joesgis
2nd Lieutenant
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2007
- Messages
- 3,851
Howdy Treefroggers!
I wanted to share my first painted metal figure with everyone. A little background info first. Of course I'm nuts about miniatures like all of us here, and about five years ago I started experimenting with painting some Conte and TSSD plastics. The idea came about because my two nephews love toy soldiers, so I thought I'd paint some up for them as Christmas gifts. The boys loved them! I found the painting process to be quite challenging to say the least, but also a lot of fun! I then decided to paint up some of my Conte WWII, TSSD ACW, and TSSD WWII plastics for my collection. The results varied, but best of all I learned a lot just by getting in there and doing it. I drifted away from painting for a spell, but began picking up the brushes again again to do repairs on metal figures, including my cherished St Petersburg figures. I remember how paranoid I was the first time I put a brush to a St Pete's figure!{eek3} It was only to touch up the edging of a knight's tunic, but I recall how difficult it was for me at the time. It didn't take long before I found such a repair to be relatively simple for me. So rather than enlist other miniature doctors to fix my damaged pieces, I started fixing them all myself. Before I knew I was performing repairs for myself and others that I never thought I could do. The experience gained provided the confidence to finally get serious about painting my first 54mm metal figure from head to toe. I then started studying up different ways figure painters prepare a casting for painting, what paints and brushes they use, how to mix/thin paint, etc. I studied hard on various techniques artists use like layering, highlighting, dry-brushing, how to make/use washes, etc. I hit the books about the myriad of different ways people paint skin, leather, wood, rope, chain mail, armor, metal, dirt, fabric, etc. It's almost overwhelming how much information is out there. I realized after taking many notes that I had a good foundation from which to start from. I also figured out one can study these things forever, and there comes a point where you just have to jump in and let your creativity take over and allow experience to be the best teacher as it always seems to be. So I bought a few castings on ebay, and picked a 14th C German w/ crossbow by EK Castings to be my first figure. It's 54mm metal. I worked on it for over three weeks, and finally finished it just a few says ago. I hope you enjoy the pics. The figure is painted with Vallejo acrylics, Andrea acrylics, and Humbrol enamel. The groundwork is H & A, white glue, and acrylic paint. I took pics of it with flash indoors and also outdoors in natural light. The pics aren't as crisp as I would like. I'm using just an ordinary point & shoot camera. I really need to step up to a nice SLR, but that would require the discipline to stop buying toy soldiers for awhile! Which brings up another point. Now that I have found a new way to enjoy the hobby, I think I'll probably end up spending less money, because I will be absorbed in panting projects and will therefore have much less time for "window shopping" for painted figures. Of course this is only theoretical, and castings and paint supplies are costly too. That being said, I have felt a bit of shift in myself as the impulse to buy new finished figures is now rivaled by the desire to take a stone cold, monotone casting and breath life into it. I think I'm really going to enjoy this new found creative outlet. I'm looking to get better at this so please critique away!
Happy creating!
Joe
I wanted to share my first painted metal figure with everyone. A little background info first. Of course I'm nuts about miniatures like all of us here, and about five years ago I started experimenting with painting some Conte and TSSD plastics. The idea came about because my two nephews love toy soldiers, so I thought I'd paint some up for them as Christmas gifts. The boys loved them! I found the painting process to be quite challenging to say the least, but also a lot of fun! I then decided to paint up some of my Conte WWII, TSSD ACW, and TSSD WWII plastics for my collection. The results varied, but best of all I learned a lot just by getting in there and doing it. I drifted away from painting for a spell, but began picking up the brushes again again to do repairs on metal figures, including my cherished St Petersburg figures. I remember how paranoid I was the first time I put a brush to a St Pete's figure!{eek3} It was only to touch up the edging of a knight's tunic, but I recall how difficult it was for me at the time. It didn't take long before I found such a repair to be relatively simple for me. So rather than enlist other miniature doctors to fix my damaged pieces, I started fixing them all myself. Before I knew I was performing repairs for myself and others that I never thought I could do. The experience gained provided the confidence to finally get serious about painting my first 54mm metal figure from head to toe. I then started studying up different ways figure painters prepare a casting for painting, what paints and brushes they use, how to mix/thin paint, etc. I studied hard on various techniques artists use like layering, highlighting, dry-brushing, how to make/use washes, etc. I hit the books about the myriad of different ways people paint skin, leather, wood, rope, chain mail, armor, metal, dirt, fabric, etc. It's almost overwhelming how much information is out there. I realized after taking many notes that I had a good foundation from which to start from. I also figured out one can study these things forever, and there comes a point where you just have to jump in and let your creativity take over and allow experience to be the best teacher as it always seems to be. So I bought a few castings on ebay, and picked a 14th C German w/ crossbow by EK Castings to be my first figure. It's 54mm metal. I worked on it for over three weeks, and finally finished it just a few says ago. I hope you enjoy the pics. The figure is painted with Vallejo acrylics, Andrea acrylics, and Humbrol enamel. The groundwork is H & A, white glue, and acrylic paint. I took pics of it with flash indoors and also outdoors in natural light. The pics aren't as crisp as I would like. I'm using just an ordinary point & shoot camera. I really need to step up to a nice SLR, but that would require the discipline to stop buying toy soldiers for awhile! Which brings up another point. Now that I have found a new way to enjoy the hobby, I think I'll probably end up spending less money, because I will be absorbed in panting projects and will therefore have much less time for "window shopping" for painted figures. Of course this is only theoretical, and castings and paint supplies are costly too. That being said, I have felt a bit of shift in myself as the impulse to buy new finished figures is now rivaled by the desire to take a stone cold, monotone casting and breath life into it. I think I'm really going to enjoy this new found creative outlet. I'm looking to get better at this so please critique away!
Happy creating!
Joe
