i just found out that i suck at painting faces on 1/35 scale figures. but the good news is that tamiya acrylic paints are easily disolved by tamiya’s thinner (and probably rubbing alcohol)- even if the paint has been dry for days. so after applying way too many coats of paint trying to get it right, the faces lost much of their detail. but i was able to just start over by disolving the dried paint and using cotton swabs and toothpicks to remove it (just be careful not to get the thinner on the other parts). much cheaper than having to buy new figures, and who know i might figure out how to paint faces after all.
Hey goatboy, whats your favorite part of the face to do? For me its the eyes.
Hey goatboy, whats your favorite part of the face to do? For me its the eyes.
probably adding highlights by drybrushing. highlights always make everthing come to life (at least in theory).
A good way to do the eyes is to apply a cote of white enamel, and then paint the face with flat flash acrilycs. After the paint is dried, I use a fine brush moistened in alcohol and brush carfully over the eyes. It will remove the flesh acrilycs but the white enamel will stay. Then you just have to paint the iris.
The good thing is, you won’t get a " too white dool’s eyes"
[:)]
When you make a mistake on a figure, or any other kit, you may want to try Floquil’s ELO (Easy Lift Off). This stuff works with water and does a fine job of removing any type of paint. Just a suggestion, as this does not tend to disturb the plastic or resin of the kit.
DANCAR I WILL TRY THAT 
Hey Bull,
What sort of base is the ELO? Petroleum? Alcohol? Spirits? It sounds like cool stuff.
Mike
I’ve been playing with painting the faces the flesh color, then doing a burnt umber wash. This fills in the crevices , eyes, frown lines etc. Then I dry brush the highlights and it seems to work pretty well. I talked to sme guys who have been winning figure comps and some of them were using the same method. I was skeptical at first but once you get the feel of it and work it a little, it looks good on 1/35.
Mike
I’ve found that “ZEB” removes paint without damaging the plastic, no matter how old the paint. I also paint the face burnt sienna or burnt umber and let it dry. Add white to the eyeballs and then the iris, leaving a little bit of white in the corners. I then drybrush the face in a fleshy colour, leaving the recesses dark. I eventually drybrush the highlights in a lighter shade than the fleshy colour. This way you do not obliterate the detail on the face.