Hi All - I love the Altores Studio line of 54mm and have been buying them to work on recently. I'm still in intermediate level, so wondering if you guys tend to paint as a whole assembled figure or in parts, then assemble?

I like to do the large areas and base coats with my airbrush because it lays down so smooth then I do details and touch ups from over spray with brushes.

The Altores figures fit so well, I'm wondering if it makes sense to do the arms and head separately THEN attach.

Love to hear peoples thoughts on the subject.

Regardless of the brand, I'll assemble a figure as much as I can and still reach every place with paint. I leave off things that prevent me from reaching an area, until I've got the paint where I want it.

Prost!
Brad

I'm with Brad basically. I always end up making a mess when I try assembling the fully painted bits afterwards and I've found that it's sometimes difficult to judge shadow areas etc if packs and swords are added afterwards so I stick 'em on and paint afterwards. Handy tip if you do go down this route is to get hold of a couple of riggers (brushes with long bristles) which can reach into small spaces.
Cheers
Paul

Thanks Brad & Paul! I see your points, great info (love this site already!) any links to nice kolinsky riggers you recommend? I use Abteilung 502, series 7 and Davinci Kolisnky brushes but never see any long bristle options.

Kolinsky riggers would be great, but you won't need them often so save some money for the other brushes (I use no 1 series 7 and broken toads for my detail work and a mixed collection of others which I've collected. The riggers are Pro art series 42 which I picked up at a local art supplies shop. You might find they are called 'scrollers', but basically they are brushes with very long bristles, so good to reach into inaccessible corners)
I've also recently started using a black primer spray which also helps if you've assembled everything because all the shadows are dark (really tiresome to try and paint a dark shadow in a recess on a figure with a light colour - you'd be amazed at how a little bit of white in a hard to reach place always stands out and the end saying "look at me!")
Cheers
Paul

Basically if you can see it you can paint it......That being said a bit of common sense has to be used.
All of the previous comments are spot on and it's simply a matter of adapting to suit.
I always prime with grey and reverse the zenithal highlighting technique by turning the piece upside down and spraying with black to give me the deep shaded areas. I then undercoat the less visible areas for example the underside of a cloak where it covers a figures back with a colour as close to my intended finish as possible.
I then assemble as much as I can. The use of rigger type brushes can be invaluable but be sure you only put paint on the tip to avoid hitting parts with the sides of the bristles as you manoeuvre the brush.
Always make sure you have plenty of your paint left to cover any mistakes, the chances of you being able to mix the same blend tone is practically nil.
Cheers
Derek

Thanks for the tip re rigger brushes, Paul - I’d never heard of these before, so invested in some of the ProArte ones after I’d read your post. Another tool I use for those hard to reach areas is a fine point L-shaped brush which I bought from Micro-Mark in the USA some years ago - I don’t know if they still sell these, but they were called “The Detailer” brushes.

This is on a figure-by-figure basis. The old Shep Paine mantra "if you can see it, you can paint it" is okay, but always ask, "...but can I paint it well?"

I reckon people sometimes stick to it religiously as to partially paint a figure, then add to it with further, subsequent building, can be a real pain; and can have the effect of making you feel you're going backwards. As painters I think we all love to get on with the painting.

I tend to leave off stuff that hangs of belts etc until the last minute. Also any parts that are easily snapped off, I leave until last.

Do a trial run and be realistic about what you can or can't access easily.

Daddy O is 100% spot on about using the right brush type for the right job. Time for honesty I used to use the same No.1 brush for everything. Yep everything.... Using a larger brush to work larger areas simply didn't occur to me. What a muppet. These days I use different kinds of brushes for different jobs. Honestly, it took me years to work that one out. So what do I know?

I just started a good example ! The FER Miniatures George Washington figure. Anyone familiar with it? The cape is in two halves and now way I want to paint it on George The fit is good so I'm hoping I could get away with painting separately and then putting on. Painting the back of the figure and the cape assembled because it's so close to the body seems ridiculous. I wonder if there is a tiny seam on in the middle of the painted cape, could I then deal with filling and painting over. Oh boy

I tend to assemble as much as possible because one needs to putty gaps and sand seams and one can't do that unless the figure is nearly assembled.

I found it pretty true that if one can see it, one SHOULD paint it (not CAN paint it). Not everything can be painted if seen, but I will say that primer should cover nearly everything that primer can reach to prevent mold, mildew, and crud. I spray primer with a spray can and often handpaint so I make sure the primer can reach all exposed areas even if my paintbrush cannot.

For gluing parts onto surfaces, superglue will stick to paint and is more likely to peel off the paint if the part breaks. One can use epoxy glue also.