Hello all. Question for the "Vets" among us. I would like some input on the way you handle accessories, specifically, equipment for figures. Do you paint them on the the sprue, clean them up, attach them to the figure, and touch up, or is it a best practice to paint them after doing all the assembly work.

I've struggled with this finding that if I paint first, by the time I've attached them to the figure, most of the original paint is worn off. Any thoughts?

baronjj

I usually paint them on the sprue and then touch up once they are on the figure or vehicle. I weather them once they are attached to the figure or vehicle.
recon

I usually do the same as Recon if the accessory is a single color. If it is in camo, I will take it off the sprue and mount it on a rod or pin and paint it that way. I do all clean-up of mold seams before painting. I may detatch and place the accessory item on a piece of tape and spray it with my airbrush if I am doing multiples as well. Depends on how many I have to do.

I assemble everything, especially small items, and paint them on the figure. Bigger backpacks, rifles and helmets, I usually paint seperately. I also find, trying to hold small items rather akward, and dont want glue signs after painting.
A small brush will get in nearly everywhere. If it cant be seen, no need to paint it. If in doubt, paint hard to reach areas, first in black, and then paint in what you can see or reach. The black will appear to be a shadow. You can also add a wash afterwards to hide areas like this.
I guess it all comes down to experience. You use the method that works for you. Theres no right or wrong way.

I started out painting on the sprue, then started removing from sprue before painting the small parts prior to assembly. I recently used an old Tamiya infantry set where each figure was cast with most of the equipment. (They look pretty ridiculous, but serves the purpose.) I found that painting the individual accessories was not as hard as I expected. I plan to complete the assembly before painting the next time and see how it goes.

Thanks for all the help y'all. Several different techniques and "theories" from each of. Also some similarities. I think I'll try a bit of each of these. I'm definitely going to try the full assembly then paint technique next. It just seems like it would save me some steps.