Hi Dolf,

The ‘Bad Alice’ Figure is 80mm resin from Nocturna (there are a few Alice figures about now). It came with a mushroom
/toadstool as a seat (not used). The White Rabbit is from Swash (unscaled). The watch parts I got as a job lot of similar parts for a steampunk project and had these left over. I’m not thoe best painter out there but I think the judges liked the vignette as something unusual, with a little panache.

Plastic/metal/resin parts all have a release agent to help free them from the casting moulds. They should be washed with mild soap and water and left to dry.

If going for oil paints, don’t buy cheaply. I use Winsor+Newton and Daler-Rowney (currently their Georgian range on Berezina project).

The opacity is determined by strength of pigments. Yellows work better over a white base than a yellow one (the old adage, yellow covers white better than it covers itself) because the pigments are ‘weak’. Thinning naturally affects opacity. If you want absolutely transparent layers built up painstakingly then a veil of colour is best, using very thin coats, but as I mentioned above, there are a few shortcuts that look ok too.

Hope this helps.

Don't worry too much about the brand. Just visit a local Art supply shop and I'm sure they'll have a range of quality oils. Just avoid the 'ten oil paints in a box for a fiver' specials, as these tend to be mostly oil and very little pigment.

Have a look - a bit more progress. Just starting Lancer figure.

Wow. Notes? If I’d known somebody was listening I’d’ve put on a tie and struck a more intelligent pose...

You don’t need much. The usual fillers/primers and your paints of choice. Oh, and a subject you connect with!

Also, on Internet it can be dispiriting to see hundreds of sculpts painted ‘to a standard’ - all very good, but perhaps not personal to you. That said, there are a lot of individual sculptors doing unusual work now. Worth visiting one or two figure shows (Euro at Folkestone, or similar) to see a lot of niche work first hand.

Rob (@robbo)

"Have a look – a bit more progress. Just starting Lancer figure."

Sorry, I hadn't returned to Page 1 of the thread, so didn't realize you have updated a previous post with more pics and a SbS tutorial!
Wow! Excellent!

Thank you very much for all the info and detailed examples and explanations!

Probably silly but beginner's questions for me: even after a oil paint dries, can we still remove it/clean it out, using white spirit?

On average, how long do oils/your oils take until the paint is dry, and you can continue working adding more colors on top of the previous ones?
I believe, from my limited experience, that even the same oil color may vary, depending on a few factors, for instance, if used from the tube (hence no thinner added), or if diluted with some thinner, and of course, the weather/the temperature in the room where they remain while drying. Right?

I see you use some kind of sticks, for holding your figures/parts of them, in place, while you're working, before you glue them together. I think it may seem basic, but I believe it's important to have them firmly holding in place, so we can work on painting.
I notice that almost all figures/busts painters drill holes on their figures/busts/parts, so they can fix some usually metallic stick on them.
I know of a few methods and tools some people use for this end. Do you have any tips on that?

Guess a manual drill is mandatory for that, right? The electric ones, even the minis, may be a bit too dangerous, risking breaking small/fragile resin pieces, right?
Not sure about diecast metal...

Again thank you very much.

Cheers!

Dolf

Many thanks once again Rob (@robbo) !

I do have some ladies make-up brushes and sponges that a UK busts artist who uses them for his paintings sent, that are supposed to do about the same as the "badger brushes", when painting using his own technique of course. He obtains really excellent results I must say!
I see you also use "blending brushes", which I think are the same I call ladies make-up brushes and sponges 🙂

Keep up the great work, I'm sitting on the front row as this SbS/WiP thread progresses 😉

Cheers!

Dolf

Hi Rob (@robbo)

Thanks for the tips about the blending brushes, very useful indeed!

No, I never worked with acrylics (except using one color once, many years ago, and one thing I really disliked then was that they - or at least that one - stink...), have always worked with enamels only (and oils in a couple of occasions as previously mentioned) .
For instance my 120mm US Navy pilot (WWII Pacific), has had his prime coat on Humbrol Matt Sand (enamel), and I haven't decided yet if I'll use enamels for painting it, or oils (on this case I'm more inclined to using enamels, except on the head, which is already painted in oils, for the helmet, and working on the face - and hands - with oils).

I confess that for larger scale (or even smaller 54mm, 75mm scales) figures, and especially busts, in general (with a very few rare exceptions) I don't like the final results when they are painted with acrylics, and definitely prefer seeing them painted with oils (even thought I don't necessarily like all oil painters final results, some are for me nicer than others).

PM following.

Cheers!

Dolf