Question about painting

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Do you guys fully build the model before painting it? Or do you like paint them in pieces and then glue it together? I ask cause I just recently got a DW Kill Team and I built them and spray painted them but then I went to paint them and I forgot how much of a pain it is to get into certain areas. I was able to pull off an arm or two and paint and then reglue but I should of asked this before hand but I was super excited to get back into it lol. I watched a tutorial on edging and he had just the body with the backpack. I'm not looking to be in any tournaments or anything but I would like to get better at painting in the process.

[Grotsmasha]

Realistically, you can completely assemble a model excluding any weaponry that crosses the body (mostly boltguns), and the shoulder pads. Leaving these off allows the spray to get everywhere, with minimal post paint assembly required. If you're gluing after painting, be sure to use super glue rather than plastic glue, as the paint will interfere with the plastic glue.

[BluejayJunior]

Other than my Knight, I have always fully built the model before painting. There are some things (like the inside of capes) that would be easier to do without assembling it, but in my opinion it usually doesn't matter. There aren't too many places that you can't reach that can actually be seen anyway. Unless you're going for very high end paint jobs, I don't think it makes a huge difference for most models. 

 

(PS My experience applies mostly to Space Marines, so it might be different for other factions)

[GrinNfool]

So, basically it comes down to ease of assembly vs how high quality you want your paintjob and ease of painting it.  You can do a reasonable paintjob just fine assembling the model first, and be happy with its looks.  For the real high end paint jobs though most of those wait to assemble and just paint individual pieces of the model first.  That comes down usually to 2 main things, ease of air brush use, and ease of getting to areas of a model that might not normally allow for you to reach and give a high quality paint job.  (note those areas are also generally hard to see so this isn't a problem unless you are doing some high end painting)  The downside to waiting to assemble as grot pointed out, is its a paint to assemble once you paint it.  You either have to file down the connections to the bare plastic, and risk damaging the paint job, or use superglue, which can sometimes make the paint run, making the assembly a much bigger pain.

 

Assembling while there is no paint is far and away easier for this stage, but can limit access to smaller areas and prevent high level of detail in those areas.  Granted these areas are usually hard to see and its not noticeable unless, again, doing high level painting work.  It can also be harder for those with poor motor control (for various reasons, disease, just un coordinated etc) to be able to paint around things that another person might not have problems painting around. 

 

In the end it really comes down to personal preference, and how high quality of a painter you are and how high end you want the paint job assuming you have the skill to do it Vs how much of a pain you want assembly to be. 

 

TL:DR personal preference

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Thanks for the feedback, ya next squad I might just not glue the weapons that go over the chest til the end. I have a shaky hand so getting in small spaces sometimes is a pain.

[Gederas]

Not exactly repeating everyone else here, but I'd like to add this:

when it comes to Marines , I leave them in these sub-assemblies (for the most part):
- Heads (only if bare)

- Body

-- Backpack

- Arms

 

The backpack can be attached before priming if the model is going to be painted an entirely same colour, especially dark colours (for example, my Dark Angels, Black Templars and Night Lords). If I can avoid it, I leave the arms off the body because of the chest symbol is a pain to paint otherwise. Heads can be attached if they're armoured. But if a different colour or are bare heads, I leave them off to paint separately.

[Subtle Discord]

Yup yup yup. Sub-assemblies are your friend, and so is extra thin solvent based plastic glue, if you're talking about styrene plastic miniatures.

 

I try to assemble as much as possible and leave apart anything that can be assembled reasonably easy after painting with little chance of harming the paint. Heads and backpacks are a perfect example; they're really easy to keep separate and just attache them after. If you use some logic it's usually easy enough to figure out what parts can easily be keep separate until the painting is done.

 

However, many times you'll have a part that you'd like to leave off to help with painting but with how the model assembles you might be worried about gluing the piece into position because you don't want to ruin the paint job. That's where extra thin plastic cement is really useful; use it sparingly and carefully to join delicate and/or exposed connections and it might make the paint wrinkle a bit along the edges when it's applied, but if you just leave it alone the glue will evaporate and the paint will tighten back up. I leave the right arm of my Skitarii Rangers and Vanguard off when I paint them and have no problem gluing them into place, including at the tiny wrist connection, thanks to the extra thin glue I use.

 

As with most things in this hobby, find what works best for you to get results you're happy with.

[Fajita Fan]

Blue tack can help you build models into subassemblies to paint but you have to be really careful when gluing them together. I tend to heavily shade the recesses of assembled models so you can't see that I didn't really get paint down in there. 

[Claws and Effect]

I sub assemble everything.

 

I'm working on a Contemptor Dreadnought I bought secondhand for my sons army and it is a PAIN to paint.

 

I assemble legs and torsos on most Marine models, depending on the kit. But I leave everything else separate.

 

I do basic colors and leave washes, drybrushing, and highlights until after the model is built. That way I can touch up any paint that gets messed up during assembling.

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Ya I've been doing some pieces here and there in different pieces just so it makes it easier to paint. I'm looking for some magnets to use on the marines for arms in case I need to eventually swap them out. Anyone know a good size for like arms and such? I bought some bits from a store and I got some magnets wasn't sure how small they would be and they ended up being super small. I can use them on the dread but would really like a bigger one for the marines.