Before you get near to painting miniatures, it’s recommended that they be primed to provide a better base for subsequent paints to grip to.
And priming itself itself is straight forward, it’s really just a case a spraying the miniature in your chosen prime colour – usually black, white or grey.
But the question that most often comes up is how long after priming we have to weight before the real painting can be started.
The quick answer to this is approximately two hours. This is the average of the drying time for primers from Army Painter, Citadel and Tamiya but there is one gotcha that you need to be aware of.
And that is the humidity of the environment you’re working in.
Over the years I’ve leant found a humidity level of between 40% and 50% is best. Below or above these levels and you’ll end up with a poor finish and variable drying times as the moisture in the paint can’t evaporate, as I touched on here.
> A final, personal, note: I spend a huge amount of time testing, photographing, writing and researching techniques for these articles and pay for all the running costs of MRE out of my own pocket. If you found this article useful you can support me by making a donation on my fund-raising page. Thanks and happy modelling, Andy.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.