Any tips on painting a 1/6 scale figurine?

[Sauce Devil]

Princess Zelda:

I\'ve never painted a miniature as large as this before; 1/6 scale. is that 33cm/13 inches? It\'s going to be big anyway.

At present the only paints I have are Citadel acrylics and a few Vallejos. Do I need oil-based paint? Someone has already mentioned that an airbrush would be the best thing to paint the skin but that\'s a lot of money and an inspection of my current bank balance suggests that while I would like to buy something like this -

my funds will only stretch to this -

besides, I don\'t suppose using an airbrush in your bedroom is a good set-up.
I think I may have goofed a little bit, the model is £50 but for another £50 they\'ll build it and paint it and I bet they have a fully kitted-out workshop to make light work of these models. But then again it\'s all about painting you own isn\'t it?

Can anyone suggest what paints/varnish I need?

 

[DIablofollower]

That\'s a great looking mini, looks like it will be tons of fun to paint

I personally think you are well off with just the GW and Vallejo paints. The trick to painting much larger minis is making sure you keep your paint as thinned down as possible, especially on the areas such as the skin. It will take a lot longer to paint but the key here is to keep everything as smooth as possible. Because of the larger surfaces on the mini chalky, thick, bulky or uneven paint would be much more visible.

Also instead of investing in the airbrush go ahead and invest in larger sized kolinsky sable brushes, should make it a bit easier to paint large surfaces and they won\'t break the bank.

I wouldn\'t bother paying for the prepainted one. Usually those prepainted aren\'t the best quality, plus it takes away the fun and satisfaction of getting to paint it yourself.

 

[sivousplay]

You can definitely paint large scale figures w/ a brush ... I do it all the time ... I actually have that figure primed on my workbench right now. The advice Diablofollower gave is spot on ... large kits w/ lots of very smooth surfaces require very thin paint and a lot of patience ... if you start using any techniques like drybrushing or using thick paint, the kit will start to look klunky very quickly.

If you check out my gallery here on CMON (just uploaded this one yesterday),



http://www.coolminiornot.com/210796

I\'ve done a lot of large scale kits completely w/ brushes (and yes, the larger W&N sable brushes help a lot). Also, be sure to be diligent with your prep work ... any mold lines will jump out like crazy ... so, be sure to do your sanding well.

One more thing, be prepared to paint the kit in multiple assemblies and put together these assemblies after they are painted. If you try to assemble the entire piece, there will be places you just can\'t reach or do a very good job on.

I hope this helps.
jim

 

[freakinacage]

yeah thin paint is the way to go. oils would be nice on that scale as the drying time would allow for lovely smooth blends

just dial down the contrast, it\'s not necessary on larger scale stuff like that

post a wip

 

[TAB Studio]

Bigger is harder in my humble opinion and there is one heck of a learning curve.
Especially if you are a perfectionist.

sivousplay is such a master of these size models ... and looking at his work will assist you so much in coming to terms with how to start and after you do start it will amaze you how the heck he so quickly creates a piece of art.

Advise from a trainee of large...Have simple green ready for stripping on the first attempts you do, larger models show repairs and drips if you are not careful. Sometimes knowing when to say when and restart is a beautiful thing.

I was surprised how quickly brushes wear from the resin.

You may want to look into future floor wax for your water/thinner, because of the size you have to handle turn and glue many parts etc, the future helps keep the paint on in the process and helps the washes effects go on smoothly. Taught to me by a master smile

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Sauce Devil
At present the only paints I have are Citadel acrylics and a few Vallejos. Do I need oil-based paint?

No, absolutely not. The majority of garage-kit modellers use acrylic and vinyl paints, just like we do.

Originally posted by Sauce Devil
Someone has already mentioned that an airbrush would be the best thing to paint the skin...

It would.

Originally posted by Sauce Devil
...but that\'s a lot of money...

Oh kewl, a perfect opportunity to mention the Premi-Air G35, which is £29.99. Course then there is the air supply...

While it\'s perfectly feasible to paint something like this by brush to a high standard it\'ll take a heck of a lot more effort for a start. And quite frankly if your standards are high you\'ll find it hard to be satisfied with the results, especially if you\'ve seen quality airbrushed stuff at this scale!

Back to money, you probably don\'t have any larger brushes so it\'s worth mentioning that one large brush could easily be around the same cost as that airbrush, maybe more. An airbrush, plus kit, while it\'s a large(ish) initial outlay should more than pay for itself in the long run.

Originally posted by Sauce Devil
...besides, I don\'t suppose using an airbrush in your bedroom is a good set-up.

No, not ideally. You really should exhaust the air or work directly by an open window at least.

Originally posted by Sauce Devil
Can anyone suggest what paints/varnish I need?

You\'re likely set for paints, although you may need to change your mixes somewhat for a less-stylised look. If you want a high-gloss finish on the leather then you\'ll need to invest in something for that, if you don\'t have any acrylic gloss medium or Klear?

Einion

 

[rrmmodeler]

Hope you excuse this first time poster and newbie mini painter but I thought I would chim in on this.

