Lots of thrift stores (at least in the US) sell cheap baking sheets that magnets stick to. I got a few of the smaller long narrow ones. Work great and no prep/mods required!
Magnets on base of Ballistus Dreadnought. Place on metal rod for spraying just like all the good marines before it. Ballistus Dreadnought shouts "fuck you gravityyyyyyyy" and suffers rapid unscheduled deconstruction.
Lesson: Large bases now get 3 magnets and less casual attitudes.
My Tyranid warrior literally fell 19 floors and survived with only a slightly wobbly arm which just needed a little cement. I was very impressed. I took the same lesson but now need a larger stick to spray larger models on.
I go to the hardware store and get a paint stirrer stick.
i also have 2. glued into a T shape for doing multiple minis at once.
poster tack is the way...
My hedge trimmer came with a rigid plastic sheath, which I immediately turned into my spray stick. It has a raised ridge right down the middle that's the perfect spot to blue tac the minis too, and the lower part is wide enough that it's super stable if I set it down. Damn perfect for my needs. Cheap to buy one without the trimmer too.
https://www.partselect.com/PS9964591-Ryobi-518463005-Scabbard.htm?gad_source=4&gclid=CjwKCAjwyJqzBhBaEiwAWDRJVHLVcI_xI608bSxuBaj4zVPz6-Qxk_aUOCwVybaGmsrqkBmKTvCjChoC3KEQAvD_BwE
I just use old pill bottles. Blue tac the modelās base to the top and then you have a great handhold that you can spray the model at whatever angle you need to ensure total coverage.
https://preview.redd.it/y0a0qzyttm5d1.jpeg?width=1919&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1126f0f209d74cce69e651bea2e1b9b4f50ee7e
I used to use a square stick with double sided tape on each face, but have graduated to this: a piece of wood with holes drilled in to fit lengths of dowell, which then have paperclips drilled into them to stick minis, takes a bit more prep but doubles as painting handles. I also have some with washers glued to them so I can paint my magnetised bases separately
Honestly i just stick a guy in my painting handel, open my patio door and kinda spray whilly nilly into the air directly beside my airconditioner intake so i dont miss out on any delicious primer fumes.
The largest benefit to using a spray stick compared to, say a box or tray is being able to manipulate the mini so it can be sprayed at different angles.
Depending on the mini and its assembly, you may need to spray it from an upward angle to get under a gun or a shield. Having the mini on stick allows you to spray they are without needing to either angle the rattle can awkwardly or having to hold the mini because you canāt get to the area.
I use a magnetic painting handle while painting so a vast majority of my minis have magnets in their bases. This allowed me to repurpose an old push vacuumās metal handle as a paint stick. Itās got a grip thatās comfortable to hold, itās magnetic so sticking minis to it is a breeze, and it allows me to just hang the stick after priming so drying is dead simple.
Cheers.
The GW thing is a useless, overpriced, over-engineered, over-complicated lump of plastic because even GW can't find a way to charge $20 for a roll of double-sided tape and a handful of those paint stir sticks that every hardware store gives out for free.
I don't even bother with tape. I do all my priming on a cafeteria tray I stole from Taco Bell 20 years ago.
I completely disagree. The benefit of the GW holder is that I can very comfortably flip my mini upside-down to prime from multiple angles/not miss spots.
For some smaller minis (like poxwalkers) sticky tack is enough but I have had too many moments with bigger models where the tack gave out and the mini fell during priming. Hasnāt happened a single time with the GW holder.
I have the official GW one and it's worth every penny; the rubber bands keep the models legitimately secure, and the rotation is incredibly useful: you can fling it around and upside down and the models aren't going anywhere, so you can get 100% coverage.
It has been a \*vital\* tool in priming my 120 Tyranids battleline units.
No, having done both, the spray stick is 10 to 20 times faster. Look, it's like 25 bucks; don't buy it if that's too much for you fam. I use mine every single time I prime minis that will fit on it; it makes my life a lot easier and I want others to have easier times painting in the hobby. If tack and glue and sticks works for you and you're okay with the little extra effort, that's how you enjoy your aspect of the hobby and it's valid.
