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Bertie Figures It Out - Project abandoned, photos lost.


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Hello everyone.

 

I have to tell you right at the start that I don't think I'm a very good figure moddeller; not yet anyway. I have ambitions though and quite a few figs on hand waiting for me to paint 'em. I've had some of them for ages and made little progress. To be honest, I'm a bit scared of making a mess of them which is really daft considering the availability of paint stripper! And as we all know, the way to get better at painting figures is to paint more figures!

 

I do Armour moddels too and the occasional aircraft and really enjoy writing 'work in progress' threads. The writing and the replies keep me motivated and keep me working. So I thought it might help me to have a WIP for the figure moddels too. Once I begin a figure it only takes a short time to finish so in order to build up momentum, I've decided to use this thread for all of the figures I do, not just one. 

 

I'll be able to look back in a year or so and perhaps see some small signs of improvement. 

 

All advice, constructive criticism, praise, suggestions and free samples from manufacturers (as if!) is welcome, as are wild digressions into whatever places this might lead. 

 

I'll take some pictures of my miniatures awaiting attention and put them up for your consideration in the next post. And then I'll have to do something, anything, or I'll look like a proper Charlie, won't I?

 

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I'm looking forward to it Bertie!

" I don't think I'm a very good figure moddeller; " That makes two of us. It'll be interesting to see how you progress. I've never even considered using the forum as a development tool, but it makes a lot of sense. I might just jump on the bandwagon! :winkgrin:

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1 minute ago, oileanach said:

I might just jump on the bandwagon! :winkgrin:

 

That would be cool. You start a thread for your 'not very good figures' and we can be each other's greatest fans. 😁 I'll follow yours if you follow mine. 😆

 

Gawd knows, I'll need some friendly support here.

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In my mind, I divide my figure moddelling into two categories: bigfigs and minifigs.

 

Minifigs are 1/35 figures usually made from injection moulded plastic and which are 'extras' in an armour build or diorama. I have dozens of minifigs, because they come in boxes of five or more so I won't bother displaying them here until I start painting a set. The first minifig set will be the four crewmembers of the Tamiya Archer that I'm currently building, together with the four or five range staff that will populate the diorama. 

 

Bigfigs are figures which are meant to be complete in themselves, perhaps with the help of a base or pedestal of some kind. They are usually resin. And usually, but not always, bigger in scale than 1/35

 

 

 

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Cute or scary? This little guy will be a lot easier than a scale model of a human. With fantasy figs there is nothing to say what colour it should be. Except that I own an orange hoodie and so will he!

 

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And this is Valerie, the old witch with terrible taste in clothes. This is half way between fantasy and reality. I could make her skin green and decomposing, as a fantasy witch, or I could choose saddle brown and desiccated like an older woman who's spent too long on the beach.

 

I also have a terribly complicated French Napoleonic Trumpeter which I haven't yet unpacked, still less photographed.

 

All of these models are scaring me silly. I hardly know where to begin. There are so many different techniques, mediums, and styles to select from and so far in the world of bigfigs, I've never used the same ones twice so I haven't yet started to develop a repeatable style of my own. It's like getting that first Airfix kit for Christmas but without instructions, and with Dad saying, "That was expensive, Don't mess it up!"

 

I think the safest place to start would be the rat. An old grey rat with a pot belly wearing my hoodie and sneakers. I can call it a self-portrait.

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Coffee running down my nose- "self portrait"?

 

On bigfigs- I've never painted one or even had the urge. I love airbrushing though, so I can feel a certain amount of appeal there. But I have so many 28mm minis to get through, I'm not going to go buying a printer or pre printed busts any time soon.

 

Female faces are a concern, though. I have a Sisters of Battle collection in the pile. I'm quite excited about the possibilities, but their tiny, very feminine faces are a real challenge.

 

It's not my biggest challenge. That would be actually picking up a brush. It's like keeping fit- the hardest part of any work out is putting on your gym kit!

