Figure painting tutorial of sorts.

Ok some guys on Instagram asked me to explain the process I go through painting figures a little more in-depth. So here's a step by step. I'm still trying to figure out who I can get some video of it, but until then all I've got is stills...

Hope it helps and you can leave any questions in the comments. 

So let's go!

Step 1. First off: the paints and the tools. 

I always use Tamiya acrylics but it should be just about the same process with any other brand of acrylics. Not sure about lacquers to be honest...

Anyway these are the colours I'm using. 

For the tools:

A number 00,  number 0 and a number 1 brush and a toothpick or as in this case a wooden 'sate' skewer 

Step 2. Base paint. 

I use Tamiya grey base paint, no specific reason I always use a base coat. It makes the paints stick better and the grey is nice and neutral. 

Step 3. With the number 1 brush I put on a base colour of a mix of red, orange and pink. It should be a reddish orange and it functions as, well as a base. 

Step 4. Layering
On the base coat I start layering thin coats of the skin tones using the number 0 brush.
Which is basically the Tamiya Flesh tone mixed with the tiny amounts of Flat Red for the redder parts (like the nose, cheeks and around the eyes) and mix in a tiny bit of Medium Grey for the jaw and upper lip to suggest beard stubble. Keep it subtle!

I thin the paints with water. This is a little tricky and might take some trial and error to get right, but I want the paint thin enough to be transparent but it shouldn't be too runny or it will run in all the creases and ruin the detail of the mold... remember if it all goes to shit, just dip the thing in thinner and start over.

Step 5. The white of his eyes!

I think this is the most common way to do eyes at this scale. The trick is basically to put the white on kind of sloppy. Not to worry about going outside the lines and then cleaning it up later. 

Step 6. The pupils. 

For this I use the toothpick. I've seen guy elsewhere on the interwebs use a brush for this and I've tried... but I just can't do it. 

I first put in a dot of brown and then a dot of flat black on top of that. It's just to get a suggestion of some colour happening in there as the scale is too small for actual irises and pupils.

When using the toothpick make sure there's no droplet on the end of it. The wood should be absorbent enough (if that's the right word) to hold enough paint after you take off the excess paint. 

Again the pain will go over the eye-lids here. Don't worry about it, we'll clean that up later. Focus on making the guy look straight... or cross-eyed, however you want them to look. 

Step 7. A face lift.

Now it's time to clean up the eyes. 

With a number 00 brush I carefully touch up the eye lids. It can be hard to see now but you can get pretty close to the eye-ball so to speak. Here again the thinning of the paint is pretty essential. Too dry with make it lumpy, to thin might make it 'flood' the eye. It can be slightly thicker than before but it still needs to flow a little... again: trail and error. No simple trick here (even weather conditions can effect this), sorry. 

I also touched up the guys eyebrows with a mix of dark brown and flesh tone. I find it works better when you keep the eyebrows subtle. You could make the eye-brows heavier then here, but always build the colour up it thin layers so that there's more flesh tone mixed in at the ends... This suggests a thinning out of the hair, so avoiding "the caterpillar effect".

Also done did the lips with a mix of the Flesh and Flat Red. 

Step 8. The hood

No tricks here, just put some paint on the hood and be careful not to get paint on the face.

Step 9. Pin wash.

With all the acrylics done I hit it with a layer of glossy clear coat. And add some pin washes. 

I use oils for this, thinned with odourless terpenoid. For the face (especially around the eyes, in the eye lids,  the nostrils and the mouth eye use a mix of dark crimson and a lighter red I forgot the name 

off sorry and some ochre. And for the edge of the hood and nose holes I mix a little black in there too.

Also did the seams on the hood, and I think that's about it.  

I think the whole process took me about 30 minutes, including drying time.

So I hope this kind of clarifies how I go about it. Any questions, let me know. 

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,

Martijn

New Rally Pawn (Camel sidekick)

As I mentioned in the last post I was going to build a little side kick for the Camel in the shape of a New Rally Pawn (I know I said Luna Pawn, but I meant New Rally Pawn)
Anyway the build is coming along pretty nicely and although I promised myself I wasn't going to do any detailing on it I couldn't resist adding some to the back as it is quite plain and well, frankly boring.

