how do you secure figures when painting?

[godfather]

I add two paper clip pieces in the feet and stick them in balsa, but as you can imagine it is not very secure. I find that I need to hold the figure to be able to paint it properly but I usually have to hold it by the feet or head and the primer is usually wiped off. How should I do it?

 

[y_wong]

Dear Talino,

I sssumed that your paper clip is straightened, inserted and glued into the feet of your figure. Next drill a couple of holes in a cylinderical block. Insert your figure into the block. Add a little bit of superglue if necessary. Ensure that the paper clip is long enough. It should do the job.

regards :lol:

 

[Anders Heintz]

I do it ina couple of different ways. One is like you do, to secure it to a block of balsa wood, when I do this, I leave the paperclips really long, and someitmes bend them a little so they will grip better, then I push the figure down so maybe 2"-4" of wire is inside the balsa base. This will help it be sturdy. And the other method is simply super gluing the figure to the base.

 

[Guy]

Hello Talino,
The balsa wood you are using is a very soft and light wood and the holes will have a tendency to enlarge as you work on your figure. I usually drill the bottom of my figures in the heel area and insert a brass rod the same size as my drill bit and use a harder wood 2X2X3" tall for a firm grip on the work base. If the figure comes attached to a cast base I usually use a couple of drops of 5 minute epoxy to hold the figure as the epoxy can be popped loose after you are finished.

You don't want a figure that wobbles and is loose while you paint and over the years this has been a proven method.

Below you can see the brass rod going up into the heel of a 90mm figure, thus securing the figure to the base.

 

[KeithP]

Let me add my particular skew...

I too pin to wood base. I use a harder wood though and not balsa (wway too soft).

Drill like sized and spaced holes in to the harder wood base.

Also, I will leave ~1 -1 1/2 inch space between base and figure. This gives a bit more room to work. If necessary, I'll glue the pins to the temp base. With that extra 1 inch of pin, I can snip them off when I need to.

Keith

 

[Edson]

I use these two clamps the small one for 54mm-90mm and the big one for the rest :lol: , and some times a wooden block too.

Cheers
Ed

 

[Pete_H]

I pretty much do the same thing as Keith and Guy do. The only differences with my approach is that I use paper clips and I drill a slightly smaller hole into a wood block. Although I'm still able to insert the pin, it is gripped tighter into the block so as to avoid the figure turning and such. It sounds like the balsa wood may be the culprit of your problems