"prime plastics on the sprue or remove first?" Topic

So when working with plastic figures that come on sprues (such as Warlord Games multipart plastics), do you prime the entire sprue or assemble the figures first?

Assemble (mostly), finish assembly after painting so's to be able to paint hard to reach places. I use gesso as a primer, so taking parts off a sprue is going to rub some off, then you have to scrape it off to glue, touch up, etc. Spray primer works, but you still have to scrape to glue…

Since plastics often have clean-up issues (mold lines and flash), getting them off the sprue is usually the first step. Many items can be primed after clean-up and assembly well enough. There are always difficult figures or models, though. You have to take each one as a separate case.

Also: you want glue to stick to plastic, not paint. A joint with a couple layers of paint and primer keeps the gle from fully bonding the material(s).

- Ix

Depends on how easy it will be to paint the finished figure. Sometimes I will prime and paint on the sprue because it is easier to paint details, other times I will build the figure 1st then prime and paint.

I mostly prime first, especially with hard plastics and assembly ahead. Too many places become difficult to reach after assembly.

I've never found an instance with figures, where it was better to prime before assembly. That said, I always plastic weld the figs, and sometimes add a little putty to fill gaps, so the primer would be in the way of that work.

I always assemble and then prime my plastics.

assemble and then prime

Assemble, base, prime, paint. If I can't get to the spot to paint it, no one is seeing it at 3 feet. I paint for play, not display.

Very situational.
Single piece figures (plastic 1/72 & 15mm Inf) can be painted on the sprue but don't bother to paint their helmets. They must be filed, primed, and painted after cutting them loose.
Road wheels are best painted on the sprue, again, knowing that you will need to touch up the tires after assembly. In this case the back side (the glue side), of the wheels, is not painted per The Yellow Admiral's advice.

Multi-part figures must be assembled prior to priming, as advised by both Yellow Admiral and Irishserb.

Assemble first, then paint.

Prime after assembly.

Usually I assemble then paint. But there are cases where it's seemed more efficient to basecoat on the sprue, so for those I primed and base coated first.

I do wash the model on the sprue, with dish soap and warm water.

I was wondering how everyone did it with the multipart figures. It doesnt seem like alot of details would be hidden (unlike some of the multipart metals).
Thanks for the input everyone!

Assemble then straight onto basecoat. I've never primed figures.

I do wash the sprue in soapy water first of all.

Assemble first, then paint.

Wash while on spire, assemble, prime with gesso and paint.

Depends on the minis, sculpt, and project.

Priming and painting on the sprue has its advantages – easier to hold, keeps track of bits during a large build, consistent approach to minis, access to what will become inside bits, etc. And it has a cost – minor clean up after removing.

For multipart minis, I often consider whether or not the attachment points to the sprue are mostly at the attachment points between minis, that is, the parts you don't want to paint anyway.