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I've ran out of white undercoat, and just as I was about to order another can, I asked myself what would happen if I didn't undercoat.

I've got some Citadel base paints from a few years ago, and I started asking if this would be enough?

When I think about it, undercoat does provide a surface for your paints, but on the other hand, it's another layer to clog up the detail.

Has anybody tried painting without an undercoat, and if so, what were the results like?

Thanks for any replies.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/691822.page

I used to when I first started. The paint, since we typically don't use it thick, would often pull away from the plastic, and it would take multiple coats, and still quite often leave spots of bare plastic. Now, if you try painting the base paint over it instead of a spray primer, that might work! Give it a try.

I find paints don't spread as well over bare plastic, so even just the lightest coat of primer is better than no primer IMO.

Also it helps stop paint rubbing off the models.

You can of course paint a brilliant model with or without primer. This Skink Priest was painted by David Soper and won silver in GDUK single miniature category. He doesn't use primer, just paints straight on to the plastic.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/342773?browseid=6892658

Of course that's not exactly an "ordinary" result, primer or not I'm never going to paint a model that looks that good.

i always use a basecoat. i find that not only does it even out all the surfaces so i'm ready to preshade, but it also sets you up mentally to start your painting.

I would say I'm a tabletop quality painter (unfortunately even my best efforts).
In spite of this, in my own experience, I find little difference between a layer of black primer and an extra layer of black basecoat.
My citadel primer pot separated into a watery and chunky mix and so I resorted to simply painting thin layers of black base till I could not see through it. The end result was not noticeably different to using primer.

Note that this is using black primer and you specifically mention white primer.
None the less I hope this helps in the future.