Washes for 1/35 Figures?

Modeling Subjects Figures and Misc.
1

hi

does anyone have any tips or experience of using washes for 1/35 figures? I’m guessing you can use a raw umber wash to tie all the colours together, much like armour models?

At the moment my figueres have quite contrasting colours that don’t look particullay life like.

Cheers

2

I’ve been doing figures for years Jagd and i have the same problems. Its the area of modelling i want to improve on the most. So i’ll be looking forward to any replies.

I do have a couple of books of figures building, but the way they paint the faces to me looks silly, and thats my worst area.

3

An overall light wash (in terms of darkness and thinner to paint ratio) is fine if you want to tone down previous layers of paint or a camou pattern. Using a dark wash over the whole figure presents two problems: it darkens everything plus the paint does not accumulate properly in the cloth folds/wrinkles. You are better off using a controlled pin wash on such areas as belts, pockets, buttons, etc. This also means darkening the undersides of folds one at a time - trust me, the extra effort is worth it.

regards,

Jack

4

Jack

Thanks, i’ll try a pin wash, inspiring image!

5

I agree with Jack… heavily thinned Umber Raw is my best friend. It is amazing how much it can transform my figures. Here’s a picture of my US tank commander before I applied the washes…

!(http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/aleffler/M24 Chaffee/IMG00349-20110424-0114.jpg)

I used W&N Raw Umber oil paint for this and it was heavily thinned with Mona Lisa Odorless Thinner…

!(http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/aleffler/M24 Chaffee/IMG00375-20110427-2331.jpg)

Like Jack said, controlled placement of washes where you want them to be just like Jack said even between the fingers too. I did the procedure twice maybe three times until I was satisfied.

!(http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww137/aleffler/M24 Chaffee/IMG00396-20110429-2146.jpg)

I even use same procedure on my armors too. You are going to love this… I think it is the easiest and best part of figures painting.

6

Thanks for that, i’m definently going to have a go

Cheers

7

Jack,

Outstanding figure!

If that is a 1/35 scale figure look for all my modeling kits & supplies on E-bay… Cheep!

Seriously excellent work, do tell more for the fellas & I.

8

That’s what I use…

9

SuppressionFire - no no, don’t put your model kits and supplies on a firesale! lol.

The German in winter whites is a 1/16th scale Tamiya kit and I only posted it to better show how I approach the folds in cloth. My most recent 1/35 figure is here: [View:/forums/t/138784.aspx:550:0].

Lately I’ve been airbrushing 3 different colours during the primer phase. I would take the base colour and mix it darker with either a gray or dark blue and spray the whole figure. Next would be the base colour sprayed from the top of the figure down to about 90 degrees. Lastly I mix a lighter colour of the base coat and spray only from the top of the figure, like a light source. Then I go in with a fine brush and pick out the shadows and highlights. I use acrylics so the brushwork is more like glazes (paints are watered down). You could try this method on the face if the head is cast separate, but at 1/35 scale it might be too small an area and end up with paint build up.

Here are some other 1/35 figures:

regards,

Jack

10

Thanks for the reply Jack!

Obviously figures are your area of expertise, the examples above are truly works of art!

Sounds like we use the same techniques yet your results are more refined, once paint hits plastic its hard for me to slow down! Its like the figure becomes alive choosing the paint for itself.

I take you read Shepard Panes book ‘How to Build Dioramas’ as he describes a over spray from above to really get the shadows & highlights standing out.

One more question, have you tried Ultracasts resin figures? Being from Ontario I would assume you have or possibly affiliated with the company. I fin their sculpts, particularly the face sculpts the best anywhere possibly the world.

11

SuppressionFire - yes, that Shep Paine book has been in my library near three decades now (man how time flies). I do have a figure from Ultracast but have not got around to building it. I’ve actually ordered more spitfire parts than anything else from them. Back to figures, those made from resin generally tend to have the better face sculpts. There are other brands out there I find just as good as Ultracast, such as Alpine and Hornet. MasterClub has some good (and some bad) - I’m guessing they employ various sculpters.

If you really want to be blown away by the painting of a 1/35scale face, check out this.

regards,

Jack

12

Thanks for the link Jack!

Everyone should check it out, the Jagpanther is off the hook as well.[Y]

I honestly was going to call BS on the scale until I seen the face sculpt under the magnifier. Totally unreal!

Just when you think your kung-fu is strong a master enters the big brawl to show his superior technique.[:D[

I am truly humbled. [:$]

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Wow, obviously his hands are steadier than mine. Thanks for the link.

14

[W] alright thats it !!! HAHA now I feel so unworthy of touching another figure after this [:'(]

15

Painting of 1/35 scale resin figures that is!

Anyhow been a while sense I posted anything constructive. The figure in the link is one of the best anywhere yet under normal viewing distances (on my computer the link figure’s head looks almost 1/1 scale!) you really do not need so much fine detail to pass off a realistic figure.

For me the main concerns are color & shadow. The color is up to personal choices, the shadows are relevant to the original post asking about washes for figures.

Here is a example on a Ultracast 1/35 scale Commonwealth Tanker.

Primed with Red Oxide automotive spray can, the base coat of light brown has been applied on the coveralls. The skin tones are on in Testor’s enamel as is the coveralls. The wash is just Tamiya acrylic Red Brown. Its not a final look but helps see the areas that should be darker. Avoid a overall wash on light clothes, use pin washes to pick out the creases & shadows:

The crisper the sculpt the easier it is to paint a figure particularly the face. Plastic figures pass yet its always money well spent to upgrade the heads to resin.