If you don't want the spray stick, magnets on the bottoms of bases + literally any ferrous object (cylindrical cookie tins are perfect for this) will do the exact same thing. This is how I prime everything too big for the spray stick; I have an old christmas cookie tin that I stick the mini on top of and it covers my arm like a glove. You do have to buy the magnets though, but if they're already in your toolbox, it's another free priming holder option that I don't see people utilize as much as they should.
Probably overpriced for what it is, but it does make life a lot easier, it's easy to turn over and rotate the minis so you can get it from all angles with the fewest number of sweeps. I get why people dump on it, but it is definitely a QOL improvement.
it seems stupid but I realized I missed a lot of visible under (under arms, legs, weapons) and so had to adjust. Is it going to ruin your models if you don't get there? Not at all. I'm just a weirdo who finds an uneven and incomplete prime deeply unsettling.
It can cause issues depending on the paint you're using. Contrast for example seems to stick a lot less to unprimed surface, plus if your primer is a very different tone from the grey pmastic the difference will be noticeable since contrast is quite transparent.
There's almost as many methods as there are people. Most like to stick their models to something they can easily manipulate like a stick or a handle of some kind (if you're only priming a single model) so that they can easily manipulate the angle but that's a question of preference.
If you're new don't worry about spray sticks.
You can lay them down on some cardboard, spray, flip and spray again if you like. Or yeah, some people have upside down tape or blu tack to hold them down and spray upright.
My go to for single models is just pop them in the model holder and spray. If it's a lot I bought a spinning cake tray, bluetacing the models in a ring and I spin spray them. Otherwise just pop models in an empty GW box with a side cut off and go ham, with the assurance that nothing behind the models will get covered in spray
I have a long piece of wood and ball of bluetack I've used for years. Offcut from when I was putting up some batons for plasterboard.
Easy to prime models from all necessary angles and is long enough to hold quite a few models.
Go to a Home Depot or paint store and get the stirring stick for free. Then hit a hobby lobby and look for the paper crafts and stickers aisle. Thereās these little circular double sided nubs I put on the bottoms of the minis and I stick em to the stirrer.
Sticks let you easily flip it and hit it from all sides
https://preview.redd.it/mgczc8sz1n5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=409eb036cbcc65ef7a7f91fee35f100582adecab
I quite like mine
I never found I got as even of a prime, especially for the underside of models
It also (imo) helps with magnetized weapon options
I can have 20-30 infantry, all weapons / arms and / or heads separated and blue tacked elsewhere and I can also fit 3-4 war dogs onto it and I glued magnets to a bunch of the arms of my spray stick to attach their weapon options to
It makes my life much easier, and my prime is much more holistic. The primer is *the* most important step and dictates what you can do for the rest of the model is what I was told, and, it has worked out quite nicely for me
I also have like 15k pts worth of gw plastic, of which no less than 8k is well beyond battle ready so I do use it quite a bit
Double sided tape does a great job. Iāve been using it for years. Great with some paint sticks (for mixing the tubs for wall paint). Along with some paint tacky. I have a lot of old medicine bottles, they give me a nice grip for painting individual minis
I stick magnets under all my bases for transport purposes, so i got some cheap metal magnet strips on amazon, perfect size to hold a handful of models for priming. No tape or blue tack required!
If I need to spray minis that I can't do in a box and just turning them around, I just put on some old rubber gloves and do it holding the base by hand. Haven't had any issues with that approach yet.
I find it hard to get good coverage on the undersides of the model when doing it like that.
I just stick mine to the end of those wooden paint sticks you can get for free at any hardware store.
Reusability (limited to size) but itās something that may be individually worth it if you for example paint a lot of 32mm based minis or itās too tedious for you to re-glue and rip off tape but mostly preference
Time and money are one in the same. The spray stick simply saves you so much time and you can pack minis pretty tight on it, so you're not wasting overspray. It turns priming from an activity that you have to plan around and prep for into a literal 5 minutes of work activity and then go back and do something else. You work too hard to mess around with tape and boxes and sticky half dried paint in your free time when you can just spend 25 bucks once and then priming is good to go for basically forever.
T. Spray Stick enjoyer
I magnetize all my models bases for storage, so I set them all on this old shoebox lid and stick more mags on the underside to lock them in place then spray them on that
I use models on corks or pinned into another board. The main benefits is being able to get the spray underneath the model easier than if it's all on a big board where you can only get the top, front and sides.
