Hi all, this is my attmept at DML's Airborne figure. I know he needs touching up and all, but are there any improvent areas you see. I tried doing thinner coats and all. He looks glossy in the pics but looks fine on the shelf. Comments and crits welcome.


Thanks for looking,
David

Dave

You did ask....

Firstly, the moulding lines are still quite clearly visible on the legs and should have been cleaned up before paint got anywhere near the figure.

All the detail is completely swamped by what appears to be a thick layer/s of paint on the whole kit. I can barely make out the belt, let alone detail like pockets, boot laces etc.

The grey plastic of the kit is clearly visible under the helmet where no paint has been applied.

No flesh colour appears to have been applied to face or hands.

My advise would be to start again but before doing so look on this site and a few others for painting tutorials.

What paint and brush sizes are you using. Remember thinner multiple coats are better than one thick one for retaining detail.

Alan

Thanks for the coments, its a "look at from a foot away" figure. I used Tamiya acrylics. I am getting Valejo's for Christmas. I used the value pack paintbrushes and toothpicks. How do you remove the molding lines without damaging detail.
David

Good that you're ditching the Tamiya paint. The formula, since about 1992, has not been good for brush painting. Of course, they never told anyone!
You're going to love Vallejo. Study the tutorial under "Model Color" at their website for tips how to use it. Use distilled water to thin it. Cost unde $2.00 a galllon at CVS and will last forever. You'll need to shake the bottles quite a bit to mix the carrier. Then bang it on the heel of your hand and shake it some more. Then shake again. Once it is well mixed, it will stay in suspension for a few days to weeks at a time. I have some of their paints that are at least 8 maybe 9 years old and they still work great.


Sorry, you can't skimp on paint brushes. Valuepack brushes are useless in this arena. You're going to have to spend some money on top end brushes. Make sure you have really good brushes that hold a fine tip. That will help a lot with fine detail. Think of it this way, you spend several thousand dollars on a stereo receiver and top end CD/DVD player then run this through a pair of tinny speakers. You aren't going to get good sound from bad speakers and brushes are like the speakers.


Carefully. You can get some jeweler's files, use the edge of a #11 blade, fold fine (600+ grit) sandpaper. Apply these lightly perpendicular to the mold line.
See my response to your post at FSM for suggestions on your camera work.

Dave stick it in a plastic bag after spraying with some Mr Muscle oven cleaner and that'll fetch the paint off. Try to avoid getting it on your hands as its caustic.Leave it 20 mins then rinse it under the tap and any stubborn paint will come off with an old toothbrush. If you want to get rid of mould lines use a very sharp x-acto blade and scrape gently. That should do the job.

Al, I disagree on the Tamiya paints for brushing. I know a lot hate them but I've never had a problem with them. I usually thin them with tap water and build up the layers if need be. Its just a question of what people are happy to use. I always give Tamiyas paints a good stir with an old paintbrush handle and if it looks a bit thick add water from a syringe till its the right consistency. I know everyone has their favourites but I have to admit I do like Tamiya paints for mixing. Works for me

Dave thats thinned Tamiya paints as thats all I use so it can work...LOL

I agree with Al on the brushes. If you use crap brushes you're going to get bad results. Its all about experimentation . One thing I always keep in my modelling box is wooden cocktail sticks (the things they stick fruit on in drinks for some bizarre reason. Don't know what they call them in the US) but I sharpen them with a blade for ultra fine work and then use them as paint stirrers. Invest in some decent quality brushes. Not super expensive ones but reasonable ones and you'll find that will lift your paint work up. Never be disheartened by a result. Just put it on one side and try something else then go back to it. It's a learning curve. We all have our own ideas and preferences its just a question of finding your own with practice

Thanks all for the tips and replies. I don't think I'll strip the figure but start from scratch with the new ones AFTER I get new paints and brushes. One of the problems I've had is the paint not sticking on some areas. Is this because of oils from my hands. I did wash it before hand.
Thanks,
David

No, it's the Tamiya formula. When you apply the paint without resorting to an alchemic formula, if the fresh brush touches the appplied but not FULLY cured paint, it will lift it up. This is not an isue with the Vallejos you'll soon be getting.

