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I am sure this has been a thread before but I am somewhat of a newb in this area. I have been painting my assembled models, but am wondering if it is better to start on the sprue? If anyone has anything to add that would be great! Thanks in advance.

There will always be 2 sides to this.
But if you use black primer and use it as a natural way to help shading , then it'll be easier to assemble then paint on sprue.

Sarpedon_702 wrote:I am sure this has been a thread before but I am somewhat of a newb in this area. I have been painting my assembled models, but am wondering if it is better to start on the sprue? If anyone has anything to add that would be great! Thanks in advance.

Basecoating and washing on the sprue then final highlights on the model is a highly effective way to batch paint, however for any centerpeice/important models i like to paint when its whole.

I find that the ease of reaching details is not offset by the added difficulty of cutting the parts off the sprue, cleaning paint from gluing surfaces and retouching the model after assembly (during which time it is highly likely that you will chip the paint as well).

Some models do benefit from leaving small parts off until you've painted behind them (e.g. leaving shields off WHFB models) - though again, I personally find it not worth the trade-off.

You will also be limited to the standard poses offered by the kit, as once painted, doing minor conversions and filling gaps becomes far too tricky.

Painting on the sprue is useful for some things though - like traditional aircraft models - where it's easier to deal with the large flat surfaces when they're flat on the sprue than when they're assembled - especially for airbrushing etc.

it's all about personal preference. I paint off the sprue and build all models first, some in subsections if necessary such as my valkaryies. Try both and see what you like! Remember to scrape off the paint (an extra step) on areas that need to be glued!

I cut and clean off the sprue then put it all back on the sprues to batch paint and detail! <_< >_>

At most, all ill do with something still on the sprue would be to prime it, But generally i'll assemble most of the mini, but say in the case of a space marine, leave the bolter off so i can reach into the arm and the chest/stomach.

Thanks for the info and experience!

Most of my mini's are plastic. I use the quick-setting plastic glue. Priming the mini before gluing would interfere with the glue.

I assemble first, then prime, then paint. The exceptions being shoulder pads on my Black Templars(since I prime the rest of the mini black and want to paint these white).

I paint my Orks on sprue, as I don't have great brush control and I don't want to spillover from Orky flesh to their clothes and whatnot.

My Marines are all painted after assembly though. I think it's a good idea to leave their bolters off if you want to get chest detail and the like.

I mostly paint after or during assembly so that you know where light and shadow will fall on the finished model. I'm currently painting the interior of my Landraider 'on sprue' though as painting that after assembly would be... tricky.