Tamiya M10

[Dads203]

28 minutes ago, Sparkie said:

Loving this thread Dan, its practically a figure painting step by step tutorial with copious hints and tips along the way , costing me a fortune mind 🤑

 

Excellent work 

I’m chuffed that some of you guys are getting something out of all my babble and that it inspires others to have a go at this side of the hobby  

[06/24]

I have two/three main challenges when trying to do precise work like this. Firstly my eyesight sucks, so even with glasses I struggle to find a focal distance that is comfortable to work at. Do you use an optimiser or similar?

 

the second thing is paint consistency. If I thin with water I seem to get puddles on the model, presumably I’m loading the brush too much or trying to rush.

 

and finally texture, I can’t seem to master the seamless blending that makes thes work so well, mine always seem to become rough, possibly overworking the paint, or not thinnng enough.

 

clearly I need more practice, but I’d be interested to learn how you tackle these issues, if they arise for you?

 

and last but probably not least, how do you drill out the collars to fit the heads, I struggle to get a large enough drill bit into a pin vice?

 

sorry for all the questions!

[Dads203]

So, a few answers for you chaps @06/24  Not in any order though. 
 

Vision - mine is also no good close up, I use an optivisor for all my modelling, it’s a must for me. 
 

Blending colours- Key here is getting the right shade and the right consistently and use a quality brush for this. Shades, I use the rule of two, two shades darker and two shades lighter of the base coat as a starting point and then build further on this if needed. I use a red Vallejo paint thinned right down to a weak wash to map the face, you can adjust the amount of wash with a dry paint brush to remove to much. This forms the basis of shadow and highlights and where to apply them - hence the mapping - Easy Eh ? 
 

The paint consistency really is the key point for seamless blending. You really have to thin the paint right down with tap water, do not use thinners as this will disturb the base coats and turn it into a mess, It needs to be thinner than what you would put through an airbrush as a starting point. You will find the sweet spot and it then falls into place quite easily,  experimentation is way to go with this and practice on old headsculpts. Work on very small areas, don’t try and highlight the whole face in one session, concentrate on one small area at a time. 
 

The base coat needs to be a flat finish to soak up the consequent layers, satin or gloss and it will fail badly. basically you are adding very small amounts of over thinned paint and gradually building up layers, each one is either slightly darker or lighter. 
 

Fitting the headsculpts, I use a small drill to drill the centre of the neck by hand, slowly opening it out, I have a oversized dental burr which is roughly the same diameter as the heads neck and again I work the burr by hand until I get the depth and size just right. 
 

it takes me a couple of evenings to get the basics done on a single face, don’t rush it. The base coat needs to be dry and so does the red mapping wash, if you don’t allow these layers to dry then you might get bleeding through of these or even worse the base coat lifting off. 
 

Use a good quality primer, you’ll never get it looking right with resin heads and acrylic paints unless it’s primed properly. Mr Surfacer is my go to primer for resin heads, it’s probably the most important stage in face painting chaps, you need a solid foundation for all the layers to grip onto. 
 

Hope this is understandable and helps chaps. 
 

 

[Andy J]

Thanks for the "heads" up Dan....see what I did there 😏 

[Andy J]

Ooops Mrs J just caught me browsing..." Now what are you buying " ....errr....figures for my tanks petal...." and whose idea was that ".....err....well....it was Dan's idea...." and who's Dan " .....err Darryl's son......" needless to say Mrs J has a face like a bulldog licking p**s off a thistle atm 🙄

[Dads203]

40 minutes ago, Andy J said:

.." and whose idea was that ".....err....well....it was Dan's idea...." 

 

Don't you be dragging me into a future domestic with the long haired General matey.. I am very well equipped to get myself in it beyond the neck line with Mrs D at this location!

 

So Back to getting everyone in the  I mean figure painting 

 

Shadow and highlights on his jacket, same principal as faces that I outlined above somewhere. ? 

 

Started on his back, its the bit you will see the most in the turret, at this stage its very subtle but will come together more when more shades are added. 

Just building the layers and blending them in slowly. Again working in small areas and with very thinned down paint. As I mentioned use tap water and not thinners to thin them down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later folks 

 

 

 

[Andy J]

Great timing with this tutorial Dan i should be able to put together a decent figure when the times right 🙂👍

[Jasper dog]

1 hour ago, Andy J said:

Ooops Mrs J just caught me browsing..." Now what are you buying " ....errr....figures for my tanks petal...." and whose idea was that ".....err....well....it was Dan's idea...." and who's Dan " .....err Darryl's son......" needless to say Mrs J has a face like a bulldog licking p**s off a thistle atm 🙄

 

39 minutes ago, Dads203 said:

 

Don't you be dragging me into a future domestic with the long haired General matey.. I am very well equipped to get myself in it beyond the neck line with Mrs D at this location!

 

So Back to getting everyone in the  I mean figure painting 

 

And don't go dragging me into your domestics either, the buck isn't even slowing down over here fella!

 

And as for an estranged son......speechless, utterly speechless!

No offence Dan you understand but really!

 

And they say chivalry and gentlemanly behaviour is unfashionable....

 

1 hour ago, Andy J said:

needless to say Mrs J has a face like a bulldog licking p**s off a thistle atm 🙄

You old silver tongued charmer you, that poor maligned woman!

