How to paint plastic?

[Zappo]

To glue miniatures together, the best thing you can do is file the surfaces you want to join so that they touch well, then clean them carefully with soap and hot water. This way you'll remove grease - after this, try not to touch the mini on the areas you want to glue. Glue them, wait for the glue to set, and then apply the primer. Before painting on the glued area, wait some more time. And then some more time. I've destroyed a brush by trying to paint on a bit where I had placed superglue the day before (you know, the stuff that's supposed to dry in 10 seconds).

Don't try to glue painted areas, you'll just glue the paint and that's useless. Also, don't rely on the primer, or on the paint, or on the varnish to somehow keep the miniature together. That's not what they are supposed to do, and they don't do it. You can also use putty if the areas to be glued are too small or irregular.

For coloring, Games Workshop has very high quality products. They are also costly, but they're worth the price. Remember that paint must be thinned (just use water), if it is too thick you will lose details on the miniature. For the same reason, I avoid to paint over already-painted minis... unfortunately, paint can be a real pain to strip off (especially from plastic minis, and especially if you've varnished them... whatever you use is likely to eat the plastic as well).

Uhm... while I'm here, remember to never dip the brush too deep, and never let paint set on the brush (if you're planning to use it again). Those things are costly.

 

[Soul]

If you are just modifying a prepainted plastic, I wouldn't suggest using primer at all. Just paint the mini the way you want, and spray it with either a matte or gloss sealant. Let the first coat of sealant dry, and then spray again. That should protect it enough.

 

[Stone Dog]

On the subject of primer, don't buy GW brand name spray primer. Not that it isn't good, but there are things even better that are cheaper.

A friend of mine was using Krylon for a long while and was perfectly happy with it. Then I picked up a can of Painter's Touch (Home Depot carries no Krylon) as a favor while I was heading over to his house. It coated evenly and brought out details you couldn't notice in the original model.

Since then this is the paint of choice. Coats great and is about half the cost of GW.

As for bits falling off, I've had those problems too, but not since I learned to pin them in place. Some wire and a small drill will do wonderful things for a fig that glue just can't.

 

[Yair]

Thanks.
GW and other brand names common in america are hard to get where I am (Israel), but I'll do what I can.

Thanks again!