I have a variety of little people (HO scale) to paint. Some are Preiser, some are Atlas, some are from ??? I have a variety of acrylic craft paints and colors. I was going to clean up flash and wash them with soap and water. Can I just paint them, or should I use a primer first?
Gary
Good idea. Thanks Mel.
I also use craft paints,I don't bother to wash,or prime, just clean up flash and parting lines.
I use a strip of double sided tape on a piease of wood, stick 5-6 on it leaveing enought space between them.
Grap 4or 5 bottles of paint,and try to do any of the same color before moving on.
I start with flesh and try to go lighter to darker colors,you can hide some mistakes.
Take your time, its a fun project a magnifier/lamp helps
Like to leave them on the sprue for painting when possible and airbrush 'primer' with my choice of flesh color before the brush work.
Ironically the the peloton, motos and spectators were painted while recovering from a cycling mishap some years ago.
Have fun and regards, Peter
HO-VeloLike to leave them on the sprue for painting when possible
I tryed that.but seams most of mine are connected by the head, you end up having to ''fix'' it after.
UNCLEBUTCHconnected by the head, you end up having to ''fix'' it after.
You're right, not always possible to leave on the sprue, especially when there's a lot of mold lines to remove. Have a good one, Peter
I am a nationally recognized high profile award winning figure painter.
.
Do you really want to know the right way to paint figures, or do you just want to slap some paint on no better than pre-painted hobby shelf garbage?
Miniature figure painting is a hobby all in its own.
Let me know if you really want to know how to do it right, and if you do, I will put together a reply.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I would need a dexterity transplant to do that kind of painting.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
SeeYou190Let me know if you really want to know how to do it right, and if you do, I will put together a reply.
I feel another series coming on! Do it with HO scale figures, though.
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewiDo it with HO scale figures, though.
HO figures are always in BORING poses with poor sculpting, not much fun.
RR_MelWhat is the scale of your figure above.
Those are 28mm (1/56). The degenerate scumbag wehrmacht figures below are 15mm (1/100) scale. These are about 2/3 the size of an HO figure. I will see if I can find my American army when I get back home. I did a much better job on them. These were painted using the Minwax Dip method.
Mel, as soon as you figure out the technology and science, you can transport me to that lounge car, anytime.
I think your figures are exceptional!
I'll be waiting.
I found some pictures of my 15mm ancient armies.
Remember, you are seeing these 2 to 3 times larger than in real life. These guys are only about 1/2 inch tall.
These are all smaller than HO scale. The round shields are about 1/2 the size of a pencil eraser! The middle shield in the third picture is one of the most difficult things I have ever painted.
The jewel on the banner crest in the second picture is exceptional to see in person. There are at least a dozen layers of shading on that detail, and it is only 0.040" across. The last piece of paint that went on was the white reflection highlight. I was so nervous when I did it. If I was off by just 0.010" I would have needed to start over.
I probably didn't need to paint the "toes" on the elephant, but I did anyway. I don't know how small they really are, but it was something I had to do.
I am going to paint an HO scale figure and post the results when I get home this afternoon.
Now I am going far a walk on the beach while it is still empty.
RR_MelTo look on the bright side my figures above were painted before Cataract surgery on my right eye last month, I go in tomorrow for my left eye.
Good heavens.
When I paint I have on prescription glasses, an Optivisor, and enough lights to see from outer space.
Your like doing it with one hand tied behind your back. Amazing.
SeeYou190When I paint I have on prescription glasses, an Optivisor, and enough lights to see from outer space.
Thats kinda of the way I outfit myself, too. I have a stronger pair of readers, that works well with the Optivisor, so when I flip the Optiviser up, it's not such a visual shock, and I can still walk!
garyaan I just paint them, or should I use a primer first?
I just saw to OP's actual question!
Yes, prime them all. Prime them in flat black.
I will explain later... I need to check out of this hotel by 10:00.
Hi Guys,
I've posted the following before. For HO and O scales, the Brifayle technique works. Your figures need to be clean and flat black. It is simple and very effective.
The O-Scale link shows you the step-by-step procedure. The HO link shows you various finished samples. Check them out:
Brifayle O-scale: http://www.brifayle.ca/2c.a.painto.html
Brifayle HO-scale: http://www.brifayle.ca/2c.b.paintho.html#anchor/url]
The really neat "Aha!" factor with this is that you wind up having realistic shadowing within your figure's clothing and skin.