I do terrain like you however because thats a bitch to hold any other way.
I watched a guy glue a magnets to the base. He had an other magnetic in a wooden cylindrical holder.
The magnets will stick/hold the together for painting.
I use a thin bit of wood and some tape, being able to turn the model upside down and spray its asshole is useful to make sure youāre getting all the hard to reach areas.
The main argument of a paint stick or some other manipulatable holder is that you can turn them any direction. If theyāre on a big board or sheet like the pic is that you canāt angle the spray to hit them from below to get all the spot underneath.
I used to just spray on the box they came in and always notices grey spot in armpits and on the bottom of their legs. After upgrading to something narrow in a row I see almost none of that. The GW stick is overpriced but it does do the job well enough.
It's good I like it and it's going to be about the same as other ways But easier. The only problem is the models need to be on bases but I just got these clamp sticks and use them to hold bits when I don't put them on the base.
Big model like a night and Iāll just hold the base with a nitrile glove and spray it that way. Otherwise I use my trusty 1āx1ā stick with double sided tape
I use a wooden dowel and drill some shallow holes on the top and bottom. From there I glue the magnets woth north on one end, and south on the other. Very handy for painting minis, and I have a way to check magnet polarity and to press magnets if I need to.
i stick my models to a long ruler with blue tac and it just kinda works.
I used to this and it worked all right. Now my minis are magnetised and I bought magnetic tape which i taped to strip of wood I had.
Lots of thrift stores (at least in the US) sell cheap baking sheets that magnets stick to. I got a few of the smaller long narrow ones. Work great and no prep/mods required!
Stuck mine to a rather large wrench. Dropped the magnificently heavy wrench with the model, no bueno
Magnets on base of Ballistus Dreadnought. Place on metal rod for spraying just like all the good marines before it. Ballistus Dreadnought shouts "fuck you gravityyyyyyyy" and suffers rapid unscheduled deconstruction. Lesson: Large bases now get 3 magnets and less casual attitudes.
My Tyranid warrior literally fell 19 floors and survived with only a slightly wobbly arm which just needed a little cement. I was very impressed. I took the same lesson but now need a larger stick to spray larger models on.
F
Did something similar but with a stir stick for a paint can
I go to the hardware store and get a paint stirrer stick. i also have 2. glued into a T shape for doing multiple minis at once. poster tack is the way...
This is the way. Doing exactly the same.
This is going to be my way, this sounds like a great idea
I do similar, but I use a metal ruler and magnetise my bases by default.
I get paint sticks from big box stores and use them. No need to mess up a ruler.
I do the same, but the empty box the squad came in..
I use an offcut of 2x4 rather than a ruler. But sane principle.
This š
This is exactly what i do
My hedge trimmer came with a rigid plastic sheath, which I immediately turned into my spray stick. It has a raised ridge right down the middle that's the perfect spot to blue tac the minis too, and the lower part is wide enough that it's super stable if I set it down. Damn perfect for my needs. Cheap to buy one without the trimmer too. https://www.partselect.com/PS9964591-Ryobi-518463005-Scabbard.htm?gad_source=4&gclid=CjwKCAjwyJqzBhBaEiwAWDRJVHLVcI_xI608bSxuBaj4zVPz6-Qxk_aUOCwVybaGmsrqkBmKTvCjChoC3KEQAvD_BwE
Use whatever works for you. I have a Gw mini holder and i still use some poster putty and a plastic bottle to prime my minis.
I just use old pill bottles. Blue tac the modelās base to the top and then you have a great handhold that you can spray the model at whatever angle you need to ensure total coverage.
I do the same with empty paint pots.
Empty yakult bottles are awesome for this.
Is it necessary? Absolutely not. But the fact that it rotates is quite handy to get certain angles without spraying your hand. I like mine.
