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now, before I begin:
I'm the kind of painter who likes to have open models. I undercoat on the sprue, paint parts, then glue them.

either method works for me, but I prefer batching.

Well, discussion is simple:

which is more fun, interesting or enjoyable for you: painting in batches, or painting one-by-one.

I've been batching for two weeks, I've managed to finish 35 of my 75 marines, and I'm still going [including 11 already done models.]

I batch in groups of 5

Build up torso and legs, maby the head

clip the arms off in pairs

undercoat

paint like that, then assemble

I usually paint in squads though,but with marines thats only 5s or 10s

I assemble all of my minis before I paint them, because I like to do them individually. I've tried batching before, it's kind of boring IMO. I like to show individual love and care to each of them. Also keeps it interesting and helps me remember to do the little unique bits that make each of them different.

I'll vary from small batches of 2-3 if I'm just relaxing and puttering about but will do 5-6 if I'm trying to get things done somewhat quickly.

3 usually feels right because by the time you've finished with the last model, the first one is typically dry.

I also like to paint "open" models, but sometimes I'll put a model or two together just to get a feel for it.

I glue the torsos and legs together and paint them batches of 3. Then I do the models one at a time from there. Im actually amazed how much time it saves just doing that instead of doing them all individually.

my csm, i paint in batches of 5 to 10 generally
lately i've been working on skull pass goblins, and i've been working on them 20 at a time, roughly

I'm still trying to finish the Tyranid Battleforce I bought 3 months ago... studies and family life really cut into the time I have...

BUT.. when I have time, I assembled all of the models first, based and glued... then do 4 generic Hormagaunts/Termagaunts with something bigger and interesting, like a Tyrant/Lictor/Broodlord, etc.. I try and do the whole tender-loving-care thing, even with the cannon fodder, so I'm not exactly sure if I'm saving any time at all...

I am trying to make my verteran sargent look better than anything Ive ever done before, so I have been doing him by himself. I usually do batches of 2 though.

I find that I'm in the minority in painting fairly large batches...

I usually have 25ish infantry and 5-6 cavalry in process at any point and time. Infantry is broken up into groups of 5, cav is done individually, but I rotate continuously between them so I don't get bored or frustrated with any one mini / group of minis.

EDIT: And I paint mine fully assembled but without shields. The inside of the shields are painted before attachment; the outside painted after attachment.

Hello Captain Solon and all of DakkaDakka!
It's only for the sake of efficiency that I paint batches. I much prefer the more immediate gratification of seeing a single model progressing quickly as I paint.

Thanks for the question,
Be well, and be blessed!
Frankie

Batches is the way to go for me. Put them together, base coat, then I pick a color. I do all of that color on the models and by the time I'm at the end, that color is dry on the first model. Pick new color and repeat as necessary.

I find individual more fun, and good for detailed models.

Batch painting for everything else.

If it's a regiment I'll paint the batch as the whole group, say 20-30 figures. It's a bit dull but has some advantages. Firstly you waste less paint, as you open the jar, take some out and use it in on sitting. Opening the jar many times across many painting sessions usully results in more waste. Secondly, in the long run you save time by painting all the flesh in one session, then all the leather, then armour, etc. Finally you tend to achieve a uniform finish when block painting figures, they are all a consistent style and quality, this is even more ture if you have had to mix any paint along the way, as mixing colours to get the same shade twice can be tricky.

It's a bit dull but I keep going and reward myself with character figures to spend more time on.

I've got a thread around here where I'm doing a regiment of Hoplites. There are 34 of them and it is taking a while. I've not forgotten about them, I'm trying to get a good gold paint for the armour and then I'll press on again. I've done the main clothing and skin, so am onto details next such as individual colour patterns on clothing and swords etc.

Batching is the only way to paint if you want to get anything done. I try not to go much higher than 10 per batch though, as it can get maddening painting one color for 2+ hours or something.

Semi-batch. I'll do a squad or unit at a time. For example, in my IG army first I'll build and paint a tank, then move to a unit of Vets, then their Chimera, then the Command Squad, etc. etc.

When I paint I do go assembly line style and paint by color i.e. first the base coat of green (or whatever) on the whole model/unit, then the flesh areas on the whole unit, then the leather straps on the whole unit.

As Brother SRM says it's the only way to get stuff done.

at the end of the day, it depends on how good you want your models to look. I can have a marine tabletop ready in 20 minutes. but that's also one of the reasons i'm getting rid of my marines. SoB have models i can put a little more work into.

i paint all models individually and usually take 5-10 hours on them.

