Paint with or without bolters?

[Grand Master Steve]

How many people paint their marines before gluing the bolters on?  I usualy paint my marines after the bplters are glued in place but I see a lot of people now are painting before putting on the Bolter

[Benjamin]

When I put together my Space Marines, I put the base colors on, then attached the bolter. I didn't think there was a need to highlight what I couldn't really see, but then again I'm also not a Golden Daemon winner.

[jfoodmaster]

I paint the marine completely and the bolter separate. I only glue it on as the last thing I do for the model. I'm not a Golden Demon winner either, I just find it easier to get the chest/waist finished without the bolter in the way.

[Grand Master Steve]

Im just trying to get a plan going for when I paint my space wolves for the Tale of X gamers. Thanks for your opinions guys I appreciate it!

[Rurouni Benshin]

I always assemble the marines completely, and then paint them.  With the exception of vehicles, I tend to do this with all my models.  I find that once it's painted, gluing stuff together tends to A) mess up the paint job and B) not stick on as well.

But hey, do whatever works best for you.  Although I will say that it would probably be easier to paint certain places without the bolter being held.  I'll give it a try one day, and see how it works for me.