HI guys, I want to start painting my figures in Oil paints, I have been paintng in acrylics for a few years and have enjoyed them. It seems most of the best painters use oil paints. What I was wondering what would be the best set of colors to get started? I paint Napoleonics and ww2 german and u.s.? Also what are some tips on getting started painting using the oils? I have used them in the past for weathering on my tanks but not actualy painting and I have no idea how to get working with them. Also are there any good books out there for painting historical miniatures in Oils. I have Bill Horans book but he uses enamels and so doesnt have all the basics for me how to get started.
I know this is a lot to ask but I would appreciate any help any one has.

Thanks
Shawn Luchak

HI their is a book by schiffer model history wich has detailed explanation of painting faces with oil paint.

and I use for my faces : burned sienna raw umber cadnium yellow burned umber and titanium white..

their have been some postings about figure painting with oils

in the figure forum maybe you can check them out?


hope this helps a little

allthough they are good for painting they are not the "be all and end all". But I definately recommend giving them a serious go. (There are a lot of fine figure painters who use acrylics also.) You should aim for a medium for painting that suits you rather than a medium because somebody else uses it. But one must experiment first.
If you have been painting figures for a few years most new tips should be easily understandable to you. A great site on the net is Missing links Figures articles. Link to figures index
I get military modelling regularly and have often painted a figure following a method as described by different authors, so now I use a mish-mash of ideas and methods. I also use acrylics, enamels and oils on the same figure. I believe its whats important/easy to you is your way forward ... so some practice goes a long way. A tip I have read some time ago and several times since is to buy a set of heads like hornet and mount them on thin wire and just paint them, time and time again for practice. There are lots of good figures from later Dragon, Tamiya and now tristar to practice on as well. Good luck
As Tom Petty says ... the future is wide-open (free-falling)

Hi RedDevil,

I am about to do the same thing you are as far as my first try with oils. I used the two articles on this site for a reference. These articles can be found in the Figures section of the features menu. The articles are listed as Color Mixing with Oils parts 1 & 2 by Craig Whitaker. Mr. Whitaker lists several color mixes he uses with photo references to achieve wanted colors, and the articles were very helpful to me.

As far as figures go, I am going to try to do like plastic said and start with a DML figure first. Hope all turns out good for you (and me)

Stephen Magee