Rookie Painting Question . . .

I've never primed.

  Except for when I'm going to do some chipping, (using hairspray or salt..... maybe just some simple scratches) I don't undercoat either.

Thank you both, and I'm glad to hear you don't prime because I never saw a reason for it either.  Your two posts confirmed my thoughts.  I never understood why.  But are the rest of my points correct?  I've never used Future before and don't want to screw up a $70 model experimenting with stuff I've never done before. 

I never prime either and never had any problems.

As for future, it depends why you want to apply it. If its just to apply the decals to, armoured vehicles tend not to have as many markings as aircraft, you could just brush the future where you want the decals to go. If your using enamel paints and are doing an oil wash, then a couple of coats of future are a good idea. If your using acrylic paints then you can do the wash straight onto that.

Apply the decals before you do any washes or anything else, but apart from that, you have the right idea.

In your list, apply decals BEFORE you apply any weathering, including washes.

Roger that.  Just careless itemizing on my part.  Thanks.

I would NOT recommend spraying Future all over your model, You;'ll get a big, shiny coat that then has to be toned down, necessitating another coat of flat. Just not worth it. Rather, if you're worried about decal silvering, dip your decal itself in Future after you remove it from the backing, It will settle right down on the model, nicely.

Awesome.  Thanks.

I myself am fond of priming. It not only eliminates any concerns that your paint may one day decide it's not happy on plastic anymore, it also gives you the option of using a sanding method to show surface details. I lay down a couple coats, usually one gray, one black. I am, however, the exception to the rules of most in here. It really is entirely up to you.

Oh, and Future ..... I brush it on. It's fantastic at self-leavening. Also, you CAN use Future as a dull coat by adding a flat base such as Tamiya X-21 acrylic.