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Started by Britt
Mon, 20 Dec 1993 08:40
Miniatures Painting Guide and FAQ
Author: Britt
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1993 08:40
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1993 08:40
966 lines
55206 bytes
55206 bytes
Archive-name: games/miniatures/painting-faq
Rec-games-miniatures-archive-name: painting-faq
Last-modified: 1993/11/17
Author: tierna@agora.rain.com - with tips gathered from posts
on rec.games.miniatures and credited wherever possible
Comment: The re-write is still under construction...
Frequently Asked Items
This document is presented to help the inexperienced miniatures painter get
a grasp of the basics. Most answers given were collected from months of
discussion on rec.games.miniatures and represent the experiences and tips
of a great many people. The rest of the answers are Britt's, compiled from
hours and hours of experimentation and practice. Many answers are not
absolute. Painting is an art and in art there are few absolutes.
This FAQ is scheduled to be posted monthly, around the 15th of each month.
An informal format is being used because it's easier.
All formal archive designations remain the same, but references to this
document have become "painting guide and FAQ" as its contents have become
as much guide as FAQ.
Contents
================
(* denotes changed entries)
1. How do I get started painting?
A. Are there books on painting available?
* B. What kind of paints should I use?
C. What kind of brushes should I use?
D. What other equipment do I need?
2. Should I prime? (Also, what should I do to the miniature before
priming?)
A. Black, white, or gray?
3. What's the first step after priming?
4. What are shading, washing, drybrushing, highlighting and glazing?
A. How do I wash?
a. Why do my washes dry badly?
B. How do I drybrush?
C. How do I highlight?
D. What are inks, should I use them, and if so how?
E. What colours should I use for detail work?
5. What should I use for bases?
A. What's the best stuff to cover bases with?
6. How do I strip paint?
7. What kind of miniatures should I start with?
A. Metal or plastic?
a. My miniature came in multiple parts, now what?
8. What is kitbashing?
A. How do I convert miniatures?
* B. What kind of glue should I use?
9. How can I paint details?
A. How do I paint eyes?
B. How do I paint faces?
C. How do I paint insignia?
D. How do I paint armour?
E. What other detailing can I do?
10. What is an overcoat and should I use one?
11. How do I keep paint from drying out?
12. How do I use an airbrush for miniatures?
13. How/where do I get miniatures?
A. Is there a list of companies?
Questions and Answers
=============================
1. How do I get started painting?
Get some paint, brushes, miniatures, and a space to do your work.
There is no `secret formula' involved, and despite all the advice
and information you'll get from this FAQ and other sources, the
best method of painting is the one that works for you. If you
prefer one type of paint to another, that's great. Painting is
a hobby, not an exact science. Pick and choose, practice, relax,
and enjoy yourself. Take advice only if you feel right about it.
Be patient with yourself. Most painters have a box of the stuff
they learned on, or have removed old paint and redone several of
their miniatures. Good painting's a skill. Remember: PRACTICE.
Try different materials and techniques. Don't take anyone else's
word for it unless you're sure - and the practice will do you good.
A. Are there books on painting available?
The only one the author knows of right now is the Citadel
publication 'Eavy Metal, and its predecessor, a $1 pamphlet.
The pamphlet is out of print, but if you can get one, do so.
The book retails around $20 US and has a lot of excellent
information, if you remember that the only standards you
need to adhere to are your own. Some people love the way
GW-painted miniatures look, others hate them. It's all a
matter of taste.
* B. What kind of paint should I use?
This question has sparked some vigorous discussion from two major
camps: acrylics and enamels. First, a description of what these
terms mean:
Oil- or solvent-based. These tend to be a bit thicker
than acrylics and require that you have thinner on hand for
washing, thinning, and brush cleaning. These paints are often
referred to as enamels, but some acrylics can be enamels as well,
so when in doubt, read the label.
Acrylic paint is water-base and tends to be smoother, though if
it gets dry it can become grainy. All you need to thin or clean
up with this stuff is tap water. Discussion on the newsgroup
rec.games.miniatures has uncovered that more posters prefer the
acrylics to oils. (This author uses acrylics.) Again, a
matter of taste.
The basic colours from which just about anything can be mixed are
white, black, brown (you can mix this yourself, but it's a pain),
red, yellow, blue, and gray (same as above). Metallics, various
shades and hues, practically anything you can think of is available
through one company or another. Start with the basics and expand
as you feel you need it. Soon enough you'll have more paint than
you ever imagined you'd need, and likely use every one.
Most like-type (acrylic or oil) can be mixed regardless of
brand, but be cautious at first as some brands are incompatible.
Companies which manufacture miniature-formulated paints:
Ral Partha (acrylics and dragonscale metallic creams)
Floquil/Polly S (acrylics)
Armory (acrylic)
Pactra (acrylic enamels)
Model Master (oil-base)
Humbrol (oil-base)
Citadel (acrylics and specially-formulated inks)
Howard Hues (unknown)
Accuflex (acrylics - formulated for airbrushing)
There are other companies, of course, these are just the ones the
author could think of right now. Most paints are available at
your local hobby or gaming shop, and places that specialize in
miniature railroad equipment often have the best selection.