I am a scale model builder and that airbrush is a very good airbrush..I have one its an Iwata HP-CS and I love it. I use it on my scale models, figures, and priming minis. It would make painting large figures easier. But it is bit on the expensive side. You can get cheaper airbrushes that will do all you will need. Check out the Iwata Revolution. You can get the basic models for around 60 or 70 dollars I think at DickBlink. You can also find some knock offs on ebay that I have heard are made by the same factory but sold at cheaper prices. Don\'t forget you will need an air compresser for the airbrush. But as stated the cost of an airbrush will pay for its self.

A set up in the bedroom isn\'t idea but that is what I do. I live in an apartment and have no place to go.

Oil paint is not needed. Most figure painters use acrylics and many use the same paints that mini painters do such as GW and Reaper. You can shoot both of these paints through an airbrush just have to thin them.

As stated you don\'t need an airbrush to paint the larger figures. There are many large figure painters that only hand brush and they get great results. It just takes time and practice.

Check out:
http://www.hobbyfanatics.com/

forum.e2046.com
They are forums for large figure kit builders. They mainly build anime but you can learn alot there...I have.

 

[sivousplay]

You should also check out the clubhouse ... easily the largest collection of kit builders, producers and fanatics that I have found.

http://theclubhouse1.net/forums/index.php

jim

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Einion

...but that\'s a lot of money...

Oh kewl, a perfect opportunity to mention the Premi-Air G35, which is £29.99. Course then there is the air supply... [/quote]

go on... this is a good airbrush is it?

 

[Sauce Devil]

Thanks freakinacage, sivousplay, rrmmodeler, Einion and TAB Studio! I\'m pleased with the response I got to this question because it\'s excellent advice from everyone.
:idea:
To echo freakinacage, tell me more about the Premi-Air G35 - and how much does an air supply cost?
I\'ve never even handled an airbrush before so it\'s still a dark-art to me but it sounds fun. :flip:

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by freakinacage
go on... this is a good airbrush is it?

For the price, very good apparently. Two UK-based modelling mags reviewed it in the last month or so and both gave it a thumbsup.

The Iwata that each compared it to was the overall top-pick but for the money the G35 couldn\'t be beat. The Iwatas (not sure if they both compared to the same one) were ~£70.

Einion

 

[No Such Agency]

Originally posted by Sauce Devil
besides, I don\'t suppose using an airbrush in your bedroom is a good set-up.

Build a fan-vented spray booth. It\'ll help protect your work from dust too. IIRC (from way back) all you really need is a big cardboard box, a 12V computer fan, some dryer hose and a window.

AN EXAMPLE

 

[nick232]

these air brushes are pretty good:

http://www.airbrush-pro.co.uk/index.html?target=dept_118.html&lang=en-gb

 

[TAB Studio]

Cool NSA
Have you made one ?
I am would like to set one of these up, I do have an Iwata and it provides a smooth base coat for skin.

Yet like most anything, I need to practice control so I can diversity its use to more than base coating it can handle more detail but it is owner dysfunctional. :yes:

 

[Sauce Devil]

You\'re likely set for paints, although you may need to change your mixes somewhat for a less-stylised look. If you want a high-gloss finish on the leather then you\'ll need to invest in something for that, if you don\'t have any acrylic gloss medium or Klear? Einion

I\'ve never used that stuff before but it sounds interesting. Is \"Klear\" Microscale Kristal Klear?
Klear

 

[gary]

I also would say check out theclubhouse1.net, you will find a lot of info about building larger scale models and painting them to a high standard. I\'m also from the uk and there are lots of places here where you can pic up an airbrush and compressor for around the £100 mark, and in the long run if you plan on doing large scale kits it will be very helpfull. Once again the key for larger kits is the prep work, make sure you wash all the parts well to get rid of the mold release agent and then sand down all the seams, and don\'t be afraid to go back and re sand after you\'ve primmed if you see a fault.
I would also love to know where you got this from as at the price you stated it sounds like frontiermodels.co.uk if this is the case then sadly they get from e2046.com which is a recaster. I have wanted this kit as well but haven\'t seen an original for sale and recasts are no different from stealing from a sculptor. If you realy want to get into large scale models check out theclubhouse1.net and they will be able to tell you all the places to get original kits from.

 

[sivousplay]

If you watch Yahoo Japan and get a Japanese agent to purchase items for you, you can get originals of this and many other anime kits that are not distributed outside of Japan (other than by recasters).

jim

 

[gary]

Another way i\'ve heard about is people get japanes pen friends and then send them some money and ask them to go to wonderfest to pic up models. I don\'t think I would have the nerve to do this so I would stick with ebay japan. If yu did get your kit from frontiermodels as the pic is from there send him an email saying you want your money back and remmind him he made a big promise to people that he was going fully legit, also post this on the clubhouse for some advice. And feel free to pm me if you ever want any advice on larger kits and where to buy from.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Sauce Devil

You\'re likely set for paints, although you may need to change your mixes somewhat for a less-stylised look. If you want a high-gloss finish on the leather then you\'ll need to invest in something for that, if you don\'t have any acrylic gloss medium or Klear? Einion

I\'ve never used that stuff before but it sounds interesting. Is \"Klear\" Microscale Kristal Klear?
Klear

i think he means:

 

[TAB Studio]

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

This is a good link for info on magic wash, ok maybe too much info but you can sort through and get a good ideas and the names/looks for the product around the world