I have a bunch of HO figures (Preiser) which I am painting. I have a good flesh tone for cuacasian but would like to have some figures on the layout that have other skin colors. Can anyone give me any advice on paints to use for other skin colors?
Thanks
wdcrvr
I would start with flesh-colored paint, and then add a bit of darker tints to it. Go to a craft store and look at the selection. Some tan colors would probably work by themselves. I’d pick up some olive green and mustard yellow and try those, too.
I sometime “weather” my figures. Give them a spray of Dull Coat first, to give “tooth” to the surface. Then you can use weathering powders. I find that a bit of rust or black powder is a good way to darken the complexion. After another spray of Dull-Coat to seal the powder, you can apply an India Ink wash to enhance the definition of the details. This works well for pre-painted figures, too.
Another moot point. Some caucasions are pale, others are darker.
Some blacks are almost vanilla, others are of the deepest, richest chocolate.
Some are flushed, some are turning blue.
Some have red skin, some have yellow skin. Some almost look blue.
If you are from Mars, you are probably Green.
If you are a smurff you are probably bright blue.
Besides, how much skin can you see anyway. Only hands and faces are visible unless you are modelling Riis Beach.
What LION is saying is that you do not need to be all that accurate with your skin colors.
ROAR
I’d have to disagree. Of course, I believe in lots of color and texture variations on everything on my layout. I’ve got 3 or 4 cans of gray spray paint, and half a dozen containers of gray acrylics, all slightly different.
These figures are all from one Preiser set, right out of the box. I really like the contrast in skin tones and even posture between them.
I’m with Mr. B here, Get some cheap craft paints and mix your own. I’d suggest starting with some Antique White (for us old white folks [;)]) then adding drops of Raw Umber (somewhat reddish) and Burnt Umber (more dark brownish) to mix up a diversity of colors to represent the variety found in society.
If you have a group of figures, start with painting those who you want to be the pale-looking folks first. Then add a drop or two of one of the darker colors, paint the next set of slightly darker-skinned people, keep repeating as you steadily mix the paint color darker.
Another option if you’ll be doing lots of figures over a longer period of time is to simply get several bottles of the base mix (Antique White or whatever), open them all, then add a couple of drops of the darker colors to the first one, more to the second, and more to each of however many different shades of skin color you’re going for. Shake/mix well, then all you need to do is uncap the appropriate color for each figure when you’re ready to paint.
My only suggestion is to keep all colours in a flat finish - nothing says plastic model like reflective hair.
Well, the OP did not specify that he is NOT modeling a late 1970s dance club now, did he now?
Maybe, contrary to what they said when I was a kid, on his layout “the wet head is NOT dead”
Anyway, light primer → skin → layer base colors → details (watches, chains, belts, etc) → dark wash → flat finish, like everyone else said.
I believe you are on the correct path here. For one thing I model an historical short line set in the South and have either painted from scratch, or changed the skin color, of a number of my HO “people” to represent African Americans.
Although those who question how much is noticed, in terms of HO figures’ skin tones, if you have several different tones available in your paint set, it never hurts to follow the “real world” and add variety.
In general I always look to the military modellers’ world for my flesh tones.
I also find that the usual flesh colors provided are too pale. The most accurate Caucasian flesh color that I know of is supplied by Humbrol via Airfix USA. Citadel Flayed One Flesh from Games Workshop is another good choice, along with several shades from their so-called “Layer” line. Model Master had a flesh “system” using a base color plus tints but that is apparently no longer available now that Testors has so surprisingly exited the model paint business. Curiously, I’m not impressed with the skin tones offered by Vallejos.
Hope this helps.