I have noticed a great difference in the price of unpainted vspre-painted figures. The plastic ones by Prieser look good and they have a good selection. But, how do you paint them? I have an idea myself.
I would first clean them in my ultrasonic cleaner using soap and water. Then, perhaps a rinse in 100% isopropyl alcohol to remove any soap residue. Then a base coat of flesh (or???) color airbrushed on the entire figure. The rest must be hand painted by a steady hand directed by good vision. Neither of which I have any more. But then there is the grandchildren.[8)]
I personally think that the painted figures are a good deal. For the time it would take for me to paint all the figures to the same quality they come pre-painted, I am more than willing to spend the extra cash. They are only a little more that a dollar a piece for the Preiser seated passengers that are already painted. Of course some people may enjoy this, so you can’t take that away.
I have a few of the Preiser figures that DW has started work on painting. For those of us on a budget, the unpainted ones are the way to go. As long as you have an assistant with good eyes and steady hands, like DW or your grandchildren!! [:D]
Here are some thoughts that I copied down from a couple of other posts on the subject. These aren’t my words or my ideas, but maybe you’ll get some ideas. I copied them for possible future use.
Regards
Ed
"[i]The best way to paint figures is to study how the military miniature painters, and especially the wargamers, paint theirs. Wargamers are used to painting 20-50 figures a week to build armies of a thousand or more figures each, and they can all pretty much paint the pants off any model railroader in this area.
I used to be heavily into wargaming, mostly for the painting and assembling armies aspect of the hobby. I’ve painted well over 10,000 miniature figures and 30,000 vehicles and aircraft over the years, both for myself and others. I’ve won a few awards at GenCon and other regional wargaming conventions for my efforts, so I feel confident in the painting advice I’m about to give you:
Only use flat, water-based paints. Generally, the cheaper the better. The cheap plastic bottle craft paints by Apple Barrel, Delta Creamcote, and other manufacturers are the de-facto standard figure paint these days, at least for anything smaller than 58mm (about G scale). I used to use Polly S until they changed their paint formula. Once I switched, my end results got better and my wallet stopped screaming every time I plunked down $3 for a 1/2 oz bottle of paint. Generally, figure painters use grey or white flat spray paint to primer the figures. Floquil is the hands-down favorite.
Assemble a painting tool kit. You’ll need a pallette or two, QUALITY brushes (sable or camel hair only) in several sizes (gen
Wow your going through a lot of work for painted figures. I have done unpainted figures by Prieser, and Atlas. All I have done was filled the bathroom sink with luke warm water, After that I add mild soap and take a cheap toothbrush and lightl scrub on the figures making sure I get in all the nooks and crannies. Rinse them and I have paper towel on the sink and dab till they are dry. After they dry I hook up the airbrush and spray the flesh color let that dry for a day and then paint with magnifying glasses and I believe 0/0 and 0/1 paint brushes.
I dont use any chemicals like rubbing alcohol or anything on that line cause you dont know what it might due to the plastic.
The fun part in it is making the Prieser Adam and Eve unpainted figures anatomically correct and if your getting them to paint your own outfits you have to remove something on the men lol.
I will admit that I have been tempted to buy unpainted figures. I have seen deals such as a hundred or so figures for around 30 bucks!! Once I get the layout started I am sure I will change my mind on buying pre-painted figures exclusively.
Yes, the grandchildren for sure! My oldest granddaughter painted a bunch of N scale figures for me when she was about 9 y.o. It amazed me how she could hold them up in front of her and even paint the details of their clothes like ties on the men and trim on the ladies’ clothes. I couldn’t get them as neat as she did even with a 2.5X Optivisor, never mind her steady hands vs. my shaky ones. She even painted different skin tones to represent suntans and different ethnic groups.
I basically just paint them right out of the box and I’ve never had any problems. They’re great for if you need lots of figures for crowds like at an event or on the platform at a trainstation. Plus at 30 bucks for 120 figures they’re a pretty good deal.
Ed has posted an excellent list! I went through it to make sure this was in it: dullcote those figures!
That’s by far the #1 complaint I hear about the layouts in the magazines, all the shiney people.
That and the lack of figures in scenes.
The last time I painted figures I didn’t have enough variety of colors. Ed’s list (and maybe others) listed this also…start with a wide selection of colors and shades. The problem I had (this was in the teen years) was pretty soon everyone had the same blue jeans and red or white shirts…of course I didn’t grow up near a LHS with a well stocked paint section.
There’s no getting around that it’s a tedious job. It’s enjoyable for some, but as one other poster above noted…after working on a few figures, some folks find the pre-painted option isn’t so bad either.
At last count I had about 100 plasticville people on the layout. If anything I’ll wash them with dish soap. I paint several at a time using the same color on several different pieces. I use acrylic paint and mix together different colors for varity. The flat paints work best. Do yourself a favor and get a decent brush. I don’t paint facial features, just clothes. Some I modify by clipping off a bucket or milk carrier. I also cut some at the waist and put them in the converitables! I just go slow and easy. The way I look at it the journey should be as enjoyable as the destination.
