The Chicken, the Egg or the Rooster? [Assemble, Green Stuff or Painting]

While assembling a model I realized that if I had painted the model before assembling it, I would have been able to paint some hard to reach locations easier. Nevertheless, I also saw that the model parts did not perfectly match and you could still see a line between the two parts. The line between the model parts can be hidden using some green stuff, but you would need to prime the green stuff after. Which made me think, how can I figure what to do first?

I heard that is better to use plastic glue directly on the plastic and not over paint or primer, but this can be fixed by scratching some of the paint/prime off or just covering with tape the location where the glue is going to be before prime & paint.

In some cases, the parts are glue in such a way that no line between the parts is possible or visible. This makes priming and painting first have no drawback. In other cases, i.e. head-neck to torso, does tend to leave an assembling line which requires some green stuff fixing. If you benefit from painting two parts separately then you can prime and paint the face, and leave the neck bare, glue the parts together and then use green stuff, prime and paint. In the last case, there is no way to use green stuff and prime a location without damaging what would be already painted, so using green stuff and prime first is the only option (or is it?).

What are your thoughts about this? What do you normally do and do you have any videos/references to share.

Looking forward,

 

If I ever encounter this case I always greenstuff if and then make an effort during painting, a personal opinion though; plus it would also depend on the case and how big the gap is or how hard painting gets

 

It depends entirely on the model in question.

I would avoid obvious seams and gaps, and glue/greenstuff
those bits, but of a part can be later assembled with out hassle,
you may want to consider painting that part separately if it is a difficult to paint after assembly.
definitely get some primer over all of your greenstuff and any applicable basing.
always basecoat your hardest to reach places first.

 

The model that I was working on is the bottom right model in this picture. In my opinion the right mini-shoulder makes it hard to reach the neck, and some underneath shoulder armor. Problem is that the miniature body is two-piece and around the same area you can see the line between the pieces. I do not think this model is a big deal or that I wont be able to paint it, but it did make me question the way I assemble and prime my miniatures.

My first batch of miniatures were barely clean of imperfection, lines, or fixed with green stuff. I am trying to make my AoS miniatures better.

 

Sounds silly, but I never thought about scraping before gluing. You may have a better grip, angles, and view. Looking at the miniature closer, I wonder if my gluing is not as good as I thought. The gaps look to be too big. Do you have a recommendation or do you get the same results yourselves?

Here are some of the locations that I think need to be fixing.
1. My idea is to put a line of green stuff and then push it to make the area smooth. Else when I paint it, I think the gap will show up and shade may go in.
2. I was a little disappointed in GW here, because if you see the other side of the armor the arrow and the indentation of the shoulders are more clear. I wonder if I should attempt to copy them with green stuff.
3. There is a small gap on the skull, which probably going to be left like that since I do not think I can figure how to fix it.

Apologies for the bad pictures, next time Ill try to zoom to the correct location.

 

Oh I assumed you where cleaning all the flash (seams) off the model before assembly.
It's usually a good idea.

 

I think you could use the lines to your advantage, instead of seeing them as a disadvantage. You can paint glowing lava or witch-light effect in those gaps. Anyways if you want to greenstuff that gap I´d glue, greenstuff and then paint. Because I don´t personally think the detail coverage by the arm is that bad, you can always tickle his armpit with your brush