Railroad paints are often oil-based, but primers and sealers
of that type are usually quite good at preserving detail.
Paints may be bought by the individual bottle (usually under $2
US per) or in sets. If you buy a set, be sure that you can *see*
all the paints before purchase. This way, you'll assure that you
get what you're looking for and that the consistencies are good.
SHAKE all paint before purchase, to make sure they mix up well.
C. What kind of brushes should I use?
Brushes come in a myriad of sizes and several different materials.
Sizes range from 1" to 20/0 or more. The more 0s the smaller the
brush, generally, however companies vary in size so the only true
scale is to look and compare.
Materials are sable, fox, camel hair (which is actually squirrel
tail, BTW), ox hair, and nylon. Round and flat are also available.
Red sable is the painters' choice, usually. A large brush for
primering and large areas, something between a 000 and 5/0 for
smaller areas, and anything from a 10/0 to a 20/0 for fine detail.
Drybrushing destroys good brushes so a couple camel hair for
drybrushing is a good idea.
Again, look at them before you buy. Make sure the tips are smooth
and end in a point and the sizes are right. A good brush retails
anywhere from $3 to $8, so it's a purchase to take time over.
Brushes are available at hobby and game shops, often at crafts
stores at a better price.
D. What other equipment do I need?
Not much. Something to hold your water/solvent (two of them if
you're working with metallics, one for the regular paint and one
for the metallic - keeps flecks out of the other stuff), a palette
of some sort (professional, ceramic tile, old plate, even the
plastic bubble from a large miniature or two), and GOOD LIGHTING.
Against a window is ideal, if not a good overhead light or
adjustable lamp is a must. Paper towels or napkins - some for
blotting your brushes on and extras for the inevitable spill or
splatter. Time - never enough of that so learn to paint bits at
a time (also good so that one layer can dry before you put on
another). Ventilation, ventilation, VENTILATION! All paints
give off noxious odors and unless you like having headaches, you'll
want lots of space, open windows, even a fan or two.
The above are the *needed* things. Below are optional:
A magnifying glass - useful for seeing fine detail.
An X-acto blade can be helpful, tweezers can be invaluable if
you'll be gluing, files and emery boards are used to remove sprue,
mold lines, and anything else you don't want.
As you get more practiced you'll start finding other things to use
in your painting pursuits (such as toothpicks and small brushes),
so you'll acquire your own personal array in time.
2. Should I prime? (Also, what should I do to the miniature before
priming?)
Yes. Primer not only assures for good paint adhesion, but it also
brings up detail more starkly than on an unprimered miniature.
Now that that's settled, we go into another major area of controversy
among painters: how? The only thing painters seem to agree upon is
that a spray primer is best, and the primers specifically formulated
for miniatures are better at retaining detail. Some folks use
department-store $3 cans of Rust-O-Leum and the like, but the author
has found that most of the detail on a miniature will disappear *very*
quickly unless you can manage a fine and even spray. Stick with the
specially-formulated ones, a little more expensive but a much better
result.
Companies that put out good spray primers are Ral Partha, Armory,
Floquil, Model Master, Testors, and Citadel.
BEFORE APPLYING PRIMER you will need to clean up any bad lines on
the miniature (use a small file, X-acto knife, or emery board),
making sure you get rid of the bump under the base, if your miniature
has a self-molded base (sandpaper is excellent for this), then
WASH it in a little soap and water. Various substances are used on
miniatures to make them come free of the mold, as well as the fact
that hand oils get on the miniature as it's handled, and these will
interfere with paint adhesion unless cleaned off. Now, use a little
white glue and glue the miniature to a base of cardboard, cork, even
a plastic bottle cap. This assures that you can handle it during the
painting process without touching wet paint.
Methods of applying primer are spraying and brushing on. If you're
using a brush-on primer, make certain it flows well without being
too thin and use a semi-large brush to brush over your miniature from
top to bottom.
If you're spraying, set up a large box enclosed on three sides in
which to place your miniatures for priming. This will keep the paint
from going everywhere and also tends to give a better coat. Make
*sure* you have good ventilation, outdors or in a window or set up
a fan. Spray paint is nasty. On the subject of technique, the best
advice I've seen came from sl9b4@cc.usu.edu (Deep Six), as posted to
rec.games.miniatures, and is edited and used here without permission:
"First, be sure you shake the paint well. It says on the can you
should shake it for a full minute, so I do it for two minutes.
Shake during use, too.
The second thing is spraying the figures with the `good' stream
of spray. You do this by starting the spray before it hits the
figs and stopping the spray after it hits the figs. The spray
that comes out of the can when you first start spraying and when
you stop spraying is incomplete -- it has too much or too little
paint, and/or too much or too little carrier. What I do is put the
figs out on newspaper and start spraying the newspaper to one side
of the figs, when the spray has been coming out for a half-second
or so, I pass the spray over the figs, and when the spray has
passed over the figs, I stop. This assures that only properly
mixed paint is falling on the figs. It takes longer and wastes
some paint, but the finish is worth it to me.