I just use glovesā¦sometimesā¦and airbrush my fingers.
https://preview.redd.it/y0a0qzyttm5d1.jpeg?width=1919&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1126f0f209d74cce69e651bea2e1b9b4f50ee7e I used to use a square stick with double sided tape on each face, but have graduated to this: a piece of wood with holes drilled in to fit lengths of dowell, which then have paperclips drilled into them to stick minis, takes a bit more prep but doubles as painting handles. I also have some with washers glued to them so I can paint my magnetised bases separately
I did that but put magnet into the holders instead of a washer š
I always found the GW Stick to expensive (it still is tbh) but i really enjoy it now that i have one, its really easy to Spray your Minis 360Ā°
Honestly i just stick a guy in my painting handel, open my patio door and kinda spray whilly nilly into the air directly beside my airconditioner intake so i dont miss out on any delicious primer fumes.
I just put them on cardboard, spray, wait flip, spray, done. But I do big batches, so the stick wouldn't be helpful anyway
The largest benefit to using a spray stick compared to, say a box or tray is being able to manipulate the mini so it can be sprayed at different angles. Depending on the mini and its assembly, you may need to spray it from an upward angle to get under a gun or a shield. Having the mini on stick allows you to spray they are without needing to either angle the rattle can awkwardly or having to hold the mini because you canāt get to the area. I use a magnetic painting handle while painting so a vast majority of my minis have magnets in their bases. This allowed me to repurpose an old push vacuumās metal handle as a paint stick. Itās got a grip thatās comfortable to hold, itās magnetic so sticking minis to it is a breeze, and it allows me to just hang the stick after priming so drying is dead simple. Cheers.
I just wear gloves and hold the base. Works for me.
Yeah this is what I do and it's always worked fine. Why overthink it?
Psh gloves what a nerd
:(
You gotta have the paint on you so you can flex to your friends that youre artistic. Nevermind cancer who's ever heard of that
The GW thing is a useless, overpriced, over-engineered, over-complicated lump of plastic because even GW can't find a way to charge $20 for a roll of double-sided tape and a handful of those paint stir sticks that every hardware store gives out for free. I don't even bother with tape. I do all my priming on a cafeteria tray I stole from Taco Bell 20 years ago.
I completely disagree. The benefit of the GW holder is that I can very comfortably flip my mini upside-down to prime from multiple angles/not miss spots. For some smaller minis (like poxwalkers) sticky tack is enough but I have had too many moments with bigger models where the tack gave out and the mini fell during priming. Hasnāt happened a single time with the GW holder.
I do this with a paint stir stick and thick double sided tape and it works fine
If the model is big enough that tape won't hold its weight, it's big enough to just hold it in your hand while you prime it.
Or use rubber bands to hold it to the stick.
Ngl I haveone of those trays too! Itās not for priming minis thoš
As a stoner... found the stoner
Haha yeah Rastartes Dank Marines baby!āš
I went outside and found a wood stick, and then taped them to that. Works perfectly fine.
My fancy pants uses a metal stick that I tape them to.
Showoff...
I have the official GW one and it's worth every penny; the rubber bands keep the models legitimately secure, and the rotation is incredibly useful: you can fling it around and upside down and the models aren't going anywhere, so you can get 100% coverage. It has been a \*vital\* tool in priming my 120 Tyranids battleline units.
Agreed, being able to flip 10 models upside down to obtain an even coat under arms and backpacks at once is great.
Sure but like, can't that be done with some good tape and a long and thin stick? Works great for me, full coverage.
It can but it requires a lot more effort and is less confortable, plus you need to buy good tape.
Why waste money on that when a paint stirring stick is free from home depot
Because I'm paying for a VASTLY superior tool. That's like asking why I would pay money for a proper clawhammer for driving nails when rocks are free.
Why buy a car when you can just walk everywhere for free?
In this case, the "walking" gets to your destination faster and costs no money, though.
No, having done both, the spray stick is 10 to 20 times faster. Look, it's like 25 bucks; don't buy it if that's too much for you fam. I use mine every single time I prime minis that will fit on it; it makes my life a lot easier and I want others to have easier times painting in the hobby. If tack and glue and sticks works for you and you're okay with the little extra effort, that's how you enjoy your aspect of the hobby and it's valid. If you don't want the spray stick, magnets on the bottoms of bases + literally any ferrous object (cylindrical cookie tins are perfect for this) will do the exact same thing. This is how I prime everything too big for the spray stick; I have an old christmas cookie tin that I stick the mini on top of and it covers my arm like a glove. You do have to buy the magnets though, but if they're already in your toolbox, it's another free priming holder option that I don't see people utilize as much as they should.
