Hello,

Should I put a primer on my figurines before painting them ? If so, what color exactly should I use ?
I'm painting tamiya plastic figurines...

thanks

Hi Francois,
Some people say yes, some say no.
I'm one that says yes. It will do several things for you.
One, it gives your paint something good to stick to. This is a must for oil paints. They want to slide around on unprimed plastic, resin or white metal without primer.
Two, it really helps show any construction flaws you will want to repair.
And three, it gives you a nice uniform color underneath your paint.
I prefer to use white primer as it brightens up the final paint but grey is fine too.
These are just my opinions here. You'll most likely get responses that differ from mine. That leaves it up to you to decide
Good luck
Craig

What Craig just said.

Hello Craig,

Do I use normal paint (white paint ?) or there is a brand of primer I should look for to do this ?

I'm one of who says yes, too.
I echo just what Craig said. But my personal preference for the base coat is humbrol 63 sand yellow or humbrol 93 desert yellow (not a big difference between them) Because I think that this sand color gives a nice shade after I paint the flesh tones. A darker color, like grey is difficult to be overcoated with lighter colors, it won't be able to cover the dark base wit just one coat. So I don't like tý base coat with dark colors. But this is a choice of course, it is much better to try some different methods and then to continue with the one which you like.

Hi Francois,
I usually use automotive primer as it's less expensive than specialized figure primer. I was told to just be sure it was "sandable". I don't know why but it has worked fine for me so that's what I do.
I'd recommend primer rather than white paint. By design, primer has more "tooth" than plain paint so the oil paint won't just slide around on the surface. Be aware that primer is usually thicker than plain paint so you want to be careful not to put it on too thick. This could cover up fine detail on smaller figures.
Good luck
Craig