Next, keep the can as upright as possible, and keep the nozzel
about 10 inches from the figs. Any closer and it's too hard to
control the amount of paint on the figs. Any further and the paint
starts to dry before it hits the figs.
And finally, IMO you should never use a whole can of paint (on figs
anyway). It seems like when the can is about 3/4 of the way empty,
the paint is really crappy, uneven and it comes out of the can in
spurts."
A. Black, white, or gray?
A thousand answers exist for this one. The best advice available
seems to be use what you prefer. White primer makes colours go
on brighter and is best for anything on which you want that effect.
Black primer gives good shadows and is commonly used to base
modern military and skeleton figures.
Gray is rather neutral allowing for brighter light colours and
decent shading.
The best tip so far is to experiement and see what you like.
Also, and the author likes this effect, prime in black and then
drybrush raised areas in white before painting. This allows for
the depth of the darker shade but gives the lighter base for the
brighter colors.
3. What's the first step after priming?
Pick the colours you want for the major areas (skin, each piece of
clothing and armour, hair, shield) and paint them on in layers.
Think of dressing the miniature. Start with eyes, move on to face
and hands, then clothing, armour, hair, lastly weapons. You aren't
going for massive detail just now, you're only setting each area's
base colour. Make certain the paint goes on smoothly and remember
to paint from top to bottom.
Once you have this part done, it's time for detailing. This is
achieved by many different techniques such as drybrushing, washing,
shading, and highlighting.
4. What are shading, washing, drybrushing, highlighting and glazing?
These are techniques to give a little realism to your miniatures.
* Shading and highlighting give the illusion that there is light
shining upon the figure. Shading details the folds and shadows and
highlighting picks out the brighter, better lit areas. Washing,
glazing, outlining and blending are all methods of shading.
* Drybrushing is a highlighting method, as is simply accentuating the
high spots with a bit of paint a bit lighter than the base.
* Glazing is done with inks, as can be washing and outlining.
* Outlining is simply picking out the line between two seperate parts
of the miniature (i.e. sleeve and arm) and painting or inking in a
fine line of either black or a darkened shade of the base in order to
bring out the division between the two sections.
* Blending is rather difficult and takes much practice. To blend one
changes the tone of the paint as it crosses the surface of any
non-detailed section, as Mecha armour or unscaled hide. Darker shades
are laid into any depressions and carefully thinned and blended into
the surrounding areas using a damp brush. (This is NOT a technique
for beginners. The author still can't shade and finds nothing at all
wrong with not shading miniatures at all. Again, try it and see if
you want to practice the technique or not. Another personal-choice
situation.)
A. How do I wash?
Washing comes before drybrushing. Take a shade darker than your
base color and dilute it until it's about the consistency of milk.
Now, brush it across, gently. It'll flow into folds and
crevasses. Makes cloth look real good. Remember, you can always
add wash, so start light and work your way up. Don't be afraid to
wash, then darken and wash again, until you've reached the effect
you like. Wash yellows with yellow-orange or yellow-brown, flesh
with light brown, white with bluish-white or gray. Experiment,
only you can set your style.
a. Why do my washes dry badly?
It seems that once in a while, even though the inks and
washes have been mixed properly, they end up drying, not
in the low spots like they should, but on the high contours.
It has something to do with the density of the wash and
the slickness of the surface; on matte surface the effect
is more prominent than on glossy surfaces. It happens
because a pool of wash in a recess starts to dry from the
edges, then the rest of the paint in the wash adheres to
the already dry paint, producing a ring of paint around the
recess. There are two methods that can help solve the
problem:
1) Use small amounts of wash, allowing each to dry
before applying the next. Blow gently on the wash
after applying, from the top, to keep the pools
in the recesses where they belong. If the wash is
thin enough, it'll dry with a minimum of blowing.
2) Mix a new wash, thicker. It might work better, being
thick enough to keep from creeping, or maybe with
just little different density.
B. How do I drybrush?
First off, drybrushing is most effective when used with a colour
a shade or two lighter than the base. White drybrushed over
black primer also makes for a very good painting base. It also
looks good as a stand-alone colour scheme on some figures.
Take your desired colour and an old brush, as drybrushing wears
brushes out and tears them up (the author has had good succees in
using cheap watercolour brushes for large drybrushing projects
with acrylic paints, but for smaller areas a better-quality brush
is still necessary). Dip it into the paint until the tip is
saturated, then blot on a paper towel until no paint can be seen
on a dark brush, or a light one looks pretty clean.
Take the brush and gently draw it along the raised parts you want
highlighted. A little paint will stay on the highest edges and
give great depth.
Many painters like to highlight in stages, lightening the shade a
little with each level. This can be either overkill and a pain or
an excellent technique for brightening and preserving detail.
