Assembly Line Painting

[Steellegioncpt]

Hey guys I have about 150+ guardsmen only half painted. Now this is my golden daemon prize babies, my STEEL LEGION army. So I tend to treat them with care. However I have been playing this army for 5 year anf yet they are still not done, and to add to the mix Im thinking about stripping the painted ones and starting with a new scheme. Any hints on a effective "assembly line" method?

Cheers
PEter

[Cagarner]

When I have loads of basic models (Gaunts for me), I glue them all together, and then paint all of the men a colour at a time.

[Dan296]

same. glue them all together first (though steel legion is all metal)
dont strip them, and if any paint has faded or something like that simply repaint it.
i usually do assembly lines a squad or unit type at a time. for example, you could do any 'special' models such as heavy weapon teams, special weapon troopers, seargents ect. by each type. then when you have the massive flashlight troops do 10 at a time, one color at a time.

[Steellegioncpt]

Originally Posted by Dan296

same. glue them all together first (though steel legion is all metal)
dont strip them, and if any paint has faded or something like that simply repaint it.
i usually do assembly lines a squad or unit type at a time. for example, you could do any 'special' models such as heavy weapon teams, special weapon troopers, seargents ect. by each type. then when you have the massive flashlight troops do 10 at a time, one color at a time.

Yea thats what I tend to do is take them in groups like that. But I also have a habit of taking one model, paint it fully then start on another. I think what I need to do (as suggested) is taking blocks of models and paint one colour at a time.

[Cagarner]

Doing them in blocks I think is better than indevidually. Its more economical use of paint, as none is wasted washing the paint of the brush to use the next colour. Also you can get quite good at applying the colour and by the last few men, you may find they are better quality.

[Dan296]

i never thought about that. doing one color at a time would save paint as well! its really the best way to do a large army quickly if you dont really spend alot of time on each individual model. even if you still like inking and other minute detail things like that it will still be faster then a model at a time.

[experiment 626]

Originally Posted by Steellegioncpt

Hey guys I have about 150+ guardsmen only half painted. Now this is my golden daemon prize babies, my STEEL LEGION army. So I tend to treat them with care. However I have been playing this army for 5 year anf yet they are still not done, and to add to the mix Im thinking about stripping the painted ones and starting with a new scheme. Any hints on a effective "assembly line" method?

Cheers
PEter

well, if you're wanting to paint them all to a high standard while still going the 'assembly line' method, i'd take them in smaller blocks of say 5 models at a time. for example, with an infantry squad i'd break it down into the following 2 groups;
1) 4 guardsmen + heavy weapon trooper (okay, so i base my teams on proper 25mm bases which isn't always possible with steel legion!)
2) 4 guardsmen + sergeant

this way, you have four regular grunts and one 'special' model that you can go to town on or simply use to break up the basic guys... granted it'll take longer than painting a full 10 man squad, but it allows you to spend a bit more time per model while still painting the 'one colour on everyone' to an extent!

cheers!

[JoeGuardsman]

I'm with Stitch. I painted 5 or 6 armies to a display level over the last year and along with the teeth gritting work of painting the same color for an uncountable amount of strokes you need to break it up with something special once in a while. Gotta give yourself a prize, painting nice models is hard work.

[r4wr89]

Originally Posted by JoeGuardsman

I'm with Stitch. I painted 5 or 6 armies to a display level over the last year and along with the teeth gritting work of painting the same color for an uncountable amount of strokes you need to break it up with something special once in a while. Gotta give yourself a prize, painting nice models is hard work.

yea that's definitely a good tip. having some sweet music on always helps too :] not a movie though, watch out! movies take your attention away [even bad ones] and your paint dries up...haha

-ant

[experiment 626]

Originally Posted by r4wr89

yea that's definitely a good tip. having some sweet music on always helps too :] not a movie though, watch out! movies take your attention away [even bad ones] and your paint dries up...haha

-ant

another good point - music! i find that playing opera or similar instrumental music is great for calming nerves. really helpful when you get into free-handing designs and such on small surfaces!

cheers!

[Jericho199]

Hmm, I guess I'm the only one who paints stuff before assembly. With the plastic ones I paint them before I even cut them from the sprue! I find it easiest of me to hold the big sprue and paint. That way I can also hold on further away from the piece I'm painting so my hand doesn't get in the way. But that way you can paint the stuff that's hard to get at when the model is assembled (like behid arms and such).

My friend paints this way too. He also paints the interior of his land raiders, which would be pretty hard once it's all put together.

[Cagarner]

I did that for my first two armies, but now I glue them together beforehand.

[experiment 626]

the only real problem with 'sprue painting' is that it becomes incredably difficult to properly clean all the mold lines from your models and that can have a huge impact on your army's overall appearence...

still, it's handy when you're paining lots of little annoying things like rippers & scarabs! (or hoards of skellies in an undead army too!)

cheers!

[Dan296]

i did my rippers....after i glued them to the base >.<
never doing that again!
luckily people dont look at them much. they spend more time looking at the carnifex currently ripping apart their tanks....

but sprue painting can also be a problem, as some parts you need to paint are covered by its connection with the sprue!
but why would you paint the inside of a land raider? unless you are one of those people who can make it so all of the hatches and doors open, its kindof a waste of time...i just primed mine...