First Ever Figure Modelling - Kitty Hawk AH-6J/MH-6J Little Bird

[bruce bay]

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 

 

[giemme]

Bruce, excellent work for a first figure!

As for your questions:

You may want to thin your paint a little more than usual; multiple thin coats will help you achieving nice variations.

 

I always seal my figure painting job with a flat (really flat) clear coat. I use Lifecolor for that purpose, brush painted. You may want to try that before using filters (very thinned color coats)  or pigments.

 

Acrylic will take oils, many figure painters like to base coat with acrylics and do all the highlight and shadows with oils.

I only use acrylics, mainly Lifecolor and Italeri (which are basically re-branded Vallejo).

 

If I may add a couple of things: eyes and skin tones are the toughest parts to get right. Try and practice on those; I did put myself some WIPs on here about how I paint eyes and skin, and you can similarly find a lot of tutorials on the subject in the net.

I almost always black base my figures, it helps giving them depth. A dark outline on the edges also helps giving that 3d look (like around belts and buckles or the likes)

 

HTH

 

Ciao

[bruce bay]

8 hours ago, giemme said:

Bruce, excellent work for a first figure!

As for your questions:

You may want to thin your paint a little more than usual; multiple thin coats will help you achieving nice variations.

 

I always seal my figure painting job with a flat (really flat) clear coat. I use Lifecolor for that purpose, brush painted. You may want to try that before using filters (very thinned color coats)  or pigments.

 

Acrylic will take oils, many figure painters like to base coat with acrylics and do all the highlight and shadows with oils.

I only use acrylics, mainly Lifecolor and Italeri (which are basically re-branded Vallejo).

 

If I may add a couple of things: eyes and skin tones are the toughest parts to get right. Try and practice on those; I did put myself some WIPs on here about how I paint eyes and skin, and you can similarly find a lot of tutorials on the subject in the net.

I almost always black base my figures, it helps giving them depth. A dark outline on the edges also helps giving that 3d look (like around belts and buckles or the likes)

 

HTH

 

Ciao

 

Thank you so much for all of this. I really appreciate it. I will apply your suggestions to completing this chap, and I will try and incorporate these larger tips in the next figure and see how it all compares. Especially the black base rather than white... I guess it will make coverage harder, but as you say will likely add depth.

 

Thanks so much,

 

Bruce

 

 

[bruce bay]

A little update after today's session - making the most of some time off. 

 

I finished off the first guy with a light oil wash, and some pigment dust - a mix of mud and sand colours. I used a high gloss varnish for the lens of his goggles. 

 

I also did his weapon. As the kit comes with extra magazines I decided to 'tape' an extra on. It was glued and then a thin strip of Tamiya tape was added after. Doubt this is standard for US special operators in reality, but was fun and broke up the all black / grey weapon a bit. 

 

 

The guns are extremely brittle - and the barrel snapped off this one a few times, as you will see in some images. It has now been found and reattached. 

 

 

 

Next up was figure 2. Using some of the suggestions I gladly got yesterday I primed all but his head black. And made an effort to use thinner coats of paint built up more slowly. I think it is a tiny improvement in terms of his face, though I prefer the eyes on guy no.1. 

 

The black primed clothing / body armour 100% made this figure look a bit more deep in tone. It was harder to cover in parts, but I can see the advantage for sure. Thanks again! 

 

 

 

And here they are together! 

 

 

Thanks, 

 

Bruce

 

[speedy]

This is a great start and I like it and didn't even know the kit existed. I can't quite see on the iPad but just make sure your goggles are reflective or Kleared.

 

Steve.

Edited May 10, 2018 by speedy

[giemme]

Brilliant progress, Bruce 👏🏻

 

The eyes on figure #2 don't look that bad - probably the pupil is a bit small. Trying to "copy" from a picture of a real person helps a lot when trying to paint eyes, IMHO.

 

One more hint, concerning pics: try a blue or green backdrop (a simple piece of cardboard is going to be fine) and a better lighting, ideally from the top and not too direct. A clear picture can help a lot in improving your paint work, too.

 

HTH

 

Ciao

 

[bruce bay]

18 hours ago, speedy said:

This is a great start and I like it and didn't even know the kit existed. I can't quite see on the iPad but just make sure your goggles are reflective or Kleared.

 

Steve.

Thanks so much. The kit is - by the look of it - a sort of afterthought as far as adding the figures goes. The figures are great (again this is my ill-informed opinion) but the kit instructions have nothing about the figures / configurations of figures / pilots etc in there. 

[clive_t]

Nice work!

[brodiebear]

Looking good for a first figure.