Here is my first true attempt at a German figure. Its not great but looks OK from a foot away. It is a WIP, I need to touch up in places (as you can see!) Please post Comments and suggestions, good or bad. Its certainly not up to standards but here it is:




Please tell me if the images do not come out.
Thanks for looking,
David

David, is this fig 1/35? The pix aren't great, but looking at the face, it seems to lack a lot of detail, so either it's a reallly crap sculpt or you've laid on the paint too thick. If it's the latter, maybe you should strip it and repaint. Cos however good the paintjob is it can't do much without details.

Frankly, you need a lot of practice, but don't worry, my first figs looked pretty bad too . If you're attempting to paint cam patterns, look carefully at the pattern and try to replicate it by breaking it down into stages (there are quite a few tutorials here and on Historicus Forma which explain it) rather than just using the colours in splotches.

Also, try to be a bit more subtle when adding mud, dirt etc. Go lightly and build up the effect gradually rather than splashing it on.

Maybe this isn't what you wanted to hear, but don't give up, mate. Practice practice practice...

hi dave! i tend to agree with the observation that you applied the paint too thick. you probably applied it straight from the bottle without thinning it with an appropriate thinner. or you've put on too many coats in an attempt to ensure complete coverage (if it's any consolation, i tend to end up doing the latter myself). at any rate, the paint seems to have buried the subtle details of the figure.

if you have the patience, best thing to do is to strip the paint with thinner and try again. if you have an airbrush, it would help to spray on a primer coat first. tamiya's primer (in spraycan either grey or white) is great for the job. lastly, read the helpful features on historicus forma. the guys there do amazing work and they're very generous with giving help to aspiring figure painters like us.

Hi there, and velcome to the site.

First: Its hard to see the figure. Try next time to shoot your photos against a background of a cloth. I use felt i a neutral color. It makes the figures stand out and the aintjob and details are much more visible.

Second: I think you've done a decent job, since its your fist figure and its a figure wearing camoflage smock. I think thats one of the most difficult to paint on figures.

Heres my tips:

- Find figures in a non-camo type of uniform and paint them. Doing that you can concentrate on less color and less effect, only painting uniform, belts, equipment and boots in one color. When you get the hang of that, you can go on with more challenging projects, like camo-smocks.

- Spent more time on the face. Theres a lot of tips here on the site that could help you, or others that can give you a crash-course.

Don't give up. Keep it going, and you'll succeed.

Cheers

Hello David,
Painting a small figure isn't easy, and painting a figure without nice details, good molding is even more difficult. My tip : buy a good figure, with good details and start painting. You will see immeditately that its much more satisfying. It's not your painting skills, it's just the figure you've painted. Greetz Guy

Thanks for the input, I know that it turned out crappy but was just looking for suggestions on how to improve. I think part of the problem is the paints, I painted the whole thing with Amiya acrylics. What kind of brushes do you guys use and how much do you thin the paint. Oh, and what would you suggest as some good quailty figures that aren't terribly expensive. THanks for the input,
David

one thing i noticed glue pertruding from some of the joints which would meant that you painted it before assembling it. which i not the way to go, and about paint stick with oil based especialy for faces and things.

I will be getting some oils soon. What kind of brushes should I use, The Series 7 brushes are like $17 a brush! Are there any that are reasonably priced but still good in quality?
David

David, if you are looking for decent but relatively cheap figs try the Dragon 1/35 sets. You get four figs and they're quite goood. You could also try larger scale plastic figs like the 1/16 range that both Dragon & Tamiya have. Some people think it's harder to paint large scale, but I think it's easier (and more fun).

There's always a debate over whether to paint first or assemble first. I do a combination of both. I'll assemble the torso, legs and feet first and then paint them. Head/face, helmet, webbing, hands, arms, weapons and stuff like canteens, holsters, etc I paint first, 'cos they're sometimes hard to access once glued onto the fig. You can always touch up after everything's assembled.

I use enamels and really cheap brushes 'cos the turps eventually ruin 'em anyway.