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Figures 1/35
- Thread starter paddy
- Start date
paddy
Well-known member
When you start on flesh tones, do you need to get the whole thing done at once, ie: Dont let one colour dry because if you keep each layer wet it will blend easier. The online you-tube thing i was watching seems to build colour layers by adding dots around the edge of a colour to blend it to an adjacent colour.
My thinking is to add a base colour and let it dry then blend a next layer by hoping the thinner in the next coat will activate the first coat...
Does that make sense ?
My thinking is to add a base colour and let it dry then blend a next layer by hoping the thinner in the next coat will activate the first coat...
Does that make sense ?
Iron Mike
Master At Arms And Resident Curmudgeon
According to the hornetandwolf webpage link for Roger Saunders, they no longer sell direct.
I wonder how long that has been. I see it on his page now, I linked to it using his name in my post, but didn't notice he stopped. I still message Roger on FB about counterfeit products. I'll ask him since there are no US shops listed.
Regards,
Last edited:
Thanks. They're not listed on the web site. It shows you how long ago I bought new figures of soldiers. In any case, I was more interested in the character sets used to represent specific races. At one time, Taesung Harmms made an Asian set which was sold by TMD.
Regards,
paddy
Well-known member
From my limited experience, i didn't find an outlet for these heads easily via google searches but did find them once pointed in the right direction by other users. I have found with my own website and sales you can be completely ignored by some search engines unless you have a very distinctive name and Hornet is probably not distinctive. I did see that he no longer supplies direct. At the moment i think the jury is out for me still, i am ok with the 10 heads i bought but they are not as good as i was expecting, maybe i was just unlucky.
Which head sets did you get? As long as they are from a reputable dealer, the casting quality should be there. The sculpting has always been better than injection molded.
Regards,
paddy
Well-known member
Its not a criticism as such, more an observation that the 5 commando heads i have ( hornet) are the same head with a different hat on so in a group would appear to be the same guy, and in the other set of tank crew the 3 guys with headset seem to have them welded to their heads. I painted one face and it was not very good but when i came to do the headset and beret i messed it up because there was no definition between the headset and the head. I stripped the paint and then spent 30 mins with a panel line scribing tool and a scalpel giving the head a clear definition between flesh head and black headset and its looks a lot better. My guess is the y do it the way they did for moulding reasons. I do agree they are a lot better than the Tamiya basic kit parts.
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
Paddy, you just stumbled on one of the things that can make a huge improvement in any figure. Many have "soft" definition between areas that can be enhanced with a little careful carving, shaving, and adjustments. This is where many of my small tools come in handy and why I am always interested in scribers and such. While some folks can do this with paint, I have always found that if the underlying shapes are correct, the painting will always benefit.
paddy
Well-known member
Today i spent quite a while painting this guys beret matt black and his head phones semi gloss black............................then i sprayed the whole lot semi gloss clear so i could pin wash 
As i say, its a learning curve but if i had some common sense i bet it would help
I have studied You tube and i can see what they are dooing but putting it in to practice is another matter.
2 Things that are game changing for me is light direction, one person will paint cheeks darker as a woman might apply a blusher and another will paint cheeks lighter to reflect light being higher parts. Both right but light direction is important. Secondly i got some retarder which is good and i also got some transparator which allows me to blend a bit and layer, i cant help thinking oils would be easier but very hard to get smooth
the most important thing though i suspect is good brushes
i dont have anything good enough to show you........yet
As i say, its a learning curve but if i had some common sense i bet it would help I have studied You tube and i can see what they are dooing but putting it in to practice is another matter.
2 Things that are game changing for me is light direction, one person will paint cheeks darker as a woman might apply a blusher and another will paint cheeks lighter to reflect light being higher parts. Both right but light direction is important. Secondly i got some retarder which is good and i also got some transparator which allows me to blend a bit and layer, i cant help thinking oils would be easier but very hard to get smooth
the most important thing though i suspect is good brushes
i dont have anything good enough to show you........yet
paddy
Well-known member
I am quite pleased with this and i am sure i can improve as i develop the technique
strangely or not so as it happens my biggest problem is trying to get a matt coat. Its something that plagues everything i do with modelling
This guy had a coat of Tamiya clear Matt spray, a coat of brushed on Humbrol clear coat and another coat of sprayed AmmoMig extreme flat coat......and its still gloss
strangely or not so as it happens my biggest problem is trying to get a matt coat. Its something that plagues everything i do with modelling
This guy had a coat of Tamiya clear Matt spray, a coat of brushed on Humbrol clear coat and another coat of sprayed AmmoMig extreme flat coat......and its still gloss
Great job Paddy, love seeing you get out of the box and try some new stuff. 
Sherman 18
Master at Arms
Nice
ausf
Master at Arms
The new Tamiya sets are outstanding. I mean resin level (or better IMO). They've been using 3D scans for a few years, so if you check out on Scalemates the most recent tooling, you'll find them.
I've tried painting figures over the years, whenever a new method came out, I'd buy the book, paints, glazes, etc. Never liked the results, always put the stuff back in the box until next time.
I used to import Hornet, so you can imagine how many of them I had to practice, but again, horrible results IMO. The paint always got too thick too fast, regardless of what glazes I used, etc.
Then last year, when I got the good magnification going and I saw how pebbly my airbrush work really was, I vowed to get it under control. I started shooting very thin paint (Vallejo), so watery it would get spidery at anything above 5 PSI or so. Shazam, I was get nice smooth coats.
Then it dawned on me to try that with figures. No primer, thin smooth base coat left to dry at least 24 hrs, then thinned paint, almost like washes, with a good brush (Series 7 00). I'd paint an iris until I liked it, then seal it with flat, then paint the pupil, then seal, etc until it was where I wanted it. What a difference it made. Haven't really had the bench time to continue, but this was the first result.
You can see what I mean regarding Tamiya. That head is the MG gunner from a set of 5 or 6 figures, for less than $15. With a little effort, the ear could be shaped, etc, but is mostly under the helmet anyway.
I still have yet to complete an entire figure, but hope to soon.
I recently tried using pen nibs, like comic artists use, to apply tiny dots of paint for camp patterns, etc. They work great, would work for pupils too.
I've tried painting figures over the years, whenever a new method came out, I'd buy the book, paints, glazes, etc. Never liked the results, always put the stuff back in the box until next time.
I used to import Hornet, so you can imagine how many of them I had to practice, but again, horrible results IMO. The paint always got too thick too fast, regardless of what glazes I used, etc.
Then last year, when I got the good magnification going and I saw how pebbly my airbrush work really was, I vowed to get it under control. I started shooting very thin paint (Vallejo), so watery it would get spidery at anything above 5 PSI or so. Shazam, I was get nice smooth coats.
Then it dawned on me to try that with figures. No primer, thin smooth base coat left to dry at least 24 hrs, then thinned paint, almost like washes, with a good brush (Series 7 00). I'd paint an iris until I liked it, then seal it with flat, then paint the pupil, then seal, etc until it was where I wanted it. What a difference it made. Haven't really had the bench time to continue, but this was the first result.
You can see what I mean regarding Tamiya. That head is the MG gunner from a set of 5 or 6 figures, for less than $15. With a little effort, the ear could be shaped, etc, but is mostly under the helmet anyway.
I still have yet to complete an entire figure, but hope to soon.
I recently tried using pen nibs, like comic artists use, to apply tiny dots of paint for camp patterns, etc. They work great, would work for pupils too.