Painting figures is much easier in O scale....

[Graffen]

Painted a horse and rider in O scale.

 

 

 

I used to avoid painting horses when I was in H0, but now it's real fun.

[MisterBeasley]

Nice work!

I found it made all the difference in the world to use a cheap magnifying lamp I got for $15.  The detail I could see became clear.

[doctorwayne]

Looks good Graffen, as does the rider.

I never minded painting HO scale work horses, even if they're not properly harnessed...

...or Clydesdales

or even Percherons...(which our milk delivery used when I was kid )

But I still don't enjoy painting HO scale people.

Wayne

[Graffen]

Thanks!

Here's how I paint my figures.

These are from Aspen modeling company.

 

After a thorough cleaning that I end with a good soak in Isopropyl alcohol, I prime the models in black acrylics with the airbrush

 

 

Then i mix a medium grey paint that I airbrush at a 45° to almost horizontal angle from above, leaving the black paint in the negative spaces.

I finish with white that I airbrush almost vertical.

 

​​​​​​​This gives me a perfect shaded foundation for the paint job that will be all done with brushes and acrylics.

[SeeYou190]

Painting figures in 1/24 scale is even easier!

-Photograph by Kevin Parson

I love my 1/24 scale Sophie.

Your horse and rider look excellent. Great work!

-Kevin

[RR_Mel]

I model HO so all my figures are small but I do enjoy painting them, my arthritis doesn’t like it but they still get done.  I have to be in the paint figures mindset and then I’ll do between 50 and 75 in that mode.  Once I get going it relaxes me totally.

I set them up for painting by using super glue to glue them to a straight pin or sewing pin, when finished I use a #11 blade to pop them off.  I leave some on straight pins so I can drop them in .02" holes in my layout, easy to move them around.









I find sticking the pin in a pencil eraser works great for painting the figures, easy to hold and rotate.



A piece of Basswood worlks too.  I always have a few figures mounted and ready to go when my arthritis will let me.

All of the figures at the party are mounted on straight pins in .02" holes with the expection of the ones in the water and the one on the board.  Even the kid on the barrel is on a straight pin.

 

Kevin what happened to your post on how to paint figures?  I'm still waiting.

 

Mel

 

My Model Railroad   
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.

[mobilman44]

Wow, that's really some beautiful work!

Kind of ironic in a way.......the bigger the scale the easier to paint BUT, the more details you need to add to increase realism.

[richhotrain]

RR_Mel

I model HO so all my figures are small but I do enjoy painting them, my arthritis doesn’t like it but they still get done.  I have to be in the paint figures mindset and then I’ll do between 50 and 75 in that mode.  Once I get going it relaxes me totally.

I set them up for painting by using super glue to glue them to a straight pin or sewing pin, when finished I use a #11 blade to pop them off.  I leave some on straight pins so I can drop them in .02" holes in my layout, easy to move them around.

Mel, the Artist!

I don't know how you do it, especially with that arthritis. When, I brush paint small areas, even with what appear to be steady hands, once I put on an Optivisor and get to work, I am amazed at how unsteady my hands become.

Rich

[John-NYBW]

Several years ago, I bought two bulk packs of Preiser unpainted figures that someday I might get around to painting and putting on the layout. 

In the mean time, I found these inexpensive painted figures on Amazon to populate my passenger cars:

Amazon.com: 50pcs 1:87 Sitting Pose Model People HO Scale Hand Painted Model Train Park Street Passenger People Figures : Arts, Crafts & Sewing

There are a lot of duplicates, the clothing color is awful, and they don't all seem to be the same scale, but since I don't light my passenger cars, they're sufficient to give the appearance of populated cars. They are car loads of amputees as I had to cut off lots of legs and a few arms to get them to fit in the seats of my interiors. By the end, my workbench looked like a Civil War surgical hospital with severed limbs laying all over the place. 

[Graffen]

Here's how I do it.
I use water-based paints and the most important thing is to use a slow drying medium!  Otherwise it will not work...

The smallest brush I'll use is a #3.

I will paint a "Bay color" horse, so as the base color I use light rust.
It is mixed with slow drying medium and water to make a glaze.

It should NOT be laid as a wash, but in thin layers without pooling in the recesses.


Four layers of glaze.

​​​​​​​
Here I have added a layer of medium rust to warm up the color a bit.

​​​​​​​

Mix a lighter version of the base color by using a little white and apply on the lightest surfaces.

I glaze the legs with medium rust.

​​​​​​​
Here I have painted all the details and the legs with dark rust mixed with black.

​​​​​​​
All of the details are highlighted with lighter versions of their base color.
the eyes are painted dark brown.

The metal fittings are painted in aluminum.

​​​​​​​
Mix a dark brown wash and gently apply it around all the details to highlight them.

​​​​​​​

Finished!
​​​​​​​

[HO-Velo]

Graffen

mixed with slow drying medium and water to make a glaze

Graffen, Really nice, and another good tutorial.  Wondering what slow drying medium you use and your definition of a 'glaze'?

Thanks and regards, Peter

[reasearchhound]

Graffen, VERY nice work. No way I could put the time into painting a single character like you did. If I did, I'd never get any figures out on my layout. I guess doing O scale would let you do more detailed and amazing work as your example shows, but if getting people, lots of people, out onto a layout is the goal, perhaps HO is a tad bit more forgiving since there isn't the need to highlight the really tiny details (unless one simply wants to) and figures can be considered "done" with much less time and effort.

[kasskaboose]

There was a great MR article years ago about painting figures in HO.  It mentioned to glue the figures on a wodden plank or something similar since easier to paint than holding it.  Additionally, the article mentioned not to try to paint eyes in HO scale. It also mentioned that you can alter the figures by taking off arms and re-gluing them in different positions.  Worth reading.

[snjroy]

Graffen, those figures are just stunning. This is truly in the realm of art.

I'm not sure "easier" is the proper term. For mortals like me, painting larger figures is hard because viewers can see more detail. HO is more forgiving because of the smaller details. Especially for blind older adults! I would argue that for someone who has 10 thumbs like myself, HO is much more easier...

Simon

 

[doctorwayne]

snjroy

I would argue that for someone who has 10 thumbs like myself, HO is much more easier...

I'd tend to agree, as some HO figures have casting anomalies that aren't all that visible until you try painting them.  If they're destined for populating passenger cars, they're useable, but if they're for up-close-on-layout scenes, better quality ones might be a preference.
I generally paint my own, but it's not one of my favourite pastimes.

Wayne

[SeeYou190]

doctorwayne

I'd tend to agree, as some HO figures have casting anomalies that aren't all that visible until you try painting them.

Very true. As an experienced figure painter, I have been shocked at the lack of depth in HO figure scuplts.

Painting HO figures can be a challenge, but rewarding.

-Photograph by Kevin Parson

-Kevin