Practice yourself and decide.
C. How do I highlight?
Drybrushing is the best method of highlighting any large area or
area with repetetive detail, such as armour. For faces, hands,
buckles and the like, highlighting can be achieved by taking a
slightly lighter shade of the base (mixed with white or a lighter
tone) and going along the raised areas lightly. A fine brushpoint
is required, as is a steady hand. For faces highlight the chin,
nose, and cheeks. For hands go along the backs and each finger.
For other detail, pick the spots that should show up best and
give them the lightest highlights. It's common to highlight
twice, each time getting lighter in tone and finer in line.
A bit of blending is required to keep things looking natural, but
this blending is easier than the large-surface technique. Simply
keep a damp brush handy and brush very lightly toward the darker
areas.
Again, this technique takes practice, but is worth the effort when
the miniature is completed.
D. What are inks, should I use them, and if so, how?
Inks are just that, semi-transparent tones that can be used to add
colour and shading to a miniature. If you wish to go beyond the
range of paints, you might wish to try working with them.
Unless using for outlining, inks should always be thinned
slightly for glazing and rather a lot for washing. A milk-like
consistency is best for washing (or even thinner, since you can
always wash again if more is needed) and about 50-50 ink and water
is best for glazing.
If you do not get the specially formulated for miniatures inks
(the only brand known to the author is Citadel, and they're very
good), then the best information available comes from
whutchis@bucknell.edu (wade hutchison), as posted to
rec.games.miniatures and is edited and used here without permission:
"A tip about Inks. If you go to the art supply store to buy
your inks, be sure and get _pigmented_ inks, not transparent
ones. Pigmented inks, especially brown, work much better for
a wash than the transparent ones. Red and blue don't seem to
matter as much. For shading white, there is a really good ink
color called "Payne's Grey" whick is a kind of blue-grey. It
does a much better job than black when washing white or very
light tans and greys."
Recommended also have been Windsor & Newton inks.
Inks are best used as washes, for outlining, and as glazes.
When washing with inks on a matt surface (or on any other,
actually), a gentle blowing of air from the top to the bottom
of the miniature helps keep the ink from drying back up into the
raised areas. The author usually blows lightly until the wash
stops looking slick-wet.
* Glazing is done with inks. In this technique, a slightly darker
tone than the base is thinned and then brushed over the entire
surface and allowed to dry. Glazing brings out a richness of
colour not possible with paint alone. Glazing should be done
after highlighting and shading and tends to bring up detail of
these well.
E. What colours should I use for detail work?
Here's a standard chart on what looks good together (remember,
nothing is absolute. Try new blends and develop your own
preferences):
Base colour Highlight Shade
----------- --------- -----
White (none) Gray or blue-gray
Light gray White Dark Gray
Dark gray Light gray Black
Red Red-orange Red brown
Red brown Orange-brown Dark brown
Dark brown Light brown Black
Pink Pink+white Red
Human flesh Flesh+white or tan Red brown
Tan Orange+yellow+white Brown+orange
Black Black+green or blue (none)
Light blue Light blue+white Medium blue
Medium blue Medium blue+white Dark Blue
Dark blue Medium blue Dark blue+black
Purple Purple+white Purple+dark blue or black
Bright green Green+yellow+white Medium green or dark green
Medium green Green+yellow+white Dark green
Dark green Medium green Dark green+black
Yellow Yellow+white Yellow+brown
Orange Orange+yellow Orange+red-brown or red
Gold Gold+silver+yellow Orange-brown
Silver (none) Black+blue
Brass or copper base colour+gold base colour+black
NOTE: colour+colour means two or more colours mixed, colour-colour
means either a commercial shade of that name or colours mixed.
5. What should I use for bases?
This depends entirely on what you're using the miniature for. If
it's a display model, then you can get fancy. If it's for military
gaming, you'll want a durable, realistic look. If it's for fantasy
play you'll want durability and likely not too much fuss. Standard
materials for bases are: the plastic slottabases many companies both
supply with their products and sell seperately, pennies or flat
washers, cardboard (not recommended - bends too easily), tiles, wood,
sheet metal, matt board (available at art supply stores), and magnetic
strips (often bonded to one of the above materials). Someone also has
claimed to make his own bases out of hot glue.
The general rule, of course, is the more use the miniature gets, the
stronger the base material should be.
A. What's the best stuff to cover bases with?
Again, a matter of how natural-looking and/or durable you want
the base to be. For foilage, the hands-down favourite material
is the model railroader's groundcovering. Woodland Scenics has
an excellent selection and it's inexpensive (particularly when
you figure that the small bags of the stuff can do 100 miniature
bases or more). Verlinden is another recommended brand. A
product called Basetex, from Colour Party Paints, comes in various
colours and is available in the UK.
Other materials that can be used are sand, sifted clay cat litter
(not the scoopable stuff), aquarium bottom material, or sawdust.