I generally batch somewhere between 3 and 8 at a time, averaging 5 models at once. Unfortunately, my painting skills leave something to be desired so i am not sure if it would be better to do them individually or not. I spend about 3 1/2 hours to 5 hours per batch...

i do huge batches, for instance im painting 40 stealers doing 1 colour at a time, it's taking SO LONG

SaintHazard wrote:I assemble all of my minis before I paint them, because I like to do them individually. I've tried batching before, it's kind of boring IMO. I like to show individual love and care to each of them. Also keeps it interesting and helps me remember to do the little unique bits that make each of them different.

Thats why I batch paint then assemble. that way, I've got painted parts to work with, for the sake of conversion. I also do things like melta grazes [soldering iron] and gashes in armour [scalpel] to recreate little uniquities.

admittently, thats alot easier for marines.

Still, same ordeal, just by my method, They can't be used unless fully painted.

However, for me, I've got a big problem:

3,000 point army. 75 minatures + 7 tanks. finished 19 + 4 of them [10 marines, 5 assault, 1 techmarine 3 terminators + 2 rhinos a vindicator and a whirlwind.] and I'm currently batch painting my second squad [dubbed Beta, for simplicities sake.], and over the course of 5 hours, I've finished them up to their heads. [only weapons and transfers. and basing.] Then I've also got the LOVELY task of magnetizing specialists.

Next I plan to move onto my terminators, finishing all seven of them in one fell swoop.

Then, I've got a 7-14 day wait for the rest of my minis. [sigh]

meh, it's all fun.

I do a small batch of 3 models to get myself to grips with what i'm doing and to find out if theres anything i need to do differently (such as take more care with mold lines or changing the order in which i apply the paints so as to minimize the potential for mistakes or to make mistakes easier to correct).

Then i paint the rest of the unit in larger batches (up to ten at a time) saving command for last so i can maintain consistency while not going mad on painting 20 sets of orc mouths.

Characters and larger models though i sit down and paint them on their own.

i do each one individually. First i assemble then i paint.

For large units I batch paint, especially if they are using identical colours.

For units like clanrats, I would batch paint each colour "type" so lets say 5 with brown skin, 5 with black, 5 with grey, and the same for clothing.

I never paint on sprue, but assemble first and only paint fiddly bits seperately, like knights not on their horses, or shields so not to block the brush under the arm.

I love spending time on one model, but batch painting is the way to go when you are talking numbers. I normally blue tack a number to a 30cm ruler, or several, and do colour by colour. Then go back for washes and picking out the detail.

I have 60 undercoated orks on my desk so I will be doing this soon, work permitting.

Semi-batch painting on basic troops. I tend to do my 'deep recess' colour on 3-4 at a time, since I don't use much paint and it is fairly quickly and roughly applied (I'll be painting over the bits that come up too far anyway). That way I don't waste paint.

The basecoat on my DE warriors is hawk turquoise and takes about 3 coats to cover, so the first thin and somewhat rough coat goes on several models at once, same reason as above. Then down to about 2 models at a time for the next stages up to the wash, then single at a time on detail.

Almost everything else is painted individually. I might do a bit on other models depending on my paint load (ie, just finished doing the hawk turquoise on a bike, I have a little left over, I'll use what I have left on a warrior).

i'll try to do everything of the same type/color in a squad at the same time. i'll sit down and do all 10 bolters base metallic color in a marine squad before moving onto a different thing, like all the white purity seals/aquilla wings on the same squad. by the time i'm done with the 10th one of the same thing, the first one is definitely dry to the point that i can accidentally touch it with my finger and it won't smudge or come off.

I used to do mine one at a time, but when I started a 60-guardsman jamboree I started "assembly line" painting them.

By this, I dont' mean that I do one at a time or that I take 5 guys and assemble them all before I prime any of them, and I prime all of them before I basecoat any of them, etc.

At my height, at any given time, I'd have a couple of dudes on my desk:

- one that was in some stage of assembly. Probably waiting for GS to cure.

- one that was basecoated

- one that I was working on the highlights/details

- one that I just needed to clean up, spray, and base

That way when I was sick of doing any one thing I could quick flip over to working on a different mini.

I always paint in batches, it saves paint,time, and gets it done.

I generally paint them then assemble, depending on the model.

I'm terrible at getting stuff finished though, I think I currently have 6 things on the go (7 if you count the familiars on their way in the post).

Nurgle Dreadnought (with bonus Dante being trodden on, Mexican standoff arrangement).
Nurgle Sorcerer.
Ork objective marker for a friend.
Lysander.
A couple of Vostroyans from Ebay.
A old Apothecary I found and stripped.
And technically my IF Vindicator still needs weathering.

Damn, that'll be 9 once the postie gets here on Monday. What's more annoying is that I'm already thinking of the next project.