Painting Guide

So I've been painting toy soldiers for wargaming use for about 50 years and I've evolved my technique over time. Here is how I do it now:

I use mostly acrylics but some oil based enamels as well - start with one or two of the plastic model paint kits carried in many toy stores (pick up one acrylic set and one enamel set – or you can even start with one of the inexpensive craft acylic sets available at toy or hobby stores). Pick up a couple of good brushes (start with 0 and 00) – most hobby, craft or art shops carry them. You can add various colors as you go along (standard craft acrylics work great, craft shops are certain to have any color you need - also useful to pick up some metal colors there or regular enamels in model stores - silver, copper, bronze for starters, 'steel' and gold can also be useful). You will also need a clear gloss paint and a can of clear flat spray paint (i.e. Dull Cote) - both in model stores. For the final wash, get a small can of Minwax stain, dark walnut best, and a small can of thinner. A full list of materials is at the end of this article.

First thing to do is clean up the figures - use a sharp craft knife (X-Acto or similar) to cut away any flash, 

and a flat file to level out the bottom of the figure's base (so it will stand up on its own) and the file, knife or an emory board (filch it from your wife) to get rid of any misalignment of the mold or unwanted lines or other imperfections. Look especially between the legs of the figures (horses are terrible for that). Next, wash the figures with an old toothbrush and warm soapy water (this removes any flux left over from the molds). If you don't do this the paint can peel or flake off very quickly depending on the brand of figure. Once you have washed them, do not touch them with your (greasy) fingers since the oil from your hands will also detract from the adhesion of the paint to the white metal. Once washed handle the figures with a piece of cotton cloth or a paper towel, or only touch the base of the figure.

 









Next glue the figures to a Popsicle stick with a small dab of white glue. Some folks use putty ('Blutack' but other brands are available - find it in the school supply section, it is used to stick pieces of paper to reports, etc). I put 3 or 4 x 15mm foot on a stick – 2 or 3 cavalry – 1 elephant.

You may find that you have to glue spears or shields on your figure. I use super glue although some folks prefer epoxy (I don't like the time and trouble of mixing the epoxy). I’ll usually do this now, before painting (if it is a large shield or pavise that will interfere with painting the figure I’ll wait on this). I also glue any riders onto horses now – some folks prefer to paint the rider and horse separately but I’ve found this just increases the painting time with only a nominal improvement in quality and sometimes the rider is just glued to the painted saddle and comes flying off at the most inopportune times. I do paint elephant and chariot crew separately and affix them to the model after painting (but before the wash and dull coat).

Unlike some outstanding painters, I do not use an undercoat or primer per se. I have experimented with different colors of primer from black to grey to brown to white, but I’ve found that this can fill in some of the details on the figures so now I just start painting. I do a production line operation, painting an entire unit at the same time and often will spray paint an entire unit a base color - if lots of skin is showing I'll use a tan; if a regular unit, I'll use the uniform color. Flat spray paint is best, but satin will do in a pinch since you will be spraying the finished figures with Dull Cote later.

I usually paint the major clothing items first, all the same color for regulars (historical if possible – do some research first!), different colors for irregs. The higher the class/quality troop generally the more colorful they were - hordes/Irreg E could not afford fancy duds!! So use various off-whites, browns and blacks for their clothes. Next I do the flesh, then hair & beards, then weapons, belts, shoes, helmets etc. Do armor last - I usually leave it the original white metal color if it is to be steel and coat it with clear gloss at the very end of the process (details below) - works okay and is quicker than painting it silver or steel. If there has been any paint spill over from clothes, skin etc onto the armor, you can touch it up with silver paint before clear gloss coating. Don't forget to paint the base of the figure brown or green (match the color you will use on the element base).

 When painting, I dip the brush into a little dish (paint lid works) of plain water (thinner if using oil-based enamels), dip off the excess on the edge of the dish, then dip into the paint jar, again stroking off the excess on the bottle edge. Then flow the paint on the figure. What you are trying to achieve is a shadow effect, where the paint flows into the folds of the metal and settles there in tiny puddles - thus the higher parts of the figure will be the lighter color while the deeper folds are darker in color. Many folks are skilled at using slightly different shades of the base color to add highlights and darken folds, but I have had success without resorting to this more advanced shading technique.

For shields, there are some good decals out there, especially useful for regulars (Romans, Macedonians, etc.). If you are going to use decals you need a perfectly flat surface (i.e. no raised points on the shield) and I paint the background color first, cover that with a coat of clear gloss, then put on the decal, then another coat of clear gloss. You can also experiment with making your own shield decals using a computer and decal paper (available from MicroMark amongst others). I’ve also had some success with creating my own shield designs on the computer using a graphic design program, and you can find some historic shield patterns on the web that you can use as a template. Instead of decal paper, I have had some success with regular printer paper (very thin glossy is best). If you try regular paper keep in mind that the ink will bleed if you get it too wet when you spray on the dull coat (see below), hence the glossy paper is better. Photo paper is generally too thick to use for shields.

