Magnified or Standard, (daylight) lamps!

[Einion]

Go for a daylight bulb ,but try also to paint under natural daylight especially for flesh tones...

If a full-spectrum or daylight bulb is worth having it shouldn't make much odds painting under daylight Ron. Anyway, daylight's great in theory, but it varies so much it's not all it's cracked up to be as the lightsource.

Since lots of modellers have to do the majority of their painting at night they don't have a choice as it is, and there's a lot to recommend using consistent lighting even if it's not the best quality - doing half the painting under one light and the other half under another is a recipe for disaster as a lot of us have learned the hard way

Ask yourself this , why did the old masters like to to paint in Provence . Its the quality of the daylight

How many of us live in Provence?! Oh and there's a ghostly procession of Dutch masters outside wanting a word...

Einion

 

[Richard61]

Hi Mark.
One thing I would recommend for any type of detail painting (not only figures) is a head mounted magnifier, even if you have perfect vision.
From speaking to people in the past, if you don't usually wear spectacles the magnifier can take a while to get used to. For those like myself who wear glasses every day, they become second nature.

Richard.

 

[Tubby-Nuts-REMOVED]

Thanks Richard!.. I already have a head magnifier!.. granted it is a cheaper one, and not very comfortable, but useful .. I may have a look around for a better one.

 

[Einion]

If you find a cheaper tool company then please let me know as I badly need to replace my needle files.

Did you manage to wear them out or are they clogged up? If they're just clogged you can often clean them out pretty well.

Assuming you do have to get new ones then Amazon.co.uk is often a good bet for small tools, since a lot of the suppliers offer free shipping within the UK. Here's a 10-piece diamond file set for £5.23 delivered and for regular needle files a 12-piece set from Draper for £6.89 delivered.

If you happen to be in the market for some other small tools I had these bookmarked in another thread:
4-piece tweezer set for £1.63;
putty/sculpting tools, here's a 12-piece set for £5.89;
and a 25-piece diamond burr set for £4.39.

Einion

 

[Richard61]

Thanks Richard!.. I already have a head magnifier!.. granted it is a cheaper one, and not very comfortable, but useful .. I may have a look around for a better one.

I put mine on at the start of every bench session and tend to forget I'm wearing it. I once answered the door to my mother-in-law with the thing on my head and a scalpel in my hand! ......... Not my best move, 'nuf said.

Richard.

 

[harrytheheid]

I put mine on at the start of every bench session and tend to forget I'm wearing it. I once answered the door to my mother-in-law with the thing on my head and a scalpel in my hand! ......... Not my best move, 'nuf said.

Richard.

The neighbours have seen me wearing my optivisor.
I'm told they think I'm an alien.

 

[harrytheheid]

Did you manage to wear them out or are they clogged up? If they're just clogged you can often clean them out pretty well.

Assuming you do have to get new ones then Amazon.co.uk is often a good bet for small tools, since a lot of the suppliers offer free shipping within the UK. Here's a 10-piece diamond file set for £5.23 delivered and for regular needle files a 12-piece set from Draper for £6.89 delivered.

If you happen to be in the market for some other small tools I had these bookmarked in another thread:
4-piece tweezer set for £1.63;
putty/sculpting tools, here's a 12-piece set for £5.89;
and a 25-piece diamond burr set for £4.39.

Einion

Yeah, the diamond set is worn out. I usually unclog them with a steel wire brush, but they've become almost unusable now. I can find normal needle files locally easy enough, but not the diamond type.
A mate of mine in the UK is sending a red cross parcel fairly soon that'll include a new set, plus other essentials, (DVD's, books, and so on).
Cheers
H