Paint & Glue??

Im just trying to get the last figures ready for our meetup in Vienna .... (congratulations Spain btw) ... anyway Im contemplating what might be the best approach ...to fully assembly the minuatures AND THEN PAINT? ....or paint the arms + accesories seperately from the miniature AND THEN GLUE them on ? --- The second option seems to offer a lot easier access to paint details etc. but Im a bit concerned if there might be some problems in gluing on paint? ...what do u guys think pro / cons?

This is what I think:

Boehm wrote:

(congratulations Spain btw)

whatever...

I always glue my models completely before painting. I do know that this is not the best way to do it, though. I guess the answer is: optimally you wouldn't go with either extreme but with a mix, ie, assembly the mini as much as possible and wait with those bits that would make it hard to paint certain parts of the model. Effectively I think this would mean that only one, two at the most, bits (shields or arms in certain positions) should be held back.
What I never (ok, seldom) do is paint small bits alone. I hate holding them in my hand while trying to paint them; laying them down isn't better either as they skid away when the brush touches them and you can only paint one side at a time. Therefore it's only painting attached pieces for me.

Hey Boehm,

I also tend to completely assemble my minis before painting. This is MOSTLY because I'm a REALLY sloppy assembler, & I know I'll screw up the paint job if I paint then assemble. The only exception is if the part creates a "you-can-see-it, but-you-can't--get-there' spot, like the backs of shields. If I HAVE to paint first I drill a hole for pinning in the mini & add the pin to the part, which I use as a handle to paint the part; when it's time to assemble, I, then, only have to add glue to the pin. I hope that wasn't too confusing.

I reserve all commentary on the BIG GAME [religion, politics, & soccer (sports in general) are DANGEROUS subjects]. But as we old time Brooklyn Dodgers fan used to say "wait until next year"; with the Dodgers [affectionately known as "the Bums"] the wait was MANY years.

cianty wrote:

This is what I think:
What I never (ok, seldom) do is paint small bits alone. I hate holding them in my hand while trying to paint them; laying them down isn't better either as they skid away when the brush touches them and you can only paint one side at a time. Therefore it's only painting attached pieces for me.

One thing you could try is sticking some blu-tac on top of an empty paint bottle (or anything really, I use these clear plastic cylinders that are for holding coins) and stick the little piece you're painting into the tac. Paint it up, give it your choice of a sealing finish, and use a tweezers to apply it to the model. Not something I do often, but useful for features you want to add to a base after you've painted up a model or somesuch. You've just got to be delicate with the tweezers or pad them, otherwise you can scratch the piece.

blu-tac is the hobbiest #1 friend

mrbretonnia wrote:

blu-tac is the hobbiest #1 friend

Unless it's yellow... wait a minute
...

I'd usually paint the main body (Torso and legs) glued together, then paint the arms and head around the area which will be glued. This means once i connect them all I can paint the top of the head or further away bits on the arms easily enough.