 

Is it just something about Brummies??

[Jasper dog]

Great looking figure Dan, out of context they do look to be striking a novel pose!

 

Atb

[phildagreek]

Superb!

[Dads203]

Part two on the uniform, more highlights and blending,

all very subtle at this stage, trousers have had a quick going over with shadow and a few basic highlights.

Hands have had some work also. I used Mig Ammo OD Dark Shadow for the trousers which as I have found dries when brushed into a statin finish, I'll knock this back with some flat varnish once he is finished. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M1911 Holster to add yet and some mud and dust. 

 

 

[Andy J]

Nice work son of Darryl looks better with every post 🙂👍

[Dads203]

21 minutes ago, Andy J said:

Nice work son of Darryl looks better with every post 🙂👍

That makes me a SOD 

[edjbartos]

Beautiful work Dan, I need to start doing figures at some stage, will use this thread in the future, it's so good  👍

 

Ed

[Bullbasket]

He looks ready to go into action. Nice work Dan.

 

John.

[Dads203]

Cheers chaps 

So I've treated myself to a proper wet pallet, I've made these in the past from old food containers, kitchen towel and baking paper 

but I've always binned them off afterwards. Very useful for keeping Acrylics workable for a while. This one looks pretty good and I'll be keeping 

it for sure. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its going to get used tonight 

[Andy J]

Great minds think alike Dan I was looking at these wet pallets earlier they do look pretty good 👍 

[Dads203]

18 minutes ago, Andy J said:

Great minds think alike Dan I was looking at these wet pallets earlier they do look pretty good 👍 

 

I'm liking this Wet Pallet very much, I added a drop of Vallejo an hour ago and its still useable, the foam base is so much better than my home

brewed pallet and keeps the paper just wet enough to preserve the paints. Top bit of kit in my book. 

 

Really happy to mix up shades now knowing that they will keep for one of my sessions.

 

 

 

Back to the figure (Yeah Again!)  So more work on his boots, trousers have had more shadow and highlights added and some more work on his jacket, blending and titivating the 

shades. Belt next for some treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy 

[beefy66]

Interesting info on the wet pallet Dan think I need to get some practice in using your very fine method  

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[Jasper dog]

3 hours ago, Dads203 said:

Cheers chaps 

So I've treated myself to a proper wet pallet, I've made these in the past from old food containers, kitchen towel and baking paper 

but I've always binned them off afterwards. Very useful for keeping Acrylics workable for a while. This one looks pretty good and I'll be keeping 

it for sure. 

Its going to get used tonight 

Come on Dan fess up you wanted a home for your Windsor and Newton 000!

From what I've heard the paint should last a couple of weeks...

 

Something else to spend money on....🤫

 

Speaking of spending, after observing this come together found myself, wait for it....

Looking at large scale figures..... Gawd help us!!

 

Please Dan get back to armour or start the Tiger, anything!

[diablo rsv]

3 hours ago, Dads203 said:

So I've treated myself to a proper wet pallet

 

I have been meaning to get one of these, like you my home made efforts have been a little but iffey. Based on your experience I will be making another investment.

Looks as though you have got to grips with this figures painting malarkey.

Wayne.

 

 

 

[Dads203]

Cheers guys, 

13 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

 

Please Dan get back to armour or start the Tiger, anything!

Gotta finish this M10 first matey  ...

I dabbled in 120mm figure about 25 years ago and enjoyed it tbh, I have a couple that might just get refurbed if I crack this figure painting with acrylics malarkey. 

Fear naught the Tiger will be first though.

 

 

12 minutes ago, diablo rsv said:

 

I have been meaning to get one of these, like you my home made efforts have been a little but iffey. Based on your experience I will be making another investment.

 

Wayne, do it mate, the foam in the base of this pallet is the key to this bit of kit, it soaks up the water and holds it very well, god knows how much water these thin bits of foam hold, it’s a lot. It really put my home made efforts to shame so needless to say the new one will get hammered. 

[Jasper dog]

2 minutes ago, Dads203 said:

Cheers guys, 

Gotta finish this M10 first matey  ...

I dabbled in 120mm figure about 25 years ago and enjoyed it tbh, I have a couple that might just get refurbed if I crack this figure painting with acrylics malarkey. 

Fear naught the Tiger will be first though.

That'll be about 1/16?

Can get allsorts, from Roman to medieval to WW2...🤔

Temptation is a terrible thing.....

[Andy J]

22 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

That'll be about 1/16?

Can get allsorts, from Roman to medieval to WW2...🤔

Temptation is a terrible thing.....

Well I've a confession to make 🙄....I've been looking closely at.......WWII Battleships  though I haven't opened the wallet.....yet 😉👍

[Dads203]

27 minutes ago, Jasper dog said:

That'll be about 1/16?

Can get allsorts, from Roman to medieval to WW2...🤔

Temptation is a terrible thing.....

Falkland Para with “That Rifle” and a IWS, made by Imperial Gallery or Fort Royal figures. I did these as leaving presents for guys on the Sqn, very popular but painting DPM is always fun. I’ll sling up some pictures tomorrow of one I made back in 1995 which I’ll refurb. Reckon I can do a slightly better job now