A question about when to paint.

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**Shovan**

I was putting together my gaunts today and was getting ready to attach the devourers to them when I realized that it would be somewhat difficult, but doable, to paint when the gun is attached.

I just wanted everyones opinion on how they paint. Will the model come out just as well if I painted before or after the arms are attached? (It just seems like it can become a little messy when trying to paint in tight spots)

This'll also get me ready for when I start peicing together my Blood Angels.

Thanks in advance.

**Flinty**

Ah-ha, this old chestnut

You will find a variety of opinions to this question. However I find that leaving the arms off a model lets you get a much better painting result. If you want to game with them before painting you can still attach with blu-tac or similar, or even a very small amount of super glue that could be snapped off before painting begins.

**Gorskar.da.Lost**

I'd agree with the guy above, especially for the tricksier models. It's a bit more time and effort, but will be worth it in the end.

**Shovan**

Flinty wrote:Ah-ha, this old chestnut

You will find a variety of opinions to this question. However I find that leaving the arms off a model lets you get a much better painting result. If you want to game with them before painting you can still attach with blu-tac or similar, or even a very small amount of super glue that could be snapped off before painting begins.

Ah blu-tac, I never thought of this. Thank you for this tid-bit of info, it will certainly come in handy =).

**Alex Kolodotschko**

I'm not sure how many gaunts or what quality of paint you wish to achive?
I had over 60 Gaunts to paint so I stuck mine together fully.
It's possible, if a bit of a fiddle, to paint but when en masse it's pretty hard to see any slight mistakes or unreached bits.

In short, if you can't paint it you probably won't be able to see it.

**KingCracker**

Yea, different people, with differing ways of doing it. Youll find that if you cant reach it with a brush, many times you cant see it when the mini is fully assembled. But you can easily just paint the parts whenever you want really. Just remember that when you glue them together to scrape off the painted area to be glued so the bond is stronger.

**Citizensmith**

If I have masses to do I'll stick them all together and accept the fact that a few bits won't be perfect. Nobody is likely to notice. If It's a really nice model, or something where it may get noticed (most vehicles) I'll paint then finish assembly.

One good tip for the latter option. The white wood glue (Elmers or whichever) is great to mask areas so you don't have to bother with scraping the clean later. Just put a blob of that on areas you need to stay clean and it peels off really easily once you are done.