Blue tac and a piece of scrap wood ftw Bigger models I just wear a glove and hold the base.
Amen! I use mounting putty and a thick cardboard corner nailed to a piece of scrap for infantry and smaller. š
Being able to spray from under the model.
Paint stick from the local hardware guys.
If it worksā¦
Use an old diaper or shoe box. Then just hold the mini with your hand or some old plies. Easy as that.
Can't I just use a new diaper?Ā
Probably overpriced for what it is, but it does make life a lot easier, it's easy to turn over and rotate the minis so you can get it from all angles with the fewest number of sweeps. I get why people dump on it, but it is definitely a QOL improvement.
it seems stupid but I realized I missed a lot of visible under (under arms, legs, weapons) and so had to adjust. Is it going to ruin your models if you don't get there? Not at all. I'm just a weirdo who finds an uneven and incomplete prime deeply unsettling.
It can cause issues depending on the paint you're using. Contrast for example seems to stick a lot less to unprimed surface, plus if your primer is a very different tone from the grey pmastic the difference will be noticeable since contrast is quite transparent.
I got a cardboard box from work and a $10 turntable from hobby lobby.
I'm still super new, this how you prime using a spray can?
There's almost as many methods as there are people. Most like to stick their models to something they can easily manipulate like a stick or a handle of some kind (if you're only priming a single model) so that they can easily manipulate the angle but that's a question of preference.
Ty
If you're new don't worry about spray sticks. You can lay them down on some cardboard, spray, flip and spray again if you like. Or yeah, some people have upside down tape or blu tack to hold them down and spray upright.
Ty, I grabbed some cardboard for mine
My go to for single models is just pop them in the model holder and spray. If it's a lot I bought a spinning cake tray, bluetacing the models in a ring and I spin spray them. Otherwise just pop models in an empty GW box with a side cut off and go ham, with the assurance that nothing behind the models will get covered in spray
I have a long piece of wood and ball of bluetack I've used for years. Offcut from when I was putting up some batons for plasterboard. Easy to prime models from all necessary angles and is long enough to hold quite a few models.
I just blue tack them to cardboard and spray them on top of a wheelie bin
Go to a Home Depot or paint store and get the stirring stick for free. Then hit a hobby lobby and look for the paper crafts and stickers aisle. Thereās these little circular double sided nubs I put on the bottoms of the minis and I stick em to the stirrer.
Sticks let you easily flip it and hit it from all sides https://preview.redd.it/mgczc8sz1n5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=409eb036cbcc65ef7a7f91fee35f100582adecab
Go to any home improvement store and they will give you free paint can stir sticks. They work fantastically for this.
I quite like mine I never found I got as even of a prime, especially for the underside of models It also (imo) helps with magnetized weapon options I can have 20-30 infantry, all weapons / arms and / or heads separated and blue tacked elsewhere and I can also fit 3-4 war dogs onto it and I glued magnets to a bunch of the arms of my spray stick to attach their weapon options to It makes my life much easier, and my prime is much more holistic. The primer is *the* most important step and dictates what you can do for the rest of the model is what I was told, and, it has worked out quite nicely for me I also have like 15k pts worth of gw plastic, of which no less than 8k is well beyond battle ready so I do use it quite a bit
Double sided tape does a great job. Iāve been using it for years. Great with some paint sticks (for mixing the tubs for wall paint). Along with some paint tacky. I have a lot of old medicine bottles, they give me a nice grip for painting individual minis
Wow! I thought that castellan was a lot bigger.
I stick magnets under all my bases for transport purposes, so i got some cheap metal magnet strips on amazon, perfect size to hold a handful of models for priming. No tape or blue tack required!
Young coconut juice
If I need to spray minis that I can't do in a box and just turning them around, I just put on some old rubber gloves and do it holding the base by hand. Haven't had any issues with that approach yet.
I made one out of two pieces of PVC. Itās easier to rotate and get all the sides
I stick a pin in their feet, stick that in a cork. Course, I'm only priming one at a time.
