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Hey guys! I just have some random questions about painting and assembly. Upfront, let me say that I've spent the last few days reading all of the tutorials available on this site, but I still do have some questions. It is totally possible I have missed some stuff. Just some background, I've built models before (Gundam, random car and airplane models, etc) so I'm fairly okay with the mechanical aspects of assembly. I just bought Dark Vengeance, so that is the set I'm currently working on.

So in no particular order, here goes:

1) Most of the models in this set are pin/hole assembly. I've been using Gorilla Glue super glue just on the pins and in the holes, without gluing seams. Is this okay, or will I pay for it later?

2) In your experience, what is the best way to paint these bad boys? Assemble then paint? I'm assuming this is the best way, I could be wrong.

3) What should I not be gluing? Right now I have refrained from gluing my SM backpacks, and some other smaller pieces.

4) What is the deal with swapping out weapons on individual models? Is this worth doing? Or should I have a few SMs with Bolters, a few with Plasma, etc? And then rotate them in as I want to use them?

5) If I buy individual models (you know, the packs) are they pin/hole as well? I got the special edition DV box and it came with an Inquisitor, but he is all glue. Are most GW models that way?

6) I haven't had a chance to peruse codices yet. Do they have painting templates in them? As in, use this color here, that color there, etc.

7) I'm working my way up to painting, since I cannot paint worth a damn. I'm thinking of starting with a three color palette and going from there. Is this too ambitious?

Anyways thanks for reading all of these. Any answers are appreciated. I realize some of these are pretty basic but I have no clue what I'm doing WRT paint.

1) Should be okay for those models.

2) Everyone has their own opinion, I prefer to assemble then paint.

3) Anything that would obscure detail.

4) Most models will use a basic boltgun, the army Codex will tell you more about this. But in general for SM armies, it's one special and one heavy weapon per 10 man squad.

5) No, most are not, they come with separate arms, shoulder pads, legs, guns ect. Google Space Marine sprues for pictures.

6) They will have some, most can be found online, everyone develops their own style of painting. You can find basics by looking round the forums though.

7) Sounds good, just expand as you get better, three colours may limit you though.

Best of luck.

decado wrote:
1) Most of the models in this set are pin/hole assembly. I've been using Gorilla Glue super glue just on the pins and in the holes, without gluing seams. Is this okay, or will I pay for it later?

I don't see a problem there. Some of those models would even hold without glue. On the slim chance that the pin breaks, just drill a metal pin in.

decado wrote:
2) In your experience, what is the best way to paint these bad boys? Assemble then paint? I'm assuming this is the best way, I could be wrong.

Most of the DV models don't have hidden details underneath parts so glue then paint is probably the way to go. As other models go it depents on you. I mostly assemble my models and only leave weapons and backpack off. But on some models with larger guns(noise marines and devestators) i assemble them fully so i don't have to risk a bad pose afterwards. Some areas are hard to paint that way but those would be hard to spot to begin with.

decado wrote:
3) What should I not be gluing? Right now I have refrained from gluing my SM backpacks, and some other smaller pieces.

For painting purposes? It's probably the best to paint the backpacks seperately and glue on afterwards. (see answer 2)

decado wrote:
4) What is the deal with swapping out weapons on individual models? Is this worth doing? Or should I have a few SMs with Bolters, a few with Plasma, etc? And then rotate them in as I want to use them?

This depents mostly on your will to magnetize. I glue basic marines completely. As far as special weapons i have some magnetized and some glued in. Magnetizing is harder to archive but cheaper on the money. Just do what suits you better.
The more weapon-option a model has in the rules the more interesting it gets to use magnets. Especially your HQ units and all their options just screaming for magnets (especially with the rising prices)

decado wrote:
5) If I buy individual models (you know, the packs) are they pin/hole as well? I got the special edition DV box and it came with an Inquisitor, but he is all glue. Are most GW models that way?

