Painting Mechs

[greg954]

Just wondering how many people paint their mechs before assembling? It seems easier and thus logical to paint before glueing all the parts together. That’s what I mainly do anyway. However……..

I’ve found myself glueing before hand and then thinking why? Now it’s going be trickier to paint. Maybe because I never think first and just blindly steam ahead for what ever reason. Not just me though, I’ve got about 5 mechs in my lead pile waiting painting. Purchased from eBay and all built by the seller.

 

[Rhoderic]

What ranges/manufacturers of mechs are you mainly thinking of? And do you mean regular brush painting or airbrushing?

Most mechs I’ve painted to date have been Heavy Gear and old Jovian Chronicles ones, painted by brush. I prefer to assemble them (with meticulous pinning) before painting. Personally I can’t really say I’ve experienced difficulties painting them that could have been avoided by leaving them unassembled. It also makes it easier for me to figure out where to paint shading and highlighting. For the same reason I don’t do magnetised interchangeable weapons, which I know some other Heavy Gear modellers are heavily into.

But of course, a typical Heavy Gear or Jovian Chronicles mech is much the same as a multi-part GW Space Marine in regard to the parts it comprises. I wouldn’t paint Space Marines unassembled either, and I suspect the same goes for most people (though I know there are some that do it). So maybe the mechs you have in mind are something different to what I’m thinking of?

As for airbrushing, I have the impression that people who paint their figures wholly or partially this way like to assemble them only afterwards, sometimes going so far as to leave them on the sprue (if there is one) during painting. I’ve never practiced airbrushing myself though, and it seems to me like a fairly small minority of people paint their wargaming figures (as opposed to gunpla-style display models) this way. The ones that do, seem to mostly be masterclass-level painters, which is a category I’m not even interested in aspiring to.

[greg954]

I’ve recently got some Precinct Omega ones. So it’s these which I’m thinking about. MechaFront is a favourite of mine. I can’t remember how I painted the ones I have. I got some more off eBay which came assembled and primed. So don’t have a choice how to paint these.

I always brush paint. Haven’t ventured into airbrushing yet.

[Rhoderic]

Been meaning to get some mechs from both Mecha Front and Precinct Omega. They look great. Judging by photos, they don’t strike me as having more difficult-to-reach areas than a typical Dream Pod 9 mech, so I’m fairly sure I’m going to assemble them before painting.

All this is just personal preference, of course. I value being able to paint highlighting and shading in the right places, more than I value ease of access with a brush. Also I don’t want glue getting on top of the paint. I probably have a high tolerance level for putting up with painting hard-to-reach areas on figures.

[whitphoto]

Assemble then paint, almost always. I paint for tabletop standard, if I can’t reach it it can’t be seen at tabletop distances. There are some rare cases where I have to paint then assemble. I’m going to put together four 1/48 uh1 hueys where it’s easier to paint first than it is to mask off the clear canopies. But they’re models and not wargaming pieces so it’s an exception.

 

[Deleted User]

I’ve mostly painted assembled models, mostly Heavy Gear and Gunpla. The few times I pre-paint a model I’ve found removing parts from the sprue/frame damaged the paintjob or need touch up to cover the sprue connection point. The location to be glued also need filing out to remove paint, and sometimes glue seeps out and need to be removed or painted over. In all painting before assembling had been more time consuming for me and the end result looks less realistic, since everything looked factory new. Going back to add weathering once assembled was a pain, and hard to reach places often get less weathering and stand out more.

I’ve found the places you can’t reach on assembled models gives very good impression of shadow or weathering, if you used dark primer. Large models especially benefit from uneven paint coverage to give that used and worn out look. I brush painted.

Talking about this makes me want to buld a mecha, I think I’ll get one of Warmachine’s warjacks.

[greg954]

I can recommend Mecha Front, I’m pretty sure I assembled first before painting. Haven’t done anything with the Precinct Omega ones yet but will assemble first. They look good and similar to Mecha Front, so should fit in nicely.

 

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