otherwise.

 

its more prep work to do this but pays off and would work to allow you improve/mount things as suits you. also mounting lets you hold and move the model without touching any areas you might paint. it also can help with anchoring your hands to get a good grip to make painting steadier.

 

for a more steady hand, try holding the model in one hand by the mount, brush in the other. rest your elbows on a table and touch your lower palms/wrists together. you should ideally end up with the model near eye height, held fairly steadily. you can move the model around in one hand and the brush in the other loosely enough to paint but touching your wrists/palsm togehter throughout and elbows on the table really helps brace the model and brush!

[latch66]

I paint the heads of my Space Marines while they are still on the sprue. It's easier to hold them that way for me.

 

I use a clamp that was given away at my work's United Way Campaign. It's a block on one end with a lenght of stiff wire sticking out. There is an aligator clip on the other end of the wire. I think they were suppose to be used for holding cards upright at tables. I grabbed everyone of them I could get my hands on.

 

 

Works like a charm to hold small pieces that are still on the sprue or from the attachment points.

 

 

At minimum, I assemble the legs to the base and the torso to the legs. It's according to how "fancy" the arms/sholder guards are as to whether they get assembled now, or later. If the weapon can be added later I will always go that route.

 

 

 

The advice to "mount" your hands and your work is spot on for accurate painting. Otherwise, you shake too much to be accurate. (The shaking doesn't get any better as you get older/more experienced either).