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Hi guys, bit of advice needed.
I've just finished cleaning the mould lines and and basing the figures from the Assault On Black Reach set.
On a few sites it is reccommended to wash them with soapy water before basecoating them. Basically do i need to bother? I'm not a pro painter by a long way, is it necessary?
Thanks

For plastic mini's/ vehicles you can usually get away without washing them before basecoating. At least I never do it and haven't run into problems as of yet.

However if you ever gonna do a resin model, this step really is a must.

yes, as sometimes in the moulding process it can leave residue on them. Oh and your paw prints will probably be all over them ....I usually clean it in warm soapy water then pat dry with some kitchen paper.

I then try to handle them by the sprue to minimise my own oily residue on the parts.

Usually you need to wash resin figures to remove any release agent that was left behind after being taken out of the molds. Plastic and metal models don't usually need washing.

Ive never washed a plastic mini in 0ver 20 yrs of building them . normaly just resin ..

I'm shocked! I want the mini as clean as possible before gluing or undercoat/painting. I wash the sprues before assembly, and then the mini after I've glued it all together.

I wash metal and resin minis. But plastic doesn't need it.

I only do that before gluis metal peices together and then again before priming to prevent chips

for metal and resin figs, the answer is a resounding yes. for plastic figs, my response is that if it does happen to save you a single paint flaking problem in the future its paid for itself in effort. if it doesn't prevent anything, you've spent about 10 minutes total filling up a pot of water with warm water and dish detergent, washing/soaking the figs, and then draining/drying them. there isn't much of a downside if you think about it that way. plastic doesn't necessarily need it but why not get into the habit?

You can survive without washing ANYTHING.

I've assembled thousands of models of all materials and have never washed one prior to assembly and primer. It will be fine. In my close to 20 years of this is has yet to be an issue.

The only time I will wash a model is after I strip it, to ensure I got all of the stripping agent off.

I don't usually bother washing GW plastics. It's not a bad practice, in general, but they don't seem to need them. I have a pair of terrain kits from Pegasus Hobbies, though, made from the same material that felt actively greasy in my hands when I first opened the box. It's not simply a matter of plastic or resin, it's what the manufacturer uses as a mold release and whether/how well they clean it before packaging. I'd say just give them a feel on the sprue and scrub them if they feel greasy.

As others have said, you absolutely should wash metals and resins. You can probably get by without washing the plastic.

However, I wash absolutely everything. I'm a pretty slow painter, and don't particularly enjoy painting. As such, if I'll willing to put in 20 hours on a squad or whatever, I'm willing to spend the cumulative 2 minutes in labor it takes to dip them in a soak in soapy water, wait 30, rinse, let dry overnight. Warboss has the right of it, in my opinion: if it solves one paintstaking paint job from flaking off, it was worth the minimal effort.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have decided to not bother this time as they are glued and based, but in future i may well clean them when they are still on the sprue as that will be much easier.
Thanks again.