All New To This Area

[Amir S.]

Hi all,

I'm Amir, coming from Israel. Nice to see such a great board.

New to PF, and to figures in general.
I really like to get into figures (I started modeling aircraft subjects & afv and found out about figures),
but got no idea where to start - paints, methods, manufactorers...

Any chance you have some good information about where to start, how to paint, what to buy etc?

I'm interested mainly in 54mm in case it matters.

Thanks

 

[garyjd]

Amir, Welcome to Pf, glad to have you aboard.

In addition to 54mm figures what subject(s) are you interested in? There are some manufactures that sometimes largely cater to af ew periods of history where others cater to several.

Another thing to consider is what painting medium do you wish to use, acrylics or oil paint?

There are also books and several articles in figure magazines that may be of help. I would also look at the articles posted on Planet figure as there are some articles you may find of use.

I'm sure there will be plenty of Pf members that will expand on what I've said in addition to making other suggestions. Again welcome to Planet figure.~Gary

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi Amir

Welcome to the planet....

I will say this, you are in a very good position to start painting figures, as I was 6 years ago, you, like me will be spoilt for choice on what figures to buy and what medium to use. The quality of figures these days is outstanding to say the least.

I too started on AFV’s and I will never look back. As you started in this area I would guess you were using either Humbrol enamels or a similar paint to this or acrylics. If so, then stick to the medium you know, unless you realy want to change.

But following what Gary has already said, don’t be affraid to ask anybody on here questions about the hobby, this is the best place in the world for getting a broard base of information on any subject...

All thats left to say is, look through the mags, pick a figure you like the look of and give it a go, thats the only way to get started, in at the deep end...

Enjoy the hobby and I hope to see some of your work soon

Dave

 

[Jim Patrick]

Welcome to the planet Amir! In here you'll find a treasure chest of information. Gary and Dave both have offered a lot of help already and I'd like to echo the statements. For your first figure, pick your favorite era of history and "go for it". There are a TON of books out there that can all help you but, seeing it from your point of view, they can be a bit overwhelming at first. I'll add that before you buy a certian book, ask the membership here what they think about it. I'm pretty sure that among us, we'll already have the book in question and can tell you exactly what's in it and if it's even worth the money. You'll also need to figure out which paints you prefer. Oils, enamels or acrylics. For a first figure, just go with what your comfortable with. No need to get fancy. All of the membership here can (and will) give you all sorts of advice but the ball's in your court now. You have just got to figure out what you want to do and (like the Nike add) "just do it". You'll find us all very helpful.
One word of caution. Once upon a time, I just wanted to improve my figures for my armor models. Well, I left the armor behind and joined the "Dark Side". :lol: :lol: Just wanted to warn ya, you'll never go back!

Jim Patrick

 

[Amir S.]

Wow, thanks for your great comments!

You were right about the paints - I've been using Humbrol enamels (the only thing available here),
but eShopping is starting to take over, so I'm willing to use whatever gives the best results.
(I'm thinking of moving to acrylics regardless of figures, and since I'm buying stiff from the internet, everything is pretty much in my grasp)

Is there a differnet at the final result between oils \ acrylics ? Is one of them easier than the other?

I'll start searching for books @Amazon...

Btw, I'm mainly interested in modern era military figures, and also world war 2.

One last question - does the figure plastic kits count (good enough for the cause)?
They seem to be very cheap (each box contains several figures), and the new ones supposed to have better details than what used to be in the past...

Thanks again for your support - really makes me want to try out my first figure.

 

[Figure Mad]

Hi Amir

The main diference between Acrylics and oils, is not the finished result, as they both can end up with a very flat matt finish, but its the drying time and the blending methods for them, obviously oils take alot longer if just left to dry (days), but acrylics take between15seconds and a couple of minutes, but you can use a retardent to slow them down to about thirty minutes or so, a little like using enamels.

I seem to think these days the plastic figure kits are getting better and better every time I look at them, but I still think the better figures, are the resin ones, they have a better quality of casting to them, but for me the best are the metal figures, but that’s more a subconcious thing on my part ... :lol:

But at the end of the day the choice is yours....

Dave

 

[PJ Deluhery]

Hi Amir and Welcome,

Another difference between oils and acrylics is the painting method used. Oils allow a "wet on wet" technique (you put a base color down and then work a darker or lighter color right into the wet paint to highlight or shade). Acrylics require many coats of slightly varied shades. There are some here who use Humbrols too, though I've never understood how they do what they do.