I see where you're coming from. You're despondent about this figure and think putting it behind you and moving on will help. Fair enough. However, IMO strip it down and use it to practice your techniques, instead of trying new techniques on new figures.

From the (quoted) statement above it sounds like you might not be priming the figure? I know quite a few modellers prefer not to prime - I'm not one of those people. I believe that priming a model gives the subsequent (colour) coats something to bind to. I use Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (either white or light grey). A few people use automotive primer, however I find it not fine enough for model figure work.

Generally try not to handle the figure too much when painting. Mount to a block of balsa or foam core or something that you can hold when painting.

Paint brands? I've never really been a Tamiya fan, but I've seen it used successfully for brush painting. It works fine from an airbrush for me, but I use Vallejo and Citadel paints for fine brushwork and am very happy with them.

HTH

Rudi

Thanks for the comments. I didn't prime it which might help alot. What colors do you reccomend getting for painting faces with vallejo colors. I have a general idea for uniforms but I don't really want to get the big figure painting set. I'm looking for about 20 colors for uniforms and 10 for faces. I only do American/British/German figures. Any advice appreicated.
David

David,

Check out this link on Colorado Miniatures site: Info: Vallejo Paints

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to find almost all the mixes you have asked for there... IIRC the only one they don't have is British SD/BD. Furthermore, I highly recommend Colorado Miniatures as an online retailer. Their prices are excellent, as is the service.

The other thing I recommend is to post plenty of pics of your work as you are progressing with your painting. Please feel free to come over to Historicus Forma and post WIP pics in our painting forums. We have plenty of very well qualified figure painters, many of whom paint and sculpt figures professionally, who are just itching to give friendly advice.

Hope to see you on the HF side....

Rudi

I use beige red as a base color for caucasian flesh. Dark skintone is added for shadows and light flesh for highlights. I also use suny skintone and dark flesh (not very dark!) to flavor the base color for vatiety. Take a look at my gallery for the results.

Thanks for the Colorado Miniatures site.
I think all those colors ajlafleche mentioned are in the skin tones pack.
Thanks for all the advice. I'll post in the HF after Christmas when I will start a new figure.
David

Oh, and for getting rid of the lines, do you all do this before or after assmebling the figure? And on the DML figures, do you paint the head separate or attached. And how do you cut off heads if you want them to be replaced with others? I know its alot but any help appreciated.
Thanks,
David

Hi

You can trim the moulding lines away whenever you like but its easier when the model is still in bits. Usually each leg is separate so you can get to the inside easy.

With regard to replacement heads, it depends on what you get. Most aftermarket resin ones (Hornet, Legend, Verlinden etc) have a neck but its length depends on the manufacturer, some are long, some short.

I tend to make a hole with a suitable sized drill bit in a pin vice, then open that up to the collar width with a knife. Drop the head in, adjusting hole or neck to suit until it sits right.

You can then paint it separate to the torso and glue it in later.

Alan

What Alan just said about replacement heads. However, whenever possible, paint the head separate from the body. I drill a small hole in the base of the neck and poke it one a toothpick. Pretty gruesome looking if there are several heads on toothpicks stuck in a piece of styrofoam, not that I think of it, That way, you can work on the head without having to move the rest of the figure around, getting skin oil on it or risking rubbing off the paint.
Little trick I learned from my mentors. When you piant the eyes, and you're ready to add a detailed eye, you can check the alignment of the pupils by looking at the face in a mirror. It's like when the barber cuts your hair, he's lookng at you in the mirros.

I tried priming in grey, then undercoating the flesh areas in Vallejo skin tones, but the figures looked a bit dead... so then I sprayed the whole figure in a pinky fleshy colour first instead of grey - a really light pinky flesh though. Then a coat of Vallejo's "Light Flesh" mixed with the Model Air "Sandy Brown"... once dried (give it 24 hours) apply washes of the same mix, but each time use less Light flesh and more snady brown... the model air colours are pre-thinned so will work as a wash nicely. But if you need to thin more, try using Vallejo's "Dilluente" or thinner, it gives the coat a better finish - tap water will mottle the final surface.

Hope this helps. I only started modelling figures 18 months ago, and only get the chance to put in a couple of hours a week, but this is the result of that perseverance: