What are the best type of paints to use for painting figures and are there any books or Fine scale articles that are very good in guiding you? [:p]
hey
There was an article on how to paint WW2 uniforms in the October 2002 issue of FSM.
Also, i have been told that the book ‘Building Better Dioramas’ (or something similar) has a good section on painting figures etc.
Laters
I build and paint figures from 48 scale to 200mm and I find that a base coat of airbrushed acrylic (base color) works well. I highlight with Grumbacher oils for recesses and raise portions of uniforms as well as any comouflage. The oils can be bought at art supply stores and although some are kind of high as far as price, one tube will last for many years. Use only good quality natural hair brushes also for the best finishes.
I am a veteran in the field of figures, I think Acrylics work best for painting model figures. I would suggest trying to get your painting techniques down by using old and messed up figures. Also your might look for ideas in How to Build Dioramas 2nd edition by Sheperd Paine for some good fine detailing tips on figures
I generally spray a primer coat of gray over the figure first. Than with acrylic I paint the base color I want. Following this, I use Windsor Newton oils in varying shades. One tip, place the oils on a piece of paper when painting. This will suck up the excess oil and you can always add a touch of thinner to loosen it up if wou wish.
This was posted in another topic; hope it helps - check out Gremlins in the Garage. They have lots of good how-to articles. The site is geared toward the larger figures, but there is a lot of useful info.
There’s a book called something to the effect of “how to paint realistic military figures”, one of the authors is Lynn Kessler and the other Don ?. It’s good. It’s usually on the books listing in FSM. I concur on Shep Paine’s Diorama book. I use both.
Oh, for flesh tones try Model Master Acryl flesh tones. By mixing the 4 colors(light base, dark base, shadow tint and warm tint) you can do all the flesh, even a geat 5oclock shadow. Just mix plenty of your base color, put on a coat, and divide it in a couple parts. Add shadow in and use on the shadows & beard area. its ok that they are dark and kinda stand out at the edges. Warm tint +base is highlights. Straight warm is the lips usually. ( a little Shadow in it works a nice blue tinge on cold weather figures). Once you have the highlights and shadows worked in, let it dry. It’ll look patchwork like, but then you add thin (watered down a little) coats of the base over it till it evens out. Add more coats in some areas as you need. It’s great cause mistakes come off while wet with a little water on a swab. It’s hard to screw up doing this. I’m clumsy and my figures have always gotten praise form friends. A coat of clear flat allowed to dry over night and then you go on to eyes and hair. Good luck.
try this link: http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/articles_figures.htm