Hello
I am starting to assemble some of the over sixty 1/144 plastic post-war aircraft I have collected in recent weeks. As the detail on some of these is quite fine, I was wondering if I can skip the primer and spray directly onto the model. I will be using primarily Model Master and Tamiya paints, and will have to do quite a bit of masking (Tamiya masking) to accommodate all of the camouflage paint schemes. Thanks

why not apply primer? Tamiya fine surface primer L is the best thing you can do before painting. It will reveal all your failings in high relief, hide all tone differences in whatever-came-before, it provides a surface to which paint will definately bond, unlike your bare plastic, And it dries instantly. by which we also mean USE IN WELL VENTILATED AREA.
It is also very thin, much thinner than paint. In terms of clogging your surface detail, it is insignificant compared to your paint choices.

A word of caution about enamel paints. Model master enamels take A LONG TIME to cure. Weeks, literally. dont even think of masking or decaling on MM paint until its properly cured.

Tamiya and MM enamels are not compatible. Tamiya enamel solvent will attack and destroy Model master paint. I speak from experience.

If you must use both, put the Tamiya on first. it will cure in a day or two and become imperviously hard (and again, ventilation!) then the Model master, which will take, as said, weeks to finally settle in.

as you can see, the application of primer is not your critical path.

Tamiya acrylics by contrast takes days to cure. DONT TOUCH IT or try to mask over it for several days.
Model Master acrylics are rubish. pick something else.

Hope this is helpful.

By the way we have a cadre of dedicated 1/144 scale modelers here, I myself build almost exclusively in 1/144.
This thread has been going on for several years.
https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/forums/103776&page=1

have a look and feel free to share.

Vic,
Like Jonathan, I'm a big fan of Tamiya's Gray fine primer. Even finer is Mr. Primer Surfacer 1,000 or 1,500. I usually use it for hand priming seams prior to polishing. With 1/144 scale builds, it maybe a better option.

As for skipping the primer and directly spraying on the model, that's a tough question. Primers main function is to give the paint a even and consistent surface to bond to. Raw plastic is very smooth and not the best base for model paints.

Joel

Thank-you. I really appreciate your feedback and will get started (as soon as I obtain more paint).