Just started with oils

[nathaniel]

Hey, I'm a long time miniature painter for miniature wargaming miniatures. I just recently got it into my head to give oil paints a try instead of acrylics (I use a mixture of Vallejo, Reaper, Coat d'Arms, p3, etc.,.).

Today was my first painting session with oils after reading all sorts of posts on this forum about it.

Wow!! I accomplished in 45 minutes blending oils what would have easily taken me four hours with acrylic layering techniques and the transitions are smoother. My mini-crock pot is warming up right now to set the colour.

Living in a place with extreme temperatures (it gets to -40 degrees in late January) I was never able to satisfactorily wet blend with acrylics for half of the year because the air was so dry. So I had to use layering for colour transitions, which takes way longer and isn't as smooth.

I paint a combination of historical, sci-fi and fantasy miniatures, most in 28mm or smaller. Though between vehicle kits and monsters, there can be miniatures as big as some of the historical display kits.

The forum sections for beginners and about painting have been invaluable in helping me make the transition to oils. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. I look forward to learning more.

 

[theBaron]

Welcome to the Planet, Nathan, and congratulations on your plunge into oils! I wouldn't necessarily abandon the other media, but rather, you're building a more diverse and effective arsenal

Prost!
Brad

 

[nathaniel]

I'm definitely not abandoning acrylics. When I'm painting table top quality stuff specifically for gaming, acrylics will be my go to paints. Also on 1/72 and 1/35 scale soft plastics, as they remain flexible and won't come off when handled. When I need to paint a fifty or a hundred figures for a game, the faster drying times of acrylics makes for an easy basecoat, shading wash, highlight process that looks great en masse.

Oils have finally opened up display quality painting for me though. I'm just so impressed that I was able to surpass all my previous attempts at wet blending acrylics during my very first session with oils.

 

[jcichon]

I recently got into painting wargaming figures and learning acrylics. Oils for sure have their place and its what I learned on when I first started out. Try a nice cheap lamp for drying also. I use two cheap lamps I got at walmart to dry oils which I like better than the croc pot.

 

[nathaniel]

I got a crock pot from some liquidation store last year. It's a tiny one for sauces and whatnot. I think I used it once for a black bean sauce. It has a very fine temperature control rather than just on/off/high/low. If I don't like the results, I'll probably give a lamp based solution a try. I'll know tonight how well it worked.

Are you painting your wargaming figures to the same standard as your display pieces you painted with oils? I've been working with acrylics for close to two decades now and I've never been able to get the type of blends other people seem to be able to. Acrylics are amazing for wargaming projects that need to be done quickly.

One thing I noticed among miniature wargamers is that there is very much a preference for acrylics and certain techniques and as a group, we can tend to ignore the techniques developed by historical modelers and figure painters. I think you have a distinct advantage coming from a figure painting background before getting into wargaming miniatures.

 

[theBaron]

I use an old desk lamp with a goose neck, and a 60w lamp in it, for drying, though I work with larger figures (54mm). The goose neck lets me adjust the height/distance from the lamp to the work.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Gellso]

Hello Nathan,
Pleased to meet you buddy,
Grant

 

[nathaniel]

The crock pot worked perfectly for drying the oils. They also (as expected) ended up less shiney and the gradiation from the lightest to darkest looks a bit smoother (as does the finish in general).

I also realized that I need to pay attention to what materials go into a miniature if i'm going to be heating it up. This particular miniature had a base made out of plastic. It deformed in the heat enough that I decided to pop the figure off of it. I have lots of extra bases, so replacing it is no big deal. I am, however, going to wait until the figure is totally done before rebasing it.

I guess I'm going to need to come up with some sort of handle for the figure. Maybe I'll drill a 1/16 inch hole in the bottom of it and mount it on a steel rod going into a wide wood block or something.

 

[Andrew Craft]

Welcome to the Planet mate, sounds like your off to a good start. I've wanted to try oils but I don't have the patience for the drying time but I think flesh tones always seem to look better with oils. Good luck with it