unfortunately those guys are about a half inch tall so the spray primer I tried would glob up in nooks and crannies and such.

Protip: don't hold it so close

did it from almost a foot away, much further would be wasting primer.

Spraypaint and airbrushing are generally considered superior due to the ability to apply a significantly thinner coat than you'd ever be able to do via brush. You just need some skill and patience to get the results you want.

now Air Brushing I do use from time to time since it gives a finer coat then spray painting does.

[quote="Cygnet"]
It sounds like Omi hasn't had problems using a spray primer on newsprint (i.e. no issues with sticking), quote]
So far I haven't. I usually check up on it and bring it indoors when it is dry enough to touch it.

-Omi

I personally use brushes, but I've heard that spray-painting small items can be done by covering the parts that aren't to be colored with masking tape, vaseline, or other substances that are easy to remove/paint won't stick to.

I did that with my Master Sword.

-Omi

I used air-brush style spray painting to lay down a solid color foundation and then detailed the rest out with a brush.
I somewhat depends on what end results you want, you know.