Hey guys, I'm going to put up this SBS, to show you how I do my figures, and also to look for advice re: painting e.t.c
My goal is to pass on some information to anyone who will benefit from this small guide, and hopefully, to learn something myself along the way!

Firstly, Figures are getting better, long gone are the club foot figures of the 70's, (well, they still remain, but you know what I mean ), anyway, Plastic figures have increased in quality over the last decade or so, to the point that you wouldn't believe that such and such head on such and such's model was a plastic one.
Although this will never make resin figures redundant IMO, it has opened up the world of quality figures to people who perhaps cannot afford to splash out on resin, or choose not to, and with such a wide range of figures available, you needn't look so far for that perfect pose.

What you will need for this, Well I have chosen Dragon 6580 German Infantry Barbarossa 1941, Why you ask, well I prefer Early war stuff, And Its a newer Release with Gen2 Gear
( higher quality accessories, weapons and personal gear)



Tools are just as important as a good kit.

I use lots of stuff to model, I'll Astrix the essentials, don't feel all this is necessary, just useful.

Sprue cutters are something I do not have but they are useful..

Scalpel#11 *

800 grit sandpaper*

Emery sanding sticks

Revel contacta plastic cement*

Spray Primer ( model or automotive)*

Vallejo Plastic putty

Milliput

Tweezers

The Internet.

Various brushes* ( a few would be handy but you can get away with a fine one for details and a flat medium one for large areas)

Acylic slow drying medium

Paints*

A determination to improve and model to the best of your ability*

A Few Sprue shots








Step One
construction and cleanup


Ok, so we get the sprues out of the box, what do we do, firstly choose a figure form the box art that you are interested in starting with, you could be attracted by pose, or maybe he fits your diorama perfectly.
Now we have made that choice we need to find him on the guide, ( Usually these are CAD or built up images of the figures with part numbers pointing to the corresponding part, if you get stuck though, the internet is a great place to find help. just a quick google of
German Uniform ww2 or German Webbing ww2 can yeild brilliant results.)
Now we need to carefully identify our parts on the sprues, some like Dragon have numbered sprues, where some others don't and use a sprue diagram to help you locate your parts. It's always good to spend a little time looking over the parts and instructions to familiarize yourself.


Lets go...!!!

So today I start with a leg, lets see how we get on.



This leg has just been removed from the sprue, notice the light seam line and sprue attachment points, yeah you guessed it, they have to go.

The trick here is patience and practice, you will make a gash in your figure now and again, dont let it worry you, it's all fun!

Gradually shave off bits of the sprue attachment point until it is flush with the surrounding surface and don't apply to much pressure thats a quick way to end up with a slice in your finger.



scape off the surrounding seam line with your blade at a slight or right angle to the plastic I personally anchor the base of the part onto my thumb, and scrape at a right angle to avoid accidents. please excuse the paint diagram..



This is not the only way to do this, just what I find most comfortable.

the Next Nib will be more difficult, as unfortunately it is mounted on a fold in the fabric.

I have a basic diagram, to hopefully help you out.



The sandpaper is rolled, or folded in half to allow it to be narrow enough to reach, ( more precise too!!)




Make sure to remove all traces of Sprue Nibs and seam lines and you should end up with a leg looking something like this.







Ill post more up tomorrow.

Can't wait to see them completed. I really like your diagrams

-Joe

Glad to see your emphasis right up front on the basics - cleaning up the sprue attachment points and mold seams.

I see so many fairly well painted figgies that are ruined by poor basic construction - visible seam lines and poor fitting parts.

You're doing your fellow modelers are real service here!

Hello again,

Joe, Mike, thankyou, Although I cant hold my weight with some of the other modellers on this site I thought a comprehensive guide may help!

Recap..
So where are we, a small recap, We have cleaned up one leg, using the above techniques to remove seam lines and sprue nibs.
It doesn't seem like much, but trust me, its the staple of successful figure construction and presentation, the last thing you want is as Mike said Seam lines and messy construction ruining a figure.


