Advice for 54mm?

[NthPower]

Hi,
I'm a longtime lurker and have been painting on and off (probably more off) for quite a few years.
I usually paint 28mm fantasy/sci-fi minis and lately a bunch of boardgame minis, but wanted to slow it down and try something new, so this will be my first larger historical one.

I wanted to get advice on painting a 54mm. It's going to be a Praetorian Guard from Andrea:



Anything I should really watch out for?

What about priming? Is spray primer better than brush on for larger figs?

Thanks!

 

[Dragonsreach]

OK going up a scale, cool.
So simple things first, spray primer is perfectly fine, I use car primer grey for almost every thing now.

On to painting, going up a scale means redressing the painting itself, contrast needs to be reduced, tonal ranges more subtle than 28mm and attention to detail is paramount. If you can wet brush / Blend then you're on a winner there.

Oh and rest your hands often, larger scale is heavier.

 

[Ritual]

Use a bigger brush. A good one with a sharp point, but bigger so that you can blend bigger areas easier.

 

[NthPower]

Thanks for the replies!
Yes, it is heavier. I was going to attach him to the base first, but I think I'll wait due to the added weight.

I was also reading about adding additional colors to skin tones. Is it necessary for a larger model? Will it look too flat without?

 

[MAXXxxx]

not really flat, but won't look as good as with some added extra.

 

[Dragonsreach]

I was also reading about adding additional colors to skin tones. Is it necessary for a larger model? Will it look too flat without?

If by adding colours you mean to "Flesh Tone" paints then I'd say yes.
To me most flesh tones from manufacturers are too pink and look unreal, so I use Vallejo Brown Sand as my base colour adding touches of Violet-Red as a shading tone to the base colour helps define the contours without being OTT. In addition adding touches of a soft green Vallejo Model Colour German Field Grey can make the bags under the eyes look more realistic.
One suggestion for observation and planning is to look at your own face in the mirror first thing in the morning in natural light, you'll get a better idea on how the tones need to be placed and what colours could be helpful.

H&V models have some helpful Step By Step tutorials on their site, aimed for their busts but useful non the less.
Www.hvminiatures.com

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

This face was done up in the manner that DR describes, mostly. Based with VMC Brown sand then shaded with variations of purple and red, and highlighted by adding Ivory. It's 28mm, but I think the recipe is good for the realism required of a 54mm figure.

 

[NthPower]

Thanks for the link and pic. They are very helpful.
I'll probably post a WIP and hope I don't mess up too bad.

 

[Bailey03]

Okay, I do a lot of 54mm figures and historicals, so I think I can help. Going from 28mm to 54mm is not that big a jump. Yes, the smaller the figure the more contrast you'll want to use but unless you are really extreme on your 28mm (like all the way to black for shadows and white for highlights) you don't need to dial it back much if at all. That's something you should worry about more if you're painting a bust or a 90mm figure. As for brush size, sure you can use a larger brush but with the larger figure you'll be painting more detail. I still use a 000 or a 00 for almost all of my 54mm figure work. They're a bit heavier but I've got a metal 90mm figure, now that one weighs a ton! To hold me figures I insert pins into the feet and then clamp them into a jewelers vise. You can get one for about $15 on amazon and they're great for 54mm figures as well as larger 28mm figures (ogres, warjacks, etc).
http://www.amazon.com/Jewelers-Adjustable-Work-Holder-Vise/dp/B005LY5A14
You can come up with cheaper alternatives, but if you plan on doing more 54mm figures or large 28mm then it might be worth it.

I've put together several tutorials and most use 54mm figures as examples. Take a look here
http://powellminipainting.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html
The 54mm Hoplite tutorial should help a lot plus the ones on painting skin and faces. You can also take a look at my WIP thread here, there's plenty of 54mm work there including some Roman figures. I try to answer any questions people post there, so if you have any even about figures from much earlier in the thread, feel free to ask.
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?51026-Bailey03-s-WIP/page34

As for your figure, I took a look at the Andrea version and have a couple thoughts. First, if you want to be historically accurate his armor would be bronze. The helmet would be iron with bronze details (although the sculpt is a bit more fantasy than reality). Red is a rather stereotypical color for Roman soldiers, but you could also go with blue or green for the shield, clothing, crest, or scabbard. In fact, off white was probably a much more common color for the clothing, but as a Praetorian he could probably afford something a little nicer. Of course the sculpting is a bit more Hollywood Roman rather than Ancient Roman, so no reason you need to be historically accurate with the painting if you don't want to.

One last thought on 54mm figures... some of the older Andrea sculpts are just so-so. The newer ones along with Pegaso, Romeo and other companies are much better. And, as with any scale, a better sculpt is going to be easier to paint. On a side note, if you're looking for well researched historically accurate sculpts, take a look at Soldiers.it . I don't love all of their sculpts (sometimes they look a little unrealistic or I think the proportions aren't quite right) but they do a lot more research than most other companies that make Roman figures.

 

[NthPower]

Thanks Bailey, you actually answered a couple of things I was wondering about which was, 1) a good way to hold it and 2) the historical accuracy. I don't think I'm going to stray too far from the norm with the colors and keep it fairly historical.
The shield designs I've looked at seem to be pretty similar, so I'll probably justcopy an existing design for that.

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

Would love to see how this worked out for you. Follow up please!! It helps others that later come across these threads in their research....