My question is.....
Is there a difference between Acrylic paint bought at an crafts store (i don't know if they are in tubes or bottles #:-) ) and the regular tubes of acrylic paint sold in a art supply store (by this i mean paint made for canvas, still life etc..)?
I have some art tubes and tried painting my figures with them. I had washed and primed the figures, and the paint didn't really want to stick. At first it seemed like it wasgood, but the next day when wanting to do some more work, the paint kind of scraped off, with really no pressure.
I see a lot of people swear by craft store acrylics, so is this my problem or could it be something else?

Not to sure on this one as I mostly use model paints. 1 thing may be to let them dry for longer before starting on the next step. Enough people do use them so maybe a little bump will get you a better answer.

Did you wash the model prior to painting? Or use a primer coat??

I have used Apple Barrel and Americana (sp?) Hobby paints (3-4oz plastic tubes) from Micheals and found that they are best suited for diorama elements. I found similar results on certain surfaces. So, I tend to use them for ground work, buildings, etc.

I don't know if a good solid primer with some 'grit' and 'bite' to it would solve the problem. I have always had acceptable paints available so haven't had to experiment to get them to 'work'

My figs are a mess now. I am trying to salvage them with oils the best I can. Not a good start for wanting to get into figure modeling.
I am not sure if I have a micheals around me. But I know there is an A C Moore craft store. Anyone ever hear/shop there?

Howdy Petro,

Rather than 'chase the dogs tail' here. Let's begin at the very best place....the beginning. :-)

#1. What/Who/Where.
a) What are your 'figs' made of?
b) Who did you buy them from?
c) Where did you buy the paints you used?

Thx.

Tread.

1; Tamiya mortar crew
2 : I bought the kit a few years ago from a local hobby shop.
3; I bought the acryl paints from Koenig art supply.
Any other questions?

Howdy Petro,

The reason I ask is because I was curious about whether the figs were plastic or resin or?
So the figs are Tammy huh? You say they're a couple of years old...how much have you handled them? Again, the reason I ask is because your problem sounds like there is a coating of some sort on the figs themselves.
I have done this inadvertently some time ago when I was snacking on cheese and handling my parts during assembly. When I went to paint them, everyhting looked just dandy. But, the next day the paint came off in quite the same fashion as you described.
You should always give your kits a soap wash before you start on them. And then, be aware of what's on you hands at all times.
I also build furniture and so subsequently have any number of things that could be on my hands at any one time, so, I have gotten in the habit of thinking about that before i proceed with anything.
(sorry to get long-winded)
You now say you are applying oil paints on top of that?
Ummmm. Not sure if that's going to spring better results either.
Please tell me where you're at?

Tread.

Ok Tread,
After i first have noticed the paint not sticking the best , i touched it up with the acrylics, let dry, and then applied Model Master clear laquer. That seemed to help. But it didn't help with the kind of shoddy paint job. As i am experimenting with different colors for German uniforms, i am decided to continue with the work, as i still need the practice.

Anyways, i just took the figures out of the plastic bag a week ago or two and started working on them. At first i forgot to clean one or two of them, so i striped them the best i could, with Water, then proceeded to give them all a good alcohol scrubbing. Let me point out, that i did not clean the mortar or prime it. I brush painted it Using Tamiya paint. I had no such problem with the mortar.
Now, some might say , if the tamiya paint is working, stick with that. But the reason i went to the art Acrylics was because i was having problems applying MM acryl and Tamiya. It was not really coming off the brush, and it wasn't really coming out good either.

That was , of course before i came here and mentioned it and learned a few new things about painting with MM and tamiya acrylics with a brush. Did i lose you?

So, now with the current paint jobs, i am just using basic oil paints for shading and highlights, besides my normal oil washes. Considering i haven't really attempted shading before, i think they are looking better. At least by my beginners standards.

I can't post any pics as of yet though. I need natural light for the pics. The lighting in my workshop is horrendous for photos.

Thanks

Howdy Petro,

Sorry, I haven't checked back here earlier.
Anyway. From you description, it sounds like you've already got a pretty good grasp of painting in general. Your terminolgy is sound, and your approach seems to be 'dandy'.
So, I will not presume to preach Fig painting to you, because there are MUCH more talented folks here that could do that blind-folded.
What I will tell you is this;
Whenever I get a plastic figure out of the box, I usually just place it in a bowl that has either a soapy water solution with a dash of Rubbing alcohol added,and just let it soak awhile (no need to scrub), or just plain rubbing alcohol(it's pretty darn cheap). From there, you shouldn't have any problems whatsoever painting them using the highgrade paints you have been describing.
Now, as far as 'craft' paints.
I am a big supporter of the use of 'craft' paints...for use on subjects like armour vehicles, planes, etc. Because mainly, these objects are NOT painted like a normal passenger car.
But I do not use these same paints when it comes to figures. Yes, I suppose you could use 'craft' paints for the uniforms, or other gear. But the figure is so small, and is really a reflection of much more 'varied' nuance's, that using an acrylic 'craft' paint is a disservice.
If you are indeed getting acceptable results from your efforts...stick with it.
You're apparently on the right track for your 'detail' painting. :-)

Tread.

