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Hi, I have been posting on the aircraft modelling forum here for a little while, and have never before crossed over into figure modelling... Until now! Having recently moved flat, I now have a lot less space to work on models in. As a result I have a new resolution - which is compact projects only! I have always wanted to build a Little Bird, and when I saw the Kitty Hawk kit I thought it would be ideal for my new set up. And on top of that it comes with figures! If that's not a great combination of time consuming new techniques and small space requirements I don't know what is. I have watched some tutorials on YouTube about figure painting, and looked over threads on here. And today I plunged in. I will be posting WIP on the machine in the aircraft forum, but will be needing help with these figures... So with that said - here's my work after a day on one figure... and a few questions for those far more experienced! First off - a few pack / parts shots : My plan is to build the Bird with a mixed load out of fixed weapons and troops. I know this is (as far as I can tell) not something that is done in reality - but it will offer me the most from the build : the fun of building and painting mini guns and rocket pods, as well as tackling my first ever figure painting work... With that - I selected my first figure - my nerves allayed by knowing that if it went badly there were three more left! On that note - I should also add that I am not building this as a historic aircraft / specific unit. The figures will be roughly representing modern special forces - with a mixture of gear, some camo - anything that seems fun in order to try out new tricks. Please forgive me - I do know these sorts of builds can be torture for experts to look at! The first up was primed with Citadel white rattle can. As a total novice to figures my opinion is naturally of little use, but these seem nicely detailed. And coming as one piece removes the issue of join seams. There were a small amount of mould seams I removed (mostly) with a blade. Then I started on the head... I was quite happy with how it went all things considered. As recommended by almost every source I have seen, I started with a blanked dark skin tone, then lifted out the 't-zone' as spot creams call it, and went from there. I think I need to dilute the paint more...? Any tips welcome, but while I was quite happy, it's a bit blotchy looking. I assume this is from my paint drying / not being translucent enough in each stage? Torso and legs were next. I painted all of this figure after the primer with Vallejo brushed paints using a wet palette. Bas for clothes were two slightly different tones of beige. Then I stippled on an almost white beige before painting dark brown / green lines. The flak jacket was varying tones of mixed greens, with highlights and low-lights added. After some tidying up, and some darker tones in folds, I got round to the pads / helmets. These were the easiest for me as they were closest to doing aircraft parts and clearly avoid the issues of creases and patterns. They were painted Vallejo grey-black then dry brushed with paler shades before being lightly sponged with very pale grey for scuffs. So - day one, and figure one, down - at least nearly, some tidying + weapons yet! 6 more to go (including pilots) so lots of time to improve. I have 2 questions though: 1. To me this is looking far too vivid in terms of colours. Clearly I should have remedied that along the way, but is there a smart way to mute this all NOW? I was thinking a liberal dusting with some light pigments like sand / light dirt? 2. Would a thin oil wash of dark umber on the face settle into the smaller creases well, or might it destroy the acrylic paints? Same for oil / white spirit washes in general - are these a no go with Vallejo? Many thanks for any info, tips, suggestions or criticisms! Bruce