Miniatures Collecting Painting Figures

Tought, easy drybrushing when you've just one base coat : each video i watched on youtube about this technic, no one operate on more than a colour, and maybe this could be the aspect to consider before do it. In fact, the famous guy you posted suggests at the end of his video to make drybrushing basically after the daub of base coat, to avoid complications later.
This young italian in this video
doesn't use that techinic but made highlights with the brush: sure, he's a champion !
Washing not dipping the items in the jar but using the brush, i could realize how much you can control the result ! @Booner if i have to apply drybrushing on the gatling gun i painted, i have to re-do the dark blue base coat of british soldiers, darker, or final result would remain too light for the tone of the uniform. I readed in a forum, someone make own 'wash' with diluited dark colour rather than that applied, plus a drop of dish soap, to stick better on the figure.
Anyway, now here in Italy it's very very hot, so i suspended, but in the meanwhile i could bought new boxes at good prices by A Call To Arms, Strelets, Airfix, Emhar and Hat. Do you ever seen the small boxes by Hat, they're small like a package of handkerchiefs ! if i have to make a photo of this let me know ! searching in internet, no images i could found about !
 
Ariete,
I don't really member what kind of paint you're using. I hope its acrylic as that's what I use and can only comment on different techniques with that paint.
One thing I do different the the painter from your video is I always paint my base coat in white. I see he does his in black.

Drybrushing the Gatling gun; I would use a little, and I do mean a little, silver drybrushed across the barrels, just a touch of drybrushed silver on metal surfaces.

For the blue uniform, dark colors can be difficult. Perhaps I'd try drybrushing a lighter blue then a little gray only in selected areas, like the tops of the figures shoulders. But just a touch of gray, wipe it all of the brush on a towel like in the video and then ever so lightly brush the figure. If you don't like it, dry brush the light blue over the gray and see if that improves it before you decide to repaint the whole thing. You have to decide how the soldiers will look. If they are out on campaign, then their uniforms will be sun faded and lighter in color than troops that who spent most of their time around the barracks.

Use dish washing soap in you water you use to make a wash or to clean your brusher as the soap softens the water and allows it to flow into the folds of the clothing easier.

It's summer here, the temperatures are in the mid 90's F or 34 C' with the humidity in the mid 80%-but that's normal for us. But I do have air-conditioning so it's comfortable in my house. Is it normally hot enough where you live to have air conditioning?

I looked up HAT on the internet. That scale is just too small for me and my eyes. I really like the 90mm scale but will paint down to 28mm if I have to.

I'm currently building a deck in my backyard. I promise once I get it done I'll start painting again.
 
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yes, i painting with acrylics THE ARMY PAINTER and i use white primer like you @Booner , but for the most, i've always seen, or better watched in videos, people use black or grey, to avoid those little white points, invisible at naked eye, which could be formed. When i put more than a time the main colours, due to the continue retouching, those invisibles points hadn't to be formed.

yes, i have to re-check the last two works, but when it will be much fresh, surely not now with this summer hot because i don't have air condition @Booner but now it would be to have; considering hard hot here in north Milan is just only for 2 or 3 months per year, we've never made it .. lousy, i know, and for a whole life ..
Sure, i'll consider also a patchy uniforms, like you're suggesting, which is always better to see, maybe someone with more grey, other with more blue, other with more black, BROKEN up and down of the soldier, i mean jackets and pants

internet is full of channels dedicated to this hobby, i see you in England make it huge .. i even made a facebook account a coule of weeks ago, just to follow this world.
i bought plastic figures scale 1/72 because are the cheapest, but anyway the most used and suitable for wargaming, absolutly the best still today, like i readed in several reviews about, despite the 28mm entered in the market with the idea to replace this scale.
maybe one day, me too i'll play a wargame ..
 
I made an 1861 Colt pistol from scratch for my 1/6-scale Civil War troopers. Still have to touch-up on the painting.

mini Colt Pistol.JPG
 
One thing I learned is that PLASTIC 1/72 figures are not worth painting. If you bend them anywhere---knee, rifle, bayonet or horse's leg---the figure flexes and the paint pops off. Sometimes a large portion will pop away exposing the bright color of the plastic.
Fully agree.
Now a day hard plastic from a company like Parry miniatures is way way better.
 