Hola Petro!

You can get Apple Barrel and Folk Acrylics at any Walmart, Michaels, Hobby Lobby or probably any other crafts store. I use mainly these paints for my figures. I hardy never wash a figure before I prime it, unless it needed a lot of clean up and might have some dust stuff on it. Then I prime the figures with Equipment Gray Primer, from Colorplace, and can be bought at Walmart. I then put "puddles" of paint on a plastic pallete (also Walmart) with 6 or 10 cups in them and thin the paint and then I paint the figure with it. I never have any problems witht he paint rubbing off. Hope this is of some help

I would just add that in my experience there is a big difference in the consistency and "bite" of art acrylics and the craft paints. I've had much better luck getting the craft paints to work on plastic than the type that comes out of the art tube.

Stephen

There ya go Petro. Anders is an extremely talented fig painter. The fact that he does it with the materials he has just described, can only be a further tribute to his talents!
Nuff said.

Tread.

Just to join the choir, I have personally seen Anders' figures, both finished and in-progress and can say they are awesome -- no trick photography ot Photoshop for his stuff on the web! I've also seen him do a couple painting demonstrations and was amazed how he thins his paints and goes at it. I don't have his technique down yet, but I think with practice, it works. And, yes, he uses those cheap paints from WalMart.

One note: Priming the figure may solve your problem, Petro. Too late for your current figures, but be sure to try it next time. Especially using oils, I think it helps to prime figures. One thing about a primed figure: you can use thinner coats of paint on it. You're almost to the point of just "staining" the primer. Thin coats allow better blending and layering without gunking things up.

Well thanks all for the replies.
While i have your attention, i shall show the the current progress.
Now, most need to be retouched up, due to crappy drybrushing and blending of the oil paints. But, you all are more experienced then me , so i will gladly take the advice.

Clearly too much highlights, as you can see the base color was by the equipment.





As you can tell, iam am trying different tones for the uniforms , so they won't be so, um uniform.. #:-)

Walmart for craft supplies eh. Have to check it out.
thanks all again.
Marc

Gee, Petro. That doesn't look quite the "mess" I was expecting. Actually, they don't look bad, just unfinished. I see the paint had rubbed off much of the boots.

How are you handling the figures? If you are holding him by the boots, that may explan why the paint is coming off. You may want to consider putting a pin in the figure and mouting it temporarily on a "handle" (like a piece of dowel) so you can paint it without touching it. I have "messed up" many figures because I handled them after they were painted.

Hey Petro,

I agree with Bob, they dont look so bad after all. I think the main problem with the uniform is that the highlight color you used isnt the best, or maybe that is the gray plastic showing through? The most important thing when painting anything is the colors you choose, even the best smoothest shading and highlighting won't look good if the colors are off. What I do is I start with the base color, slightly darker then a 'mid' shade, cover the whole area to be painted, then I keep this mixture in one of the "cups" on the pallette so I can use it to mix the rest of the highlights and shadows. Then I just add the color(s) that I will use to lighten the mix (usually a very very light yellow color) and for shadows I mix the base with the darkening color (usually black or dark brown). This way I am sure to get the correct balance in the highlights and shadows and they will all have the same base mix. Hope this makes sense! Basically, use the base color to mix all the highlights & shadows that goes on the uniform.

Thanks for the much too kind words Tread and Bob

Bob,

I'm going to Kansas City to see my girl tomorrow, yeah I know, great timing with the wonderful weather...none the less, Im going, and Im going to Kelly's house sunday for some painting and maybe a little sculpting. Maybe you should try to make it over there, would be good seeing you again!

:[]--:[]--




Yo Anders!

Thanks for the invite -- I'd love to see you do your thing, but as a native son of Green Bay, Wisconsin, I have to honor Sunday as a football fan holiday: Superbowl Sunday! I'm gonna be hunkered in the bunker with my beer and pretzels and some chili on the stove. I might get some modeling done during the pregame, but I'm not going anywhere Sunday!

You might end up crashing on Kelly's couch -- the weather is supposed to be terrible. One weather-dude said 12-18 inches of snow by noon Monday. Good luck and stay safe!

Ok, here is another thing. The boots and gear,(all black paint ) are MM enamel. I figured i would use this to help the problem with the acrylics not sticking. When i put the laquer coat on, it started to remove the enamel paint. Talk about swearing!! I was losing my mind wheb that happened! #:-) #:-) #:-)
Some of the figs didn't have all there boots painted either. I was using an Exacto clamp to help paint, to keep from handling them.
I do need to try to come up with a better system so as not to handle them.
Well, thanks again guys.

Now time to move my Bro down to Maryland.