I also mixed up some of the parts. Some sprue are have parts of other versions of this same suit design and I decided to use some of them in this one. The exhaust sticking out of the back of the helmet is not supposed to be there originally. It should be a some grate and with a clear plastic cover but I usually find clear parts a pain in the bollocks, and I like this exhaust thing... so there.

Also put a little tank of some kind on the back and gave him a couple of elbow shield things.

I have to say this isn't my favourite Ma.K design, mainly because the body stops quite high above his pelvis and his ankles are really exposed.... as if his pants are hiked up really high. It looks like Urkel basically.

Anyway...

So then there the figure. I had a choice of a man and a woman's head. I went with the guy because he had better detail.

And here's my process of painting figurines' faces... I thing the steps speak for themselves. If not let me know in the comments and I'll explain further...

Now we can close the suit, add the final details and start painting it.

That's for next time.
Thanks for looking!

MK44 paints

Just like the last time it's been a while since I updated this build so this is going to have quite a lot of pics... I'll keep the reading to a minimum...

Here goes:

The idea of an open cockpit got me thinking about one detail I had kind of ignored before.
I put a strip at the bottom of the front part so that there is a clear barrier between the inside and the outside... It wouldn't make sense to me having this thing be in outer space without the possibility of sealing the cockpit.
I realise it won't be visible and it would have rubber sealing strips of some kind and that this is all just fantasy anyway... but I just didn't like the cockpit to be as 'airy' as it was.

With the build finished it was time for the paints...
With the 'prototype/maintenance I wanted a unconventional paint scheme. And after doing a little test in Photoshop I went for a bright orange with dark grey/blue parts.

Next up decals... which turned out to be a minor nightmare.
I finished up the paints. And started the decals, but they kept tearing and seemed to stick to the model really fast (like right at touch down). I had put down a coat of clear gloss varnish, which usually prevents this from happening but this time something was obviously different.

Anyway, ripping and frustration galore. I would slide the decals on a layer of micro set (or sol... the blue one), but it would just settle really quick and be stuck. Or only partly, which would cause it to rip.

I had done the '3' on the top and wanted to put the big 3s on the hip plates too... but of course the first one ripped.
So I ended up painting them on by hand... a bit weird painting the decals as they come with the kit, but since the first on went on pretty well I had to stick with the 3s

After this was done, the project ground to a hold. The figure needed some arms and I had ordered a kit of 1/20 F1 pit crew figures from Hobby Link Japan but it took a while for them to arrive.

Anyway when they finally did I grafted them on and added some aves to make him look like Frankenstein's monster.
I also modded toe helmet to open up. An idea I admittedly stole from Love Love Garden who put out some AMAZING 1/20 scale figures and add-on parts for MAschinen Krieger kits.

Anyway this is how the figure turned out:

And that's it for now.
I'm still undecided on some added white details to the outside of the machine. Just something to make it a little more special, give some more personality... as soon as I come up with something I'l slap it on and start weathering this guy...

Until then, thanks for looking.

Cheers,
Martijn

Super Jerry

This is my second Ma. K. build and I thought this time I'd do a full WIP. The other build was such a educational journey, I thought it'd be good to log and share my next one... so here goes!

The Gigant Floh/Super Jerry kit by Wave is step up from the Ketzer for me. Bigger, more complex, bigger challenge.

But as with any build it starts with the first step.. assembling and painting the little dude that goes inside.

The guy was made up of arms, legs, torso, head... you know, the usual parts. And then there was also the visor... In this particular set, this thing came out of the mold really bad. It was all wonky and lopsided.

So I decided to give him an upgrade. Some kind of night vision thing... using green stuff, Vallejo filler,  and some little  bits of sprue and other styrene debris.
I also added some detail to his suit and a seat belt.

Building the cockpit to this thing was pretty simple; a chair, glued to a floor with a from panel and back firewall thing attached to it... all after I slapped on a bit of paint of course.

And here's our little friend trying out his new home... never to be seen again after we assemble the rest of the hull.
Bye, mate.