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Okay, I haven't primed my models before I started painting them (no one had any primer, I've checked all the hobbyshops in town)

Have I screwed my models up by painting straight on to the plastic?



EDIT: CRAP! Throught I was in the modelling section, sorry! Wrong section, will one of the mod please move it?

Dont think so.

If they stay on , then its not a problem.

If they flake off, then just take a tooth brush and flake the rest off , and then prime it.

Or use simple green and follow the usual paint stripping method.

No worries!

IfF they are ok looking now then its fine. You may want to seal over them with a varnish spray after you are done painting though. The primer just helps the paint adhere to the model. If you seal them it will help avoid the paint chipping off. Which is what the primer does as well.

I haven't primed in a couple years. I just spraypaint a basecoat onto the model and start from there. You should seal them though - Testors Dullcoat is your friend.

You'll find that the paint will come off quite easily. I did this once and quickly realised my error. You could probably get most of it off with your fingernails, or a stiff brush, something like that.

My advice is to remove what you can, find some primer (from the internet if needs be), prime them, and paint again.

A friend of mine primes nothing and paints right on the bare plastic. No problems for him... yet.

My opinion - prime in the future, but leave the first few as-is. Better to repaint later (maybe you won't have to) than to waste time redoing them right now.

Thanks guys, gonna look for varnish in the morning.

(What's up with people being so nice on this site? Not once have I seen the words "LOL N00B!!!1!")

LOL NOOB! there you go! just kidding by the way. But anyway like the others said try to prime/basecoat in the future, as long as the paint doesnt come off then you should be ok, sealing them will deffinitly help the paint from flaking off too. Good luck!

Phloop wrote:Thanks guys, gonna look for varnish in the morning.

(What's up with people being so nice on this site? Not once have I seen the words "LOL N00B!!!1!")

Perish the thought! This is a modern-day, sophisticated forum! We don't look kindly on that sort of ruffian here!

If you can't find actual primer, plain ol' spray paint has worked for me for years.

DakkaDakka is relatively nice until people start posting ancient new Dark Eldar sculpts or arguing Mathhammer.

Balance wrote:DakkaDakka is relatively nice until people start posting ancient new Dark Eldar sculpts or arguing Mathhammer.

???

i like to think the mods of war send the bad people to 4chan or something.

On the no priming thing- i didn't prime a few of my first models, but i did seal them, and they held up nearly as well as models i did prime

Trust me zip when you see the mathhammer crap, it gets insane in this place. Specially for me, I failed math.... so it just makes my eyes cross and drool pours from my mouth

OT I agree with just plain flat black/white spray paint works very well. Thats what I use. Infact I use cheap dollar store flat black on mine, its thinner and seems to fill as well as leaves detail alone. Ive never found a paint that shows as much detail on minis as cheap paint does
But since you forgot to do an undercoat... just varnish will work for you.

Phloop wrote:Thanks guys, gonna look for varnish in the morning.

(What's up with people being so nice on this site? Not once have I seen the words "LOL N00B!!!1!")

Dakka waits until you actually have your legs under you and subsequently feth up before Dakka punishes you. NOOBS get a break unless they come off as all-knowing and screw THAT up. We don't snipe new people, there's no sport in it.

Oh, and as far as your priming difficulties: I feel your pain. An in-law of mine gave me a Casket of Souls that he painted. Knows nothing of painting minis, but is a REAL artsy type. He did not prime at all. At ALL. And the paint is nothing short of GORGEOUS. I varnished the feth out of it and prayed for mercy. Been well for several years at this point. Ergo, my advice?

Voodoo sacrifice. Worked for me.

I get the black and white flat spray paint from Wal-Mart to prime my models. I believe it's $.97 a can and it works better than any of the expensive primers that I've tried. The expensive ones always turn out too thick and grainy. For varnish, once again I use the Wal-Mart brand matte varnish. It's $2-$3 a can and it works wonderfully. It dries fast and you can't even tell that the model has been sprayed with varnish when it's done. The expensive stuff always ends up way too glossy for my tastes.

I use Gesso to prime my models. Where i live, there are no hobby stores and no proper hobby primer. Gesso is a thick paint like substance composed of white acrylic paint, pva glue, and plaster of Paris. It's sold in nearly every arts and crafts store and holds paint fantastically. just water it down some and you're all set.

It's a brush on alternative, but may be easier to find if your town is all out of spray paint. Good luck

I never understood how a whole town could run out of spray paint. It just boggles the mind

Zip Napalm wrote:

Balance wrote:DakkaDakka is relatively nice until people start posting ancient new Dark Eldar sculpts or arguing Mathhammer.

???

Check the IG codex pre-analysis threads or the weekly thread where someone posts a picture of some trial Dark Eldar sculpts from a couple years ago as new.

Phloop wrote:Okay, I haven't primed my models before I started painting them (no one had any primer, I've checked all the hobbyshops in town)

Have I screwed my models up by painting straight on to the plastic?

here is the possible good news:

It all depends on what paint you use. If you use Foundation paints then not only can you paint straight over plastic but its actually recommended to do so. Dont try this with metal though.

If you paint with a latyer of foundation paint ansd no undercoat yopu preserve detail by having one fewer layer, move straight on to a thin layer of highlight and an ink wash for a good minimum thickness paintjob. Varnish is still essential though. This really helps when painting heads as detail is so easily buried by paint layers. When paimnting my plastic minis I paint the heads seperate without undercoat as standard.

Now admittedly I undercoat everything else, and recommend strongly you do so, but at the very least you could have a backhand advantage from painting as you did. If your first layer was not foundation paint I cant help you.

The Power Cosmic wrote:If you can't find actual primer, plain ol' spray paint has worked for me for years.

Quoted For Truth

KingCracker wrote:I never understood how a whole town could run out of spray paint. It just boggles the mind

Maybe they have a tagger epidemic?