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Hey I'm trying to get back into this hobby, I got a bunch of old miniatures I still prefer over the ones which replaced them and I would like to finally paint them, problem is their all still in tiny pieces, not assembled!

Might be a silly question to some of you but if I paint them then I want to do a good job, use a space marine as an example. How do you paint those hard to reach places such as the chest piece and both sides of the gun?

I dont paint what the eye cant see.

A good reason for black undercoat as those hard to reach places stay black as "shadow"

LunaHound has the best answer. You can paint on the sprue or in sections and then assemble but I go with Lunas method. Depends how picky you are and what standard you are trying to paint to.

If you really want those parts to be painted, the best way is to simply not glue them together until you've painted them. Then, just before gluing, scrape off a little bit of paint from the contact point (ie where you'll be putting the glue) to make sure the bond is nice and strong.

Backpacks are another good thing to keep off the model until after painting.

LunaHound wrote:
I dont paint what the eye cant see.

A good reason for black undercoat as those hard to reach places stay black as "shadow"

Agreed

The black undercoat seems like a good idea but what about those colors which need a white undercoat?

Ive tried painting things like backpacks by themselves but their just so small they roll around everywhere.

appreciate the comments guys.

I paint minis like marines in multi-parts. The backpack and anything that will obscure detail are painted separately. This gives me freedom to paint all of the areas without worry of getting on another piece or leaving unpainted sections.

My method is to pin the items to a cork. It gives me stability to hold onto without touching the part itself, whilst allowing me access to all sides.

Kuffy

Ah, I've only painted 20 marines but only 10 where multiparts.

The heads for example, I literally held them with my index's and thumb's nails while painting them so I could leave no section unpainted.

If you use cheap SUPER GLUE, not plastic glue or cement, you could glue, with only a bare minimum of glue on a non-visible section (for example, the shoulder area of a Space Marine arm before applying the shoulder pad) to hold your piece. This way, you don't have to hold the thing awkwardly or paint all over your fingers. When done and dry, snap the bit off carefully and flake away the dried glue (cheap super glue should flake away quite easily, if not, paint the area before applying the glue and it will release along with the paint). For things like shoulder pads and backpacks, glue dead center of the pad and right around the rim of the pack. This way you can trim off either a bit of the arm shoulder or around the non-visible (when completed) rim to get a proper completed fit.

That is how I do it at least.

my advice would be...
dont glue the arms on until body is painted
and paint all the deeper nooks and crannies first, workng outwards on the model. they will be naturally darker due to shadow, so the dark colours go on first, blending into lighter colours as they reack the highlights that you can reach easier.
this way you also avoid BLOBBING onto painted bits when you are trying to reach others.
Good luck, and happy painting.

Depending on the quality of the work you want, I would suggest painting the parts individually and then carefully sticking them together. you can get some tubes of superglue with what looks like a long metal needle which is a hell of a lot more accurate and controlable than a standard tube. On the other hand if you just want to get then 'game ready' then go a black undercoat and stick the parts together. As someone else pointed out, black undercoat = instant shadows

I go with what Lunahound said.

I have some kind of OCD compulsion to paint every little spot I can, so I usually paint men in pieces. Like for a regular marine, I'll assemble it with his legs chest and left arm together, and then the right arm and gun and head are separate. I also drill the very bottom of the head and stick it on a toothpick so I can hold the toothpick while I paint it

As has been said I think it depends on what level of quality your going for. If its just for table top standards then black undercoat is easiest. I've found Marine arms across the chest to be a pain and tend to paint the chest and arms before I glue them.

if i were redoing my marine army, i'd probably paint them while their arms were still unglued in order to reach the places. then, after painting, when you're ready to glue, file down the flat armpit/shoulder planes so the glue will bond better. i'm seriously debating if i should paint my space hulk BEFORE assembling the termies. the have so much hanging detail (purity seals, chains, ropes, etc) that i'll end up blobbing those colors onto the armor every time i take a brush to them.

G.Cambo wrote:but what about those colors which need a white undercoat?

Dont use GW paints , problem solved :3

I put together this little tutorial a while ago on it:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/250070.page

Do any of you paint the parts while still on the spru? When I started putting together large armies in June I put all of the models together, all at once. Now in October I am still painting. A guy at GW told me to try and paint them pn the spru after undercoating. The problem is I get really excited when I see something new, I just want to go out buy it and put it together. Since I am still a novice it takes me a while to paint, and after getting magazines and looking at other peoples work online I find myself going back and redoing work...I feel like it never ends!

I have never painted on the sprue. It doesn't make sense to me. I do, however, cut out all the bits I need to make the model, clean them/remove them of mold lines/flash/etc, then assemble like pieces (such as the front and back torso pieces on a Marine), prime, paint, assemble. I find that this provides me with the absolute best results.

I used to paint my mini's totally put together, but my friend turned me onto painting in pieces and I don't think I can ever go back. It's just overall easier to paint the body and whatnot first, then glue the pieces on. Usually I try to do the basecoats and first highlights, glue, then finish up with additional detail if desired.

I'm also a big fan of black undercoat now. It drove me nuts at first because it made things harder to discern than white primed, but it's SO much more forgiving if you miss a spot.