First, paint the base a neutral-type or natural colour. When it
dries, take an old brush (or a cheap watercolour brush) and paint
a 50/50 mix of white glue and water over the surface you want to
cover. Painting the glue on gives more precise coverage than
simply squirting it on. The base covering material may be applied
either by having it in a tray about 1/4" deep and dipping the
glue-covered bases into it or by shaking a spoonful over the wet
glue. Give it an hour or so to dry and shake the miniature over
the container holding the rest of the base covering. If needed,
just dab the bare spots with a little more glue and reapply the
covering. Mix different colours or drybrush for an irregular
look, if wanted.
Apply details, like rocks and the like (also available from model
railroad suppliers) by dipping into the glue and setting in place
with tweezers.
6. How do I strip paint?
There are a lot of products that will remove paint. Most are caustic.
The author recommends a non-caustic product. Pine oil cleaner will
remove any type of paint (acrylic, oil-based, Rust-O-Leum, fingernail
polish, etc.) from miniatures with no loss of detail, no caustic
residue, and no hazardous fumes. It's safe for both metal and plastic
miniatures and will not dissolve the glue holding parts together.
Pine-Sol is the best brand, as it's 19.9% pine oil, but any percentage
over 5% pine oil will strip paint (it just requires a longer soak in
the less-powerful cleaners). It also works on paint that's been on
for several years (the author successfully removed 10-year old Testors
from a metal miniature with a 2-day Pine-Sol soak).
Simply place the miniature in a container which will allow full
coverage, pour in enough pine oil cleaner to cover, and let it soak
for 24 hours or more. The longer the soak, the better the stripping
(the author has soaked metal miniatures for over a week with no damage
resulting). If you're doing multiple miniatures, it's best to soak
them seperately, if possible. Once the paint starts to dissolve, it
causes a sliminess that can get on the others.
After the soaking, take an old toothbrush (dry) and scrub. The finest
details are kept, the paint comes off easily, and the smell doesn't
try and knock you out. If some paint remains stubborn, another soak
will do the trick. (The tip of a toothpick is also good for crevasse-
cleaning as are standard pipecleaners.)
For the sake of argument, the author is including other substances that
posters have mentioned using:
Brake fluid (requires much scrubbing and gloves)
Acetone/nail polish remover (NEVER on plastic! Not recommended.)
5% Methylene Chloride based paint remover (soak 12+ hours)
DioSol (2 applications and much scrubbing)
Sodium Hydroxide (drain cleaner)
Kuzit (*very* caustic - eats rubber gloves)
Honestly, your best bet is the pine oil cleaner.
7. What kind of miniatures should I start with?
25mm is easier to detail than 12mm or 6mm, some miniatures are less or
more detailed than others. Again, this is much a matter of personal
preference and what you want the miniatures for. Look over as much
as you can before selecting starter miniatures, unless you have your
heart set on something. Just don't pick something so fussy or detailed
that you'll get frustrated with your new hobby on your first project.
Also, refrain from doing that `special' one until you've had a little
practice.
Some offerings of types are:
Games Workshop: tend to have large areas and broad features, and
are recommended `beginner' pieces if you can't find something
better. Once you have the feel of painting, can be masterpieces.
Metal Magic: again, heavier features, thus good for the novice.
Mithril: pre-primered and a little above 25mm, broad detail
Ral Partha: tend to have sharp detail, good once you have the basics
down.
Grenadier: detail can be hard to follow, but that can be a plus.
Various military miniatures: varies greatly, use your own judgement.
A. Metal or plastic?
Opinion varies. Some favour plastic because it's cheaper, some
prefer metal for better detail. Choose according to your own
budget and preferences.
a. My miniature came in multiple parts, now what?
Get the smallest file you can find, a pair of scissors, and
some glue. If it's a plastic miniature, you can use model
cement or super glue, if it's metal use Zap-A-Gap or super
glue. On plastic, first clip in as close as possible with
scissors then file. On metal, carefully file the edges.
The goal is to get the pieces to fit together as closely as
possible. Once they do, clean them with soap and water to
remove all shavings, dry, and glue. Hold for about twice as
long as is recommended for the glue to set. The innovative
miniaturist can come up with a great many ways to clamp,
fasten, or hold parts together until everything's dry.
(Regretfully, the author has forgotten who posted this
tip [likely it was Tom Harris], but it's excellent:
"A little note, if you're working with super glue keep
a wet teabag handy. If you spill super glue on your
hands wipe it on the teabag and the teabag will absorb
it - teabags are highly absorbant of chemicals. It works
great for me and I don't end up with shells on the ends
of my fingers of dried super glue.")
Once the glue has dried, take an X-acto blade or razor blade
and carefully clean off the excess glue, if any. A file or
emery board will also do the trick.
You'll have to wash the miniature again before primering, to
remove hand oils and glue remains.
After you've gotten the basics of gluing your miniatures,
the best stuff you can use is epoxy. It's permanent, filable,
and works exceptionally well on miniatures that will get a
lot of handling.