For those of you that own Life Like P2K locomotives, which have the locomotive crews already molded in black, this is should be of interest. I'm using this method for my P2K crews.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
I only prime metal. Acrylic and lacquer model paints stick to plastic just fine. I assume your figures are all plastic. The plastic is usually a nice medium gray that helps most top coats look their best. The soap and water wash to get fingerprints, mold parting compound, all kinds of crud off is very important. Followed by a hot water rinse, and a good long dry. I might insert the pins in the bottom to stand the figures up before the wash. I might paint the light colors, face, white shirts, first and the dark colors, blue for denum, dark suits, second, on the theory that the dark colors will cover the over painting of the light colors.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
OOOPS! sorry OP, I wandered away with the rest.
Threads seem to do that in here.
OK, I painted a figure in HO scale.
What do you think of this guy?
Yea, that looks good, that highlight around the edge of the coat, and pocket kerchief is a challange.
Kevin, that is some good work!
What power Optivisor do you use? I am ready to get one since I started doing these teeny tiny LEDs.
I had help with my people. They are glued to a stick with the glue gun. You can either put a tiny little bit of glue on to hold them or use a bit more to make a platform so they don't fall over on the layout. They just peel off the stick when finished painting.
Hold it against your cheek to make it steady.
Hard to avoid the distraction of puppies running around under your feet.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
RR_MelYour paint job is fantastic! Where did the figure come from?
Thank you. He is from the Plasticville HO freight house kit.
mbinsewiYea, that looks good, that highlight around the edge of the coat, and pocket kerchief is a challange.
There was almost no detail on this figure. Most of the detail is done with paint. The pocket kerchief is 100% a painted on suplement.
BATMANWhat power Optivisor do you use? Hold it against your cheek to make it steady.
I honestly do not know how powerful it is. I use a similar trick to keep things steady when I paint. I stick out both of my pinky fingers and press them together. This keeps the hand with the paint brush and the hand with the brush nice and steady.
Do any of you use heavy washes or "the dip" (emersing in minwax polyshades) to shade your figures.
Here's some police I did. They are 28mm which translates aproximately to 1/56, though they are as chunky as 1/48.
Lots more pics of them here:
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2014/12/23/chicago-police-from-tactical-miniatures/
The paint above isn't nearly as good as the award winning stuff pictured earlier, but it's REALLY easy and quick. Simple block painting the colors a touch of drybrushing a bit on the hair and then brush Minwax Polyshades "Tudor" all over. End with a matte varnish to cut the shine and done! The Polyshades darkens the recesses, and creates a shading effect all over the model as well as acting kind of like a wash to soften the bright toy-like colors.
I did do some detail work on black checks, stripe and stars (dots) with micron pens, but that's not something I'd do on 1:87 figs.
I'm fairly new to model railroading, but I've noticed that nearly all the figures I see on layouts look far too toyish and bright. Even on layouts with good weathring, the figures often look toylike. I think the dip method would make alot more figures look much more realistic, with very little work. I've recently bought a box of Pressier HO figures and I plan to paint them the same way as my 28mm figures.
For those interested, I did a How-To for the "Brush Dipping" method here:
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2012/01/16/with-liberty-and-brush-dipping-for-a/
It has lots of pictures of dipped figures of different colors.
Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading.
EilifI'm fairly new to model railroading, but I've noticed that nearly all the figures I see on layouts look far too toyish and bright. Even on layouts with good weathring, the figures often look toylike. I think the dip method would make alot more figures look much more realistic, with very little work.
I used Minwax dip on my 15mm WW2 Germans several posts above. I used the Walnut Polyshades because I wanted them to look really grimy.
I tried dipping some HO figures, but I did not like the results. What works for a messy wargame does not quite translate to the look I am striving for on my 1954 piece of make believe paradise.
I even tried using the Pecan and Pine shades, but never had an acceptable result.
I think the reason so many HO scale figures look toy-like is because the pallette for skin tone is always too light, making them look like porcelain dolls.
There is a learning curve to get civilians to look right.
Another difficulty coming over from wargames is the lack of molded on detail, boring poses, and lack of facial depth. Trying to highlight figures with no cheeks or lips is a pain.
18mm is a good match for HO scale. There are a few wargaming figures that can be used on your railroad. The "fodder" pack from All Quiet On The Martian Front had a couple of gems in it.
Please share pictures of you Preiser figures.
Do you ever go to Adepticon?