if your new to figure painting , something that may help

[Guest]

Trying my hand at some 28mm ( 1/56 ) napolenic gaming figures for a dio I`ve got planned but having a nightmare with the painting , done 4 figures and to the naked eye look ok-ish but with a close up photo looks like a 4 year old has done them , a different approach was needed although the figures were base coated black I still struggled with the basic details , after sitting back and having a few beers thought just dry brush the figure with white or light grey , and it makes a big difference I now can see what to paint and what not too. ok its another coat but hey .

Bottom line is if your new to figure painting a black or dark primer/basecoat then a lighter dry brush over the figure to see all the details before painting proper is a must , from now on I`m going black primer and the light dry brush method on all my figures no matter what scale.

the victrix 28mm figures are superb although a gaming figure they come with various heads arms poses backpacks etc I`ve made 52 figures and not one is the same , hence why I`m gonna do a little dio with a 100+ figures but to paint them to a half decent standard is another ball game altogether , if I pull this project off I hope to be a better figure painter ,

I`ve shown a few photos of primed and dry brushed together to see the difference also one photo showing a 28mm compared to a 1/35

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[Guest]

A similar method is often used by some figure painters. Apply black spray primer then a light dusting with white from a distance of a couple of feet

I've tried it & it works very well

[Guest]

It's a good idea Richy, but you may find it leaves a rough texture on the area's that you've drybrushed coz that does tend to happen.

Andy's way is how I've done it, I have the figure glued to a stick so I can turn it horizontal, then I lightly spray it at a slight angle using a circular motion to get an even finish.

Some people prime them black & then have them under a white light to see the drapes & folds - doesn't work for me, as I forget what I've seen!

Be cool seeing how those Napoleonic figures turn out! Good luck!

Patrick

[Guest]

Cheers guys , I will be trying the airbrush shadow method , I`ve never painted figures this small before and finding it a right old challenge , I`ve watched a few videos on youtube about painting 28mm figures and the guys make it look so easy , Don`t you hate such people lol .

Richy

[Guest]

Small scale figure painting

Painting multiple figures for armies can be very tedious to say the least, so when faced with this task I decided to employ a sort of production line approach. Taking a block of about 6 or 8 figures at a time, I first lightly undercoat them. I use white as a preference as my style of painting is to render the model with the least amount of layers of paint. After the undercoat has dried on small scale models, I paint a flesh colour to all the bare skin areas followed with a light wash of a red/yellow mix. This just gives a bit of depth and texture. I decide on the number of colours needed then go along and brush paint the most common colour to each figure. So say on a Napoleonic British infantry figure the main colour may be a light shade of red for the coat, generally the biggest area of colour first. I then paint the remaining colours in order to each figure, so the result is a set of figures basically painted. You can add more individual detail depending on weapons or variations in uniform, such as things like Kilts, which require a more of a representational approach particularly on a 28mm figure, so you can quickly get a build up squads , platoons and so on.

This might all sound a bit boring as it tends to be all process, but as your army slowly grows it is very satisfying and impressive to see, and a step nearer to you fielding them on your diorama or against an opponent in a war game.

This is a set of 1/72 Wolf U-Boat crew that I painted for a friend, who was building a Revell model, not entirely pertinent to the post, as most of my armies have been for other people, but shows the minimal paint application result. One other tip, when photographing small scale models it is advisable not to get the camera lens too close to the figure as it will magnify every imperfection.

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[Guest]

This Napoleonic dio may be a long term project me thinks , I`ve reached the limit for my figure painting skills for 28mm scale , after my 1st efforts decided the colours were too bright , toned all the colours down and a lot happier with the outcome , with about 90 british to paint and 50 french to do my method now is to drybrush the main colours over a black base then try and pick out the details as I`ve done with this one , to the naked eye it looks ok and a lot better than my 1st few efforts.

Heres a few photos , any advice or opinions good or bad would be much appriciated , sorry about the photos for some reason the only half decent ones came out when I held the figure

Cheers

Richy

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