8. What is kitbashing?
Kitbashing is the colloquialism used by miniaturists to describe the
process by which a miniature is converted from its original form to
another permutation, such as taking a fantasy miniature and making
it into a figure for superhero roleplaying, or changing gender.
A. How do I convert miniatures?
It's an acquired skill. To convert a miniature requires a lot of
imagination, steady hands, patience, and a few out-of-the-ordinary
tools. Costumes have to be obliterated, faces changed, weapons
removed or added or changed. In all honesty, the processes
involved are more numerous than can be addressed in this FAQ.
Therefore, only the most common modifications will be addressed.
Tools: To properly modify a miniature, you're going to need:
files (round, triangular, square, flat), the smaller the better
X-acto knife and several replacement blades
glue, preferably Zap-A-Gap, possibly epoxy
nail scissors or tiny wire cutters
needle-nose pliers, the smaller the better
sandpaper and/or emery boards
a hacksaw
any new pieces you want to add (weapons, etc.)
* The most common modification is to change one weapon for another.
For purposes of explaination, a fantasy figure will be used, the
change being from sword to battleaxe, assuming the sword had been
molded as one with the hand. First, clip or cut the sword off on
either side of the hand, being very careful not to damage the hand.
The new piece may be one cut from another miniature, or one
acquired from a weapons pack. If it is the latter, you will need
to measure it against the hand and cut out part of the handle to
compensate. The next step is to make holes in either side of the
hand where the handle enters in order to insert the new parts.
An X-acto blade or file may be used. A pin drill would come in
handy about now.
Once the holes are made, a drop of glue is placed in each one, then
the handles are carefully set in place. The glue should show, as
the extra is needed to keep the parts in place. Hold until set,
possibly reinforce with a little tape, a brace, or some sort of
clamping arrangement, and let set. After the glue is thorughly
dry, a file or emery board can be used to clean up the excess,
Avoid using a knife or razor blade, as you're likely to take off
too much glue and the weapon will simply fall off again.
* Another common modification is to make a miniature suitable for
superhero use. The easiest way to do this is to file and sand
the clothing smooth with the rest of the body, then paint on the
costume of your choice.
B. What kind of glue should I use?
The common miniaturists glue is Zap-A-Gap, available at nearly all
stores which sell paints. It's thick, holds well on both metal
and plastic, and fills gaps and cracks. Super glue is often used
to join pieces; it dries brittle and a good drop might snap the
connection. Its redeeming feature is speed of bonding. Epoxy is
excellent for permanent bonding and building up areas when
modifying. The bonds it makes don't break when jarred, and almost
nothing will remove it once it has set (the author has never heard
of set epoxy being removed, but refuses to use absolutes and be
later proven wrong). Epoxy also comes in different formulas for
different materials. Duco cement is a good all-purpose bonding
agent. White glue, such as Elmer's or Aleen's Tacky, is good for
adhering paper and groundcovering to plastic and metal surfaces.
White glue does fatigue, however, so if it is used, a sealing agent
overall will help keep your pieces together.
For building up areas and the like, nothing beats ribbon epoxy.
9. How can I paint details?
Finest brush you can get, a steady hand, lots of patience, and good
lighting. Fine detailing includes (but is by no means restricted to)
faces, eyes, jewelry, shield devices and banners, small clothing
details, weapon decoration, insignia, and armour detail. For many of
these, some of the highlighting/washing/drybrushing tips above apply,
for others a whole new range of techniques are necessary.
A. How do I paint eyes?
Depending on the size of the miniature, there are a couple of
good methods. On a 15mm or smaller miniature, don't try too hard
for absolute detail until you've gotten a lot of practice in.
On 25mm and larger, though, eyes can be done rather easily.
Below are the three primary methods:
* Before painting the face, paint the eyes white. When that's dry,
dot them black. Then paint a slightly darker shade than you're
going to use for the rest of the face around the eyes to define
them (mix a touch of brown or tan into the flesh tone for this).
Then paint the rest of the face.
* [This method is courtesy of s921959@yallara.cs.rmit.OZ.AU
(Andrew Cameron Willshire)]: "Another easy way is to paint the
white of the eye with a brush. Let it dry. Then, take a tech
pen (architectural or engineering) and draw the iris. With another
tech pen, dot in the pupil. Note that this requires a few
different pens since you'll want a few different colours - say
black, blue, brown and maybe green.
"This is a really easy technique, and since the ink is water based
if you muck up you can just rinse it off (this is assuming you use
enamels for the rest of the figure, like I do)." [Author's note:
even if you use acrylics, if the white is already dry you can still
blot the ink off with a damp Q-tip or the tip of a damp, fine
brush.] "It also works great on monsters, say orcs. However,
they tend to look better with `reds' instead of `whites' in their
eyes, then having a white iris and black pupil - very nasty
looking! Tech pens may be a little pricey to pick up, but you can
easily find sets with a few in them that are reasonably cheap.
