Painting Your Bods

[Cor V.]

I was wondering how people go about painting their figures.
I myself work a complete set at a time. After de-flash/rim and washing the figs are glued to sticks and then primed and painted.


Like this.


Show us your way of doing things.

[Paul]

You really don´t want to see the chaos that is my painting routine.
I start on several things at once, the last one for example the french Knights.
I started intending to do 1 or 2 then did virtually every mounted figure and am now moving onto the foot figures....BUT and as you can see that´s a big but, I´ve now gone back to the lovers and their escort and at the same time primed some zvezda knights and converted a foot knight to a mounted one. Oh and I forgot I´ve based the Italeri mounted knights, based and primed the Airfix maid marion figure.

Which of these "projects" actually gets finished or another started is anyones guess.

I´ll try to add a photo, but it´s no way near a sytem like you´ve got. I wish I could get one going but it never works....one glass of red wine on a friday evening and the ideas start flowing.......and....Wait a moment...that zvezda english foot bod could be converted to look like......

[musketier]

I use a couple of temporary mounting ways to paint my figures, one is this with figure white glued to a flathead nail stuck in a board



or I use a small piece of corrugated cardboard and double sided tape



I have at the present time 7 boards going like the one in the top picture and I rotate through those until one is finished and put more figures on the vacated space. I think you will find it much easier ( I do anyway) of painting the figures this way so that you are not holding the figures in odd ways just to get your brush in to some places. I used to paint and mount my figures like you have Cor V. but found the top picture method is easier on my hands and wrists.

[Peter]

I use several ways these days. But we had allready a little topic about this some time ago:

http://www.bennosfigures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1303

Combine this with the hobby room topic and you get a lot of answers

One of them: CHAOS

[Cor V.]

Sorry for starting a topic that already existed. (thx for the link Peter)
Some useful tips and I sure will try some.
Talking about chaos Paul, how do you rate my working space?

[Paul]

how the?...what the?....where´s the space for you too work??

[Maurice]

Nice mess

I keep it simple, I just hold the figure with my fingers, or in a pincer. Only mounted figures I will impale on a tooth pick.

[Cor V.]

:shock:
how the?...what the?....where´s the space for you too work??

I marked the space with a red X.

[Paul]

:shock:
how the?...what the?....where´s the space for you too work??

I marked the space with a red X.

So one bod at a time then ?

[Cor V.]

:shock:
how the?...what the?....where´s the space for you too work??

I marked the space with a red X.

So one bod at a time then ?

Yeah I'm hopeless with only one pair of hands.

[Paul]

:shock:
how the?...what the?....where´s the space for you too work??

I marked the space with a red X.

So one bod at a time then ?

Yeah I'm hopeless with only one pair of hands.

Well there´s ways around that.
1.If you´ve got children, get one of them to hold the bod
2.if they can´t sit still long enough, the wife will do
3. if that fails, take your socks off, feet are pretty similar to hands, well mine are anyway

[Cor V.]

Thx for the tips Paul but....
1 Children left the house long ago and live on their own now.
2 So did the wife.
3 And start washing on a regular base?

[Peter]

Looking at point two, I think you have plenty of room left to paint your bods Or was this picture just an example to show us how your house looks like?

Wait let me gess, this is a picture of your living room

[Cor V.]

Lokking at point two, I think you have plenty of room left to paint your bods Or was this picture just an example to show us how your house looks like?

Wait let me gess, this is a picture of your living room

Fooled you Peter, it's a pic of an 1/72 dio.

[Peter]

sorry, I didn't see that

I need some stronger glasses

[yu_yin_lin]

Here is our way of painting. We have to clean and wrap everthing after the works. There is no sepcail room for painting, we generally paint on the dinning table, with the protection of many layers of newspapers. The figures remain on the frames, but we cut many connecting points. There is only 1 point to support 1 figure. The interesting point is, when we paint, the cats know they are not allowed to step on it. (The cats normally come when there is food on the table. )

[Fbminis]

I use "kebab" sticks, got a pack for 1.5 euro at a chinese shop that's gonna last till I get blind...

This is how I do it:

[Peter]

Here is our way of painting. We have to clean and wrap everthing after the works. There is no sepcail room for painting, we generally paint on the dinning table, with the protection of many layers of newspapers. The figures remain on the frames, but we cut many connecting points. There is only 1 point to support 1 figure. The interesting point is, when we paint, the cats know they are not allowed to step on it. (The cats normally come when there is food on the table. )

Can I do a suggestion here. I see you're still working with the good old enamel colors, so I find a bit risky for your table with all those newspapers on it. What I suggest, is using a plate as such they use for example at McDonalds. I use such things for years and I can assure you it saved my table lots of times. When you spoile you just need a tissue to clean, and the painting can go on. To be honest I paint with acrylics now.

[yu_yin_lin]

Can I do a suggestion here. I see you're still working with the good old enamel colors, so I find a bit risky for your table with all those newspapers on it. What I suggest, is using a plate as such they use for example at McDonalds. I use such things for years and I can assure you it saved my table lots of times. When you spoile you just need a tissue to clean, and the painting can go on. To be honest I paint with acrylics now.

Hi Peter,
Sorry that I forgot to mention, under the layers of newspapers, there is a white plastic foil to protect the table, as shown in the following photo.

The idea about using another paints, such as acrylics, is very attractive. Here is my stupid question => which paint less damages to health? In the future, we plan to try Tamiya, for making diorama bases. Tamiya produced 7 kinds of ground effects, such as snow, gress, sand...etc. But I heard this kind of paint is very bad to health....

[Paul]

The question about using other paints ie Acrylics is not a stupid one. I would suggest using Acrylics or even oils on the basis that the "good old Humbrol enamel colours" contain a thining agent which with constant exposure is bad to the health. A water based or water soluable paint would be much better, they are easier to work with and cheaper.

The Tamiya paints, the Acrylics are perfectly safe, they are water soluable but for diorama basing a bit expensive. Normal Acrylic wall paints will do, for the price of a Tamiya colour you can get 1/2 a ltr of wall paint at the local hardware shop, and some of these hardware shop acrylics are so good that they are usefull for actually painting the large areas on the figures, ie Horses.

I still have Humbrol paints, some 30 + years old, they are still usable but boy!! when I have used them I feel a bit "stoned" afterwards. Not good They have their uses and some people prefer them...not me though, if I want to get a bit "misty" in my head red wine is the one for me (or the second glue )

There´s a lot of different paints and opinions on thier merits etc here;
http://www.bennosfigures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4420