How do you get started painting figures? (1 Viewer)

[Shannon Reuss]

If a collector is interested in trying their hand at painting figures and has no prior experience, what kinds or brand of figures would be good to practice on and what brands of paints are best for toy soldiers?

 

[Leadmen]

Painting castings

Britain repo castings can be bought from companies like London Bridge in the US or Soldier-Pac in England. Painting castings allow you to make figures that are hard to find or very expensive. Clean castings with vinegar-water mix and trim any flash or excess metal off. Mount figure on piece of wood with white glue after cleaning. Spray or paint white or grey primer on figure before painting. Also attach any arms or other parts with epoxy or super glue before painting. The paints that work best are Humbrol, Testor and Modelmaster gloss enamels. Flat and acrylic paint can also be used then spray glossy. Mixing shades of color with small amounts of paint till color matches uniform. Write down any mixes for future use. Her are some tips:
Faces- little red,yellow,touch of black or tan mix for flesh tones.
Jackets- Modelmaster Guards Red #2718 with scarlet (Humbrol)
Trousers- Humbrol Midnight blue and small amount of black
Shoes Black-Rifles-Modelmaster Manganese Brown#2708 for rifles
Light or dark green for stands.
Horses- equal or mixture of red and greens for Britain Brown horses. Let paint dry 12-24 hours before touching up spots or handling. Usually a second coat of paint is needed after first coat dries except dark colors.

 

[Shannon Reuss]

Beginning Painting Pointers

Thank you Leadmen for these great detailed suggestions!

 

[Alexdakar]

Painting Conte figures

I like painting WWII Conte figures because of their detail
These are the steps I take:

Remove flash and clean figure with dish soap and water.
Prime figure with grey primer.
After researching uniform colors paint with acrylics.
Use a black wash to fill in recess areas.
Highlight with lighter shade of base color.
Seal with matte finish.

Thats it.

 

[Leadmen]

Interesting website

Followup on figure painting. John O"Brien has a website from Australia. Toy Soldier ON Line Gallery. There are tips on painting and pictures of different manufacturers. Mainly traditional figures. Website is also linked with San Diego Toy Soldier website. On painting Conte and other plastic figures I clean figures and spray a coat of the new Plastic Paint available in most stores. Then a coat of primer. After figure is painted a spray of matt or gloss varnish to protect flaking of paint. Still get small flaking on rifle tips but not as bad using plastic spray paint. Leadmen

 

[mbennett]

I like painting WWII Conte figures because of their detail
These are the steps I take:

Remove flash and clean figure with dish soap and water.
Prime figure with grey primer.
After researching uniform colors paint with acrylics.
Use a black wash to fill in recess areas.
Highlight with lighter shade of base color.
Seal with matte finish.

Thats it.

I know what a wash is, but the couple of times I have tried it things have not turned out very well. Any pointers?

 

[Alexdakar]

I use a little of black or burnt umber oil paint and some turpenoid which is a turpentine substitute. Mix it to the consistency of milk and apply with a medium brush. It really makes a difference on your figures or vehicles. I used a blackwash on my plastic Conte figures. http://images3.fotopic.net/?iid=y5dk71&outx=800&quality=70

 

[Fubar]

This may sound strange to many of you, but I prime EVERYTHING BLACK.
Paint from dark to light using lighter shades of the colors, inside to outside.Gives a real depth to them. Also for easy guys like ACW Yankees , It is very fast to just give them a dry brush of dark blue, then a little lighter, then finally a highlight for the raised areas. Since all Union leathers are black, the haversacks and doublebag knapsacks are tarred, very fast to go back and touch up the leathers and bags with black again. Fast results.
I love to paint. If I could only sculpt!

 

[binder001]

As far as getting started, there are a number of articles in modelling magazines and on web sites to give tips and suggestions. As far as a "driving range" to get used to painting faces and details, I suggest starting with plastic toy soldiers. I remember practicing on Marx figures back in the late 60's and moving up to Imrie-Risely, Valiant. and Monogram-Merite in the 70's. You can still get a number of plastic figures for a modest investment and you practice techniques without ruining an expensive figure. It takes a little while to get your hands to do what your mind wants to create.

Another point- don't skimp on brushes. Get good brushes and take care of them. You can watch the sale flyers for Hobby Lobby and/or Michaels crafts (those are the main ones in my area). They often have sales on artists brushes and you can pick up nice brushes at a reasonable price.

As you read articles or talk to other painters, don't be afraid to try different techniques or approaches.

Hope these help a little,

Gary

 

[Dan B]

Try the new Valient WWII figures - not very expensive and good castings. Also if you like ACW check out Shenadoah Miniatures. I agree that you should buy the best brushes. Check out the the Vallejo paint and brush sets.
Dan

 

[serenitychimes]

This may sound strange to many of you, but I prime EVERYTHING BLACK.
Paint from dark to light using lighter shades of the colors, inside to outside.Gives a real depth to them. Also for easy guys like ACW Yankees , It is very fast to just give them a dry brush of dark blue, then a little lighter, then finally a highlight for the raised areas. Since all Union leathers are black, the haversacks and doublebag knapsacks are tarred, very fast to go back and touch up the leathers and bags with black again. Fast results.
I love to paint. If I could only sculpt!

I have to agree with Fubar on the black priming. I would NEVER have thought to try it on my own unless a fellow painter suggested it to me. Now, I do some in black, others in flat white prime.. I might be one who goes against the general rule, but I gave up enamels in favor of acrylics. I move a little slower than your average guy so I apprecite the quick dry of acrylics. then I have the option, depending on the customer to spray with gloss, or apply dull coat spray by testors. My only problem is priming..in winter time. My time outdoors is limited, and in Kansas with frigid temps and this unrelenting wind, I like to plan my winters early. But, try that black priming. I was totally shocked how nice it works.
steve

 

[UK_BOD]

Hi lads and lasses,

Generally I use Games Workshop acrylics and inks for my painting, although the name on the paints doesn't give what kind of tonal shade the paint is, e.g. Red Gore and so on. The paints spread well and this also includes the yellow which in most paints is always the hardest one to get right.

Figure wise I have some of the new ONTC molds (Easy to paint), but in the main old Britains molds, some Irregular stuff and also Games Workshop figures for my son.

I use black primer, if I am looking to use a dark wash, such as weapon's, some cloaks, black hair, chainmail etc. and a lighter primer for pale skin, horses and the like. Does anyone else use two different primers for a single figure?

For washes, use varying degrees of wash and keep adding more substance, make sure the figure is dry before adding a "more substance" wash. Then you can have different washes on the same figure. This is good for lighting effects and so on. Never use full strength inks as it can sometimes destroy hours of previous painting.

However, there is no wrong or right way in painting. What works for you, sometimes doesn't for another.

Regards

Andy