They also work magnificently for such things as flag details,
shield heraldry and so forth." [More from the author: He's right,
tech pens are expensive. However the work a painter uses them for
doesn't require the fine tip a drafter does, so it's quite possible
to pick up individual pens or ones with semi-worn tips without
paying an arm and a leg. And the benefits of having this tool are
well worth the search!]
* [This method is given by aew@spitfire.unh.edu (Allan Wright)
and has been edited]: "I paint eyes on 25mm (and 15mm officers,
standard bearers, etc) with a technique taught to me by a friend.
1. Fill the eye socket with white. I use an OOO brush, one stroke
horizontally across each socket. Be sloppy, it's OK.
2. Paint the middle of the eye, Black, Dark brown or Dark blue.
Paint a vertical stripe down the center of the eye - taking up
the middle third of the eye socket - don't worry about going over
the top/bottom edges. Again I use an OOO brush. In both let the
brush 'fan out'
3. Eyebrow - paint with hair color of your choice. Paint the
eyebrow on the ridge above the eye socket in a slight crescent
shape, cover the white and black from 1 & 2.
4. Under eye: use tan or slightly darkened skin color (under the
eye is usually darker or shadowed). Cover the white and black
from 1 & 2 with a slightly crescent stroke."
B. How do I paint faces?
Start with the eyes. Then do the face in whatever shade you
choose. Now add a touch of white to the flesh tone to get a
slightly lighter shade and go back over the nose and cheekbones.
A light orange makes defined but natural-looking lips. Remember,
red lips are a product of makeup, not nature.
Moustaches are best if dry-brushed, paint beards a slightly redder
or darker shade than the hair and dry brush with the same colour
you use on the hair. There's nothing wrong with a 5-o'clock
shadow on an appropriate figure, either. Dry-brush it on in a
shade slightly darker than the hair. Once you get comfortable
with faces, experiment with scars or tattoos. You might amaze
yourself.
C. How do I paint insignia?
Two good methods have been presented in rec.games.miniatures. The
first comes from lanes@spot.Colorado.EDU (LANE STEVEN LOREN), and
is used without permission:
* "Well, on top of getting the smallest brushes available, you can
always cut them down to an even smaller size. I have several
brushes that have only a few hairs on them. These are very useful
brushes. I would also recommend for the very fine detail to set
the object up so you can use both hands to hold the paint brush
as still as possible."
And was followed up by TUK865@maccvm.corp.mot.com (Steve Gill):
* "Another useful tool is a 0.13 mm spirograph ink pen, a couple
of splodges of colour in the right place and you can pretty it up
with the pen. I used this technique for 6mm heraldry."
Yet another use for tech pens. They are also very good for shield
devices and clothing patterning.
D. How do I paint armour?
Some suggest not priming the miniature, then washing or drybrushing
(or both) the bare metal, but this looks sloppy and unfinished.
Besides, not much armour looks like lead, and lead certainly
doesn't make good armour (nor do any of the alloys of which
miniatures are cast).
Paint the armour a base-metal colour, usually silver or one of the
like tones, and let it dry. Don't be afraid to use bronze, or gild
it, though. Then take a black wash (ink is excellent for this) and
go over it carefully. Let that dry, then take either your original
colour or a lighter shade and drybrush. Remember to use a seperate
water/thinner for the brush you're working the metallics with, so
as to not get flecks in the other colours.
E. What other detailing can I do?
Get in the light and give your miniature a good look-over.
Usually a dot of paint or careful drybrushing will bring out the
final details. Certain specialized questions have been asked, the
answers to which are given below:
* Does anyone have a decent method for painting torches?
This answer came from edd440u@nella02.cc.monash.edu.au
(D.R. Splatt):
"The best I've personally seen was to paint the flames red at the
base, orange for highlights, yellow for the bulk of the flame and
a light drybrush of white (or black for a smoky flame). Try to
get the flames predominately yellow, eg:
| <--------- White
| |
| | <--------- Yellow
| ._| |
| | |<-|--------- Orange
\_(o)_/
!------------- Red
Also a 'ragged' orange layer looks good."
* From: reuber@hydra.rose.brandeis.edu (Kent Reuber)
"People doing micro-armor have been using this sort of thing to
simulate burning tanks for quite a while. Paint the torch itself
black. Then tear off a small bit of cotton, paint the upper part
grey-black and the lower part red-orange. Glue this bit of cotton
onto the torch."
10. What is an overcoat and should I use one?
An overcoat is a coat of clear paint that protects those colours you
so carefully put onto your miniature. Even an unhandled figure will
begin to dull after awhile, and one in regular use will lose its paint
even faster from hand and carrying case friction. So you should put
a protective coat over the miniature to make sure the paint remains
unmarred.
Overcoats come in three (possibly four) types: gloss, matte, flat, and
lusterless. Though four types are named, one company's matte is
another's flat, flat and lusterless are often interchanged, and matte
occasionally is labeled semi-gloss. When in doubt, ask.