Fully agree.
Now a day hard plastic from a company like Parry miniatures is way way better.

As far as i read it's because you don't clean correctly the plastic items.
Hard plastic is counted by the expert as the best material to paint !
Below i quote you the last aswer i find on Facebook about how do before paint
You will find the paint cracking when you either haven't washed off the releasing agent effectively.
So, for best results, first wash the entire sprue in warm soapy water rinse and repeat and rinse again. I have no issues with the grease of the releasing agent when I do that.

Personally, I clean with toothbrush and dishes soap each soldier before put them all in middle water for a whole night, and the following day to dry
 
As far as i read it's because you don't clean correctly the plastic items.
Hard plastic is counted by the expert as the best material to paint !
Below i quote you the last aswer i find on Facebook about how do before paint
You will find the paint cracking when you either haven't washed off the releasing agent effectively.
So, for best results, first wash the entire sprue in warm soapy water rinse and repeat and rinse again. I have no issues with the grease of the releasing agent when I do that.

Personally, I clean with toothbrush and dishes soap each soldier before put them all in middle water for a whole night, and the following day to dry
Tried that as a kid.
The pain still fell off when the miniatures got bend. Something that happen way to easy with soft plastic toys soldiers compared to hard plastic miniatures for wargaming.
 
Tried that as a kid.
The pain still fell off when the miniatures got bend. Something that happen way to easy with soft plastic toys soldiers compared to hard plastic miniatures for wargaming.
ah sure, quality of plastic is important, toys like this
51-wZ-SBADL.jpg
arent good
 
the purpose of this thread isn't to be a tutorial, you can check on youtube channel to find excellent tutorial videos about how paint figures, here i just want share my first experience about collecting and paint figures scale 1:72.

first of all, choose the goods to collect.
we've a huge assortment covering all historical periods, personally i prefer what was between 1850-1945.
this site is the place to check and have previews about the figures made by the several manufacters : plasticsoldierreview.com

once chosed what buy, you have to search in interent what are the cheapest retailer for your country.
i've been luck to find two internet retailers near where i live, so i contacted them and i could retire personally the goods; the human relationships remain a good point in make business and ask further discounts; anyway i would warning about shops beacause they seem apply, for the most, the same or more expansive price than what an internet retailer can however reserve. if you can visit dedicated fairs about wargame or anyway where they sell toy soldiers, i know they're excellent places to make great business, usually the goods are sold like in a clearance sale.
here a couple of the several retailers you can find in internet, they've good catalogues and cheaper prices :
https://www.drumandflag.co.uk/
https://www.michtoy.com/

(i'm collecting several boxes about the period i'm interested in. i like products made by Strelets, Hat, Caesar, Italeri, even if i have yet to find a retailer that suit me for Strelets goods ! )

moving on my first experience in painting, i'm going to show step by step the phases of my work (i meet everybody have to rich this topic to come forward with own knowledge, notions, advices, suggestions).

1. unboxing the product and remove the single pieces
what needs : TILE NIPPER
View attachment 306784

2. remove impurity from the single item
what needs : TOOL FILE, CUTTER
(i prefer use the cutter lightly around the part to remove)

3. wash the items
what needs : DISHES SOAP, TOOTHBRUSH
(i left the items in a soapy water for a long while before rinse them with clean water)
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4. leave the items dry for a night
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5. paint the figures with primer
what needs : PRIMER, DISH as palette, BRUSH FINE TIP, PINCER to take the figure)
(i don't use primer in spray because i prefer make this step manually)
(i choose the white because i think is the best base we can apply to a model, details of the figure stand out)
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(more than an hand of primer to well cover any part of the item)
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6. paint
what needs : COLOURS, DISH as palette, BRUSH FINE TIP, PINCER to take the figure, CUP of water, RAG to dry brush)
(exist lot of tones and colours by several brands, me, because one of my retailer paint with it and i readed excellet reviews about, i choosed - the army painter - and i bought just the essential : black, white, red, blue, yellow and gun metal because it give a different effect than grey on the weapons)
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(i use a magnifying glass just to check the details of the item before paint, i can do the job quietly by the naked eye)
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(i paint the part of the items by colour i prepar before, there's not a rule but continue retouching)
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7. correct the item from smudges and mistakes and retouch the details
(i've no photo at the moment for this stage, i'll post in a second moment or editing this post, show my ability isn't the purpose of this thread; feel free to comment, share experiences, hijack the topic with your works or collection, i'm not the subject here but our passion)

8. cure the highlights and wash the items with quickshade

[i will update this post, if i'll have the permissions to do it, with other photos, step by step i continue this job]
Love it !