Ugh - did the painter in that web site paint faces on the figures! That’s a major No-No. Actually, those figures look bad…
Now, the info egmurphy compiled about painting military figures (and hence model RR figures) I think is spot on - summarized the steps I have seen in many an article about figure painting (which is a perinnal favorite in magazines and on websites):
1.) Step 1 (see below)
2.) Prime the figures with light color primer
3.) Paint the figures using cheap acrylics of your liking, usually
a.) Flesh
b.) Inner Garments
c.) Outer garments
d.) Details such as watches/ties/braclets/hair clips etc
4.) No facial painting - instead use a wash to accent the molded facial/hand details
5.) Dark wash for the rest of the clothing/shoes to accentuate the molded details
6.) Very important - dull coat final overspray - no more shiny happy people!
While this might seem a lot of steps, in reality each is pretty simple, and goes rather quickly - you can paint a handful of people in a night or so (I usually do 6-10 at a time).
Now, step 1 (not mentioned in the previous posts) in my opinion is the most important, but the most PITA, one: remove all flash and mold lines
Some great info in the posts above. For painting miniatures, one of the best resources is the vast knowledge of those painting fantasy and wargame miniatures. These typically are in 25 - 35 mm size (larger than HO), but there are some spectacular artists out there. Check out: http://www.coolminiornot.com/ There are also a great many paints available specifically for painting miniatures. Games Workshop is probably the most popular, but I use Reaper paints for mine. Both companies have a variety of flesh tones available. The basic techniques are pretty familiar if you have been painting a lot of buildings and rolling stock: Base coat, wash, then drybrush for a quick but decent looking miniature. You could do two levels of drybrushing with two slightly lighter shades of paint than the base coat. I use what I call a dry blending technique. After the wash (if you use one), paint a thin line of a slightly lighter color than the base coat, then immediately blend it using a second dry brush with no paint on it. It’s similar to dry brushing, but it allows better control of the paint, and blends a little better. You can do several layers like this to bring out the highlights more. You also want to use paint that is fairly thin. It’s better to use a paint thinning medium (I use acrylics) instead of water because it will thin the consistency without diluting the color. You could also use a paint retarder which will make the paint dry more slowly, again without diluting the color. The artists on that website use a lot of a wet blending technique (that I haven’t mastered) that looks amazing, especially in pictures. But I wouldn’t worry about blending or really superdetailing the people since they aren’t the centerpiece of your model railroad. But you may want to spend some extra time on figures that are key components to a scene, or you engineers and firemen that are leaning out of a superdetailed locomotive window. Randy
To quote: Ugh - did the painter in that web site paint faces on the figures! That’s a major No-No. Actually, those figures look bad… I agree they look bad if you are wishing to paint figures that are nice to view in your hand. My painting technique is designed to produce figures that photograph well and that look like real people at a normal model railroad viewing distance. There is a big difference between the two. I think the figures that can be seen in the layout photographs on my website prove my point, but I acknowledge that I am highly biased. Just look at almost any photograph in a model rail magazine, especially one that has superb scenic and stock detailing, that has figures in it. Do the figures add to the overall realism or detract from it? If the latter, why? They probably look flat no matter how well they have been painted. Look at real people and they have remarkably strong fine shadows on them. You can see fingers, for instance, at a remarkable distance. Now check the figures I have just mentioned. Can you see their fingers? One small missing item amongst many.
I paint to the 3 foot rule for wargaming (anything you can’t see on a figure at 3’ is not worth painting). People who paint faces are fooling themselves if they think it makes the figure better, particularly with anything under 25mm scale. Paint a figure like you are dressing it, from the skin to the coats. There are several schools of painting. One I like if I am doing a bunch (I painted about 5000 American paratroopers in 20mm (1/76) for a game once) is to do a black undercoat over the whole figure (anything you do not paint that you meant to will look like shadow) with a cheap flat black spraypaint. Then I drybrush the whole thing lightly with white, leaving the major hollows and seams in black. Then pick a color and drybrush that over the area I want to paint, making sure at least the white is covered but not all the black. If the flesh is done right, you get the hint of facial features without the bugeyes of painting them (Go up 3 stories and see how much facial detail you see on people in the street). Same with each article of clothing. The white helps the colors stand out more, but the black undercoat helps to blend colors into the shadows. I use the cheap acrylics from the local craft store (usually under a buck!) thinned with water. You can buy an amazing range of colors, and they are designed to be mixed to make other colors if you want something else.
I try to work batches under 10 figs at a time after the priming, white, and skin. That way you can rotate through colors without getting burnt out or repeating yourself (I have been painting civilians lately) too much. I put a drop or two of the paint on a small plastic square, add a drop or two of water to thin, mix, and go. It is amazing how good they turn out and how fast you can paint a large group.
Dry brushing refers to putting paint on a brush and then wipping it on a cloth until almost all the paint is gone and then brushing with the almost “dry brush”. What is accomplishes is no running of the paint. You only paint what the tip of the brush hairs actually touch. This is also used to put highlights on rock faces.
To paint figures I use a tooth pic more than a brush.
Sorry guys but all your methods are wrong. I have found the best method for painting figures. I will now reveal it for no charge. I simply hand them to my wife & I get them back beautifly painted. Works every time.[:)][:)]