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Painting Heads - On or Off?


nheather

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Question to figure painters - when painting do you leave the heads off, paint and then assemble.  Or assemble then paint.

 

Guess the same goes for other parts too.

 

My figures are mostly for wargaming, many are one piece white metal so I have no choice but a good number are plastic multi-part.  Because they are to be handled on the gaming table rather than put in a display cabinet I like to have every part securely glued so tend to assemble as much as I can before painting.  But I'm in two minds about the heads.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

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I glue heads on and paint them after assembly, because I tend to make a mess with glue. 

 

But I have painted heads separately if the neck fits into a deep socket on the fugure, if there is less chance of seeing the glue joint.

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If the head/neck joint has a nice deep socket for placing the head, leave it off and paint it separately. If it has no socket, then glue the head into place before painting because more than likely, it will need filler of some sort. And you don't want to ruin a paint job by having to sand filler from a pre-painted joint.

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  • 2 months later...

I agree with the majority above: assemble first, fill any gaps with putty, tidy up, then paint.

I only paint shields, capes and rucksacks separately, as there's usually detail underneath (on the figure) that also needs attention. 

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Yeah, I normally go along with fixing the head in place first.

Contrary to most figure painters though, I usually just block in a base flesh color onto the face and paint the rest of the figure -- then go back and do the facial details.

But that's just me and there's no denying that approach has bitten me in a tender spot a couple of times. 

There's really no right or wrong way. It's what ever suits the individual modeler and taking into account the actual figure that's being painted.

If it makes more sense to paint the head and face separately and then fix it in place, or if that's just personal preference, then go for it.

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It depends! I glue as much as I can without making life difficult. So if the figure has a big collar or bulky armour with a recessed head it's easier to paint separately. Likewise if it has sticking out stuff like long lances that make it hard to get in with the brush. But if I can get away with fitting the head it can help, especially if the joint needs attention.

Not gluing figures to bases is useful too, as you can easily paint the undersides of flared clothing and armour, inside the legs etc.

 

Will

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1 hour ago, Will Vale said:

It depends! I glue as much as I can without making life difficult. So if the figure has a big collar or bulky armour with a recessed head it's easier to paint separately. Likewise if it has sticking out stuff like long lances that make it hard to get in with the brush. But if I can get away with fitting the head it can help, especially if the joint needs attention.

Not gluing figures to bases is useful too, as you can easily paint the undersides of flared clothing and armour, inside the legs etc.

 

Will

Completely agree. It all depends on the particular figure and castings.

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