Overcoats also come in two different applications, brush-on and spray.
Spray is easier to use when you want a uniform coating, brush-on is
good for when you only want certain parts covered. Spraying overcoat
on a miniature is much like spraying primer, though 3-5 coats is
recommended for maximum protection. Remember to begin and end the
spray beyond the miniature in order to get the cleanest application.
Gloss is just that, shiny. It is most usually used on cars and other
items that should shine.
Semi-gloss (satin, sometimes called matte) is low-luster, and very
durable on a figure that will be getting a lot of handling.
Unfortunately, it tends to look artificial on humans and some animals.
It's excellent on scales, however, and hard leather.
Flat (also sometimes matte) is nearly without shine. It's a good
all-around people coating, exceptional on animals, where it simulates
fur's natural shine.
Lusterless is absolutely flat, it doesn't even look like it's there.
It's perfect for people and cloth and anything else that should have
no shine whatsoever. Several coats can be applied and it never shows.
A good method of overcoating a realistic-looking human/humanoid is to
use a spray lusterless overcoat and put on 3-5 coats, then after the
last coat is dry, use a brush-on matte or gloss to go back over all
metallics, jewelry, eyes, lips, and anything else that should have a
shine to it. This is the author's favourite method.
Companies making overcoats are: Testors (flat & gloss), Ral Partha
(semi-gloss/matte), Armory (armor coat in brush-on only: flat, satin
<matte>, gloss), Floquil/Polly S (brush-on only: gloss, flat), Model
Master (semi-gloss, flat, lusterless <recommended>), Pactra (brush-on
only: flat, gloss), Citadel (matte). There are, of course, many more.
11. How do I keep paint from drying out?
Shake or stir them often, put plastic wrap between the cap and bottle
on paints that come in glass jars. Acrylics reconstitute fairly well
with the addition of water and a good stirring. Oil-based do same
with thinner. Try and keep your paints in a place where temperature
remains fairly stable.
12. How do I use an airbrush for miniatures?
The best paints for airbrushing are Accuflex and Humbrol, with Polly S
and Testors each selling an airbrush thinner for their paints.
That's the bulk of what the author knows on the subject.
Some excellent information was posted to rec.games.miniatures by
miket@netcom.com (Mike N. Tassano), however, much in regard to advising
a novice airbrush painter, and is reproduced here without permission
and with minor editing:
"I've done a lot of airbrush as well as regular airgun painting, so
maybe I can get you pointed in the right direction.
"There is a relationship between the airpressure used and the rate at
which the thinner evaporates. Ideally, the carrier or thinner is still
liquid when the paint strikes the surface to be coated, but not so
liquid it runs off. Inks have a really slow thinner, relatively, but
since you're doing a wash, you don't care if it's really wet on
contact. The idea is to puddle ink in the low spots anyway.
"The primers usually have a fast thinner, allowing a good coating
without running. Spray cans _usually_ are balanced between pressure
and range and thinner and particle size.
"Second, the pressure in the air-cans varies wildly as you use it up.
And as the temperature changes. (So does the moisture content from
condensation caused by cold air) Even the best airbrush will behave
in a cranky way with canned air.
"Third, the type of paint or ink used may not be too friendly to
airbrushing. Particle size needs to be pretty consistent for spraying.
A lot more consistent than brushing requires. If you intend to stay
with airbrush priming, I can offer some possible helps:
"1. If you can ONLY use canned air, shoot for shorter sessions. Let
the can warm back up a little more.
"2. Try an alternate air source, a compressor or an innertube filled
at a service station. You want as little pressure difference between
your air source and the spraying pressure as you can manage.
"3. Use a primer designed for spraying. There are some hobbyist
brands around that might be available where you are.
"4. Practice, practice, practice!"
And a word about priming, thinning and cleaning from
esharpe@hsc.usc.edu (Ed Sharpe), which is also edited and used without
permission:
"After carefully cleaning, washing and drying the fugures, I prime
them with Testor's flat white mixed 50/50 with airbrush thinner by
Testors. I apply the paint using an air brush. It usally takes 2
to 4 coats. Take your time and do not rush any of the steps. I use
the Testor's air brush thinner only to thin the paint. I use general
paint thinner from the hardware store to clean my air brush."
13. How/where do I get miniatures?
Game stores are, naturally, the best choice. Some comic and hobby
shops deal in miniatures, so ask around. And a lot of companies do
mail-order for those who live bereft of their product sold locally.
The yellow pages is where to start, after that you get the feel of
where to look.
A. Is there a list of companies?
Thanks to immense assistance from many, many readers of and
posters to rec.games.miniatures, there is. It is kept by
Keith Lucas (sillywiz@dcs.warwick.ac.uk) and is posted
periodically to rec.games.miniatures. It is also, presumably,
available from him by email request. The author of this FAQ
also keeps a copy and would be glad to send it out to anyone
who wants it.
--
___
/ \ tierna@glia.biostr.washington.edu
\___/ tierna@agora.rain.com
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