Painting on the sprue

My first suggestion is to stop "breaking" the parts off the spues.   Please invest in a good sprue cutter or diagonal nipper; even a razor saw will help.  I have painted small parts on the sprue and then touched up the bare areas with a small brush.  That won't be a problem.  It really just varies with the part and the need...

Gary

I have done both, and I wouldn't say one is a better than the other. They are only better depending on the situation you have. Some instances, like many small parts that are the same color, I would leave them on the sprue.  

Grinny

sometimes I paint parts on the sprue and sometimes I break them off before I paint them. which way is best? I don't like touching up the part that didn't get painted where I break it off from the sprue. anyone have suggestions on this? I wish I was more organized and I could tear off all pieces for a certain color and paint them at the same time but I'm afraid I would lose something or mess it up. Let me know what your suggestions are please. Thanks. 

 

Wait.. you're breaking parts off sprues without tools?!?! YIKES!!!!!!

I really depends on what works for you. Armor, I will attach all the parts prior to paint, aircraft, I paint in stages, ships, I typically paint on the trees prior to attaching them. It's something you will find out as you go along.

Hello!

I don't paint on the sprue (most of the time), because almost every part needs some good cleanup - not only sprue attachment points, but also cleaning the mold seam line and in some cases filling the ejctor pin marks or sink holes - that's when most of the paint would be lost anyhow. After the cleanup, it's good to attach the part to something - to the model, if it should blend in colour-wise, or to a holder - toothpick, stretched sprue, adhesive tape - you name it, it it needs to have a different colour than the background.

Hope it helps - get yourself those sprue cutters and good luck with your builds, have a nice day

Paweł

I normally remove parts and clean them up fully before painting as well then put them in a set of plastic draws from the el cheapo shop. There are times I will paint on the sprue but not often, depends on the part.

Ditto on the cutters comments above, "break them off" makes me cringe 

Mick.

If you're worried about losing parts, I've found it helpful to remove the parts from the sprue, do the clean-up, then stick them on a piece of masking tape--sometimes with the part number written on it, so I keep them from getting mixed up.

Then I put everything into a seal-able clear storage container. Lunch meats come in them (or used to).  You can even separate the parts by construction steps; one box for each stage of construction.

It's minimized the amount of tiny parts that have disappeared into the Gamma Quadrant.

Breaking parts off the sprue wasn't the best choice of words I suppose. I have been using my xacto blade to cut them off actually. I did go out and buy some sprue cutters today though. I think it's easier for me to paint small parts on the sprue and it will probably depend on the part in the future. I'm hoping to get organized and be able to paint all parts of the same color together but I'm not there yet.

I should finish my Sherman tank tonight.

I frequently airbrush parts on the sprue, especially if there are a number of parts on the sprue that will be the same color.  Saves a lot of time.  Some parts will need touch up in the sprue attachment area (some won't) but that is part of plastic modeling, and that still is less time than painting each part individually.

I felt a distribance here in the form ...I read ( BREAK ) ...to a modeler thats like finger nails dragged cross a chalk board. .with that said ha ha ...I look at it like this once I start on a section. .like the cockpit. I find all the parts and cut them off and place them on a sprue or popsicle stick then paint . I don't really like to touch the part with my hands if I can help it .oils of the skin can wreck painting of the parts  but I do paint on the sprue too ..the sprue tree make for a handle ...5-high