I put a wash on some of my figures. I start with Minwax dark walnut wood stain, thinned way down with normal paint thinner although some others don’t bother thinning it. You will have to experiment until you get the right level of darkness. The purpose of the wash is to really fill in the crevices of the figure, darken them, and to bring out the details of the figure's sculpture. There are many different wash recipes out there – some folks use clear floor wax as a base and add dark brown acrylic paint added with an eye dropper – this really fills in the cracks so make sure you are completely done painting – this also provides an excellent and very durable finish that holds up very well on the table, and yields a very glossy finish that you can cut down with Dull Cote. You can also buy commercial washes in a variety of colors and some folks use colored inks. Note that this is a quick and easy yet effective substitute for the shading technique. It also dulls down bright colors, so be careful if you want those colors to stay bright. Also be careful if you want armor to stay bright - I normally do not put the wash on armor. Lastly, use care if washing over oil-based enamel as the thinner in the stain can wash away that enamel. I've also used just plain thinner on oil-based enamel to reduce the thickness of coat of paint and wash out the color - the effect is similar to using acrylics - the thinned enamel flows into the crevices of the figure, the thinner evaporates leaving deeper color in the crevices. If doing this, use care not to wash too much of the color off the high spots or into crevices where you don't want it (turning some guy's face green can be one result!). You might want to not put any wash at all on your figures (to start) and experiment with the wash on some hordes to see if you really want to go with that. If the acrylic paint is done well, you might not need/want to use a wash!

After all the painting and washing is finished I base the figures. For bases I use beer coasters pilfered from local pubs, cut to the proper size and spray painted brown. You can cut them with a pair of sharp scissors or a hobby razor knife, but I’ve found using a sharp paper cutter (Fiskars makes some great ones – use one with a knife blade and not one that just tears the paper). I also put magnetic strips on the bottom of my bases in order to keep the finished product from sliding around my old metal toolbox during transport. You can get the magnetic sheets in most craft stores - get the kind with adhesive on one side and just stick squared-off beer coasters directly to the magnetic sheet, then cut the whole shebang to the correct size with a pair of scissors or a craft paper cutter. If you find cutting the base/magnet combo too hard on your paper cutter, try cutting the bases to size first, then sticking them on the magnet sheet, then cutting the bases out with a knife. The best magnetic sheets I've found are Aleene's Magnetic Sheets available at Michael's craft stores. Some people do it the other way 'round - use thin steel sheet metal for the base (you can buy metal stands cut to the correct sizes from wargaming supply stores or cut your own with a pair of tin snips), and some people use wood, plastic, or poster board for bases - experiment! A is to keep all the bases the same thickness so that your troops will all march at the same height on the battlefield. There are also some great ‘laser cut’ wood bases out there (Litko for example).

To affix the figure to the base, use carpenter's exterior wood glue (plain white glue works also). Do NOT use “gorilla” glue as this expands at an unpredictable rate. Spread the glue fairly thickly on the entire element base using a larger size bristle brush, then set each figure on it and, using a toothpick, spread the glue onto the figure base being careful not to get too much on the legs or feet of the figure. Next, carefully slide the element base (with all figures affixed with the glue still wet) into a tray of sand. You can use craft sand, or get some from the local beach. I use sand collected from local sand dunes - I like this sand because it is a dark grey/brown and has bits of wood in it. Some folks use model railroad green flocking - that looks too unrealistic for my taste. I leave the stand of figures in the tray of sand until the glue is dry (overnight usually, but 4 or so hours is plenty, and half an hour is enough to get the sand to stick if you need the tray for more troops). 

 

When the glue is dry finish off the base by gluing on some moss, sticks or small rocks to give it a 'real' look, and by filing down any sand that has spilled over onto the edge of the base and finally painting the edges of the base a dark brown.

I then spray the entire thing with a dull/matte clear coat. I prefer Testors Dull Cote but many folks do fine with el cheapo Krylon. Finish the figures off by brushing on a clear gloss coat on anything you want to stay glossy (armor, highly polished leather, etc).

There are also tons of articles on the web now on how to paint...

Enjoy!

List of  materials:

Beer coasters

Magnetic adhesive backed sheets – I prefer Aleene's Tacky Magnetic Sheets

Clear flat/matte spray paint – I prefer Testor’s Dull Cote

Dark brown spray paint

Clear gloss coat

Paint in assorted colors (acrylics and/or enamels)

Metallic colored paint (silver, copper, bronze, acrylic or enamel)

0 and 00 brushes

Larger bristle brush (for glue)

Toothpicks

Carpenters or white glue (I prefer exterior grade carpenters glue)

Super glue and/or epoxy (I prefer super glue)

Walnut stain

Paint thinner

Hobby razor knife (X-acto type)

Flat file

Emory board

Toothbrush

Popsicle sticks

Blutack/Uhu putty (can use white glue instead)

Grey/brown sand

Twigs, small sticks, moss, gravel (for base texture)