I'd suggest that maybe for the first figure or two, stick with the paints you have been using and see what results you get. You can buy a starter kit of acrylics if that is the direction you want to go; or get a few basic oil colors and have a go with those. Andrea (acrylic paints) has a cd on painting figures that is very good.

I'd also highly recommend that you attend any figure shows that you can get to, or find a figure dealer that paints. Your progress will be much faster if you have the chance to see figures "live" and talk to the modelers who made them. I'm not sure what figure shows or dealers there are in Israel, but it's worth a look if you can find them.

Best of Luck to you.

 

[Amir S.]

Thanks for the useful information.

I'm leaning towards acrylics, but will try my Humbrol enamels for the first 1-2 trials.

I think I'll try to paint a couple of figures from a 1/35 plastic kit before I get into the more advanced and pricy metal\resin.
I heard that DML has some nice sets...

Regarding books - I went through Amazon.com, and found 2 books that talked to me:

ART OF PAINTING MINIATURES : Faces and Figures

How to Paint Realistic Military Figures

The first one (ART OF PAINTING MINIATURES : Faces and Figures) looks more serious and helpful.

What do you think?

 

[Jim Patrick]

Amir, as to the first one, in MY opinion, STAY AWAY FROM IT. Don't limit your choices to Amazon. Most of the better titles are found through specific distributers. In other words, are there any model distributers near or around you that you can mail order from?

Jim Patrick

 

[Amir S.]

No serious model distributrers around here - I order mot of my stuff
from the United States or the far east...

I just thought Amazon would be a place with a broad selection - appearently I was wrong...

Got any recommendations?

 

[Dan Morton]

I think I can relate to your problem - no brick and mortar figure shops or 'in country' online figure shops. Same issues in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. I've been exiled to the middle of the Midwest. To be fair to Omaha, it is a nice place to live and there are one or two brick and mortar hobby shops, but none of them carry much in the way of figures.

Anyway - I deal with online shops also and I can give you a "for what it's worth" recommendation of the following. I've done business with all of them and their service is good and prices competitive.

The Red Lancers - http://www.redlancers.com/
The Lost Battalion - http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/tlbminiatures/index.html
Colorado Miniatures - http://www.coloradominiatures.com/index.asp
Michael Roberts - http://www.michael-robertsltd.com/Scripts/default.asp
Squadron - http://www.squadron.com/Index.htm

There are several more that I would not recommend for varying reasons. One of my particularly sore pitns is online retailers that list items on their web pages that are not actually in stock. TLB does that also, but Darla Meyers casts anything she doesn't have quickly and ships out usually next business day. Darla and Mike Stelzel are in a different situation than Red Lancers, Squadron or Colorado Miniatures. To put it simply, they own the molds, so nothing is out of stock for very long.

One more small point - pF has several other recurring commercial sponsors. I appreciate their sponsorship of this web site and make purchases from them as well as the five above.

To save money, I've also bought numerous figures via e-Bay. However - buyer beware! 99% of the e-Bay vendors are OK, but 1% are not exactly crooks, but definitely shady and e-Bay does very little to control them. Also you absolutely must know the retail value of the item you are bidding on and have some discipline. That being said, I've bought figures for less than half retail value many times and only gotten truly stiffed twice out of probably 80 or 90 buys.

All the best,
Dan

 

[Amir S.]

Well, there are so little model shops in Israel, and none of them will give a real solution for those interested in figures...
So mailordering from overseas is the way to go.

I was browsing for books all day, and i'm starting to think that maybe it's better to drop the book idea
and use the tutorials and info found on the internet (like here and other miniature sites).

Unless anybody can recommend on a really good book, I'd rather keep my money than to take a chance...

Besides the book issue, I did a little searching. I found 3 companies that have figures that interest me so far:

• Pegaso Models
• Alpine Miniatures
• Think One Eighty

Has anybody seen their figures and can give his\her opinion about them?
They have some really nice figures, but just starting out, I prefer the company that will give me the better quality.
Unless, of course, the differences are minor - that case I'll go with the more attracting figures..

Thanks again all

 

[Dan Morton]

All good choices as far as I can tell, Amir. I'm not in a position to be very helpful to you on this, however, since I'm sculpting and not painting and I buy very few figures except for parts. Also I'm working in 120mm or 1/15th scale (more or less) and not your choice - 54mm. Larger scale = more detail, more stuff to sculpt and less eye strain! I do know figures from the companies you picked are regularly written up on pF and Armorama - so suggest you check first to see if anyone has reviewed the figure you are interested in.