On with the build!!..
The next step is to repeat what we did, but on the other leg. I'm not going into any more depth with seam or nib removal, it applies to every limb, the torso and the head. With the above techniques we can clean up the whole model and craft a piece to be proud of.

and viola! 2 legs, ready to be glued.



test fit the legs, and if they fit well we will proceed with gluing.

If they don't fit well, here is a mini guide.


as we can see from a test fit on these legs ( another figure from the same set) they don't fit as well as they could.

the trick here is to shave off parts of the join that are too bulbous, or clearly hinder construction of the figure.


I have highlighted the areas that I needed to trim.


another test fit.. a little better. maybe a little more trimming..


Remember it doesn't have to be perfect, there are allowed to be gaps at this point, that is what filler is for!

after another little trim its time for glue.

Run the glue along the U shape of the leg joins, on both sides to allow the glue to react on either side.



place the parts in position and apply mild pressure.



the glue should do a little bit of the filling for you, by squeezing, it pushes the glue form the middle , to around the edges, seeping into any of the smaller gaps avaliable.

notice how the gap has been greatly reduced by using correct techniques.




Glue
Glue Glue glue... well I use Revell contacta glue as it has a medium drying time, and is fairly viscous, allowing us to wriggle the part into shape if it was placed incorrectly.

follow the above techniques for joining the legs, and the the torso.


be careful when trimming this nib, you do not want to damage the belt




after a little work , you should have this..





more soon folks.

Yanno I had thought I had my cleaning and trimming down to a science but I've already learned a few things from this

-Conor

cheers Conor, glad you learned something! its always good to reflect on the techniques of others. its all about the tips and tricks.


Ok, the next step is adding a little filler

Filling the unmentionables

At the moment we are left with a ok looking join between the fellows legs. this could be better though, so I am going to apply a little filler to tidy and fill the parts that need it.

For this im using Vallejo plastic putty, It cleans up with water and can be thinned with water also. its easy to brush on, and then clean off your brush. It works well for me as I can clean it with ease.

( I will cover solvent filler later using a similar technique later on in the thread )
squeeze out a little


dilute and mix


it should act like a thick paint. paint it on as if you were painting the areas you want to fill.


leave for 30-40 seconds, then wipe off the excess with a damp piece of kitchen towel or an old cloth.
you should end up with something like this.

( i noticed the two little bumps of filler on this photograph and removed them afterwards)
and the front


using this technique should help eliminate any small gaps that are present on your figure.

Ola James

nice step by step. Should be very usefull for those not yet overly skilled in the art of figure assembly and painting. Great job

thanks Robert, although I maybe feel I should get the title changed to something maybe more eye catching to beginners.
maybe something like A basic guide to modelling a figure, or something along the lines of.

Will be following this James. I never thought of thinning the putty/filler before.

Christopher, glad I could help.



Next up...

Okay, so we have a Torso attached to some legs, hopefully devoid of seam lines and apparent gaps.

a note about earlier, when scraping seam lines on a curved surface, be sure not to add a flat edge if its avoidable, scrape gently, and sand if needed to add roundness

Gear
Gear can be a tricky phase, I count gear as anything that is not integral to the regular clothed human form. so Canteens, Bags, Helmets, Weapons.
Remember reference is your friend, for painting and positioning.
To start with I will be adding a map pouch (? Im guessing here..) to our figure, carving away parts of the plastic to help it fit just a little bit better. We see lots of figures with the gear really hanging on unrealistically, or really sticking out. we must counter this by making the fit look more natural and less forced.

Here is a picture of how I made the item fit.



you can see the detail sticking out that would hinder the fit of the part before trimming.

this was then glued on



the scarf was offered a similar treatment, but this time the edges were cleaned up, and thinned to represent cloth in a more appropriate manner

we also have two lots of Kar 98 Ammo pouches. now they sit on the belt, but unfortunately, due to the detail dragon have captured with their superb gen 2 parts, they don't sit right. this is the original part (rear)


and with a small dip carved into the piece



Here is the scarf and pouch sitting happily, and more naturally to the figure.



the gap on the scarf is extremely apparent from this angle, In real life it looks more natural and better fitting.