I thought this would be a good hobby for me about 25 yers ago.

I was very wrong !

I bought two boxes of these lil' figures. . . . along with all kinds of paint and instruction books.

:bounce:
Both were 1/72 scale.

I bought some Italeri Imperial Romans and some Airfix Afrika Korps.
I had no idea how hard it would be to paint 1/72 scale figures.

Hah . . . it's easier to build wooden ship models !

Anyway. . .


I gave up on the Romans after a few hours, and didn't return to the Afrika Korps until a few months later.

The Africa Korps were so much easier to paint.



I even created some realistic sand/desert bases for those guys .

:smile coffee:
 
Love it !

I thought this would be a good hobby for me about 25 yers ago.

I was very wrong !

I bought two boxes of these lil' figures. . . . along with all kinds of paint and instruction books.

:bounce:
Both were 1/72 scale.

I bought some Italeri Imperial Romans and some Airfix Afrika Korps.
I had no idea how hard it would be to paint 1/72 scale figures.

Hah . . . it's easier to build wooden ship models !

Anyway. . .


I gave up on the Romans after a few hours, and didn't return to the Afrika Korps until a few months later.

The Africa Korps were so much easier to paint.



I even created some realistic sand/desert bases for those guys .

:smile coffee:
I think building wooden ship models must be the most difficult of all modelling hobbies . Those who can do that have amazing skills and patience . I tried it once and it was way beyond my skills . BTW I bought the same Airfix Afrika Korps back in the 1960s !
 
So much time elapsed since the last time i started this topic, few than a whole year anyway.
The idea to make a guide for beginners about how paint plastic figures needs anyway some clarifications at now my level is clearly improved.
I suggest to use dark primer, me too i realize the great potetial to have dark under the first base coat, and moreover, i start to paint from the details, skin and weapons in first.
Here below some photos of my last works, always 1/72, my scale, the best scale for gaming as far as i learnt, and it's so cheap

HAT 8200
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HAT8179
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EMHAR72003/4
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IMG20200204142056.jpg
 
So much time elapsed since the last time i started this topic, few than a whole year anyway.
The idea to make a guide for beginners about how paint plastic figures needs anyway some clarifications at now my level is clearly improved.
I suggest to use dark primer, me too i realize the great potetial to have dark under the first base coat, and moreover, i start to paint from the details, skin and weapons in first.
Here below some photos of my last works, always 1/72, my scale, the best scale for gaming as far as i learnt, and it's so cheap

HAT 8200
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HAT8179
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EMHAR72003/4
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Very nice work on figures only about an inch high.
 
So much time elapsed since the last time i started this topic, few than a whole year anyway.
The idea to make a guide for beginners about how paint plastic figures needs anyway some clarifications at now my level is clearly improved.
I suggest to use dark primer, me too i realize the great potetial to have dark under the first base coat, and moreover, i start to paint from the details, skin and weapons in first.
Here below some photos of my last works, always 1/72, my scale, the best scale for gaming as far as i learnt, and it's so cheap

HAT 8200
View attachment 353009
View attachment 353010
View attachment 353012
View attachment 353013
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HAT8179
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EMHAR72003/4
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You're doing a great job, I'll look forward to seeing more pictures of your work.
But with what's going on in the world today, I'm happy to see you're doing ok.
 
yes sorry last photo shouldn't be in the post but i can't edit it, anyway i'm enough satify by the results, thank you for the encouragements.

Nice set of figures. Did you make the bases yourself? If so what are they made of?
i decided to use felt pads for chairs, they exist in several sizes, forms and colours, but white is the best choice. I made terrain, so mud, stones, herb, working DAS (if you are unsure or don't know what is check this link https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=das+modelling). Anyway, after work with that, left DAS dry for 24 houres and then paint the base with black primer, absolutly !
 
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