Blood for the Baron!

The Baron wrote:I've only painted vehicles, for which I use Plastikote sprays. Undercoat first, then the colour, normally only one coat needed and then a lacquer. There's a Which Paint? sticky thread.

i saw the which paint sticky Baron cheers but i was also wondering if the paints work on both the original Action Force and the newer Articulated ones as they seem to be a different type of plastic...

Double-tap wrote:

Squad Leader wrote:is there a certain method of cleaning before painting plus when you seal do you paint or spray?

just hot soapy water, make sure its dry before you start to paint.
i ues an old brush for the varnish. used spray once but it warped the plastic.
Bill

cheers Bill!

What is your project squad leader? I hope all our hints help you for vehicles I painted straight on to them forgot I had done some

An old toothbrush is good for cleaning figures. I also painted a Tomahawk with Humbrol Enamels which came up a treat, it also covered the black camo without an undercoat.

But do not use Plastikote spray lacquer on Humbrol enamial paint. I did and it all bubbled and peeled before my eyes.

Malcolm Orr has posted several random comments about lightly sanding around knee and elboe joints to avoid paint rub. TKW ingeniously used figures with rolled up sleeves to avoid elbow rub.

ive recently switched from acrylics to enamels & im loving them!
everyone has their own way, but i take the figure apart, wash all the pieces then spray with primer (unless it's a piece that doesnt need painting, like sometimes i will keep the head as is)
then i usually spray the whole thing with a base colour (if the figure is mainly say black, then i spray it all black)
after this i use a brush to paint all the detail.
i love enamels because they dry really hard, paint rub isnt as much of a problem but i still have to sand down some of the joints.
i told someone else i would post a tutorial but always felt a bit stupid (like i said before, everyone has their own methods) & didnt wanna look arrogant but i think i'll do one when i get back to work on monday.

I used to love them step by step painting guides the Games Workshop do..I've read that some people thin down the paint a little & paint several coats to avoid brush marks on figures?

I don't use either an undercoat or a varnish/sealant, however I haven't painted vintage stuff. I do sometimes trim the joints to allow some space for paint to fit. The sanding joints is best explained like this. Imagine you drop paint on a plastic leg. You can wipe it off. Now sand the leg with very fine sandpaper, drop paint on and wipe it off - it stains more. Rather than sitting on plastic, paint drying on sanded plastic sticks a bit better. Hence I do tend to gently sand areas of paint rub to reduce the loss of paint from these areas.

Still probably clear as mud - customs and painting figures is, like medicine, much better taught practically than by writing it down.

tamiya enamels are nice & thin & you dont get any brush marks, i normally give 2 or 3 coats.

Making this thread into a sticky. Everyone, please post as many tips as you can here!

whats a sticky?