Add on the Shovel and Bayonet following similar principles.
Only a small slice of the top of the bayonet was removed for this


The breadbag and the place where the breadbag sits will need to be worked on to promote a better fit also



Add your canteen, mess tin and gas mask canister, following references, and trimming and fitting to shape.



The Right arm will need to be added, I'm leaving the left arm of for now for ease of painting.

Following the above methods, clean and glue on your figures arm





Thats it for now Fellas, We are getting close to priming, and then the painting, where I get to put my painting skills under the scrutiny of yours truly. eek..

I am happy to see this blow by blow account. It is very well written and logical.
The cloth bag around his neck is for the gas cape. This usually is a quick indicator to tell if the guy is early war as they were aorn on the front when the war started,attached to the strap of the gas mask carrier,then switched to being strapped onto the canister itself and then mid to late war they were rarely seenuntil the end of the war,when the gas mask canister also started to disappear.
J

Nice work so far James. Just in the middle of my first set of Gen 2 Dragon figures. Impressed with the quailty. Need a little sanding and filling as you've pointed put but come up looking pretty sweet. Will have to have a look for the plastic putty your using, looks nice and easy to use. What do you thin it with?
Only thing I noticed, the gas cape bag you have attached to the front of the figure. It should be turned almost 90 degrees as it slides along the gas cannister strap. Not sure if that makes sense! It should be long ways along the strap rather than short ways.
Great work and looking forward to seeing how the progress.

Hey Chris, I see what you mean, there does appear though, to be a strap running in that orientation its visible on the lower right of the torso. Vallejo putty is thinned with water, I'll edit that into the text!

Jerry, thankyou, im glad it is well written, I'm not the best at putting words to paper but seem to be doing O.K!

More after band practice.

Mounting the figure

We are gonna need to prime the figure to help with paint adhesion. People debate whether primer is actually needed, In my personal experience, it has helped me to achieve a good finish on all of my figures so far. Although you may not prime your plastic figures, I recommend priming resin figures more so, Primers and Spray cans usually contain solvents that "bite" into the plastic, giving the finish more durability.

anyway...
I try my best to mount my figures to something ( we dont want greasy fingers over our nice primered surface do we.
some people drill into the foot and insert wire, then clamp or insert into a cork. others clamp them, I like to glue them to pots. ( plus its all I have access too.)

so here we go.
Take one figure and one pot

Apply a small amount of Superglue to feet

place figure and hold for a second or two

Hey guys, Quick update, I'm practicing my painting on another figure to make sure I'm up to scratch before posting any painting!

This is a great step-by-step, James. I consider myself to be "figure-painting challenged". Maybe this will help cure me.

Chris

priming

After mounting your figure prime it with a primer of your choice, I had no dedicated primers so used a solvent acrylic spray ( humbrol Acrylic Tank Grey 67) Make a few light passes, and try to cover everything!




If you have other parts that need priming, mount them to toothpicks, bits of sprue, or clamp them, then prime. I used matchsticks with superglue.



Colour Reference

Before we step into the world of painting its good to do a little research, google and read up on your subjects, check for colour references using photos online, and other forum members, if you like the colours someone has used, send them a message and ask what they use most people are friendly enough to oblige the curious modeller.

I have compiled a few photos taken from google that are useful for this project.

This shows the colour variations of some Tunics, Remember uniforms faded and got replaced and repaired, its very unlikely that a uniform will be entirely matching. plus, slight colour variations bring the model to life.


this photo references webbing and gear although I highly recommend googling individual pieces of gear to see what colour variations there were.


Base Coat

Ok, I am gonna be using vallejo paints for this figure.
The shade I am going to build from is Vallejo 830 German Fieldgrey WWII.
Paints used for this stage
830 Geman Fieldgrey wwII
924 Russian Uniform wwII
Panzer aces 335 German Tanker II(Fieldgrey)



I am mixing in a little Russian uniform to add a little fading to the uniform as he has his sleeves rolled up I envisage a slightly warmer climate for the Russian summer.

