"Prep Prep Prep?" Topic

Imagine that you are assembling a trio of plastic tank models. The pieces need to be cleaned up before gluing, just a little knife work and some filing.

Would you:

* prep a model, glue a model, prep a model, glue a model, prep a model, glue a model

* prep all the models, then glue all the models

Prep as needed then glue.

I will alway set up an assembly line only dealing with parts needed for the next step. Other part are not cut and cleaned until needed.

Assembly line it: prep all, then paint all. It is much more efficient, thus saving time, getting them on the tabletop sooner. I am all about speed painting. Cheers!

Prep, Glue, Prep, Glue. With each one that you do you get better and discover any pitfalls. Not as efficient but works for me. But then paint the whole unit when all glued and dried.

It's also good if your work area can be disturbed. The last thing you want is all of your bits getting mixed up or dropped.

First prep a model, glue a model, once I have checked the important points and the defects to be corrected, prep all the models, then glue all the models.

Prep, prep, prep.
Paint, paint, paint.
Glue, glue, glue.
Wash, wash, wash.
Beer, beer, beer.

If there were only 3 models, I'd do them one at a time. For more, I'd do the first one completely and then, once I was satisfied with it, I'd assembly line the rest.

I did prep model, glue model, and so on. Part of it is, for me, just so I don't screw up and mix up parts, etc. (which I did when I tried to speed things up).

I would follow Acronim's approach.

Prep, prep, prep.
Paint, paint, paint.
Glue, glue, glue.
Wash, wash, wash.
Beer, beer, beer.

You missed a few lines etotheipi.

Bladder, Bladder, Bladder.
Run, Run, Run.
Pee, Pee, Pee.

Wash parts on sprue and let dry.
For each sub-assembly, clip off all parts needed and prep (scrape, file, polish), then assemble (glue).

With 3 models I would want to work on all 3 kits together and advance all to the same stage as I go. Whether I would clip/prep 3 sub-assemblies in parallel or in serial would depend on the complexity of the sub-assemblies.

I have painted large armies, with only 3-5 different poses, out of 150 figures. Organizing them into groups of poses, then painting them Assembly Line style, saved me considerable time in painting them.

I averaged 10 minutes of brush time, per figure, and that includes applying The Dip Technique (brushed on, not dunking). That means that I averaged 1,500 minutes of painting time, or 25 hours of actual painting time on 150 figures. Granted, they all look the same (same brush stroke, same paint, same colors, etc.), and they are only good looking at arm's length, on the tabletop, but they're done! They are just one army I have, fully painted, out of more than a dozen others.

I am all about economy of painting. My armies are consistent looking for painting style, and as stated previously, they look good on the tabletop, from a few feet away. That is the 98%-tile of viewing; that is the only percentile of viewing which I care about. Economy, Baby -- it's what spins my personal world! Cheers!

It depends upon the complexity of the kit. Simple ones, such as most quick assembly kits, can be done as a group. Complex ones require a first run assembly to find out how hard it is to complete. One of the worst kits I ever made was a T-26 model which had tiny road wheels which had to be carefully placed and glued between rocker housings. I shudder to think about trying to assemble three of those in an assembly line process. Getting those teeny-wheensy wheels to stay in place and remain aligned while gluing the housings made it a real pig of a kit to assemble.