 

When it comes to painting I'm far too neat. I'm definitely one for keeping it inside the lines. That's not the way light and colour work! Trying to overlap volumes and choosing dramatically different colours to build contrast is something I really struggle with. Not to worry, I've got plenty of 'test pieces' to go through! Practice, practice, practice. We'll get there Bertie! :D 

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1 minute ago, oileanach said:

Sisters of Battle

 

Ah, I did the Translation of St Whoever she was a couple of years ago. I think that's Sisters of Battle? A coffin accompanied by an escort of war-nuns? I'm not up to speed with the lore. I painted a few GW sets and characters before branching out into scale modelling again after a few years off, and the bigfigs.

 

28mm figures are about 1/48 scale in height, I should send you my pilots and other figures to paint. I'd forgotten about them because I'm now jacking in aircraft modelling in favour of armour and figures. 

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On 1/30/2022 at 7:36 PM, oileanach said:

It's not my biggest challenge. That would be actually picking up a brush. It's like keeping fit- the hardest part of any work out is putting on your gym kit!

 

I've committed myself to putting some paint on somebody before next week, before Monday. Writing it on the internet wall like this might give me the motivation to pick up a brush. We will see.

 

 

We will see something.

 

 

 

We will see something spectacular🖌️🖌️🖌️

 

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I did it. Having nailed my colours to the mast very publicly, I just had to go and paint something.

 

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First, I intensified the highlights in this grisaille stage with another quick airbrushing of Tamiya XF-2 white, applied from directly above down to about 45 degrees above the horizon. I wanted more contrast between lights and darks because my first step in the painting was to be an ink wash.

 

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It's acrylic ink. This dries waterproof which is essential for whatever else I put on top of it. It does mean that once you start, you've got to finish - any dried edges will make a sharp tidemark which you may or may not want. It's translucent so the pre-shading will show through. It's capable of being diluted almost to invisibility which is great if you are patient and painstaking, so not really a factor for me. Undiluted, the colour is very very intense. That's what I knew before I started painting and learning.

 

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I could not stop in the middle to take a picture. This is the end product, but only of the first step.

 

First I applied a thinned layer all over. It worked as expected but there wasn't a lot of contrast. I tried running some undiluted ink into the wet leg fur and it ran into the crevices like an enamel wash, but then spread out in the most amazing blends. I realised that this was exactly like watercolour painting 'wet into wet', where you place intense colours into a wet surface and let them blend and merge as they will. Theoretically, you control it, but when I tried it years ago, the paint tended to control me! I did a bit better this time, because I was only using one colour, I guess. I started to do the same thing on the chest and face, just touching the brush tip on the areas I wanted darker. If the surface was too wet the shadow spread too far and disappeared. Meh! If it wasn't wet enough, I had a blot! Agh! But when the surface was just right... The dark brown infusion looked amazing! Then, right on cue, my vision started to shut down, and I was forced to stop. (I have an eye condition at the moment.) This was probably a good thing because I would have gone on until I'd wrecked it. Knowing when to stop is something I'm not great at.

 

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You can see the tidemarks very clearly in this shot. I'm thinking that retarder and or flow improver might help with that. Also, my soft sable brush wasn't stiff enough to push the paint into the awkward spots. I should have started with a synthetic and only used the sable at the end for the wet into wet stage, where its excellent point was great for injecting the ink exactly where I wanted it and it could hold a lot of ink in one dip. 

 

The flowing of the ink from the brush was gorgeous. Almost as good as spirit based paint, and far, far better than conventional acrylics.

 

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I tried a little fine brushwork with the ink when the surface had dried. (The face is one centimeter from eye to eye.) This has great potential for fur and hair but I'd have to be very patient. It wouldn't exactly be painting every hair, but it would feel like it. I'm thinking of Ripley's hair as I write this. I'll see what I can do with the rat in later sessions.

 

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That's a nice blend, light to dark, on the flat surface of the ear, where it's easier for you to see. 