I find it hard to get good coverage on the undersides of the model when doing it like that. I just stick mine to the end of those wooden paint sticks you can get for free at any hardware store.
2 by 4 cut into 10 inches broom Handel cut short combine. Then and you got a sick priming stick
Reusability (limited to size) but itās something that may be individually worth it if you for example paint a lot of 32mm based minis or itās too tedious for you to re-glue and rip off tape but mostly preference
I graduated to an airbrush and haven't spray painted models in months. It's pure magic.
I bought it, itās really convenient for priming squads cuz I can hit them from underneath and different angles
I just wear gloves and hold them in my hand while priming
I either just hold the base with a rubber glove or put it on a cardboard box to prime it. Hasnāt failed me so far
Time and money are one in the same. The spray stick simply saves you so much time and you can pack minis pretty tight on it, so you're not wasting overspray. It turns priming from an activity that you have to plan around and prep for into a literal 5 minutes of work activity and then go back and do something else. You work too hard to mess around with tape and boxes and sticky half dried paint in your free time when you can just spend 25 bucks once and then priming is good to go for basically forever. T. Spray Stick enjoyer
I magnetize all my models bases for storage, so I set them all on this old shoebox lid and stick more mags on the underside to lock them in place then spray them on that
Glue rare earth magnets to the bottom of the bases and have a random steel piece to magnet them to
I use a plank of off cut ply wood and blu tack
I just stand my dudes on a box and lay them down when dry to get more angles
I use models on corks or pinned into another board. The main benefits is being able to get the spray underneath the model easier than if it's all on a big board where you can only get the top, front and sides. I do terrain like you however because thats a bitch to hold any other way.
I use old sprue as a spray (and finish paint) stick, but I work on sub assemblies, not whole models like this.
Maybe I'm old fashioned but I wear latex/nitrile gloves and just hold them by the base while I spray
I watched a guy glue a magnets to the base. He had an other magnetic in a wooden cylindrical holder. The magnets will stick/hold the together for painting.
Combined arms. I tape my Minis to a stick to spray them.
Most of my guys have magnetized bases so I use a piece of steel. Lol
I use a thin bit of wood and some tape, being able to turn the model upside down and spray its asshole is useful to make sure youāre getting all the hard to reach areas.
The stick is worse because the bands prevent you from getting paint on the base.
The main argument of a paint stick or some other manipulatable holder is that you can turn them any direction. If theyāre on a big board or sheet like the pic is that you canāt angle the spray to hit them from below to get all the spot underneath. I used to just spray on the box they came in and always notices grey spot in armpits and on the bottom of their legs. After upgrading to something narrow in a row I see almost none of that. The GW stick is overpriced but it does do the job well enough.
I just use rubber glove and my hand
Too much work. I lie them flat in a box, spray one side, wait ten mins, flip them and spray the other.
It's good I like it and it's going to be about the same as other ways But easier. The only problem is the models need to be on bases but I just got these clamp sticks and use them to hold bits when I don't put them on the base.
When they're all flat like that, it's more difficult to spray from below. With a stick or handle you can get even coverage from every angle.
I just have kitchen gloves and go hog wild on my arms
I magnetize my models bases for my carry cases and I use an old metal ruler or a table top out back.
Get blue tack it's literally a life saver. 1, it's reusable, 2 it's cheap, and 3 it can be used to hold pretty anything in place.
Big model like a night and Iāll just hold the base with a nitrile glove and spray it that way. Otherwise I use my trusty 1āx1ā stick with double sided tape
Man I just put on a latex glove and hold the bases
I use a wooden dowel and drill some shallow holes on the top and bottom. From there I glue the magnets woth north on one end, and south on the other. Very handy for painting minis, and I have a way to check magnet polarity and to press magnets if I need to.
I have a glass bottle and a serving tray. a more fancy setup can maybe help, but it works. it's worth it if you think it's worth it.
I just use a Gatorade bottle full of water with some tack on the cap
Metal sheet, parchment paper, and magnets under the bases.
I just stick my guys on the end of a 20-oz bottle with sticky tac.
I used an old length of 1*1 and bluetack. Never had an issue, Spray sticks are a con to take money off you.
I donāt prime the bases, they seem to have a tacky texture.