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Well what is it that you do?

Sprue, not Spruce. Spruce is a type of tree.

It's rare to have models that don't have attachment points in bad places, so almost always off the sprue.

There is a few models that can be painted on the sprue without ending up with bits you have to touch up later. I painted all my Battle For Skull Pass Night Goblins on the sprues, just cleaned up the mould lines and painted them right on the sprue, was much faster that way.

But most models you end up with bad attachment points and/or the mould lines are difficult to clean off if you leave them on the sprue. So mostly, remove first, then clean, then paint.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Sprue, not Spruce. Spruce is a type of tree.

It's rare to have models that don't have attachment points in bad places, so almost always off the sprue.

There is a few models that can be painted on the sprue without ending up with bits you have to touch up later. I painted all my Battle For Skull Pass Night Goblins on the sprues, just cleaned up the mould lines and painted them right on the sprue, was much faster that way.

But most models you end up with bad attachment points and/or the mould lines are difficult to clean off if you leave them on the sprue. So mostly, remove first, then clean, then paint.

Ahh thanks for the clarification on the spelling and your input on the topic!

I also said off the sprue. Very few times will I see a piece of a model on the sprue that I think will be better prepared and painted if I leave it there.

As above, normally off the sprue. Though normally paint things before gluing together...

I usually don't paint in a tree.

I always paint my models off the sprue.
I also paint them after assembling them (except for some vehicles).
Do some of you paint your models before assembling them? Why?

Voted off the sprue.
I spend ages cutting parts off sprue, building and converting the model and then finally painting it.

I think it's a good idea to paint before assembly, but not on the sprue. But I don't have the patience for that!


Von Chogg

If possible, I paint the assembled model, so I don't have unpainted visible lines between the parts. Sometimes, parts of the models have to be painted earlier, e.g. assembled cockpits and Monolith turret.

I don't paint on the sprue, But I paint in components.

My marines are usually legs and body on base, then arms, gun and head off.

If it is a bare (no helmet) head, I will absolutely not put it on the model until I'm finished - I can't paint the face to my liking unless that is the case.

I made a tool using a resin vent and a broken drill bit, that allows me to drill a hole into the piece I'm painting and then mount it on my little stand, then paint off of that. It works a treat!

I voted 'off sprue'. I tried painting before assembly a long time ago with 1/72 scale aircraft and it drove me mad. I kept forgetting to paint parts.
Also, I do a lot of customising/converting and it'd be almost impossible to do that with pre-painted parts, without having to do almost a complete repaint.

 Scipio Africanus wrote:

... I made a tool using a resin vent and a broken drill bit, that allows me to drill a hole into the piece I'm painting and then mount it on my little stand, then paint off of that. It works a treat!

I must try that. Thanks!

I find spruce to take paint poorly, oak or ash tend to hold the colours much more easily.

On a more serious note, I tend to go for full assembly before painting. That way, I can ensure everything is covered and that the highlights are all from a matching direction.

I painted my Lorgar model on sprue because the attachment points were generally favorable for that method and there were many bits that were just too small to try and paint while holding the model itself. Normally though I assemble as much as I can before painting