 

Ink seems to have no volume when it's dried. It does nothing to cover up the lamination effect of 3D printing. I also think the ink may be drawn down those lines by capillary action to some extent. You can't sand them away from a complicated model. It's a problem even in normal, unmagnified viewing. I will see what happens if I apply two or three layers of primer. Can I smooth these tiny lines out before I start to lose detail that is supposed to be there?

 

Looking back at the photos, I realise why figure WIPs aren't often written. In the initial stages, the model looks like cak city, and enlargement makes it CAK CITY!! With a bit of luck, it will get better in the end, though probably it will get worse before that!

 

Main objectives achieved, I painted something and had a spectacular amount of fun!

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

It's capable of being diluted almost to invisibility which is great if you are patient and painstaking, so not really a factor for me.

 

This would overcome the tidemark problem I think. Maybe I could try applying multiple thin coats after all. I can speed dry it with a hairdrier...

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11 minutes ago, Crayons said:

Much obliged.

 

As for the layer lines, prime the model with a few coats of Mr. Surfacer 1000, it'll help hide them somewhat.

 

I've never used it, having decided to spray only water based paints years ago. If I try it, what do you suggest for thinners and airbrush clean up? 

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13 hours ago, Crayons said:

Where did you get the old witch from Bertie? Is she a 3d file available for purchase? If so, please point me in the right direction.

 

https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-griselda-138714

 

This is where she came from.

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Many thanks.

 

You can buy Mr. Surfacer in either a rattle can or 40ml bottles ranging from 500 to 1500 finishing. They also have a Base White 1000 (rattle can or 40ml bottle) which is my go to surfacer. If you are going to go the airbrush path, Mr. Colour Leveling Thinner as it has the addition of retarder. They are lacquer paints, so keep that in mind with regards to fumes.

 

Clean up, just a general purpose hardware store purchased lacquer thinner. Nothing fancy.

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4 hours ago, Crayons said:

Many thanks.

 

You can buy Mr. Surfacer in either a rattle can or 40ml bottles ranging from 500 to 1500 finishing. They also have a Base White 1000 (rattle can or 40ml bottle) which is my go to surfacer. If you are going to go the airbrush path, Mr. Colour Leveling Thinner as it has the addition of retarder. They are lacquer paints, so keep that in mind with regards to fumes.

 

Clean up, just a general purpose hardware store purchased lacquer thinner. Nothing fancy.

Well I already use mr colour levelling thinner with their paint and Tamiya so that’s good. 
 

I use xylene lacquer thinner as poly cement. 
 

And I didn’t know that mr surfacer was available in cans! Much the easier path to take. 
 

I'd also intended to investigate Tamiya primer in cans months ago but I forgot about it. (That happens to me a lot. 😆)

 

Thanks for the info. 
 

I’ll post another one from the Griselda range later when I’m on laptop. I thought it was very good sculpting 

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She's currently printing. Nearly a 13 hour print (based on my print settings that is).

 

I try to avoid the rattle cans as I don't think that they are good value for money versus the 40ml bottle. And when the bottle is empty, clean it out and you have a 40ml mixing jar.

 

Having said that, I do have the Base White in rattle can for those days where I don't want to clean the airbrush because I needed to base coat one figure.

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2 minutes ago, Crayons said:

She's currently printing. Nearly a 13 hour print.

 

I try to avoid the rattle cans as I don't think that they are good value for money versus the 40ml bottle. And when the bottle is empty, clean it out and you have a 40ml mixing jar.

 

Having said that, I do have the Base White in rattle can for those days where I don't want to clean the airbrush because I needed to base coat one figure.

 

I don't know whether my extractor can cope with a rattle can anyway. I'll get one just as an experiment.

 

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This goblin was from the same studio as Griselda (Or Valerie, as I call her, in memory of my ex's mother. The resemblance is striking.)

 

He reminds me of Terry Pratchett's  Wee Free Men. 

 

 

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