The people that operate all the web sites I gave you are modellers themselves, so you can also ask them and I think they'll give you honest answers.

As far as "how to" guides on painting, I think Bill Horan's books are really very good and quite inspiring. You should find him easily on Amazon or e-Bay. His books don't exactly teach you how to paint figures, but they're helpful. Figure International and Historical Miniatures magazines, and several web sites are also great. There are also some books that I own that I wouldn't wish on anybody! If you need to know them, e-mail me.

The nice thing about pF is that you can 'learn as you do' by posting work in progress photos on a vBench. I urge you to do this. The not so nice thing is, frankly, getting an honest and robust critique from someone whose opinion you value. This is not a straightforward thing on pF [or anywhere!!]. Being mature enough to take a thorough pounding and still finish a piece is pretty tough and all the pros and very successful folks know that. Most of them are nice guys and gals and don't want to discourage a novice. To wit, I got positively bashed by several pFers over my last figure - a Japanese infantryman from the Russo-Japanese war. AND I deserved every bit of it and was and am very thankful for the help provided!

If you're serious and want to hone your skills, it can be done, but you have to toughen your skin, keep asking deliberately for honest feedback, and listen. Nobody expects you to follow every recommendation or every bit of guidance you receive.

Good luck and all the best,
Dan

 

[Amir S.]

Dan, that's one great piece of advice!

I went to Armorama for reviews, and indeed good things were said on all 3 companies.

I think I'll go with Pegaso or Think 180, as I find their poses & subjects more interesting.

Gonna start up with a Dragon plastic set and Humbrol enamel paints, both I got back home (I'm in the army now),
and will make an order on a couple of figures and some Vallejo paints.
Can't wait to try those acrylics - got tired of all the thinners from my other models...

I'm not dead-locked on 54mm. Brand new to this business, I'll try a few, and if I see that it's too small for me (or my eyes ),
I'll try to grow bigger in scale, but that's miles away from where I am currently.

I'll also keep an eye open for Bill Horan's books..

About criticism - It's great to hear that. Having experience on forums (and also running one myself),
I too believe that it's the only way to go - can't get better without getting some nasty stuff :lol:

Can't wait till I get home and start making things happen

Cheers,
Amir Shitay

 

[Dan Morton]

Great Amir!

Please keep us posted and let everybody see your project!

All the best,
Dan

 

[Amir S.]

The game is on

On friday I'll make a visit to the art supply shop for some suitable brushes.

I also decided on my first 2 minis, both 1/35:

From Pegaso Models:
U.S. Assault team n°2, Europe 1944-45

From Think-One-Eighty Studios:
US Infantryman OIF

When I order the figures, I wanna toss some acrylic paint inside too...

At this point I'm only interested in colors for the first figure -
What paints should I get in order to paint it properly?
I decided to go with Vallejo paints, which I'll order from modelsforsale.com .

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Amir, Im new to all this too so Im interested to see how you do! Try this link for some color suggestions. I would suspect you are going to need a base color and then something on either side of that for shading and highlighting. Im hoping others will give you some better advice than what Im offering Im suggesting the color scheme I would use. The thing Ive learned in my short time back in this hobby is that there are (almost always) definative colors that should be used for specific time periods. Good luck and post some pics.

http://www.modelsforsale.com/catalog/index...&sort=3a&page=6

 

[Hullebullen]

Hi Amir...
I spent some time in Israel working, a few years ago, near Beersheva...planning to go back some time when my finances allow it. A very nice country. Good to see someone from Israel here...

Jaume Ortiz made an excellent SBS on painting modern US 3-color desert camo and woodland camo over at the timelines forum using Vallejo's (acrylics)...


Timelines- Camo SBS

 

[Amir S.]

Hullebullen -
I'm glad you liked it here
It's really a lot better than the impressions you get on TV. Where did you use to work?

And regarding figures - today I made my last mailorder (for this first process) - and ordered some Vallejo paints from modelsforsale.com

Hopefully I'll be able to start painting in 2-3 weeks..

Can't wait

 

[Roc]

Amir, as you can see you have come to the right place, our members are always willing and capable to answer any questions.
Welcome to the Planet and have fun.

Cheers
Roc.