That differs from model to model. But i have only seen a few character models unassembled. I think the newer releases have it more often and the old metal ones mostly don't have something that resembles a pin. (My finecast Vanguards had small shapes like triangles and such so that the arms could go only one way but where still interchangeable between models.) But those "pins" are not like those in the DV box. You can't assemble them without glue. Those pins are there to guide assembly.

decado wrote:
6) I haven't had a chance to peruse codices yet. Do they have painting templates in them? As in, use this color here, that color there, etc.

There are pages with examples of painted miniatures with different color schemes. But they don't tell which colors were used.

decado wrote:
7) I'm working my way up to painting, since I cannot paint worth a damn. I'm thinking of starting with a three color palette and going from there. Is this too ambitious?

That depends highly on your painting skills. It sounds doable and i did the same. Started with red/grey/dark grey and then picked out the details more and more with growing skill. But remember that as far as highlighting goes each color of your choise needs a lighter highlight color to look good. I can also highly advise the use of washes (or shades as GW calls them now). With those you can give your models more depth and shadows without to much worktime.

decado wrote:
Anyways thanks for reading all of these. Any answers are appreciated. I realize some of these are pretty basic but I have no clue what I'm doing WRT paint.

(Also have in mind that some of those questions are based on personal preferences and my answers might not necessarily the best for you.)

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the responses.

ETA: One other thing. When it comes to priming as a noob, is black considered better than white? It seems it would be more forgiving. If so, is a regular old can of spray primer from the hardware store good enough?

ETA #2: On a separate note, if I want to sell the Chaos guys, should I leave them in their sprues? I'm curious if buyers would prefer already assembled models.

Jeeze that's a lot a of edits.

decado wrote:

7) I'm working my way up to painting, since I cannot paint worth a damn. I'm thinking of starting with a three color palette and going from there. Is this too ambitious?

Start with a color scheme that you like, and paint neatly. Three colors is fine. Then give them a good seal with gloss varnish. They will be ready for the game, and you can paint on the gloss varnish later if you want to add details, highlights, battle damage, or weathering. Decals go on over a good gloss varnish coat anyway. The gloss varnish will be very shiny, but protective. Once you are sure that you are done with your paint jobs, a light matt varnish spray will kill the shine.

Using inks/washes/shades is a good way to get a better looking model with not a whole lot more work. Don't feel, however, that you have to do this, or go to extremes, particularly with rank and file troops. A good clean paintjob on an entire army looks amazing compared to a great paintjob on five models, and a bunch of grey plastic reinforcements.

Also, if you really like a particular color, you might look at things like Army Painter's colored primers. If they have a color you would be using on a lot of models, it might save you a bunch of time (my tanks and sentinels were super fast thanks to Desert Yellow primer).

Good luck, and let us see your results!


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decado wrote:
Thanks, guys. I appreciate the responses.

ETA: One other thing. When it comes to priming as a noob, is black considered better than white? It seems it would be more forgiving. If so, is a regular old can of spray primer from the hardware store good enough?

ETA #2: On a separate note, if I want to sell the Chaos guys, should I leave them in their sprues? I'm curious if buyers would prefer already assembled models.

Black is better for darker colors and metallics. White is an easier primer when you are painting lighter or brighter colors, but a lot of this is up to personal preference. Do you want to paint shadows and darkened crevices, or would you rather highlight brighter areas.

I'm not a fan of spray primers myself, but that's due to being in an area with loads of humidity most of the time, and wind when it isn't humid. If you have an area to prime that's out of the wind, not too hot or too cold, and with low humidity (really important), I think you will be fine with most primers. I've had good results with Walmart's cheapest white and black primers when the conditions were right, and problems with almost every primer on the market when weather wasn't in my favor.

Vallejo does a set of brush on primers which have been reviewed pretty well. They also come in lots of colors.

Leave stuff on the sprues if you want to sell it. Anyone can assemble unassembled models, but few people want to disassemble assembled ones.