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I’ve been thinking about doing some sub assembly painting, and have seen people use various methods for mounting them on something while painting. I was wondering if anyone could share any knowledge on how best to do this?

I was thinking of mounting the parts on cork, though not sure how to do so. Blu tac seems like it’d be fine for parts, but not others, so maybe drilling a small hole and using wire/ paper clip would be better?

If anyone knows of any articles or videos on this please point me in the right direction!

For plastic I'll mount things on paperclips by drilling a hole and heating the clip with a lighter (don't burn yourself!) inserting it when it's hot so it melts the plastic giving a bond without glue.

For metal I glue the paperclip in and cut it down when it comes to assembly or it acts as a pinning point.

snip of a comfy lenght from a left over plastic sprue frame and use superglue to glue it on the backside of the part.
when done simply break the spure frame of the part. since it is glued with super glue, it snaps off very easliy.

of if you dont want to waste glue on it, use blu-tack.

If you have the Citadel Painting Handle, you can unscrew the top bit off and just put a healthy glob of blue tack on there. Now you don't have to awkwardly manipulate the default retention mechanism.

Alternatively, make a base with either a bit of sprue or paper clip affixed well and use that with the blue tack. If you're using a paper clip, fashion a loop and bend it 90 degrees so you can cover it in blue tack and it won't inadvertently rotate when you're about to paint some tiny detail.

Hope that helps!

Wine corks and paperclips or blue tac, depending on the part. You can also paint on the sprue for some parts.

Method depends on the part, for me.

Larger bits with broad attachment points or attached/molded on bases just get stuck to a handle with poster tack. I generally find wine corks a bit too skinny to stand freely on their own. I prefer to use something a bit broader, so I can just set the whole thing down on the table without it tipping over. Many advocate paint pots, but I don't have many of those that are empty - I tend to use old pill bottles that I make a point of saving (film canisters used to be recommended, but who has a stash of those, nowadays?). Dowel offcuts would work, as well, but I'd rather use it for actual woodworking projects, since I intentionally saved other trash that would do the job just as well.

If a model will be pinned, I prep it for that, leave the pins extra long, and just use those to mount to a handle. Corks work for light parts (like a plastic arm or backpack), but a heavy piece (say, the main body of a chunky metal model that lacks a base) tends to want to rotate, if it isn't symmetrical and with the pin roughly centered. I prefer using a pin vice to grip the pin, in such cases. Same for small, fiddly bits that would be difficult to access for painting without an absurdly long pin. The narrower diameter of the pin vice means I have full access with a much shorter, and therefore stiffer, pin.

Snap-fit models, like the old AoBR Orks, get toothpick (the round or square kind - not the thin flat ones) handles. If I trim the pointed tips off to the correct length along the taper, a toothpick will press-fit pretty stably into the holes. For the peg side, I trim it flat and use a tiny dab of superglue - survives the meager forces of painting (most times - heavy drybrushing on the end of an arm glued at the shoulder might snap it), but snaps off easily with minimal cleanup when I'm done.

I made a simple rack to hold skinny handled parts (toothpick or wire), when not being worked on. Nothing but corrugated cardboard, cut into strips and stacked in layers, on edge. Threw on a bottom sheet so they wouldn't shift, wrapped it in tape to hold it together, and now I have a lightweight but stable brick full of vertical holes that the pins can slot into for drying, storage, and organization. Works like the foam insulation sheet many jab their pieces into, but it never wears out and I don't have to waste foam I spent actual money on, even if it wasn't much. There's actually a commercial hobby version of the thing, but it was so easy to make I would never consider spending even a few bucks on it. Just a few minutes with a knife, a bit of tape, and a used shipping/retail packaging box destined for the recycling bin.

I tend to blu tac to rarely-used paint pots, or a dab of superglue onto some spare sprue. Depends a bit on the size and weight of the peice, and how much work I want to put into it.

I use thumbtacks instead of paperclips & I glue them to lengths of sprue.