I mixed the colour roughly to the proportions shown above, and added a small bit of water, at approx a 1:5 ratio, just to make the paint a little easier to work with.

With a wider brush (I used a #4 flat shader for the basecoat application) paint on your mixed colour, you don't need to be too neat, just make sure the entire tunic is covered, paint over the straps, and even the gear, your paint will be thin enough to let the detail show through. apply two thin coats.


For the Trousers I decided to make them a little darker,
I used Panzer aces 335 Vall 830 and Vall 924 at around 2 parts 335 to 1 part 830 to half a part 924. I then applied this in same manner as above 1:5 thinned, two thin coats.

( in this image the green looks too bright, this is just the lamp i use..)

Just another reason why I need to invest more in Vallejo paints. This means I'll go broke by the end of April I've only got a few random camo colors and their Splinter camo colors. I like the colors you used though, I'll have to give it a shot.

-Conor

... Very well James. .. A work ahead. ....

I use Squadron white putty thinned with Tamiya thin plastic glue to make a filler paste. I find the glue solvent bonds the filler really well to the plastic parts being filled.

Nice .... will be watching as I would like to improve figure work

I'm Glad people are finding this useful! Biggles got tip, I will do a short demonstration on solvent based filler soon to help others out.

James--- well done! I have this project downloaded as a reference. Amazing photos and description. I, along with many others, will follow this to the final stage.
Great job!
DJ

D J, thanks, glad your enjoying the log.


So Folks No we are well and truly into the painting phase I want to talk a little about shading.

The reason we shade figures has a scientific overtone to it, The smaller surface area reflects less light, so we need to compensate for this, and make the figure look more realistic by tricking the eye into thinking they are looking at something more three dimensional. So, we add shadows and highlights, not only to emulate light and shadow, but also to make the figure artistically more interesting and pleasing to the eye.
A few tips.
Try not to highlight with pure white, mix in a warmer colour to your paint for a less pasty looking highlight, perhaps a skintone. saving white or off white for the very last ( if needed) tone.

Shade your Details. You may have pulled off a great shading job on your figures clothing, but the gear looks plain and uninspired, shade these too,

Take care, and take your time, look at real subjects for examples, follow the masters, and always review your own work. without your own criticism you will get nowhere fast.

And don't forget to listen to your peers, most of the time if you see a comment advising you to do this that or the other, don't look at it in a negative way, the other user may only be trying to pass on knowledge to help you better yourself and feel more fulfilled with your models. and don't forget Not everyone speaks English well, so sometimes its hard to read the tone of a message.

Okay, so painting, that might be good. where were we?...

Straps

So next up I paint the straps. For this I have been using a Pro Arte 4/0 Prolene Plus 007 brush. It cost me around £3.50 and its a great brush, it paints smooth, and handles the thinner paint as well as it manages the thicker stuff. so a good all round detail brush.

As per usual I have been using Vallejo.
The paints I have used for this are a little more in depth

for the Y Straps and Rifle pouches..

Base 950black
Highlight+803 Rose Brown
Upper highlight 928 Light Flesh

For the Rifle sling and other Brown Straps

Base 871LeatherBrown 70:30 818RedLeather
Highlight 871LeatherBrown 818RedLeather 845sunnyskintone 33:33:33
Upper Highlight +845 SunnySkinTone



So Start off by painting Your Straps and ammo pouches black


(I apologize for my sloppy painting, we will remedy this later)

This is the system I have used for highlighting the black. Follow this gradual lightening procedure for all the colours

Highlight the black straps around the edges in a logical manner and the high points and most light catching parts of the ammo pouches then fill in the brown



Note For the fabric ends to the black leather straps i used Vallejo 880 Khaki Grey, and for a highlight lightened it with 845SunnySkintone

then add shading to your brown leather elements. to shade add a little bit of 950 black each time






I Finished up by applying a 50:50 950black pin wash around the edges to define everything nicely.

A question on the Vallejo putty, is the stuff in the bottles the same as what's in the tube? I picked some up and noticed it doesn't want to sand well but cleans up with brush cleaner nicely. I'll have to try it with water next time.